I was only about 6 when this show aired but I do remember it, almost like a fever dream. The medallion he wore always stuck with me. There was something about the “talismans” in some of these 80s shows that really captured my imagination. (the medallion here, the Omni in Voyagers!, all the cool toys on The Wizard).
Yeah, wow the Omni! That’s right. Man, Voyagers left a huge impression on me. So many wild shows back in those days that really fueled my imagination and stuck with me. That clip where the Phoenix is playing the Phoenix arcade game stayed in my brain all this time even though I probably only saw the episode once when it aired. I don’t recall the Wizard, but I was 17 by then and not watching as much TV. But wow, David Rappaport… I need to check that out! Thanks so much
FYI we address you comment and talk about Voyagers for a bit on the latest episode of the podcast: ua-cam.com/video/d239idqHRns/v-deo.html (direct timecode link) Thanks again Jonathan!
There was another VERY short lived series about this time where several members of a family and a couple ship's crew members shipwreck on an island. They find a guy who has powers, he uses something like a tuning fork to focus his mental energy and make things happen. Any ideas? Probably only went 4-5 episodes. FOUND IT! Fantastic Journey. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Journey
Judson Scott was also in an episode of STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION as leader of a planet where almost everyone was a drug addict (depressing episode) and he was one of the villains (not main but secondary) on the mid 1980s tv series called V. In V he was actually a REPTILE with a humanoid shaped body and Judson Scott's face was the fake skin mask that he put on to look human.
Cool, thanks! I definitely remember watching V, that was a big deal at the time, everyone at school was talking about that show. I'm sure I saw that TNG episode with Judson, I need to look it up. Cheers!
@@andrewharris7517 That's funny! On the next episode of the podcast I think we briefly confuse Future Cop with Super Fuzz, since strangely enough Ernest Borgnine was in both of those.
Lol!!! He was.. don't forget to do a podcast about that Watered down SHAFT Tv series... SHAFT is a personal hero of mine. Some kids had Batman and Superman I had John Shaft... Can Ya Dig it..
Man, good call. I'm kind of amazed that novel has never been adapted into a film or TV miniseries. I only read that book once when I was a teenager, but it has haunted me for decades. If they do ever get around to it, I think they should do it as a period piece set in the 1960s, since that novel had such a big impact on '60s culture... plus I just think it would look cool, and the retroactive slant might make it a little easier to "grok", if you will.
Boy does this bring back memories. I was about 21 and in the Air Force (stationed in Omaha Nebraska) when this aired. This show was my favorite from that period and man was I bummed that it only lasted a handful of episodes.
Thank you, for reminding me of the name of this old short lived TV show. Watched it when it first aired on network TV. I loved it because, this was at a time of "Ancient Astronaut" theory (great ancient civilizations being visited in Earth's past by advanced aliens). What, I recall about this TV show was that he, was suppose to be awaken in say the year 2,200 but the year 1980 was much to early. In addition, he was also pure ... so things such as air pollution had an major negative on his health (smile...smile).
Yes, I was recently re-watching the pilot and one of Bennu's first lines of dialog is complaining about the air pollution. You're right, this was the era of "Project UFO" and Leonard Nimoy's "In Search Of", Close Encounters and all that. Damn, now I want to go watch it again! Cheers 👊
I have been trying to get this series, I remember it from when I was a kid. Looking for his soul mate. This and another series hard time on planet earth. Loved this as a kid.
Cool! Wow, “Hard Time” is something I don’t remember at all, thanks for that. 1989 was kind of a lost year for me TV wise, I don’t even remember the Berlin Wall falling.
This show really captured my imagination when it aired in the early 80s. Erich Von Daniken was all the rage back then, and shows like this capitalized on his popularity. I wish there was a properly remastered version of this show, it would be so good to watch like that.
At my first comic con, I got into an elevator and Judson Scott was in it. I recognized him (The Phoenix had just started airing) and got an autograph. I think I still have it in a comic box somewhere.
Ah, of course. I've been wondering what the story was with why the Phoenix got canceled so quickly. Four episodes (plus the pilot) is so little, and it makes me think there must have been several episodes in the can that never aired... but if that were the case I figure they would have surfaced by now.
The world wasnt ready for it in the 80s, he was an Ancient Astronaut, ...can you even Imagine what they could do with this series today. ABSOLUTELY Loved this show was so sad it was not produced.
Cool, yeah I loved it as well. As I've stated in other comments here, it says a lot that the show stuck with us all these years despite only running 5 episodes. I do think Judson himself was a huge part of what made it so memorable. Who would you cast as Bennu now if it was rebooted? Cheers! And thanks so much for commenting.
