Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV Series) Vegas in Space (1979) User Reviews

Entertaining episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 27 February 2011]

Buck Rogers (Gil Gerard, as affable as ever) and the uptight, but gutsy and gorgeous Major Marla Landers (winningly played by the comely Juanin Clay) travel to the decadent gambling capitol of Sinaloa so they can rescue innocent fair damsel in distress Falina Redding (an appealing turn by the fetching Ana Alicia) from the vile clutches of evil bigwig Morgan Velosi (a pleasingly sleazy and wicked portrayal by veteran villainous character actor Richard Lynch). Director Sigmund Neufeld Jr. relates the snazzy story at a constant brisk pace, adds a few nice touches of dry humor, and stages the expected rough'n'tumble punch-ups and the inevitable pitched climactic spaceship dogfight with a reasonable amount of competence. The funky guest cast helps matters a whole lot: Cesar Romero has a fairly small, yet nifty part as crooked businessman Amos Armat, Joseph Wiseman contributes a perfectly sinister performance as coolly efficient mind reader Morphus, and James Luisi snarls it up well as a no-count hood working for Velosi (the sequence with Buck forcing this thug to spill the beans on Velosi by making him take some truth pills is pretty funny). The stuffy, but attractive Landers makes for a neat foil for Buck. Moreover, the garish setting adds immensely to the overall enjoyment and the ladies look lovely in their skimpy outfits (the buxom Shoop's revealing mirror number in particular is mighty tasty!). Les Baxter comes through with an effectively moody score. My sole complaint is that the insanely foxy Erin Gray as Wilma Deering is given precious little to do. A fun show.

Vegas in Space

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 10 June 2012]

Cesar Romero has a guest spot (he's costumed as if his main station was in Siberia) as a "businessman", Mr. Armat, supposedly behind construction of moon bases but ultimately he's successful in extortion, selling weapons to warring colonies, and slave trafficking. Nice guy, eh? Even worse than he (if that could be possible) is the owner and operator of a gambling ship, Sinaloa, Mr. Velosi (Richard Lynch, with icy cold water in his veins during a "lash out" scene of terror achingly portrayed towards him by a victim demanding answers for why she's imprisoned with him just standing still, sadistically silent and still, not flinching) wanting to decipher a numerical code seen (by mistake) by Falina Redding (Armat's daughter, a digital programmer), so he can learn of (and, in turn, tear apart) all of the numerous criminal operations that have kept Armat quite a rich man (that and Armat wants to save her from certain death). Armat will turn over all of the information to his criminal operations if Dr. Huer will send officers to rescue Falina. So Buck will accompany fighter, Major Marla Landers (a feisty and game Juanin Clay) on the mission, to infiltrate Sinaloa to find Falina before Velosi's "memory extractor", Carl Morphus (Joseph Wiseman, as cold-blooded as Lynch in performance, his character quite literate and calm in his description of his methods for getting information; it's all business and Carl mentions he has trained himself not to attach emotionally to any victim as to earn his living without fail) is able to use his chemical to "pull information" from her subconscious, the process almost certain to cause brain damage. Despite the preposterous costumes villains are often forced to wear, Lynch can cast a sinister stare that chills the bones; he's a master at portraying these reserved, in-full-control sociopaths and soulless monsters. The scene I mentioned about Velosi when looking upon Falina in her prison quarters while she's bug-eyed crazy, going through her histrionics, on the verge of a breakdown, not at all bothered, if anything he's enjoying this as if it were a show…that is the kind of evil Lynch can do in his sleep. The brunt of the episode is Buck and Landers' rescue operation, with momentary flirtations in the gambling area (Buck is an ace at "Ten and Eleven" and Landers tries, and succeeds, at getting Velosi's attention), as the plot builds up the possibility of Falina's demise. Pamela Sue Shoop (the babe who gets her face submerged into a sweltering hot tub in Halloween II) has a memorable (for her barely-there "mirror dress" designed to show her impressive body) guest spot as a tramp on the Sinaloa base who takes a shine to Buck (and wants out of Sinaloa, and out of the control of Velosi). Another subplot includes Earth's forces having major problems with Draconian "hatchet fighters", ships that seem immune to tactical maneuvers normally successful (the ships' computers have been unable to match the hatchet fighters' offensive schemes, perhaps a flaw in their defensive designs have become exposed and marketed to Armat's clients). Ana Alicia is rather over-the-top as Falina, her hysterics a bit cringe-inducing.

Buck Rogers: "Vegas in Space"

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 9 August 2017]

PLOT: Buck teams up with Major Marla Landers (Juanin Clay) to rescue a captive (Ana Alicia) at the orbital casino resort Sinaloa, but they must infiltrate the ring of the creepy crime lord (Richard Lynch) who owns it.

COMMENTARY: Erin Gray aficionados won't appreciate the fact that Wilma takes a backseat in this episode where Marla essentially takes her place. The orbital casino set is one-dimensional and flimsy, but the installment is otherwise solid entertainment as far as this cheesy late 70's sci-fi series goes. Most guys drool over Tangie (Pamela Susan Shoop), and she indeed looks great in her skimpy get-up, but I prefer cutie Marla (Juanin Clay).

Always bet on Buck.

