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[ 8 ] Return of the Fighting 69th
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| Season: | 1 |
| Date Aired U.S.: | Thursday, October 25, 1979 |
| Writer(s): | David Bennett Carren |
| Director: | Philip Leacock |
 Episode Synopsis
 "Some time before Buck's arrival, Wilma set out to capture interstellar gun runners Roxanne and Trent. A fire in their spaceship disfigured them both and the two set about their plan to take their revenge out on Wilma and Earth. Capturing a space freighter with 20th-century weapons in its hold, they plan to use the ancient, yet still toxic, nerve gas aboard to poison Earth. Buck and Wilma must destroy the villian's base, located deep within an asteroid belt. Only the retired 69th squadron, led by an old friend of Wilma's father, can navigate the belt, but she refuses to ask them, fearing that their advanced years may prove a handicap."
 "Gun runners named Roxanne and Trent plan to kill Wilma as part of their revenge for her capturing them years earlier, during which their ship had caught fire and disfigured them both. Their plans involve the use of captured 20th century nerve gas, which is still potent enough to destroy all life on Earth. As commander of the Defense squadron, Wilma must find a way to locate and destroy the gas, which is hidden at the gun runner's hideout inside an asteroid belt. She discovers that the only one who has knowledge of how to traverse the belt is the elderly leader of a retired squadron, the Fighting 69th. Although the pilot is willing to lead his old pilots through the asteroids, Wilma does not know whether or not she should ask him, believing that the age of his squadron may be too great to complete the mission."
Guest Cast
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Alicia (Katherine Wiberg)
Young deaf mute slave to Roxanne Trent and Commander Corliss on Necrosis 4. Alicia dreamed of reuniting with her parents on Earth after her 5 year absence. After the destruction of the base on Necrosis 4 in which she escaped, Buck Rogers tracked down her parents and they were reunited.
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Clayton (Robert Hardy)
Earth Defense Directorate starfighter pilot killed while foolishly chasing after a stolen freighter piloted by Commander Corliss into the Necrosis asteroid field.
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Noah Cooper (Peter Graves)
Member of the 69th Earth Space Marine squadron, retired. Cooper was called back into active duty to navigate the Necrosis asteroid field and bomb a base containing stolen nerve gas. Cooper had been forced to retire by Wilma Deering, Dizzy D as he called her, who thought him too old for duty. After the mission was successful, Cooper and the rest of the 69th were given back their silver eagles and reinstated to active duty.
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Commander Corliss (Robert Quarry)
Gun runner stationed in the Necrosis asteroid field on a base on Necrosis 4. Corliss steals a freighter from Earth containing 20th century nerve gas bombs from an old Washington D.C. arsenal, which were scheduled to be destroyed. Corliss and Roxanne Trent planned to get their revenge on Wilma Deering by dispersing the gas in the Earth's atmosphere. Deering had downed a gun running ship piloted by Corliss 3 years prior, causing Corliss' face to be horribly burned.
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Lucky (Lucky?)
Beloved canine mascot to the 69th Earth Space Marine squadron.
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"Big Red" McMurphy (Woody Strode)
Member of the 69th Earth Space Marine squadron, retired. Big Red was called back into active duty to navigate the Necrosis asteroid field and bomb a base containing stolen nerve gas. He had been forced to retire by Wilma Deering, who thought him too old for duty. After the mission was successful, McMurphy and the rest of the 69th were given back their silver eagles and reinstated to active duty.
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M.K. Schultz (Eddie Firestone)
Member of the 69th Earth Space Marine squadron, retired. Schultz was called back into active duty to navigate the Necrosis asteroid field and bomb a base containing stolen nerve gas. He had been forced to retire by Wilma Deering, who thought him too old for duty. After the mission was successful, Schultz and the rest of the 69th were given back their silver eagles and reinstated to active duty.
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Roxanne Trent (Elizabeth Allen)
Gun runner stationed in the Necrosis asteroid field on a base on Necrosis 4. Involved in a plot with Commander Corliss to steal a freighter from Earth containing 20th century nerve gas bombs from an old Washington D.C. arsenal, which were scheduled to be destroyed. Corliss and Trent planned to get their revenge on Wilma Deering by dispersing the gas in the Earth's atmosphere. Deering had downed a gun running ship piloted by Corliss 3 years prior, causing Trent's arm to be horribly burned.
