Plot; Buck is lured to a planet where he's asked to help free the people from the rule of an evil dictator.
A title like "Buck's Duel to the Death" doesn't leave much to the imagination. Kinda like Gil Gerard's costumes. He actually gets a cool one here. A black one piece jumpsuit number that wouldn't look out of place on Luke Skywalker or Han Solo (save for the thick tuffet of chest hair courtesy of Mr. Gerard). But then, for reasons only known to the Gods of 70s TV, Buck changes into an almost exact replica of Travolta's Saturday Night Fever suit for his "duel". The thing is so tight that it looks like Gerard was poured into it. Sadly it seems there wasn't any money left in the costume budget after splurging on those two getups, as the rest of the cast look like they're wearing recycled duds from Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.
The titular duel is against B-movie tough guy William Smith. Smith certainly cuts an impressive physical figure, with pecs and biceps even bulging from places other than his chest and arms, but with a gray wig that looks lifted from a corpse and his growly voice, Mr. Smith comes across less like an alien warlord and more like a tyrannical Jack Palance. In other words, like Jack Palance. The duel itself is pretty weak, with Smith's Trebor character robbed of his electrical zapping powers early on and Buck finishing him off with a series of beginner's level Tae Bo moves that probably tested the very limits of his costume's seams.
There's some fun to be had here, mostly of the MST3K variety, but what's wrong with that?
A title like "Buck's Duel to the Death" doesn't leave much to the imagination. Kinda like Gil Gerard's costumes. He actually gets a cool one here. A black one piece jumpsuit number that wouldn't look out of place on Luke Skywalker or Han Solo (save for the thick tuffet of chest hair courtesy of Mr. Gerard). But then, for reasons only known to the Gods of 70s TV, Buck changes into an almost exact replica of Travolta's Saturday Night Fever suit for his "duel". The thing is so tight that it looks like Gerard was poured into it. Sadly it seems there wasn't any money left in the costume budget after splurging on those two getups, as the rest of the cast look like they're wearing recycled duds from Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.
The titular duel is against B-movie tough guy William Smith. Smith certainly cuts an impressive physical figure, with pecs and biceps even bulging from places other than his chest and arms, but with a gray wig that looks lifted from a corpse and his growly voice, Mr. Smith comes across less like an alien warlord and more like a tyrannical Jack Palance. In other words, like Jack Palance. The duel itself is pretty weak, with Smith's Trebor character robbed of his electrical zapping powers early on and Buck finishing him off with a series of beginner's level Tae Bo moves that probably tested the very limits of his costume's seams.
There's some fun to be had here, mostly of the MST3K variety, but what's wrong with that?
