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You’re probably going to experience a big jumble of emotions when bringing home your new dog or puppy. On one hand, you’re unbelievably excited for your adorable new pet, but chances are you’ll also be a bit worried about how they’ll fit into your family and whether you’re prepared to take care of them. I felt all these emotions—and more—when I brought home my dog, Addy!

I’m willing to bet you’re more prepared than you think (especially if you’re reading this article), but just to assuage your concerns, here’s my list of must-have dog products, based on my own personal experience. With these items on hand, you’ll be fully prepared for anything dog ownership throws at you, so you can relax and enjoy every moment with your new pooch.

1. An appropriately sized dog collar

First thing’s first, your pup is going to need a collar! If you adopt from a rescue or a breeder, they may give you a collar, but chances are you’re going to want one that suits your personal tastes. When shopping for a dog collar, it’s best to select one that’s the right size for your dog, has a quick-release clasp for safety, and has a sturdy D-ring where you can attach a leash. Additionally, collars like this one from Blueberry Pet include an extra loop where you can attach dog tags, so they won’t get in the way of your leash.

Get the Blueberry Pet 3M Reflective Spring Pastel Dog Collar from Chewy for $18.99

2. A crate for mandatory naptime

Whether or not you decide to crate train your dog is up to you, but many pet owners and professional trainers recommend the practice. Personally, I crated Addy until she was around 6 months old, just to ensure she didn’t destroy anything while I was away or have accidents during the night.

If you do decide to crate train, a product like the Frisco Wire Dog Crate is a great option, as it includes a divider panel for growing dogs and folds up for easy transport. It also has two doors and an easy-to-clean plastic base—because accidents happen!

Get the Frisco Fold & Carry Double Door Collapsible Wire Dog Crate, 42-inch from Chewy for $46.99

3. A cool, comfy bed that’s ideal for chewy-happy dogs

Many pet owners want to get their dogs plush, cushy beds, but if you’re not sure if your new dog is a chewer, you might want to err on the side of caution and get one of these elevated dog beds instead. These beds have a steel frame covered in durable, PVC-coated fabric, and their elevated design will keep your dog cooler on hot days. Reviewers say that dogs love this bed, and many note that you can put a blanket or towel over it if you want to give your dog extra cushion.

Get the Frisco Steel-Framed Elevated Dog Bed from Chewy for $21.77

4. This ingenious product that makes bathtime a breeze

Most dogs don’t love getting baths, but you can convince them it’s not so bad with the Aquapaw Slow Treater Dispensing Mat. This silicone mat has a nubby surface, and you simply smear peanut butter over the bumps, then stick the mat to the wall of your bathtub. Your dog can go to town licking the peanut butter, and they’ll barely even notice as you wash them. I own one of these, and it’s the sole reason my dog likes bathtime!

Get the Aquapaw Slow Treater Dispensing Mat from Chewy for $10.95

5. An airtight storage container for food

It’s important to store dog food in an airtight container—otherwise mice, bugs, and other unwelcome critters may break into your supply. These stackable pet food containers are an extremely popular option for dog food, as they can hold up to 40 or 60 pounds of kibble and have convenient spin-off lids. They’re made from heavy-duty, BPA-free food-grade plastic, and their airtight seal keeps pests out and odors in.

Get the Gamma2 Vittles Vault Stackable Pet Food Storage, 40-lb from Chewy for $34.95

6. A baby gate to block off certain rooms

Whether you want to keep your dog out of the kitchen, away from the cat litter box, or from going upstairs, a “baby” gate will be your best friend. This extra-wide gate from Carlson Pet Products works in doors 29 to 36.5 inches, and it has a convenient walk-through design that you can easily lock. Plus, there’s a smaller door on the bottom of the gate, just in case you have a cat or small pup who might need to pass through.

Get the Carlson Pet Products Extra Wide Walk-Thru Gate with Pet Door from Chewy for $38.99

7. A sturdy leash for your daily walks

A leash is another essential product for dog owners, and not all leashes are created equal. Personally, I like leashes that have double handles—in addition to the loop at the end of the leash, there’s another loop mid-way down for those instances when you want to keep your dog close to you. This particular double handle leash is 6-feet long and made of heavy-duty nylon, and it even has reflective stitching for when you’re walking at night.

Get the Max and Neo Dog Gear Double Handle Reflective Dog Leash from Chewy for $17.99

8. A set of washable dog bowls

Your new dog is going to need food and water bowls, and these affordable stainless steel bowls are a great option. They have a 4-¾ cup capacity, so they’re best for medium to large dogs, and they have a rubber base to prevent skidding and protect your floors. Plus, when the bowls get dirty, you can just toss them in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.

Get the Frisco Stainless Steel Bowl from Chewy for $8.99

9. A food mat to minimize dinnertime messes

It’s also a good idea to invest in a food mat, which will keep your dog’s food bowl from damaging your floor. I ended up getting one of these when my dog started playing in her water dish—it kept the mess contained and prevented my hardwood floors from getting wet. The silicone mat has a raised lip to keep spills contained, and it’s stain-resistant, making it a breeze to clean.

Get the BarksBar Original Silicone Pet Feeding Mat from Chewy for $14.90

10. A Kong toy (or two) to keep your pup busy

When Addy was little, she used to get a Kong stuffed with peanut butter and fruit every night at bedtime—it was the only way she would settle into her crate without a fuss. Now that she’s grown, I still use our Kong toy to keep her occupied when I’m busy working or when we’re going to be gone all day. In fact, we own four of them!

As you might be able to tell, I’m a huge fan of the Kong, which is essentially just a rubber toy with a hollow interior. You can stuff it with all kinds of treats or food, and your pooch will be occupied for hours trying to get the goodies out. You can even freeze them to keep your dog occupied for longer.