I remember this show & the video game scene. I played that game myself as a kid, worth it. I managed to finally beat it last decade🥳. Better late than never😏. Thanks for the nostalgia.
Oh cool! Yeah funny I think that video game scene was the main thing I remembered about the show. Turns out that was the last episode that aired, too. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Other video games came along later like MAG MAX and DANGAR and TRUXTON and R TYPE that I liked better because one thing I love in a video game is if you can gradually gain more powerful weapons and more firepower and sometimes like in MAG MAX or DANGAR you get bigger making you more of a target but if you get hit you only lose one part. In phoenix there was not a progression like in some of these other games where you could gain more powers, it was set at one level. Some video games got "sequels" like R TYPE 2 and STREET FIGHTER 2 and some of the other versions of Pac Man and WW2 42 had a 1943 sequel with more airplanes and weapons but there was never (to my knowledge, please correct me if I am wrong) a PHOENIX 2.
@@Zurround I remember Dangar, never finished it but worth it seeing such evolve with each component on the way. The Phoenix video game was not so fortunate to get the chance to evolve, only 1 gun & force field...nothing more. Pac-Man has made some modern versions to this day, like the 4 player competition table that lets players eat each other😱.
@@noahpartic7586 I live near an entertainment center where other old games like Space Invaders, the Pac Man you described, and centipede are all for up to 3 or 4 players at a time working together on a giant screen. I am surprised that there are not more modern MOVIES based on old video games. A Phoenix MOVIE or a Space Invaders MOVIE would be fun. And I don't mean that movie starring Adam Sandler where all of the video games came to life but rather genuine science fiction that borrows nostalgic elements of the video games.
I was about 11 when this came out, and I developed an immediate and intense crush on this character. (That feathered hair! That brooding, outsider thing! Those weird eyes!) I thought the show was amazing and I'd rush to make sure I was in front of the tv in time. I was totally baffled when it just suddenly disappeared. Why would any tv exec cancel an obvious masterpiece like The Phoenix? That was crazy! Every now and then, I still remember it and wonder if it's possible to watch an episode.
The first SF stories I ever wrote were Phoenix fan fiction. They might still be out there somewhere. I always riffed on the pilot, cause I liked it better than the series--I had no use for Mira!
Wow, cool! Would love to hear the stories you came up with. As we've discussed on the show, it was a great concept, just not executed very well. I agree with you about Mira... seems like such a bland Hollywood thing, introducing a romantic trope to make something more relatable. Cheers Linda 👊
@@prodigioussaps Yeah, I wish I still had them. The one I was most proud of flashed back to Bennu and his family arriving in ancient Peru (it was not a Mayan tomb;the Mayans were in Central America) thousands of years ago. I made it clear that the Nazca lines were not made by the aliens: they were made by the locals to welcome the visitors and show them where to land. (That's visitors with a small "v" here! 😁) My sister got me books on pre-Inca civilizations from her college library, and I think I did more research than the show's creators!
Whoa! This is an 80’s show I only recently heard about. I vaguely remember stuff like “The Powers of Mathew Star”, “The Misfits of Science”, “Otherworld”, and “Outlaws”, and I remember “V”, “Automan”, and even “Manimal” pretty well. But this one is an enigma to me. It looked pretty weird for a prime time show even in the 80’s.
Well to be fair, with only 5 episodes it was an easy one to miss. That’s a great list of shows, too, some of which we’ve talked about on the podcast. Cheers Derek!
I don't remember this show, but as you said it only lasted 5-episodes. Now, I do remember when I saw the actor in "Wrath of Khan" that I remembered him form somewhere? Otherwise, would've been great as a Adam Warlock TV Series. The actor looks like him and everything, maybe Warlock was their inspiration?
Ha, yes! The Adam Warlockishness of Judson Scott was mentioned by @thehouseofnaztrodamus2928 a couple weeks ago and we discussed it in the last podcast episode. Great observation.
@@prodigioussaps Oh, great! I would definitely love to see that episode, and will look for it soon as time permits. That's awesome that someone else made the Warlock observation. I loved both Warlock and the Killraven (War of the Worlds) comics. They along with Captain Marvel featured Marvel Comics best art work ever!
I remember one episode, the one with the video game. It's the only episode I saw and I started telling my parents they should buy me a video game console because it would improve my "hand-eye coordination". Which didn't work. But what I really remember was hearing some rural minister on AM radio explaining how this show was part of a shadowy conspiracy to control our minds through "the Satanic power of the triangle". It had already been cancelled at that point and even very young me thought, well, if there's really some conspiracy whoever's in charge of it is doing a lousy job!
