17. Awakening (Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, Season 1)
Most sci-fi fans know the story: a captain in the U.S. Air Force in 1987, Buck Rogers spacecraft suffers a life-support malfunction that freezes him in a state of suspended animation. It is not until 500 years later that Bucks ship is found and he is revived, discovering an Earth still dealing with the aftereffects of a nuclear war centuries earlier, as well as various threats from the intergalactic community. Not only does Buck have to navigate his way through this strange, new world, but he also must come to terms with the fact that everyone and everything that was ever important to him is long gone. Sounds like some pretty heavy stuff, but the series never took itself too seriously, instead allowing Buck (played perfectly with "nudge-nudge, wink-wink" charm by Gil Gerard) to relatively quickly find his footing in the 25th century. Consequently, the story could focus more on Buck showing these 25th century folks how to live a little. By combining all this into the feature-length first episode, the series informed the audience that as long as they continued to tune in, they would have just as much fun as Buck himself.