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In this episode of Fusion Patrol, John and Eugene analyze Season 1, Episode 15 of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, titled “Happy Birthday, Buck.” The narrative explores Buck’s existential crisis as he confronts his 534th birthday and feels a sense of nostalgia for 20th century Chicago. Next episode: The Invaders – VikorNext on Buck Rogers: A Blast for Buck & Ardala Returns Follow this blog on Mastodon or the Fediverse to receive updates directly in your feed.

Kenneth and Eugene explore the 1955 classic “This Island Earth.” Their discussion highlights Cal’s research, mysterious technology, and ethical dilemmas posed by the Metalunans. They reflect on the film’s pacing, special effects, and its commentary on Cold War politics, examining how its themes resonate with contemporary issues. They also discuss the film’s charm and its legacy in sci-fi cinema.

This week, Simon and Eugene look at the second episode of the second series of Real Humans. They discuss Chekhov’s robot grandfather, the Swedish electoral system, whether induction hobs are better than gas, and whether they would switch on digital replicas of their deceased loved ones. Next week: This Island Earth (1955)

In this episode Kenneth and Eugene analyze Season 1, Episode 5 of The Invaders, titled “Genesis.” A police officers encounter with an Invader loosing his human form leads David Vincent to discover a desperate Invader plan to save the life of a scientist key to their invasion plans. Next Week: Real Humans Season 2, Episode 2Next time on the Invaders: Vikor

It’s the episode everyone has been waiting for! John and Eugene review Space Vampire! They discuss the surprisingly effective direction of Buck Rogers’ take on the horror genre, the curious omission of the named “Dracula,” and they welcome the return of “Sexy Wilma.” Next time on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Happy Birthday, BuckNext Week on Fusion Patrol: The Invaders, Genesis

Not a movie, but a follow-up to our discussion of the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea feature, as we look at this television episode remake of the movie. Ben and Eugene examine the moral dilemmas faced by Admiral Nelson and Dr. Weber as they propose differing solutions to a catastrophic scenario. The discussion highlights key themes of mind control, ethical responsibilities, and the implications of leadership during crises. We draw connections to the original film, contrasting its existential threat with the episode’s localized crisis. Next Week: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century – Space Vampire

This week, Simon and Eugene look at the second episode of Real Humans, season 2, where they discuss the changes between the last season and this, or lack thereof, the loss of some of the interesting ambiguities, and whether there is a Swedish TV body count limit. Next Week: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: The Sky’s on Fire.

Dr. Markham escapes the Invaders, leading to a chaotic pursuit involving David Vincent and Warren Donaghan, who fears alien abductions linked to missing scientists. Kenneth and Eugene explore themes of friendship, skepticism, and belief in the face of the mysterious alien threat, dissecting the episode’s character dynamics and storytelling elements. Dr. Markham escapes the Invaders, leading to a chaotic pursuit involving David Vincent and Warren Donaghan, who fears alien abductions linked to missing scientists. Kenneth and Eugene explore themes of friendship, skepticism, and belief in the face of the mysterious alien threat, dissecting the episode’s character dynamics and storytelling elements. Next week: Real Humans, Season 2, Episode 1

This week, Eugene and John explore *Buck Rogers in the 25th Century*, Season 1, Episode 13, “Cruise Ship to the Stars.” They call out the awkward attraction between the 500+ year old Buck and the 19 year old Ms. Cosmos, critique the episode’s convoluted plot, humorously discuss Twiki’s romance, and ponder 2491’s beauty standards. Next time on Buck Rogers: Space VampireNext week on Fusion Patrol: The Invaders – The Leeches

In this episode of Fusion Patrol, Ben and Eugene delve into the 1961 Irwin Allen film “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” starring Walter Pidgeon and Joan Fontaine. The discussion centers on the USOS Seaview and Admiral Nelson’s desperate mission to extinguish a catastrophic burning of the Van Allen Belt, which threatens all life on Earth. They explore the film’s key themes, including the clash between reason and fanaticism, as well as character dynamics, particularly between Nelson and his crew. We also reflect on our personal experiences with the film, critique its scientific elements, and analyze the portrayal of authority during the Cold War. Next Week: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century – Cruise Ship to the Stars