Get the KONG Classic Dog Toy from Chewy for $12.99

11. A special doggie water bottle for hot days

If you’ve ever gone hiking with your pooch, you know it’s important to bring enough water for both of you, and if you don’t want to share your own water bottle, you’ll love this product. This portable water bottle and bowl in one is incredibly handy, as you can squeeze water up into the bowl for your dog to lap up. When your pooch is finished drinking, simply release the bottle to let the remaining water trickle back down into the interior—no water wasted!

Get the Highwave AutoDogMug Portable Dog Water Bottle & Bowl from Chewy for $17.19

12. A convenient, long-lasting flea and tick collar

Flea and tick medication comes in many forms, but one of the longest lasting solutions is the popular Seresto Flea and Tick Collar. Unlike topical medication, which needs to be applied every month, Seresto collars last for eight months! They release a low concentration of medication over the course of several months, and they’re odorless and non-greasy, to boot.

Get the Seresto 8-Month Flea and Tick Collar from Chewy for $57.98

13. This guide to help you train your new pooch

Whenever anyone asks how I trained Addy, I recommend two things: puppy school, and this book. I used the five-week program outlined in Training the Best Dog Ever—written by Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, who has trained the dogs of several presidents—to teach Addy all her basic commands, and we had great results with the positive reinforcement system. Plus, it doesn’t have to be used with puppies—the program can also be used with adult dogs, which is great if you’re bringing home a rescue.

Get Training the Best Dog Ever from Chewy for $11.29

14. A top-rated ear treatment for infections

There comes a time in every dog’s life when their ears get dirty, itchy, and smelly, and you’ll be glad you have this product on hand. The Zymox Otic Pet Ear Treatment is an over-the-counter treatment for bacterial, fungal, and yeast infections, cleaning and treating your dog’s ear issues with a once-daily treatment. It also contains hydrocortisone to minimize itching and inflammation.

Get the Zymox Otic Pet Ear Treatment from Chewy for $21.99

15. This dog brush with a cult following

A good dog brush will save you a lot of time and effort vacuuming pet hair off your carpets and furniture, and many pet parents swear by the FURminator. The brush comes in two different designs for long- and short-hair dogs, and it’s incredibly effective at removing loose undercoat hair without cutting skin or damaging the topcoat. The FURminator is more expensive than other brushes, but reviewers swear it’s worth it if your dog sheds a lot.

Get the FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool from Chewy for $29.95

16. Nail clippers for at-home grooming

If your dog’s nails get too long, it can be uncomfortable for them, so it’s important to trim your pooch’s nails at home if they don’t go to the groomer regularly. These popular dog nail clippers deliver clean cuts every time, allowing you to make quick work of this grooming task, and there’s even a built-in safety stop that will prevent you from cutting the nail too short.

Get the Safari Professional Nail Trimmer for Dogs from Chewy for $8.69

17. All-in-1 dog shampoo and conditioner that smells amazing

After a long day of swimming or playing in the dirt, your dog will probably be quite stinky! When this happens, it’s time to break out the licking mat listed above and give them a good bath. The Buddy Wash Original Lavender & Mint Dog Shampoo and Conditioner is a top-rated product among pet parents, who say it will leave your dog super soft and smelling fresh. Plus, it’s gentle enough for pups with sensitive skin.

Get the Buddy Wash Original Lavender & Mint Dog Shampoo and Conditioner from Chewy for $5.39

18. These durable rubber toy balls

Toy shopping for your dog is always fun, and I’d definitely recommend adding some Chuckit! Balls to the list. These rubber balls are incredibly durable, even for dogs who love to destroy toys, and they’re easy to spot in your yard thanks to the bright orange color. Plus, you can also get a special Chuckit! Launcher to go along with them, which allows you to send the balls flying for some seriously intense games of fetch.

Get the Chuckit! Ultra Rubber Ball Dog Toy, Small, 2 Pack from Chewy for $5.72

19. A big box of treats for your good boy or girl

Milk-Bone is arguably one of the most popular dog treats out there, as they’re loved by dogs and affordable, too. This 10-pound box of medium-sized treats costs just $12, and it will last you for months! Milk-Bones are fortified with 12 vitamins and minerals, and their crunchy texture helps to remove plaque and tartar, keeping your dog’s teeth nice and clean.

Get the Milk-Bone Original Medium Biscuit Dog Treats from Chewy for $12.29

20. A long-lasting supply of poop bags

While not the most glamorous purchase you’ll make for your dog, poop bags are a necessity, especially if you don’t have your own yard. Luckily, many retailers offer multi-packs of poop bags, ensuring you’ll have enough to last several months.

Get the Earth Rated PoopBags Refill Pack from Chewy for $6.99

The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

Buck Rogers is a fictional science fiction (and later, particularly space opera) character created by Philip Francis Nowlan in the novella Armageddon 2419 A.D., subsequently appearing in multiple media. In Armageddon 2419 A.D., published in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories, the character's given name was "Anthony".^[1] A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue.

Nowlan was contracted by the syndicate John F. Dille Company (later known as the National Newspaper Service syndicate) to adapt the story into a comic strip. After Nowlan and Dille enlisted editorial cartoonist Dick Calkins as the illustrator, Nowlan adapted the first episode from Armageddon 2419 A.D. and changed the hero's name from "Anthony" to "Buck". The strip made its first newspaper appearance on January 7, 1929.^[1] Later adaptations included radio in 1932, a film serial, a television series (in which his first name was changed from "Anthony" to "William"), and other formats.