Awesome. Yeah the video game episode was really the main thing I remembered, and that line “You just gotta BECOME the machine” stuck with me all these years even though I’m sure I only saw it once when it aired. That’s crazy about the conspiracy theory stuff, but doesn’t surprise me at all. Cheers man, and thanks so much for commenting and subbing. 👊
@Prodigious Saps I dunno for sure, sounds like him to me, and he was doing commercial voice overs at the time. I like the story, so I'm just going to go with it! Lol
Holy smokes, did I just have a big time flash back! I had completely forgotten about this until right now. There was a dearth a sci-fi back in those days and honestly, networks had absolutely no idea how to handle things when they did start something, (I give you both seasons of Battlestar, Buck Rogers, the Planet of the Apes TV series, among others). Imho, from what I remember of this show, it was as always, bad writing that did it in.
Totally agree, in retrospect of course. As a kid at the time I couldn’t get enough of this stuff. But in rewatching the Phoenix pilot last night, I was mainly struck by how hilariously languid the performances are. They’ve just found a living person in a 1000-year old sarcophagus and their line readings sound more like they’re chatting about last night’s football game. So I think direction was a problem as well.
@@prodigioussaps Yes, finding a competent director and producer was definitely a problem. Star Trek and the initial episodes of UFO and Space:1999 were good because they found people who were competent enough, even passionate enough, to pull off the job. They also had excellent writers. The stigma back then was, serious directors, et al, didn't get involved with this geeky, Saturday morning kid stuff. Tbh, it's only been within maybe the last 15 years that this stigma has disappeared. As for the acting, well, sometimes they kind of just phoned it in, lol. What a pity they didn't have the brains to do better back in those days. What could've been.... Great stuff!
You're absolutely right... Gene Roddenberry himself was a rare breed who had to fight tooth and nail to keep that ship afloat, and he knew enough to hire the best sci-fi writers he could find. After that we were lucky to have people like Kubrick, Nicholas Meyer, Ridley Scott and the like to push the genre forward. But they all had to fight for it. I'm grateful they did.
You're absolutely right about the dearth of sci-fi and fantasy. For years I religiously watched any kind of show of those genres that aired because of how rare they were. I developed a nigh invulnerable tolerance for bad sci-fi TV that seemed to become stronger the worse the show was. At this point mediocre sci-fi is my kryptonite. It took years for my family to finally get cable, but once they did I practically OD'ed on shows like Farscape.
@@zkeletonz001 I understand. Like you, I watched what shows I could, up to and including The War of the Worlds, the TV series, (which came out of the gate hot but quickly fizzled), among other things.
I watched Phoenix as a teen. The production was ok, except I remember one episode where the actress was supposed to be dead or something, with eyes closed. But when the camera was on her face again, she opened her eyes for a second, looked right at the camera, then closed eyes. Oops. How the heck did they miss that edit before release?
That's hilarious, I'm going to have to see if I can find the scene you're talking about. I want to say that's ringing a dim bill in my middle-aged brain.
@@prodigioussaps ... Yes, I was watching that with my brother in 1981 & even he noticed it. I am pretty sure it was a Phoenix episode. Never watched it since, that show never repeated either, I don't think. And Judson is still alive & kicking, & afaik still rocking the same hairstyle after 4 decades.
Cool! Well, all the episodes are on UA-cam now, and fortunately there's only 5 of them to sift through. Yeah, Judson kinda looks like an aging martial arts sensai now.
In STAR MAN (filmed a little later than The Phoenix) the main character, a space alien that looked human mastered BILLIARDS so quickly that the redneck @$$H0L3$ in the bar thought he was a hustler and tried to beat him up but of course he had lightning fast reflexes and greater than human strength so that did not go well either. In PHOENIX it was a video game. Seems whenever you have a space alien taking human form they have to very quickly master something that would take a human years to show how "superior" they are.
@@prodigioussaps My nerd wet dream fantasy is for Star Man, The Phoenix and MATTHEW STAR (The Powers of Matthew Star) to all be in the same "fictional universe" together since the stories are similar, alien people with special powers that are not virtually invincible like Superman. Imagine them all meeting each other and becoming like a superhero team ahahahahahha.
@@prodigioussaps Matthew Starr would be like the "Superman" of the group from a literary standpoint since he seemed to have the most amazing powers, mainly because he had whatever "power" the script writer wanted at any given moment. I am not sure whose alien abilities are superior between the Phoenix and Starman though.
I was only about 6 when this show aired but I do remember it, almost like a fever dream. The medallion he wore always stuck with me. There was something about the “talismans” in some of these 80s shows that really captured my imagination. (the medallion here, the Omni in Voyagers!, all the cool toys on The Wizard).
Yeah, wow the Omni! That’s right. Man, Voyagers left a huge impression on me. So many wild shows back in those days that really fueled my imagination and stuck with me.