In this week’s episode of Fusion Patrol, Simon and Eugene dissect the series finale of Bugs, focusing on the two-part episode “Money Spiders” and “The Enemy Within.” They argue over which of the many things Alex should have been fired for, they discuss whether the G5 is the chip Apple released five years after the show and why they didn’t use a Pentium chip to run a Windows program, and they talk about how Bugs went out with a whimper, not a bang, not even a single bang. Join the conversation and revisit the thrilling conclusion of Bugs with them this week! Next Week: World Beyond Movie Night looks at Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)

In this episode of Fusion Patrol, Kenneth and Eugene analyze Season 1, Episode 3 of The Invaders, titled “The Mutation.” The story follows David Vincent as he investigates mysterious phenomena along the Texas-Mexico border, leading to a life-threatening encounter with locals and ultimately, alien forces. Despite being undermined by those he encounters, including the deceptive Evans and Vicky, Vincent’s quest for the truth about the invaders drives the narrative. They discuss the missed opportunities for deeper explorations of alien culture and the complexities of Vincent’s interactions with Vicky, who reveals her own mutation. They raise critical questions about identity and emotional depth, while critiquing its execution, noting continuity issues and the lack of logical consistency. They dissect the themes of rationality versus emotionality reflected in the series. Peso notes: There was lots of confusion in this episode about peso->dollar exchange rates, so let me clarify some of the confusion.in 1967, when this episode aired, the Mexican Peso (MXP) existed at a fixed exchange rate of 12.5 MXP for 1 USD. That means Vincent gave the men $24 USD.Since then (in 1993) the Peso (MXP) has been replaced by the New Peso (MXN). The New Peso’s exchange rate floats freely on the market.For additional context, $24 USD in 1967 money is roughly the equivalent of $230-$235 USD today.Calculating what the money was worth in Mexico in 1967 is more difficult, but in the 1960s there were different minimum wages, which could vary depending on type of job and region. In some places, a laborer’s minimum wage could have been as low as 8 pesos per day. So for the laborers that took Vincent’s 300 pesos, that could have been a significant portion of a year’s salary for them. Suffice to say, he gave them a lot of their money, and not too terribly much of his own. Next Week: The Bugs two-part finale, Money Spiders & The Enemy WithinNext time on the Invaders: The Leeches