The Buck Rogers strip was popular enough to inspire other newspaper syndicates to launch their own science fiction strips.^[2] The most famous of these imitators was Flash Gordon (King Features Syndicate, 1934-2003);^[3] others included Tom Swift (1930-1937), Brick Bradford (Central Press Association, 1933-1987), Don Dixon and the Hidden Empire (Watkins Syndicate, 1935-1941),^[4]Speed Spaulding (John F. Dille Co., 1940-1941),^[2] and John Carter of Mars (United Feature Syndicate, 1941-1943).^[5]

The adventures of Buck Rogers in comic strips, movies, radio and television became an important part of American popular culture. It was on January 22, 1930, that Buck Rogers first ventured into space aboard a rocket ship in his fifth newspaper comic story Tiger Men From Mars. This popular phenomenon paralleled the development of space technology in the 20th century and introduced Americans to outer space as a familiar environment for swashbuckling adventure.^[1][6]

Buck Rogers has been credited with bringing into popular media the concept of space exploration,^[7] following in the footsteps of literary pioneers such as Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Characters and story[edit]

"Buck Rogers" operating the controls of a remotely piloted "air ball". Amazing Stories (March 1929).

The character first appeared as Anthony Rogers, the central character of Nowlan's Armageddon 2419 A.D. Born in 1898, Rogers is a veteran of the Great War (World War I) and by 1927 is working for the American Radioactive Gas Corporation investigating reports of unusual phenomena in abandoned coal mines near Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. On December 15, there is a cave-in while he is in one of the lower levels of a mine. Exposed to radioactive gas, Rogers falls into "a state of suspended animation, free from the ravages of catabolic processes, and without any apparent effect on physical or mental faculties". Rogers remains in suspended animation for 492 years.

Rogers awakens in 2419. Thinking that he has been asleep for just several hours, he wanders for a few days in unfamiliar forests (what had been Pennsylvania almost five centuries before). He notices someone clad in strange clothes, who is under attack. He defends the person, Wilma Deering, killing one of the attackers and scaring off the rest. On "air patrol", Deering was attacked by an enemy gang, the Bad Bloods, presumed to have allied themselves with the Hans.

Wilma takes Rogers to her camp, where he meets the bosses of her gang. He is invited to stay with them or leave and visit other gangs. They hope that Rogers' experience and knowledge he gained fighting in the First World War may be useful in their struggle with the Hans, who rule North America from 15 great cities they established across the continent. They ignored the Americans who were left to fend for themselves in the forests and mountains as their advanced technology prevented the need for slave labor.

In the sequel, The Airlords of Han, six months have passed and the hunter is now the hunted. Rogers is now a gang leader and his forces, as well as the other American gangs, have surrounded the cities and are attacking constantly. The airlords are determined to use their fleet of airships to break the siege.

In 1933, Nowlan and Calkins co-wrote Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, a novella that retold the origin of Buck Rogers and also summarized some of his adventures. A reprint of this work was included with the first edition of the novel Buck Rogers: A Life in the Future (1995) by Martin Caidin.

In the 1960s, Nowlan's two novellas were combined by editor Donald A. Wollheim into one paperback novel, Armageddon 2419 A.D. The original 40-cent edition featured a cover by Ed Emshwiller.

Comic strip[edit]

Publication history[edit]

Nowlan is credited with the idea of serializing Buck Rogers,^{[citation needed]} based on his novel Armageddon 2419 and its Amazing Stories sequels. Nowlan approached John F. Dille, president of the National Newspaper Service syndicate, who saw the opportunity to serialize the stories as a newspaper comic strip. The character was given the nickname "Buck," and some have suggested that Dille coined that name based on the 1920s cowboy actor Buck Jones.^[8]

On January 7, 1929, the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D. comic strip debuted. (Coincidentally, this was also the date that the Tarzan comic strip began, distributed by United Feature Syndicate.) Buck Rogers was initially syndicated to 47 newspapers.^[9] On March 30, 1930, a Sunday strip joined the Buck Rogers daily strip.

Writer Nowlan told the inventor R. Buckminster Fuller in 1930 that "he frequently used [Fuller's] concepts for his cartoons".^[10]Dick Calkins, an advertising artist, drew the earliest daily strips, and Russell Keaton drew the earliest Sunday strips.

Like many popular comic strips of the day, Buck Rogers was reprinted in Big Little Books; illustrated text adaptations of the daily strip stories; and in a Buck Rogerspop-up book.^[1] At its peak in 1934, Buck Rogers appeared in 287 U.S. newspapers, was translated into 18 languages, and appeared in an additional 160 international papers.^[9]

Keaton wanted to switch to drawing another strip written by Calkins, Skyroads, so the syndicate advertised for an assistant and hired Rick Yager in 1932. Yager had formal art training at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and was a talented watercolor artist; all the strips were done in ink and watercolor. Yager also had connections with the Chicago newspaper industry, since his father, Charles Montross Yager, was the publisher of The Modern Miller; Rick Yager was at one time employed to write the "Auntie's Advice" column for his father's newspaper. Yager quickly moved from inker and writer of the Buck Rogers "sub-strip" (early Sunday strips had a small sub-strip running below) to writer and artist of the Sunday strip and eventually the daily strips.

Authorship of early strips is extremely difficult to ascertain. The signatures at the bottoms of the strips are not accurate indicators of authorship; Calkins' signature appears long after his involvement ended, and few of the other artists signed the artwork, while many pages are unsigned. Yager probably had complete control of Buck Rogers Sunday strips from about 1940 on, with Len Dworkins joining later as assistant. Dick Locher was also an assistant in the 1950s. The strip's artists also worked on a variety of tie-in promotions such as comic books, toys and model rockets.

