Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV Series) Twiki Is Missing (1980) User Reviews

Buck Rogers: "Twiki is Missing"

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 19 August 2017]

PLOT: An authoritative operator of a mining asteroid (John P. Ryan) kidnaps Twiki in order to dissect him and create similar drones to work in his mines. Three females with psychokinetic abilities are commissioned, the lead woman being Stella (Anne-Marie Martin), who is manipulated via threats against her son. Meanwhile, Wilma contends with a colossal chunk of frozen oxygen that threatens to destroy a third of the Earth.

COMMENTARY: The best part about this episode is Anne-Marie Martin as Stella, particular when she's wearing the jaw-dropping black outfit in the last act. It's also heartwarming to observe Buck's love for Twiki as his little friend and, later, Twiki amusingly piloting a vessel to rescue Buck.

Fun episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 15 May 2011]

Evil space mine owner Kurt Belzack (nicely played with huffy gusto by John P. Ryan) abducts Twiki so he can investigate the diminutive drone's unique circuitry and make cheap duplicates of Twiki to work in his mine. It's up to Buck Rogers (the always likable Gil Gerard in solid form) to save Twiki. Meanwhile, Wilma Deering (the ever-fetching Erin Gray) has her hands full dealing with a huge floating chunk of oxygen that could destroy most of the Earth's population if it veers off course. Director Sigmund Neufeld Jr., working from an absorbing script by Jaron Summers, relates the entertaining story at a steady pace, presents an engaging depiction of the warm and loyal friendship between Buck and Twiki, and further spruces things up with an amusing line in cheeky humor (the sequence with Twiki helplessly drifting around in space is simply hilarious). Anne-Marie Martin gives a sound and sympathetic performance as Stella, a charming and attractive young lady who helps Buck out. Striking beauties Bebe Louie and Eugenia Wright contribute plenty of sizzling sex appeal as two lovely, yet lethal psychokinetic babes. The usual ropey (not so) special effects, lovably crummy matte paintings, and a few ineptly staged fight scenes further add to the considerable kitschy charm of this enjoyable show.

Twiki is kidnapped

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 3 April 2022]

Mining Czar Belzack ( played by John P Ryan in his usual OTT style) kidnaps Twiki so he can replace human workers with drones but Buck isn't going to let him dismantle him. Which explores the fun relationship Twiki and Buck have. It's a good episode that has some neat special effects, at least for its time, and for the budget they had.

I won't be watching this one again in a hurry.

[BA_Harrison · 27 January 2008]

Despite featuring a trio of hot-pants/mini skirt-wearing psycho-kinetic babes (known as the Omni-guard), and including a hilarious scene in which Twiki escapes from a spacecraft into the vast coldness of outer space, this episode really doesn't have a lot going for it.

The dull plot sees Belzak (John P. Ryan), the nasty owner of a space-mine, attempt to acquire Buck's faithful ambuquad drone, with the intention of investigating his unique circuitry (ie. disassembling him to see what makes him tick). After Stella (Anne-Marie Martin), middle-babe of the Omni-guard, fails to convince Buck to sell his metal friend, Twiki is abducted and sent to Belzak's mine in a remote-controlled star-fighter. Naturally upset at losing his pal, Buck follows in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, Colonel Wilma Deering is having her own problems: a massive chunk of frozen oxygen, being escorted to Earth, is dangerously off course and threatens to wipe out most of the planet's population.

Twiki Is Missing is another one of those silly episodes that has two seemingly separate plot threads eventually merge, with Buck's adventure ultimately leading to him finding a rather convenient solution to Wilma's problem. A similar idea was used in the earlier Planet Of The Amazon Women, and that episode wasn't too great either! Whilst coincidence is occasionally acceptable, so many seemingly disparate elements slot perfectly together by the end of this show, that believability is stretched TOO far.

Adding to this episode's overall inability to impress is the unmemorable villain, far too much footage of Buck and Twiki running up and down corridors, and not nearly enough of sexy Wilma Deering, who, until the final scene, is only occasionally seen through the cockpit window of her star-fighter.

The Spaceberg and The Explosive Mines

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 1 December 2023]

Colonel Deering and her pilots are bringing a spaceberg of frozen oxygen to Earth. An ionic storm makes it begin to go in the wrong direction, and Dr. Huer and Dr. Theopolis study how to correct the trajectory. Meanwhile, the owner of mines on the asteroid Toros, Kerk Belzak, sees a riot of the miners and decides to replace the humans for robots. His operator Pinchas suggests to buy Twiki to disassemble, study its circuit and make duplicates to work in the mines. He sends his three security female guards with psychokinetic powers and Stella Breed unsuccessfully tries to buy Twiki, but Buck Rogers refuses. So, they use their power to steal Twiki and go to Toros. When Buck Rogers retrieves Twiki, the abduct him to Belzak exchange per Twiki.

"Twiki Is Missing" is an episode that follows the usual formula of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", with beautiful women in the cast. The plot is silly and illogical, but highly entertaining. When Buck Rogers is affected by the sound, he has a weapon in his hands but he uses Twiki instead. Stella tells the story of her husband and sonto Buck Rogers without any special reason. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Twiki Is Missing"