[BA_Harrison · 28 March 2008]

When Falina Redding (Ana Alicia), an innocent employee of corrupt businessman Amos Armat, accidentally sees information that could ruin her boss, she is kidnapped by Morgan Velosi (Richard Lynch), owner of a huge gambling city in space, who plans to extract the data from her brain.

Buck, New Chicago's blackjack expert, is sent to the orbiting casino (along with beautiful Directorate agent Marla Landers, played by Juanin Clay) to rescue the girl.

Despite its pretty hum-drum, rather run-of-the-mill plot, Vegas in Space is actually quite an enjoyable episode thanks to a great cast (not only do we get Lynch as a bad guy, but this episode also stars Cesar 'The Joker' Romero and Joseph 'Dr.No' Wiseman), well written dialogue, and the inclusion of several rather tasty women.

Ana Alicia as Falina is very pretty and plays the part of damsel in distress well enough, but it is Juanin Clay as Buck's sidekick Marla, and Pamela Susan Shoop as casino floozy Tangie who steal the show.

Whilst neither actress is quite in Erin Gray's league as far as looks go, they are still pretty darn hot: Clay looks fab in both her Directorate outfit and the evening dress she wears to the casino, whilst Shoop looks sexy in her flimsy get-up (covered in tiny mirrors) that doesn't leave much to the imagination.

Sure, the bulk of the show might be pretty standard fare—Buck gets to kick, punch and throw bad guys as usual, there are a couple of unexceptional space dog-fights, and some lame comedy—but Vegas in Space is still well worth a watch if you're a fan of the show.

Vegas in Space

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 30 March 2022]

A routine episode which is still enjoyable, mainly due to Lynch's menacing role and four beauties featured, all of them looking hot in their costumes. There's some neat suspense, and Buck doing a cool spinning kick. The cast is great: Cesar Romero, Joseph Wiseman.

In the Gambling Planet

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 11 November 2023]

When the employee Felina Redding of the company owned by the notorious smuggler Amos Armatis is kidnapped, he agrees to provide evidence of his business to Dr. Elias Huer provided the Earth Defense Directorate rescues her. Buck Rogers and Major Marla Landers are assigned to go to Sinaloa that is owned by the criminal Morgan Velosi to rescue Felina. She unconsciously accessed secret codes from Armatis' system and Velosi wants to retrieve the information.

"Vegas in Space" is a funny episode of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", where our hero is in a gambling planet. The plot has many half-nude women as usual and beautiful and sexy actresses. The plot is silly, but entertaining, and Richard Lynch does not disappoint as the villain Morgan Velosi. The relationship of Amor Armatis and Felina Redding is predictable. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Vegas in Space"

Buck, babes and bad guys

[Fluke_Skywalker · 6/10 · 3 March 2024]

The basic plot of "Vegas in Space" is rather dull and forgettable, and its weak story is supplemented by some ham-fisted action. To make matters worse, the lovely Erin Grey barely appears (though when she does, it's thankfully in a skin-tight purple jump suit). And guest star Cesar Romero only appears briefly at the beginning and end of the episode. Ahh, but there are a few lovely ladies to admire in the form of Juanin Clay, Ana Alicia and Pamela Susan Shoop.

As usual, star Gil Gerard squeezes his beefy form into the tightest outfits in the galaxy and charms his way to victory over the bad guys. In what is a lost art with contemporary heroes, Gerard and his alter ego are likable and easy to root for, and thus even mediocre shows like "Buck Rogers" are more fun than they have any right to be.

Another Winning Episode from Buck Rogers season 1

[RogerMooreTheBestBond · 10/10 · 29 November 2020]

And yet again another great cast with a lot of hot women. Cesar Romero, Richard Lynch, Joseph Wiseman, Ana Alica, Pamela Susan Shoop & Juanin Clay. Dr. Huer makes a deal with Amos Armat, a smuggler, to get his daughter back if he turns himself in. Ana Alicia plays his daughter and has a nice scene in her undies early on. Buck is assigned with Major Maria Landers to get her back. Morgan Velosi runs a casino and is the man who kidnapped Ana Alicia. Buck and Maria also get the help of Tangie who is trapped and used by Mr. Velosi. Tangie looks sexy in a very revealing outfit. Major Maria Landers wears a sexy dress as well to help seduce Velosi. Buck captures a henchman to get the info he needs. Maria gets the key from Velosi and they rescue her and escape.

Not much originality

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 8 March 2008]

I've just started going through the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episodes for the first time since they originally aired. Up to now it's been an a blast. Episode 5, "Vegas in Space", is easily the worst I've watched so far. The problem – the plot lacks any originality. You could have seen (and probably did) a similar plot line on any one of a dozen 70s television programs. I can easily imagine such a plot (a girl who accidentally sees something she shouldn't have is kidnapped and "forced" to remember what she saw) on Charlie's Angels or Vegas or Wonder Woman or . . . well, just name it. The names of the supporting cast may not mean much to most people, but the faces of Richard Lynch, Pamela Susan Shoop, and James Luisi certainly would. These actors would have been right at home on any of these television shows. The guest star of "Vegas in Space" is Cesar Romero, but unfortunately his screen time is terribly limited. It's hard to do much or make much of an impression in less than 5 minutes.

Ah well, there's always the next episode.