For all of its reference to modern technology, the strip itself was produced in an old-fashioned manner — all strips began as India ink drawings on Strathmore paper, and a smaller duplicate (sometimes redrawn by hand) was hand-colored with watercolors. Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, has an extensive collection of original artwork.^{[citation needed]}

The relations between the artists of the strip (Yager et al.) and the owners of the strip (the Syndicate) became acrimonious, and in mid-1958, the artists quit.^[11]Murphy Anderson was a temporary replacement, but he did not stay long. George Tuska began drawing the strip in 1959 and remained until the final installment of the original comic strip, which was published on July 8, 1967. At that point, Buck Rogers only appeared in 28 newspapers.^[9]

Artist/Writer credits:

• Jan 1929 to Sep 1939 – Dick Calkins (a), Philip Nowlan (w)
• Sep 1939 to Nov 1947 – Dick Calkins (a); Dick Calkins (w)
• Dec 1947 to Oct 1949 – Murphy Anderson (a), Bob Williams (aka Bob Barton) (w)
• Oct 1949 to Jan 1951 – Leonard Dworkins (a); John F. Dille, Sr (w)
• Jan 1951 to Jun 1958 – Rick Yager (a), Rick Yager (w)
• Jun 1958 to Apr 1959 – Murphy Anderson (a), ??? (w)
• Apr 1959 to Apr 1960 – George Tuska (a), Jack Lehti (w)
• Apr 1960 to Oct 1960 – George Tuska (a), Howard Liss (w)
• Oct 1960 to Feb 1961 - George Tuska (a), Fritz Leiber (w)
• Feb 1961 to May 1961 – George Tuska (a), Ray Russell (w)
• May 1961 to Nov 1961 – George Tuska (a), Fritz Leiber (w)
• Dec 1961 to Jul 1967 – George Tuska (a), Howard Liss (w)

Art Assistants:

Revival[edit]

Revived in 1979 by the New York Times Syndicate, the strip was produced by Gray Morrow and Jim Lawrence. Shortened to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in 1980, long-time comic book writer Cary Bates signed on in 1981, continuing until the strip's 1983 finale.

Characters and story[edit]

The first three frames of the series set the scene for Buck's "leap" 500 years into Earth's future:

I was 20 years old when they stopped the world war and mustered me out of the air service. I got a job surveying the lower levels of an abandoned mine near Pittsburgh, in which the atmosphere had a peculiar pungent tang and the crumbling rock glowed strangely. I was examining it when suddenly the roof behind me caved in and...

Buck is rendered unconscious, and a strange gas preserves him in a suspended animation or coma state. He awakens and emerges from the mine in 2429 A.D., in the midst of another war.^[1]

After rescuing Wilma, he proves his identity by showing her his American Legion button. She then explains how the Mongol Reds emerged from the Gobi desert to conquer Asia and Europe and then attacked America starting with that "big idol holding a torch". Using their disintegrator beams, they easily defeated the army and navy and wiped out Washington, D.C. in three hours. As the people fled the cities, the Mongols built new cities on the ruins of the major cities. The Mongols left the Americans to fend for themselves as their advanced technology prevented the need for slave labor. The scattered Americans formed loosely bound organizations or "orgs" to begin to fight back.

Wilma takes Buck back to the Alleghany org in what was once Philadelphia. The leaders don't believe his story at first but after undergoing electro-hypnotic tests, they believe him and admit him into their group.^[12]

Other prominent characters in the strip included Buck's friend Dr. Huer, who punctuated his speech with the exclamation, "Heh!"; the villainous Killer Kane and his paramour Ardala; and Black Barney, who began as a space pirate but later became Buck's friend and ally.^[1] In addition, Buck and his friends encountered various alien races. Hostile species Buck met included the Tiger Men of Mars, the dwarf-like Asterites of the Asteroid belt, and giant robots called Mekkanos.^[6]

When the Sunday strip began, there was no established convention for the same character having different adventures in the Sunday strip and the daily strip (many newspapers carried one but not the other), so the Sunday strip at first followed the adventures of Buck's young friend Buddy Deering, Wilma Deering's younger brother, and Buddy's girlfriend Alura, later joined by Black Barney. It was some time before Buck himself made his first appearance in a Sunday strip.

Comic books[edit]

Over the years, there have been many Buck Rogers appearances in comic books as well as his own series. Buck appeared in 69 issues of the 1930s comic Famous Funnies, then two appearances in Vicks Comics, both published by Eastern Color Printing. Then in 1940 Buck got his own comic entitled Buck Rogers which lasted for six issues, again published by Eastern Printing.

Starting in 1933, Whitman (an imprint of Western Publishing) produced 12 Buck Rogers Big Little Books:^[13]

1. Buck Rogers, 25th Century A.D. (1933)
2. The Adventures of Buck Rogers (1934)
3. Buck Rogers in the City Below the Sea (1934)
4. Buck Rogers on the Moons of Saturn (1934)
5. Buck Rogers and the Depth Men of Jupiter (1935)
6. Buck Rogers and the Doom Comet (1935)
7. Buck Rogers in the City of Floating Globes (1935)
8. Buck Rogers and the Planetoid Plot (1936)
9. Buck Rogers in the War with the Planet Venus (1938)
10. Buck Rogers Vs. the Fiend of Space (1939)
11. Buck Rogers and the Overturned World (1941)
12. Buck Rogers and the Super-Dwarf of Space (1943)

Kelloggs Cereal Company produced two Buck Rogers giveaway comics, one in 1933 and again in 1935. In 1951, Toby Press released 3 issues of Buck Rogers, all reprints of the comic strip. In 1955, an Australian company called Atlas Productions produced five issues of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Gold Key Comics published a single issue of a Buck Rogers comic in 1964.^[14]

A second series was based on the 1979 television series and was published from 1979 to 1982, first by Gold Key,^[15] then by Whitman Publishing,^[16] continuing the numbering from the 1964 single issue.

