Gil Gerard RIP
By 
I have been remiss in failing to note the passing of Gil Gerard, best known from his two season stint as Buck Rogers in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, a 1979 series that I watched back-to-back with the original Battlestar Galactica. I watched a few episodes a couple years back and it would be a strain to say “it holds up,” but the shortcomings of the show had nothing to do with Gerard (or his co-star, Erin Gray).
After Buck Rogers Gerard struggled, managing as a working actor while also battling a variety of addictions to drugs, alcohol, and food. None of that changes the fact that his performance as Buck helped cement my long-term interest in science fiction, an influence that I’d suspect I share with quite a few folks my age. It’s a shame that Gerard never got the chance (as did Richard Hatch) to parlay Buck Rogers into a significant late career role, but such is life. He will be remembered fondly by a great many fans of television science fiction.
The intro music rocked.