La Fenice

I saw the pilot movie Phoenix, which at the time was not intended as a series but the ratings were so high a quick option was picked up by the network to shoot the series. To my knowledge only six episodes of this series were ever aired. The two or three glimpses of the series episodes I did manage to see gave me the impression that the high production values of the pilot movie did not carry over to the TV show. I have followed the career of Judson Earny Scott since and am sad to say a man with as much talent as he does not seem to get many good roles.

Most people remember from his minor role in The Wrath Of Kahn. But he's been in a host of TV shows, including the pilot of "Mathew Star," he was also in "X-files" and various other pieces. Having met the man in person, which I did late in 1982 I can say that he is as genuine as the character he portrayed in the role of Benu from the movie and later series of "The Phoenix."

"The Phoenix" was a very good, very gentle series that was ended too soon. Judson Scott was perfect as Bennu, the man from the stars. Scott has a gentleness of spirit that suited Bennu. Regrettably, the production values of the series were lacking, and as a result, the episodes sometimes looked clumsy or cheesy, and I think this had a lot to do with the decision to cancel the series. After all these years, I still miss Bennu.

Bennu and his partner were put in a sort of suspended animation, set to awake at a certain time, and with the means to "catch up" to the current time. Unfortunately, his partner had already been taken by grave robbers, and when archaeologists opened Bennu's crypt, the technology that would have helped Bennu was destroyed. Then, Bennu had to run to avoid both the Peruvians and the Government agents, who both want him, but for vastly different reasons. As Bennu traveled, he met and helped many different people, always with wisdom and gentleness, avoiding violence.

Having seen "The Phoenix" from pilot to end, I truly wish that someone would put this exceptional, but short, series on DVD.

I loved this show. It was a long time ago, and I still remember some of it. They seemed to be putting a lot of ancient Egyptian and Mayan legends into it. The lead character, Bennu had special powers and he was searching for another of his kind. But the show was canceled before we ever knew if he found her. I think they were going for the archeoastronomy/space alien thing. It was great. I was really sad when it was canceled. There was so much more they could have done with this. It must have been good if I still remember it after all these years. The lead actor, Judson Scott went on to play Joachim in The Wrath of Khan. I hope this series gets remade, and I would love to see the original series on DVD.

A man comes to earth, whose power stems from sunlight. In darkness he is incredibly weak, but in sunlight, he has powers & abilities that defy logic. This was such a great show when it aired, but like many other sci-fi adventures of it's time, it was left at the wayside. If this ever becomes available on tape or DVD, I'd snatch it right up. Judson Scott was a great young talent. A must see for 80's SF watchers.

This was the greatest short-lived series of the 80s, and it holds up well even after nearly 25 years. Sure, it's cheesy but it really is a true classic. I was devastated when it suddenly disappeared from the air so many years again, and am glad I was finally able to see it again. Only 5 episodes (including the pilot) were ever made but every one of them is brilliant. According to the posting guidelines, I'm unable to provide a URL to where you can get it again on DVD, but let's just say that if you let Google be your guide, you should easily be able to find all 5 episodes for only 5 bucks somewhere on the net! Peace. Enjoy.