TSR, Inc. published a 10-issue series based on their Buck Rogers XXVC game from 1990 to 1991.^[17]

In 2009, Dynamite Entertainment began a monthly comic book version of Buck Rogers^[18][19] by writer Scott Beatty^[20] and artist Carlos Rafael.^[21] The first issue was released in May 2009. The series ran 13 issues (#0-12) plus an annual, later collected into 2 trade paperbacks.

In 2012, Hermes Press announced a new comic book series with artwork by Howard Chaykin. The series was collected into a graphic novel titled Howard Chaykin's Buck Rogers Volume 1: Grievous Angels in 2014.^[22]

Radio[edit]

In 1932, the Buck Rogers radio program, notable as the first science-fiction program on radio, hit the airwaves. It was broadcast in four separate runs with varying schedules. Initially broadcast as a 15-minute show on CBS in 1932, it was on a Monday through Thursday schedule. In 1936, it moved to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule and went off the air the same year. Mutual brought the show back and broadcast it three days a week from April to July 1939 and from May to July 1940, a 30-minute version was broadcast on Saturdays. From September 1946 to March 1947, Mutual aired a 15-minute version on weekdays.^[1][23]

The radio show again related the story of our hero Buck finding himself in the 25th century. Actors Matt Crowley, Curtis Arnall, Carl Frank and John Larkin all voiced him at various times. The beautiful and strong-willed Wilma Deering was portrayed by Adele Ronson, and the brilliant scientist-inventor Dr. Huer was played by Edgar Stehli.

The radio series was produced and directed by Carlo De Angelo and later by Jack Johnstone.

Film and television adaptations[edit]

World's Fair[edit]

A ten-minute Buck Rogers film premiered at the 1933–1934 World's Fair in Chicago. John Dille Jr. (son of strip baron John F. Dille) starred in the film, which was called Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: An Interplanetary Battle with the Tiger Men of Mars. It was later shown in department stores to promote Buck Rogers merchandise. It was shot in the Action Film Company studio in Chicago, Illinois, and was directed by Dr. Harlan Tarbell. A 35mm print of the film was discovered by the filmmaker's granddaughter, donated to UCLA's film and television archive, restruck and subsequently posted to the web. It is available on the VCI Entertainment DVD 70th Anniversary release of the 1939 serial. The characters featured include Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering, Dr. Huer, Killer Kane, Ardala, King Grallo of the Martian Tiger Men, and robots.^[24]

Movie serial[edit]

A 12-part Buck Rogers serial film was produced in 1939 by Universal Pictures Company. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe) and his young friend Buddy Wade get caught in a blizzard and are forced to crash their airship in the Arctic wastes. In order to survive until they can be rescued, they inhale their supply of Nirvano gas which puts them in a state of suspended animation. When they are eventually rescued by scientists, they learn that 500 years have passed. It is now 2440. A tyrannical dictator named Killer Kane and his henchmen now run the world. Buck and Buddy must now save the world, and they do so with the help of Lieutenant Wilma Deering and Prince Tallen of Saturn.

The serial had a small budget and saved money on special effects by reusing material from other stories: background shots from the futuristic musical Just Imagine (1930), as the city of the future, the garishly stenciled walls from the Azura palace set in Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, as Kane's penthouse suite, and even the studded leather belt that Crabbe wore in Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars turned up as part of Buck's uniform. Between 1953 and the mid-1970s, this film serial was edited into three distinct feature film versions.^[1]

1950–1951 ABC television series[edit]

The first version of Buck Rogers to appear on television debuted on ABC on April 15, 1950 and ran until January 30, 1951. There were a total of 36 black and white episodes in all (allowing for a 2-month summer hiatus).^[1][25] One episode of the show survives today.

Its time slot initially was on Saturdays at 6 p.m., and each episode was 30 minutes. The program was later rescheduled to Tuesday at 7 p.m., where it ran against the popular Texaco Star Theatre hosted by Milton Berle.^[26] The show was sponsored by Peter Paul candy bars.

The producers were trying to emulate the success of DuMont's Captain Video, but the series probably failed as a result of its minuscule budget. The decision to put the show on a summer hiatus for almost two months also undercut efforts to build an audience.^[1][25]

The storyline was very faithful to Philip Francis Nowlan's original novel Armageddon 2419 AD, although in the 1950 TV series, Buck Rogers finds himself in the year 2430. Based in a secret lab in a cave behind Niagara Falls (the city of Niagara was now the capital of the world), Buck battles intergalactic troublemakers.^[27] Due to the minuscule budget, most of the episodes took place mainly in the secret lab.

There were a number of changes to the cast during the series' short duration. Three actors played Buck Rogers in the series: Earl Hammond (who starred as Buck very briefly), Kem Dibbs (whose last appearance in the role was aired on June 3), and Robert Pastene (whose first appearance in the role was aired on June 10). The show apparently went on summer hiatus from around July 7 until the end of August, probably reappearing on the air again around Labor Day with Robert Pastene still in the lead role. (Kem Dibbs went on to have a long acting career in film and television.)

Two actresses portrayed Wilma Deering: Eva Marie Saint and Lou Prentis. Two actors would also play Dr. Huer: Harry Southern and Sanford Bickart. Black Barney Wade was played by Harry Kingston.