In this episode of Fusion Patrol, we explore “Escape from Wedded Bliss,” the twelfth episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The plot unfolds as a menacing space probe prompts the Federation to act, while Princess Ardala plots to capture Buck as leverage against them. Amidst a chaotic reception, Buck navigates Ardala’s royal wedding challenges, ultimately facing off against Tiger Man. We critique the episode’s pacing and examine Ardala’s character, blending humor with serious themes.Next week: The Invaders, The MutationNext on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Cruise Ship to The Stars Transcript Eugene: Hello and welcome to another episode of Fusion Patrol. I’m Eugene. John: And I’m John. Eugene: And tonight we’re looking at Season 1, Episode 12 of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Escape from Wedded Bliss. Episode Synopsis. An unmanned space probe enters Earth’s orbit and adopts a threatening posture. Heuer orders it destroyed. However, the Starfighter’s pulsars are ineffective against it. It fires off a massive beam weapon, strikes outside New Chicago. Clearly, it was a warning shot. Aboard a draconian flagship, Cain and Ardala discuss Emperor Drago’s orders to destroy the Earth with the weapon. Ardala, over Cain’s protestations, is making some alterations to her daddy’s plan. She contacts Hewer and demands a meeting with the heads of the Federation and Captain Buck Rogers. At the reception, Buck’s contamination of 25th century culture continues unabated as a roller disco performance tortures the guests. Addressing the delegates, Ardala makes her plans known. Soon, she will replace her father as Draconian Empress. To secure that throne, she must marry the most genetically perfect man in the galaxy. That man is Buck Rogers. If the Earth does not turn over Buck Rogers to her to be her husband, their weapon will destroy all the cities on Earth. Later, to Wilma’s surprise, Buck appears to be running away. She assures him that the Federation Council will not sacrifice him, and they’re working on a plan to get her aboard the Draconia, destroy the weapons. Buck explains that it is hopeless without knowing the interior layout of the Triconia and the location of the weapon’s controls. He continues his preparations. The deadline arrives and Dr. Hewer delivers Earth’s answer. We’re not going to give you Buck Rogers. Ardala leaves, vowing reprisals in an hour. Buck is ready to head out on his trip, but Tweaky also does not believe he’s running. Buck admits to him that it’s a plan and eventually gives in to Tweaky’s emotional blackmail and takes him along. As Buck and Tweaky travel across the atomic wastelands outside New Chicago, Ardala blasts a few empty buildings in New Chicago and then gives Dr. Hewer two more hours to hand over Buck. The Federation Council buckles and agrees to hand over Buck. On the Draconia, Cain is still upset that Ardala is defying the Emperor’s direct orders. Ardala explains that once she has Buck and they’re safely returned to Draconian’s base, she will send the weapon back to destroy the Earth. Buck has reached his destination, a cave where Garadon, a former Draconian engineer, hides. He was tired of the fighting, and Buck saved him and gave him a place to live. Now, Buck wants a favor from him. Technical layouts of the Draconia. Both Earth forces and Draconian forces have tracked Buck here, and a fight begins, which the Earth forces win. Buck and Garadon are taken back to New Chicago, where Garadon’s brain is scanned for details on the Draconia. It will take time to analyze. More time than they have. Buck leaves for the draconia and the waiting princess. Ardala, alone with Buck, explains the three phases of a draconian royal wedding. In phase one, they get to know each other and get frisky. In phase two, Buck must prove his worth in combat against Tiger Man. And in phase three, they are married, and Buck is given an irremovable neck collar that can kill him instantly if he ever displeases Ardala. Phase 1 begins, and as things get frisky, Buck pulls out a concealed device which puts Ardala to sleep. He escapes into the ship, where it is revealed that he has a secret transmitter on him. He contacts Huer and Wilma, and they give him the probable location of the weapon’s controls. Ardala is too light of a sleeper, though, and she awakens before Buck can get to the weapon. Alerting security, Cain soon has Buck subdued and returned to the princess. So much for Phase 1. Thinking Buck was just trying to escape, they proceed to phase two. Buck learns that he doesn’t just have to fight Tiger Man, he must either kill or be killed by Tiger Man. The fight goes precisely as expected with Buck defeating, but refusing to kill Tiger Man. When Buck puts down his weapon, Tiger Man pounces and tries to kill Buck. Again defeats Tigerman and holds a sword to his throat, still refusing to kill him until Ardala declares Buck the winner. As a show of good faith, Cain withdraws the weapon from Earth’s orbit and puts it in a defensive posture around the Draconia. Buck tries to rattle his cage, knowing that Cain, also an Earthman, harbors ambitions of marrying Ardala, taking over the Draconian Empire. Buck suggests he turn the weapon on Emperor Draco and seize power now. Cain simply replies that he only need to wait until Ardala inevitably kills