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Eli Twain (Dan Sturkie)
Member of the 69th Earth Space Marine squadron, retired. Husband to Harriet Twain. Twain was called back into active duty to navigate the Necrosis asteroid field and bomb a base containing stolen nerve gas. He had been forced to retire by Wilma Deering, who thought him too old for duty. After the mission was successful, Twain and the rest of the 69th were given back their silver eagles and reinstated to active duty.
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Harriet Twain (K.T. Stevens)
Member of the 69th Earth Space Marine squadron, retired. Wife to Eli Twain. Twain was called back into active duty to navigate the Necrosis asteroid field and bomb a base containing stolen nerve gas. She had been forced to retire by Wilma Deering, who thought her too old for duty. After the mission was successful, Twain and the rest of the 69th were given back their silver eagles and reinstated to active duty.
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Westlake (Duncan McKenzie)
Earth Defense Directorate starfighter pilot killed while foolishly chasing after a stolen freighter piloted by Commander Corliss into the Necrosis asteroid field.
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Fan Reviews |
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Average Fan Review
  
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Reviewer: Mark Weller
Submitted: August 12, 2002
Peter Graves stars in "Return of the Fighting 69th," an episode where a group of old war heroes are brought out of retirement to help save the day. These characters are warm and amusing, and we get to find out a little bit of Wilma's backstory - for instance, that her father was a Starfighter pilot. We also meet some evil villains from Wilma's past that have vowed revenge. Nice to know the Directorate was still managing to defend Earth before Buck came along. The asteroid sequence is not as good as the Empire Strikes Back, but it cannot be called a ripoff - this episode made it to the airwaves seven months before the second Star Wars movie came out. It would have been nice to see the 69th fly again in another episode, but it wasn't meant to be. Schmaltzy at times, but eminently re-watchable. Four stars. I even like the dog.
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Reviewer: Susan Kite
Submitted: July 21, 2003
I like the way the episodes seem to be able to shift from Bondsian mayhem and camp to some serious stuff. While this is not an original plot, it is an excellent episode. We see a deeper, more serious side of the characters, some background to the 25th century BR universe and Wilma even gets to get one up on Buck.
Before Buck appeared, (yes, there was life before BR) Wilma had to try and stop a pair of gunrunners, Commander Corliss and Roxanne Trent. In the process the two baddies were horribly burned, at which time they swore revenge. Wilma also had the unenviable task of forcing a whole space marine squadron, led by Noah Cooper (Peter Graves, who is always good) into retirement due to their age. Although the two space pilots were close, this caused a good deal of friction, which carried over to this episode.
Back to the present, (so to speak)-- when the Directorate finds and then tries to destroy an ancient cache of nerve gas by transporting it off-planet, Corliss steals it and takes it to his almost impentrable asteroid belt fortress. In order to recover it, Wilma and Buck have to recruit the only person capable of navigating the asteroid belt... Noah Cooper.
This episode had some interesting moments. It was refreshing to see that the hero doesn't always keep his cool, (ie, Buck angrily berating Wilma for her decision at the beginning of the episode). This was an interesting voyage into the past and emotional angst of Wilma Deering, and Erin did a wonderful job. Another thing I thought interesting was the inclusion of the deaf/mute servant, Alicia. It seemed that this episode included several social oriented issues, (treatment of the hearing impaired, older citizens, those disfigured, although that wasn't treated as seriously since Corliss and Trent were the baddies.) I liked the sign language touch, and Buck's side-tracked Trent's 'iron' handshake. I also enjoyed how Wilma turned the tables on Buck in that 'do you want to dance' routine at the end of the episode. As much as I like the BR character, I do like it when someone gets a notch in their one-upmanship belt.
Maybe not quite five stars, but certainly more than four in my estimation. And I liked the dog, too.
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Reviewer: Scott
Submitted: June 24, 2005
Being a big Buck fan, I hate to say it, but this episode is a real snoozer and majorly cornball! The part where Buck tells everyone that he's getting Alicia surgery so she can hear again and Tweekie replies "That's niiiiiice"
is so lame! I cracked up!
The plot is pretty bad. Getting some senior citizen pilots that Wilma fired years ago to go on a bombing run? oh man!
Then, calling Wilma "Dizzy Dee," geez...
On top of that, the parts where Wilma cries are so hilarious, it's awful!
Skip this episode on the DVD collection, trust me! Goofy!
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