Gratuitous Buck Blogging

After the snooze-fest that was "Return of the Fighting 69th", we get a visual treat in the next episode:

Ep. 1.9 “Unchained Woman” (aired 11/1/79):

OK, here’s the basic plot:

The Directorate desperately wants to get their hands on a woman who can help them find and a wanted interstellar criminal named Malary Pantera. The problem? Like any loyal girlfriend would, she took the rap for one of Pantera’s crimes and is stuck in an underground prison on the third moon of Zeta, a galactic penal colony from which no prisoner has ever escaped. Of course, the prison’s designs never factored in the eclectic skills of our hero, Buck Rogers.

Captain Rogers, your assignment is bring back busty babe Jen Burton

Now there are two reasons to watch this episode. The first is Jamie Lee Curtis, playing prisoner Jen Burton. The very first shot of her is wearing a skin-tight tank top, showcasing her heaving bosom. Buck, posing as a prisoner himself, is checked into the prison and within minutes orchestrates an explosion that allows him and Jen to escape to the planet’s surface to rendezvous with Col. Deering who will be flying by to pick them up. Apparently, Buck and Jack Bauer have the same disregard for sovereign territory.

"Heeeeeeere's Michael!"

Jamie Lee Curtis as you all know made her theatrical debut in the horror classic “Halloween”, which had been released the year before. She was a hot property in more ways than one. In addition to her characteristic courage and resourcefulness in evading mindless killing machines, she had an excellent physique.

Now in 1979, Jamie Lee’s body wasn’t quite as sculpted as it appeared in later films like “Perfect” and “True Lies” but she was certainly memorable.

Speaking of mindless killing machines, the show features Hugo, one of the android prison guards (having blown a few circuits in the explosion), doggedly pursuing Buck and Jen across the wasteland of Zeta’s moon. This dude takes a licking and keeps on ticking, not unlike Michael Myers. Which brings me to the second reason to watch this, the sheer comedic value of watching Hugo lumbering behind Buck and Jen the whole time with a maniacal sneer on his face. He even survives an attack by a sand squid! (Yips! to Robbo - Here's a tiny headshot of Hugo for ya!)

Did I mention that Jamie Lee Curtis is in this one?

"I don't know if this thing is loaded but the top of that dress sure is."

Episode Rating: Must See (Jamie Lee’s presence more than makes up for very little Wilma)

Next Up: “Planet of the Amazon Women” (not to be confused with “Planet of the Slave Girls” - I’m sensing a pattern here)

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The first post in this series can be found here.