Time of the Hawk

Pt. 2 of Time of the Hawk sees Buck and Hawk teaming together to try and save Koori, the bird-man's wife, after she is wounded during a space-battle between the two men. The truce lasts until they get the woman to a healer (who is unable to save her life), after which the pair partake in a bout of fisticuffs atop a rock.

Eventually, Wilma arrives to escort Buck and Hawk (who have been rendered unconscious by the benevolent healer) to The Searcher where the bird-man must face trial for his deeds.

A satisfactory finalé to this first tale in the second season sees a fair amount of decent action (the fight scene on the rock is well choreographed and looks suitably dangerous), one of Gerard's best performances of the series, as Buck makes an emotional plea to the Galactic court to try and save Hawk's life, and Thom Christopher becoming a permanent fixture of the (short lived) show.

And there's no annoying know-it-all, tin-can Chrichton, or crap-voiced Twiki to ruin this part either.

The half-bird Hawk returns home in planet Throm with his wife Koori and finds his family and friends slaughtered by human pirates and promises to his god that he will kill every human he finds. Meanwhile, Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering and Twiki leave Earth to work in the spaceship Searcher that is looking for people that left Earth before the nuclear holocaust. When they see a derelict freighter in the space, Buck and Wilma find all the crew dead and the captain tells them that Hawk was the attacker. Buck leaves the Searcher to seek out Hawk and bring him to human justice. But the proud Hawk does not recognize the human justice and has a showdown with Buck.

"Time of the Hawk" is the first episode of the Second Season of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". Now Buck, Wilma and Twiki left New Chicago; Dr. Huer and Dr. Theopolis left the show; and Twiki changed his voice and does not chirp anymore. New characters have joined the show, including the boring Dr. Goodfellow and the interesting Hawk. However, there are no beautiful guest starlets in this first episode. The plot of "Time of the Hawk" is good and Thom Christopher seems to be a good actor. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Time of the Hawk"

PLOT: Buck, Wilma & Twiki are now aboard the Earth spaceship Searcher seeking colonies of humans who escaped to the stars from Earth's worldwide holocaust. Buck is commissioned to capture a vengeful bird-man named Hawk (Thom Christopher), who seeks retribution against the human race. When his wife, Koori (BarBara Luna), is seriously injured, he and Buck are forced to work together for her survival.

COMMENTARY: This first 2nd season double episode (97 minutes) is a mixture of good and bad; although, thankfully, there's more of the former. The laconic, but charismatic Hawk is a great addition to the cast of regulars and Luna as Koori is babelicious. She, of course, appeared in Star Trek's "Mirror, Mirror," but here she's less of a young female and more of a curvy whoa-man. The segment features several outside locations (e.g. Vasquez Rocks) and the sets & F/X are generally superior to the 1st season (about on par with the previous episode "Flight of the War Witch").

People say "Time of the Hawk," and the 2nd season in general, is "unrecognizable" compared to the 1st season, but that's a bunch of hooey. Yes, the format is different, but it's still Buck Rogers, Wilma & Twiki involved in space adventure. It's different, but not "unrecognizable." The tone is generally more dramatic than amusing, but it's not like the 1st season didn't have several dramatic episodes ("Awakening," "Space Vampire," "A Dream of Jennifer" and "Flight of the War Witch," to name some). Besides, it's not like "Time of the Hawk" is always deadly serious. Take, for instance, the first act with the absurd introduction of the irritatingly pompous robot Crichton, an unfortunate addition to the cast. Then there are the cartoony accouterments associated with Hawk and his Hawkship (or whatever it's called). Hawk, btw, is basically a knock-off of DC's Hawkman.

There are some obvious plot holes: Would someone as intelligent, advanced and cosmopolitan as Hawk (& Koori) really blame the ENTIRE human race for the dastardly deeds of SOME of the human race? Aren't the people of the planet where Hawk gets his vessel serviced human? And, if not, they look exactly LIKE humans, so how does he know with absolute certainty that it was Earthlings who annihilated his tribe? Then he tells how his bird-people ancestors escaped from Earth to the stars, but later states with certainty that he & Koori are the "last of their kind."

Other negatives include the inexplicable removal of the excellent Huer (Tim O'Connor) and his replacement with two okay-but-inferior characters, Admiral Asimov (Jay Garner) and the feeble, but likable Dr. Goodfellow (Wilfrid Hyde-White). The temporary change in Twiki's voice from Mel Blanc's low tone to Bob Elyea's kiddie one is curious and unnecessary (it would only last five episodes).

While "Time of the Hawk" is a solid episode in the series (with too much dramatic filler for my tastes), the 2nd season is generally inferior to the 1st season. It has its bright points, for sure, but it's overall not as entertaining, especially in regards to guest space babes (although Koori, from this episode, is top-of-the-line; as is Amanda Wyss from "The Crystals"). They shoulda kept the foundation of the 1st season and simply built on it, making an entertaining series better. Still, the 2nd season has several quality episodes (e.g. "Journey to Oasis," "Mark of the Saurian," "The Hand of Goral" and "The Dorian Secret"). "Time of the Hawk" is one of 'em.

I honestly think this is one of the best-written and -acted episodes in the series. Buck and Hawk forge a bond during their travel through harsh environment trying to save Koori. Hawk is sort of similar to an American Indian and has his own honor and nobility. Thom really owned the character and I have fond memories of watching the show back in the day. I can recommend checking out the blu-ray edition, it's remastered and pretty much movie-theater quality, well worth the investment. The show may benefit from a reboot at some point, but ZOMG Erin Gray is just ridiculously hot. It would be hard to find an actress that impresses me as much as she did unless they were able to get Vanessa Kirby for the role.

Buck and Wilma are crew members of The Searcher, a craft designed to travel the farthest reaches of space in order to look for the lost tribes of Earth (shades of Battlestar Galactica there, methinks).

Their first adventure aboard The Searcher begins when they discover a damaged freighter that has been attacked by a bird-man named Hawk, who has vowed to destroy all mankind after his people have been slaughtered by humans.

Buck is given the task of bringing Hawk to justice, but finds the bird-man a more than worthy opponent.

It is easy to see why Season 2 only lasted for 13 episodes: Buck (Gil Gerard) looks (even more) out of shape; there is much less in the way of camp humour and garish disco-fashion; the action has shifted from Earth to an exploratory deep-space craft (exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life, new civilisations, and boldly going where no one has gone before!), which limits the variety between shows; there is an annoying new character in the form of Dr.Goodfellow (Wilfred Hyde White), a bumbling old fool, and creator of Crichton, the most annoying robot in TV history (with the possible exception of Metal Mickey); and worst of all, Twiki has been given a silly voice!!!

At least Erin Gray still looks stunning as Wilma Deering (wearing a nifty little sailor style dress that shows off her gorgeous pins), but even she is not enough to prevent the show from rapidly becoming rather stale.

That said, once it gets going, Time of the Hawk is a pretty decent adventure to start the second season, with some nice FX, a decent plot, and the introduction of Thom Christopher as Hawk, one of the shows finest characters. Christopher and Gerard make great adversaries, sharing some fun space action (with Hawk's memorable bird-ship attacking Buck's star-fighter), and also squaring off against a gang of silly criminals.