The series was directed by Babette Henry, written by Gene Wyckoff and produced by Joe Cates and Babette Henry. The series was broadcast live from station WENR-TV, the ABC affiliate in Chicago. There is one known surviving kinescope of this first Buck Rogers television series, airdate 12-19-50, episode title "Ghost in the House". It can be seen on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDRH781KaE&t=2s The surviving episode states it originated from ABC in New York, casting some doubt on the Chicago WENR-TV claims. Perhaps as the show was remounted the base of operations changed. At the time of broadcast, the ABC owned and operated station was WJZ-TV New York, which in 1953 became WABC-TV New York.

Motion picture and 1979–1981 NBC television series[edit]

In 1979, Buck Rogers was revived and updated for a prime-time television series for NBC Television. The pilot film was released to cinemas on March 30, 1979. Good box office returns led NBC to commission a full series, which started in September 1979. Glen A. Larson produced the film and the first season of the eventual series.^[1]

The series starred Gil Gerard as Captain William "Buck" Rogers, a United States Air Force and NASA pilot who commands Ranger III, a space shuttle-like ship that is launched in 1987. When his ship flies through a space phenomenon containing a combination of gases, his ship's life support systems malfunction and he is frozen and left drifting in space for 504 years. By the time he is revived, he finds himself in the 25th century. There, he learns that Earth was united following a devastating global nuclear war that occurred in the late 20th century, and is now under the protection of the Earth Defense Directorate, headquartered in New Chicago. The latest threat to Earth comes from the spaceborne armies of the planet Draconia, which is planning an invasion.

Co-starring in the series were Erin Gray as crack Starfighter pilot Colonel Wilma Deering, and Tim O'Connor as Dr. Elias Huer, head of Earth Defense Directorate, and a former starpilot himself. Ardala appeared (played by Pamela Hensley), as a Draconian princess supervising her father's armies, with Kane (played by Henry Silva in the film; by Michael Ansara in the series) as her enforcer, a gender reversal of the original characters where Ardala was Killer Kane's sidekick. Although Black Barney did not appear as a character in the series, there was a character named Barney Smith (played by James Sloyan) who appeared in the two-part episode, "The Plot to Kill a City". New characters added for the series included a comical robot named Twiki (played by Felix Silla and voiced by Mel Blanc), who becomes Buck's personal assistant, and Dr. Theopolis (voiced by Eric Server), a sentient computer that Twiki often carries around. Buster Crabbe from the original serial series had a cameo in the series as well.

The series ran for two seasons on NBC. Production and broadcast of the second season was delayed by several months due to the 1980 actors strike. When the series returned in early 1981, its core format had been revised. Now rather than defending Earth, Buck and Wilma were aboard the deep-space exploration vessel Searcher on a mission to track down the lost colonies of humanity. Tim O'Connor's Dr. Huer was written out of the series and replaced by Wilfrid Hyde-White as quirky scientist Dr. Goodfellow and Broadway character actor Jay Garner as Vice Admiral Efram Asimov of the Earth Force. Also onboard was Thom Christopher playing the role of Hawk, a stoic birdman in search of other members of his ancient race. The revamp was unsuccessful and the series was canceled at the end of the 1980–1981 season.

Two novels based on the series by Addison E. Steele were published, a novelization of the 1979 feature film, and That Man on Beta, an adaptation of an unproduced teleplay.

Future films and copyright[edit]

Frank Miller was slated to write and direct a new motion picture with Odd Lot Entertainment, the production company that worked with Miller on The Spirit.^[28][29] However, after The Spirit became a box office and critical failure, Miller's involvement with the project ended.^[30] In 2015, the producer Don Murphy announced that he was with a film project of Buck Rogers, since the novella Armageddon 2419 A.D., however, this conflicted with the Dille Family Trust, which controls the rights of the franchise.^[31]

The Dille Family Trust claims copyright control of the Buck Rogers character,^[32] which others claim has outlived copyright protection and passed into the public domain.^[33][32] Don Murphy filed a suit against lawyers for the Dille Family Trust^[32][33] after they tried to claim copyright over a film he planned to create based on the 1928 book, Armageddon 2419 A.D.^[32] In 2017, the Dille Family Trust filed for bankruptcy.^[34][35] A judge ruled that the Trust handled intellectual property improperly, ignored court directives, and abused legal procedures during the bankruptcy. The judge supported appointment of a Chapter 11 Trustee,^[36][35] but later ruled that the Trust was ineligible for bankruptcy relief, and dismissed the case.^[37]

Web series[edit]

The Cawley Entertainment Company in 2009 announced it would produce a web series, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in association with the Dille Family Trust.^[38][39] The series was purported to be based on the original comic strip and shows how Rogers is propelled from World War One into the 25th century. It was to star Bobby Quinn Rice^[40] in the title role of Lucas "Buck" Rogers. Gil Gerard and Erin Gray, who played Rogers and Deering in the 1979 movie and television series, were set to appear in the first episode as Buck Rogers' parents, and Samantha Gray Hissong^[41] (daughter of Erin Gray) to play Madison Gale. A teaser scene with Gerard and Gray was released on YouTube in May 2010^[42]

Announced for webcasting on the Internet in 2010, the series never materialized and all references to it on the Internet Movie Database have been deleted. A May 4, 2011 article purported that the project was "dead", citing comments from Gerard and Gray.^[43] A Kickstarter crowd-sourced funding effort failed to reach its goal,^[44] and no official word as to the status of the project from the producers has been released since the Kickstarter effort.

Role-playing games and video games[edit]

Buck Rogers XXVC[edit]

In 1988, TSR, Inc. created a game setting based on Buck Rogers, called Buck Rogers XXVC. Many products were produced that were set in this universe, including comic books, novels, role-playing game material and video games. In the role-playing game, the player characters were allied to Buck Rogers and NEO (the New Earth Organisation) in their fight against RAM (a Russian-American corporation based on Mars). The games also extensively featured "gennies" (genetically enhanced organisms). The gameplay of the Buck Rogers - Battle for the 25th Centuryboard game by TSR dealt with token movement and resource management. There is purported^{[citation needed]} to be a single expansion for the board game called the Martian Wars Expansion, but it is not known if this was ever released.

