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[ 14 ] Space Vampire
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| Season: | 1 |
| Date Aired U.S.: | Thursday, January 03, 1980 |
| Writer(s): | Kathleen Barnes and David Wise |
| Director: | Larry Stewart |
 Episode Synopsis
 "He drains the living soul instead of blood, but no one believes that the Vorvon is responsible for the deaths on space station Theta, except for Wilma- the creature's next victim."
 "What appears to be a deserted derelict spaceship crashes into an orbiting space station that Buck and Wilma are on. Buck checks out the ship and finds the remains of the crew, whom he learns were killed by a vampire-like creature known as the Vorvon. Buck doesn't realize that the Vorvon is still present until personnel aboard the space station - including Wilma - begin to be taken over by the strange creature, who can control the wills of other beings."
Guest Cast
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Dr. Ecbar (Lincoln Kilpatrick)
Medical doctor aboard Theta Station. Ecbar studied the bodies of the crew of the I.S. Demeter when their ship collided with the station. According to the ship's logs, EL-7 was thought to be the cause of death. Ecbar was concerned with this diagnosis, due to the fact that the victims were not dead but rather in a state of cellular suspension. In reality, a Vorvon was responsible for their condition, and Ecbar himself was drained by the creature.
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Helson (Phil Hoover)
A bounty hunter from Cygnus 5, specializing in alien fugitives. Helson's family was killed in a shuttle accident. He vowed revenge on a creature known as a Vorvon, which he claimed was actually responsible for their deaths. Helson was killed aboard the I.S. Demeter by a Vorvon before it collided with Theta Station. His servo drone recorded the confrontation with the Vorvon, which Buck Rogers saw as proof of its existence. Buck found a power lock in Helson's room, which he used to ward off the Vorvon.
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Royko (Christopher Stone)
Commander of Theta Station, responsible for a crew of around 100. Royko endangered the lives of his crew when he refused to believe in the existence of a Vorvon, which was draining the souls of his crew. Rather, he explained the effects as the result of the virus EL-7, which is charachterized by fever and hallucinations. The Vorvon came aboard Theta Station via the transport ship I.S. Demeter, which collided with the station.
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Vorvon (Nicholas Hormann)
A space age vampire. A vorvon is a half dead creature that drains the living soul of its prey. It only appears in humanoid form to its intended victim. When the soul is drained, the victim is said to be in a state of cellular suspension. The only known way to ward off a vorvon is with a power lock. To defeat one, a tremendous overload of power is needed. Buck Rogers destroyed a vorvon that terrorized Theta Station by sending it into the path of a star.
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Fan Reviews |
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Average Fan Review
 
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Reviewer: Mark Weller
Submitted: August 11, 2002
Our heroes board a derelict space ship searching for clues to a mysterious series of events. Scary, huh, kids! And the evil force turns out to be a cross between Graf Orlok from Nosferatu and a creation of Dr. Frank-N-Furter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show! Delightfully over the top, but played straight by all the actors, "Space Vampire" delivers all its title suggests. Zombie hordes terrorize the space station and our heroes seem helpless. Wilma even turns into a vampire herself! Erin Gray's favorite episode, and a fan favorite as well. Buck Rogers at its most Buck Rogers-y.
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Reviewer: Eric Chmielewski
Submitted: August 14, 2002
Not only great Buck Rogers, but 45 minutes of thrills and chills as well. The blending of the sci fi and horror genres pays off here in a very creepy episode. High marks for great sound work and music, as well as the red plasma ball that hovers this way and that and under doors. Having a great claustrophobic feel, it's no wonder it's a fan favorite.
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Reviewer: Rebecca
Submitted: March 28, 2003
Now for a lot of fans this is a favourite but, for me it is my least fave. Buck and Wilma are on a space station that is being terrorised by a 'Space Vampire', who is turning the crew into Zombies and of course Wilma is the next prey. It seemed to lack enthusiasm, there could of been a bit more to it. A bit of a 'Vampire cliché'. Many will disagree with me.
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Reviewer: Nightstalker
Submitted: January 15, 2004
For a guy who wasn't scared of much as a kid, this episode scared the hell outta me. That Vorvon was and still is one of my top ten favorite SF creatures. From what I heard Dr. Huer saying, there is probably a few of those around the galaxy. Goes to show that there was a time that we didn't need 20 minute space battles, constant tittilation, and superbadass cool to keep our attention. Buck Rogers could be serious, silly, scary, and sentimental without falling into the trap of trying to be too many things to too many people. It was all in the atmosphere and the writing. The fact that I remember dialogue from an episode I haven't seen in 20 years says something about how cleverly writted BR was: "Helson...Van Helsing?" I'm sure he said that. "I feel like that Lazurus you told me about Buck." "You stand between me and something I want very much." A lot of the Buck episodes have dialogue I remember almost verbatim. And This was before they started writing SF movies with intentional fanboy bait catchphrase one liners like "there is no spoon". I remember no other lines from Matrix. I especially liked the beginning of the episode where we saw the view from the cockpit of the Demeter (another clever Stoker ref) and the command chairs from where we could just only see the tops of their heads from the back. Sorta reminds me of Alien when Buck and company searched the derelcit ship. Definitely one of the darkest episodes. When's this series to be on DVD?
