Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979 - 1981 Inspired by the success of Star Wars, Universal began developing Buck Rogers for television, spearheaded by Glen A. Larson, who had a production deal with the studio. Production began in 1978. Initially, Larson and Universal had planned on making a series of Buck Rogers TV movies for NBC. The pilot for Larson's other science-fiction series, Battlestar Galactica (1978), had been released theatrically in some countries and in key locations in North Ameri