Books[edit]

From 1990 to 1991, ten "comics modules" set in the Buck Rogers XXVC universe were published, entitled Rude Awakening #1 - #3, Black Barney #1 - #3. and Martian Wars #1-#4. These shared the numbering as a series issues #1 - #10 with issue #10 as a flip-book with Intruder #10. There has been speculation that two more stories were printed but not widely distributed.

Ten paperback novels set in the XXVC universe were published, starting in 1989[edit]

The Martian Wars Trilogy

The Inner Planets Trilogy

Invaders of Charon Trilogy

Also based on the game[edit]

Pinball[edit]

At the beginning of 1980, a few months after the show debuted, Gottlieb came out with a Buck Rogers pinball machine to commemorate the resurgence of the franchise.

Video games[edit]

In 1990, Strategic Simulations, Inc. released a Buck Rogers XXVC video game, Countdown to Doomsday, for the Commodore 64, IBM PC, Sega Mega Drive, and Amiga. It released a sequel, Matrix Cubed, in 1992.

High-Adventure Cliffhangers[edit]

In 1995, TSR created a new and unrelated Buck Rogers role-playing game called High-Adventure Cliffhangers. This was a return to the themes of the original Buck Rogers comic strips. This game included biplanes and interracial warfare, as opposed to the space combat of the earlier game. There were only a few expansion modules created for High-Adventure Cliffhangers. Shortly afterward, the game was discontinued, and the production of Buck Rogers RPGs and games came to an end. This game was neither widely advertised nor very popular. There were only two published products: the box set, and "War Against the Han".

Planet of Zoom video game[edit]

Sega released the arcade video gameBuck Rogers: Planet of Zoom (Japanese: バック・ロジャース：プラネット・オブ・ズーム, Hepburn: Bakku Rojāsu: Puranetto obu Zūmu) in 1982. Buck is never seen in the game and its only real connections to Buck Rogers are the use of the name and the outer space setting. It is a forward-scrolling rail shooter where the player controls a spaceship in a third-person perspective to destroy enemy ships and avoid obstacles.^[45] The game uses fast pseudo-3D scaling and detailed sprites^[46] which went on to influence the 1985 Sega game Space Harrier, which in turn influenced the Nintendo's 1993 Star Fox.^[47] In Japan, the game was known as Zoom 909 (Japanese: ズーム909, Hepburn: Zūmu kyū-maru-kyū), a title shared by the smooth conversion of the game for the Sega SG-1000 console.^[48]Game Machine listed Zoom 909 on their June 1, 1985 issue as being the thirdteenth most-successful upright arcade unit of the year.^[49]

Home versions were released for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Intellivision, MSX, and Sega SG-1000 consoles, and the Atari 8-bit family, Coleco Adam, Commodore 64, VIC-20, TI-99/4A, Apple II, and ZX Spectrum computers. An IBM PC version with CGA graphics was also available.^[50][51][52]

Later novels[edit]

Many of the later appearances of Buck Rogers departed widely from the original circumstances of the Han-dominated America and the hero from the past helping overturn that domination; Rogers in his numerous later incarnations was given various other past careers which did not include the Han. However, in the 1980s the original Armageddon 2419 A.D. was taken up again and authorized sequels to it were written by other authors working from an outline co-written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle and loosely tied-in with their bestseller Lucifer's Hammer (1977). The first sequel begins c. 2476 A.D., when a widowed and cantankerous 86-year-old Anthony Rogers is mysteriously rejuvenated during a resurgence of the presumed-extinct Han, now called the Pr'lan. The novels include:

Toys[edit]

The first Buck Rogers toys appeared in 1933, four years after the newspaper strip debuted and a year after the radio show first aired. Some mark this as the beginning of modern character based licensed merchandising, in that not only was the character's name and image branded on many unrelated products, but also on many items of merchandise unique to or directly inspired by that character. Of the many toys associated with Buck Rogers, none is more closely identified with the franchise than the eponymous toy rayguns.

The first "Buck Rogers gun" wasn't technically a raygun, although its futuristic shape and distinctive lines set the pattern for all "space guns" that would follow. The XZ-31 Rocket Pistol, a 9½-inch pop gun that produced a distinctive "zap!" sound, was at the American Toy Fair in February 1934. Retailed for 50¢, which was by no means inexpensive during the Great Depression, it was designed to mimic the rocket pistols seen in the comic strips from their inception. In the comics, they were automatic pistols that fired explosive rockets instead of bullets, each round as effective as a 20th-century hand grenade.^[53]

The XZ-31 Rocket Pistol, was the first of six toy guns manufactured over the next two decades by Daisy, which had an exclusive contract with John Dille, then head of the National Newspaper Syndicate of America, for all Buck Rogers toys. Most of these were pop guns, which had the virtue a being noisemakers that couldn't fire any actual projectiles and were thus guaranteed to be harmless as one of their selling points.^[54]

The XZ-35 Rocket Pistol, a smaller 7-inch version without some of the detail of the original that's often called "the Wilma Pistol" by collectors, followed in 1935, retailing for 25¢ and arguably offering less value for quintuple the initial price. Most consumers hardly noticed, because in 1935 the floodgates were opened and they had a lot choices. Both the XZ-31 and XZ-35 were cast in "blued" steel with silvery nickel accents.