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Reviewer: D. P. Cole
Submitted: January 15, 2004
This is definitely one of the highlights of the series, worthy of a 5.
Keep in mind that the series was written for kids in general (we thirty-somethings will know this firsthand) and that it had a knack of incorporating weird electronica-disco music in order to sound futuristic. As a result, this series definitely has a 70s feel to it (the best sci-fi tries not to look pegged to the time period in which it is made, unless the time period is relevant (e.g. "Sliders").)
Now to break down the episode itself:
In terms of atmosphere, this episode certainly has it. Most of the music tries to deviate from the typical disco twang in favor of invoking emotion, and certain scenes' scores add immensely to the situations involved, making this episode very creepy. Most notably when Buck is investigating the Demeter ship, and later when he and Wilma are attacked by the Vorvon.
In terms of plot, it's typical of Buck Rogers. Everything's spelled out, with little to figure out. Particularly annoying is the doctor's accurate diagnosis early on, having looked at the patients for maybe 5 seconds. But that's nitpicking...
One thing I liked was that nobody believed Rogers' theories, right up to the very end. While in other episodes, everybody gets jumpy when Buck offers some "crazy" idea but he proves them wrong, it's how the disbelief of the characters that's played out well in this story. And it's drawn out throughout the episode, instead of Buck bring proven right after 30 seconds. It transcends the usual "I'm from the 20th century and we thought differently back then so just trust me" schtick.
In terms of the acting, the regulars give wonderful performances - very atypical given the hammy nature the series generally presents. Especially Erin Grey, who proves that she is far more capable than she's given credit for by her critics. From beginning to end, she definitely holds her own, and when possessed by the Vorvon, she truly delivers. The guest stars vary in quality though, and that's typical for television and especially for throwaway roles. But the only downfall is the actor who plays the Vorvon. And that's only due to appearances. His costume, namely the headpiece, doesn't fit quite right and the actor looks too young (his face is too smooth and angled and that doesn't look right. He looks like a dehydrated Ferengi...) This appearance detracts from an otherwise creepy, worthy performance - complete with terrific voice modulation on the part of the special fx team.
Oddly, Twiki (the oddly-shaped droid we all love to hate) tells Buck to activate the recorder drone by pressing the button on the top left. Buck then presses the button on the top right.
This is probably my favorite episode of the series.
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Reviewer: Scott
Submitted: June 24, 2005
I saw this episode a million times as a little kid, and it always creeped me out! It was so cool!
As a previous reviewer said, this series was mostly aimed at kids, and I can watch this episode in my mind back at the time, and it spooked me!
I liked the eerie camera angles, the chilliness the Theta Station projected and the overall storyline was pretty good. I had fun watching it again as a grown-up.
It was scary without being tasteless. Cool episode...
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Reviewer: Ddreamer
Submitted: August 31, 2002
This episode had a few hints to what it was like for poor Buck to be stranded in so different a time and place. When he says he felt like he was hit by a truck and asked for an asprin, nobody understood what he meant. It leads one to wonder how much of our own language will survive. On the down side, this episode had one of things that break the sense of fantasy. There is a shot of Buck taking the tailsman out of his pocket. Maybe it's me, but I always figured that in 500 years they would come up with something better than a zipper!
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Reviewer: Susan Kite
Submitted: October 22, 2003
This was a good episode, one in which Erin Gray was able to really shine, alternately playing a woman frightened by something horrific and degrading, and then an evil vampire ready to victimize the innocent. The main vampire in question here is the Vorvon, a creature that sucks the life force from its victims, only appearing just before he attacks. Only Buck believes what the evidence is telling him, most of the others on the beleagured space station think that it's the manifestation of a deadly virus.
The twentieth century Buckisms were not over-played here, just enough to remind us of how out of sync, culturally, our hero is. Good writing, taut plot, very good acting, both on the part of the regulars and the guest stars. A winner.
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Reviewer: Rob LaVacca
Submitted: June 24, 2005
I remember being totally creeped out when I watched this episode when it first aired back in 1980. But then again, I was only ten years old.
It still holds up well today. My absolute favourite scene from this episode, or any BR episode in fact is the scene when Wilma and Buck go to the recreation centre on the space station and Buck goes to the bar to get a drink for them. The camera pans around the room and over to Buck standing at the bar. The camera then slowly pans back across the room and we see the Vorvon sitting at a far table, staring at Wilma. Very creepy!
Then there's the campy scene where the Vorvon and Wilma are discussing their future plans - it is delivered with such dead pan camp by the Vorvon, it cracks me up every time I watch it.
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Reviewer: Aaron Van Pelt
Submitted: December 27, 2005
My all-time favorite episode of Buck Rogers. I have this crazy idea that if they ever do a remake of this series they need to do this episode or a new one with another vorvon. It would be hard, though, to make an audience scream today when most of them have grown up with Fright Night, Creature Feature, Night Gallery, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. I would like to see them pull it off.
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