Gil Gerard of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century fame is making a return to the voice acting world. His last credited animation was in Fish Police and since then, the offers did not always appear. He’s open to returning to that scene in an interview he gave to the writers of Otaku no Culture contributing to Island Fantasy Convention, taking place in Victoria, BC in October 2015.
He teased at the fact that he plays “the main bad guy who gets confrontational with Optimus Prime” in an animated episode of Transformers. He did not confirm if that’s with either Robots in Disguise (at least 12 episodes is known to have been broadcasted in Australia) or Rescue Bots.
After the recording session, he said that he enjoyed getting back to voice work. “It was fun. They’re nice people and they are huge fans of Buck Rogers,” said Gerard, “I was happy to do the job and it was a very happy circumstance altogether.”
And this actor is showing signs that he’s not resting. He mentioned that he had a role in the movie The Nice Guys starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling (to be released in 2016), and although he’s retired, he’s certainly not relaxing. As an avid golfer, he does have the opportunity to relax. As a recognized poet, he may well be composing his next greatest masterpiece. But for those who are not in the know, he did reveal in a 2010 audio interview on Chuck Tomasi and Kreg Steppe’s Interface to Face plans on writing a Buck Rogers series of books which takes place after the movie. He wants to explore the possibility that everything this hero is experiencing is all in his head as he remains frozen in cryogenic sleep. This leads to a great piece of speculation because the song “Suspension” (sung by Kipp Lennon and co-written by Glen A. Larson) suggests the same idea. As the opening narration revealed, “Buck Rogers drifted through a world in which reality and fantasy merged into a timeless dream,” before the song began.
Maybe there’s a deeper meaning in the lyrics Larson wrote:
Far beyond the world I’ve known, far beyond my time
What am I, who am I, what will I be
Where am I going and what will I see
Searching my mind for some truth to reveal
What thoughts are fantasy, what memories realLong before this life of mine, long before this time
What was there, who cared to make it begin
Is it forever or will it all end
Searching my past for the things that I’ve seen
Is it my life or just something I dreamed (1)
Although Gerard does not recall the song (it was all done in post-production) vividly these days, the fans who want to make this connection will no doubt be thrilled at what this actor has in store. This writer is still working on it, but as with any good book, you can not rush through crafting a book, much less any kind of art. It will be done when he has a version that he’s happy with. Officially, he had no comment as to when this series will release.