The XZ-38 Disintegrator Pistol, the first actual "ray gun" toy and such an iconic symbol of the franchise that it made a cameo appearance in the first episode of the 1939 movie serial, as if to show that what the audience was seeing was indeed the Real Thing, debuted in 1935. It was a 10-inch pop gun topped with flint-and-striker sparkler using a mechanism, not unlike that used in cigarette lighters, cast in a distinctive metallic copper color.

The XZ-44 Liquid HeliumWater Pistol was produced in late 1935 and early 1936. Loaded like a syringe by dipping nozzle into a container of water and drawing back a plunger, it was advertised to be capable of shooting 50 times without reloading.

In 1946, following World War II and the advent of the atomic bomb, Daisy reissued the XZ-38 in a silver finish that mimicked the new jet aircraft of the day as the U-235 Atomic Pistol. By then, pop guns were considered old-fashioned, and even the Buck Rogers franchise was losing its luster, having been overtaken by real-world events and the prospect of actual manned space flight.

By 1952, Daisy lost its exclusive license to the Buck Rogers name and even dropped any pretense of making a toy raygun. Its final offering was a reissue of the XZ-35 with a garish red, white, blue and yellow color scheme, dubbed the Zooka. The Buck Rogers rocket pistol that had started it all 20 years earlier had been overtaken by the real world bazooka.

"Space guns" in general and "rayguns" in particular only gained in prestige as the Cold War "space race" began and interest in "The Buck Rogers Stuff" was renewed, but it was no longer enough to offer a futuristic cap or pop gun. A proper raygun needed to actually project some sort of ray if it were to capture the imaginations of would-be space travelers of 1950s Americans. Enter the era of the plasticbattery-powered flashlight raygun.

In 1953, Norton-Honer introduced the Sonic Ray Gun, which was essentially a 7½-inch flashlight mounted on a pistol grip. Pressing the trigger activated not only the flashlight beam (which had interchangeable colored lenses for differently colored "rays") but also an electronic buzzer. It could, therefore, be used as a pretend raygun but also as an actual Morse Code signal device.

This toy, and its successor, the Norton-Honer Super Sonic Ray Gun, was featured prominently in the actual Buck Rogers newspaper strips of the time, many of which concluded with a secret message in a Morse Code variant called the Rocket Rangers International Code, the key to which was available only by sending as self-addressed stamped envelope to the newspaper syndicate or the "cheat sheet" included in the package with the toy.

In 1934, a Rocket Police Patrol Ship windup red and green tin toy spaceship was produced by Louis Marx & Company with Buck seated in the cockpit holding a ray gun rifle. A second orange and yellow Patrol Ship was released the same year by Marx with window profile portraits of both Wilma and Buddy Deering on the right side and Buck and Dr Huer on the left side. Both tin toys are in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

In 1936, a line of Buck Rogers painted lead metal toy soldier three-inch figures were made for the British market. These were a set of six British Premium figures for Cream of Wheat and included Buck, Dr. Huer, Wilma, Kane, Ardala and an unidentified Mekkano Man Robot.

In 1937, Tootsietoys put out a six-piece die cast metal set of four 5″ long space ships and two 1.75″ tall figures of Buck and Wilma.

In 2009 and 2011, two versions of Buck Rogers action figures were released by the entertainment/toy companies "Go Hero" and "Zica Toys". The first is a vintage version of Buck Rogers as he appeared in the original comic strip. This 1:6 scale figure of Buck wears the 1930s period uniform including visor leather like plastic helmet and vest, a glass bubble space helmet, a red light up plastic flame jet pack, a mini gold colored metal XZ-38 Disintegrator Ray Pistol and a wooden slotted lid box with the limited edition number up to 1000. The second 1:9 scale figure is based on Gil Gerard wearing the white flight suit from the 1979 movie/TV series and also features a Tigerman figure.

In popular culture[edit]

Buck Rogers' name has become proverbial in such expressions as "Buck Rogers outfit" for a protective suit that looks like a space suit. For many years, all the general American public knew about science fiction was what they read in the funny papers, and their opinion of science fiction was formed accordingly.^[7][55] Another phrase in common use before 1950 was for deriding science fiction fans about "that crazy Buck Rogers stuff".^[56]

Such was the fame of Buck Rogers that this became the basis for one of the most fondly remembered science fiction spoofs in a series of cartoons in which Daffy Duck portrayed Duck Dodgers. The first of these was Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953), which was directed by Chuck Jones. There were also two sequels to this cartoon, and ultimately a Duck Dodgers television series.

Buck Rogers is featured in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster sci-fi movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). E.T. is inspired to create a makeshift communicating device (to 'phone home') by copying a Buck Rogers comic strip.

The Buck Rogers appellation has become a particularly descriptive term for vertical landings of spaceships, which was the predominant mode of rocket landing envisioned in the pre-spaceflight era at the time Buck Rogers made his original appearance. While many science fiction authors and other depictions in popular culture showed rockets landing vertically, typically resting after landing on the space vehicle's fins, Buck Rogers seems to have gained a special place as a descriptive compound adjective. For example, this view was sufficiently ingrained in popular culture that in 1993, following a successful low-altitude test flight of a prototype rocket, a writer opined: "The DC-X launched vertically, hovered in mid-air ... The spacecraft stopped mid-air again and, as the engines throttled back, began its successful vertical landing. Just like Buck Rogers."^[57] In the 2010s, SpaceX rockets have likewise seen the appellation to Buck Rogers in a "Quest to Create a 'Buck Rogers' Reusable Rocket."^[58] or a Buck Rogers dream.^[59]

The animated television series Futurama, created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen in 1999, was strongly influenced by themes and characters from the "Buck Rogers" comic strip, as well as many other science fiction books and films.^{[citation needed]}

Buck Rogers