Rogers. The wedding begins, and moments before Buck is fitted with the collar, he drops a concealed blacklight bomb, steals a weapon, and makes a break for the weapon control. Inside the control booth, which is impenetrable to Draconian’s gun blasts, Buck puts the weapon on overload, destroying it. The overload blast stuns Buck and throws him to the floor. Ardala orders Tigerman to grab Buck and bring him to her. Tigerman refuses and takes Ardala hostage instead until she agrees to let Buck go. Tigerman, his life debt repaid to Buck, stays behind to face punishment. Back on Earth, Buck shows that there are no hard feelings about Earth betraying him to the princess by preparing some soybean derivative split pea soup for his friends. The end. Okay. Escape from Wedded Bliss. What do you think? John: I like the bit about the split pea soup. Eugene: That was a long time coming in the episode. Like 45 minutes before we got to that. John: It was well worth it. That was some fine looking soup. Eugene: It was at least green. John: Yeah, it was. Eugene: It was green. I wish they had gone there with Twiki, you know, trying to see if, you know, he can’t digest food. He can taste. And then, you know, it’s like, how? I don’t want to know. Maybe I don’t want to know. John: Yeah. Who knows? Eugene: Maybe they pour it over the top of his helmet. John: Maybe they just stick his finger in it or something like that. Eugene: There’s a straw there yeah there. John: You go it was it felt like a filler episode kind of ambitious for a filler episode but a filler episode nevertheless the uh yeah. Eugene: I don’t disagree i i don’t disagree you know it’s the funny thing is i remember all episodes of buck rogers some more than others space vampire for for example but and i remember this one i remember buck having to fight tiger men and i remember but i remember the weapon and i remember princess ardala you know hot and heavy for buck as usual, but the rest of the episode i was watching this going i don’t remember any of this i don’t remember buck going out into the wastelands which are not very wastelandy and finding you know when i watched the opening credits and it said alfred rider was in it i’m like professor crater you know from star trek uh and a million other things nexus from the invaders and it’s just you know a guy you see all the time a very distinctive face i’m like i don’t remember him ever being in buck rogers yeah and barely in it he’s barely in it and yet he got no credit at the opening part and And then just a few, yeah, it’s really weird. Yes, it it it’s not just that it feels like a filler episode. It feels like they had to put in a lot of filler to make the episode into an episode. And I think that’s probably why it kind of rambles on. Do you know, there was a one minute and 44 seconds of roller disco. John: I was kind of hoping that you would time that because I definitely want to. Eugene: I didn’t want to either but i use the video beauty of video files and marking the time stamps at the beginning and end i didn’t watch it twice so i had to do that i you know scroll back there it is start from the end stop subtract this time you know it’s one minute and 45 seconds of roller disco and drooling looks between buck and ardala particularly yeah not. John: Not anybody else who’s in the the room with the roller skaters every all the humans in there look like they are absolutely bored. Eugene: Bored senseless yes the guy next to you are over there is just like yeah yeah you. John: Woke me up for this. Eugene: You had to you had to collect me to come to this meeting i exactly. John: This could have been an email if we. Eugene: Had email in the future yeah it’s like just give him buck oh he brought this roller disco stuff and and i might as well go right there to the roller disco stuff in the movie music was i mean it was still music but obviously it was very not funky right we have that whole sequence where everyone’s dancing in this sort of formal ballroom kind of performance and then we have suddenly buck going up and like come on guys you know get some funky You get some, you know, down and a thing. And then only Buck and R-Doll are the ones that can actually sort of move around. And then suddenly, roller disco? Oh. just pops it where it must be bucks doing either. John: That or maybe it’s there a touring troupe of roller disco the dancers from another colony someplace i don’t know. Eugene: I swear i thought one of them was owen wilson oh. John:

This week Simon and Eugene look at the Bugs episode Twin Geeks, and discuss their disappointment at the size of this episodes’s explosions, whether lawyers are as scarce as police in Bugs Land, and they lament the lack of eccentric British gauge collectors in this episode. Next week: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Escape from Wedded BlissNext time when we look at Bugs, it’s the 2-part series finale Money Spiders & The Enemy Within

In this episode of Fusion Patrol, the Kenneth and Eugene review The Invaders episode “The Experiment,” which features guest star Roddy McDowall as the son of an astrophysicist targeted by alien brainwashing. The discussion highlights the story’s strong Cold War influences, noting how the plot mirrors spy thrillers like The Manchurian Candidate by effectively substituting aliens for Soviet agents. Transcript