That clip where the Phoenix is playing the Phoenix arcade game stayed in my brain all this time even though I probably only saw the episode once when it aired. I don’t recall the Wizard, but I was 17 by then and not watching as much TV. But wow, David Rappaport… I need to check that out! Thanks so much
FYI we address you comment and talk about Voyagers for a bit on the latest episode of the podcast: ua-cam.com/video/d239idqHRns/v-deo.html (direct timecode link)
Thanks again Jonathan!
There was another VERY short lived series about this time where several members of a family and a couple ship's crew members shipwreck on an island. They find a guy who has powers, he uses something like a tuning fork to focus his mental energy and make things happen. Any ideas? Probably only went 4-5 episodes.
FOUND IT! Fantastic Journey. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Journey
Judson Scott was also in an episode of STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION as leader of a planet where almost everyone was a drug addict (depressing episode) and he was one of the villains (not main but secondary) on the mid 1980s tv series called V. In V he was actually a REPTILE with a humanoid shaped body and Judson Scott's face was the fake skin mask that he put on to look human.
Cool, thanks! I definitely remember watching V, that was a big deal at the time, everyone at school was talking about that show. I'm sure I saw that TNG episode with Judson, I need to look it up. Cheers!
I remember, it was great!
Cheers! 👊
I watched this series when it aired... I'm So old.... 50 today. I thought it was cool.... was mad it ended. I was 8.
Me too... everything you said, except I was 12 - and I turn 54 today! Cheers Brian 👊
Hey you're not alone there, I'm 52 and remember this show, was fascinated by it.
Very cool!
I remember this show!!!!
Cool! Crazy, right?
Dig it.. I loved that show!!! The main character's name was" Benu"... Dig it Remember Future Cop with John Amos and Ernest Borgnine...
Dig it The main Character's name was "Benu" Remember Future Cop with John Amos and Ernest Borgnine...
@@andrewharris7517 That's funny! On the next episode of the podcast I think we briefly confuse Future Cop with Super Fuzz, since strangely enough Ernest Borgnine was in both of those.
Lol!!! He was.. don't forget to do a podcast about that Watered down SHAFT Tv series... SHAFT is a personal hero of mine. Some kids had Batman and Superman I had John Shaft... Can Ya Dig it..
I remember this show. I loved it. The theme song is beautiful.
Yes, it is! Cheers
I recall the show. I liked it. I recognized that guy in Wrath of Khan the next year.
With you on all counts. Cheers
I used to have a similar magic medallion. It had the supernatural power of helping me get beaten up and bullied everytime I wore it at school.
Yeesh. Did it glow at least?
I always thought Judson Scott would have made a perfect Valentine Michael Smith, if they'd made a _Stranger in a Strange Land_ movie in the 1980s...
Man, good call. I'm kind of amazed that novel has never been adapted into a film or TV miniseries. I only read that book once when I was a teenager, but it has haunted me for decades. If they do ever get around to it, I think they should do it as a period piece set in the 1960s, since that novel had such a big impact on '60s culture... plus I just think it would look cool, and the retroactive slant might make it a little easier to "grok", if you will.
FYI, we addressed your comment in the latest episode the podcast (link to timecode): ua-cam.com/video/d239idqHRns/v-deo.html
Thanks again! Great idea.
I loved the show! I wish it was on tv , at least 5 years !
Cool! I’m thrilled to see how many people remember this show. Cheers
Boy does this bring back memories. I was about 21 and in the Air Force (stationed in Omaha Nebraska) when this aired. This show was my favorite from that period and man was I bummed that it only lasted a handful of episodes.
Oh cool! Yeah I remember feeling the same way. Cheers 👊
Thank you, for reminding me of the name of this old short lived TV show. Watched it when it first aired on network TV. I loved it because, this was at a time of "Ancient Astronaut" theory (great ancient civilizations being visited in Earth's past by advanced aliens). What, I recall about this TV show was that he, was suppose to be awaken in say the year 2,200 but the year 1980 was much to early. In addition, he was also pure ... so things such as air pollution had an major negative on his health (smile...smile).
Yes, I was recently re-watching the pilot and one of Bennu's first lines of dialog is complaining about the air pollution. You're right, this was the era of "Project UFO" and Leonard Nimoy's "In Search Of", Close Encounters and all that. Damn, now I want to go watch it again! Cheers 👊
The best part about this show is that it felt like an episode of "In Search Of..." with Leonard Nimoy. It certainly came from the same era.
Indeed! I loved that show, too. Cheers
Absolutely loved this show! It was a family favorite
Cool! I love to hear how many people remember this show so fondly. Cheers.
Was my mothers favourite show.. He was Called Benu
It was one of mine favorite TV shows as well (smile...smile).
Thats good stuff right there!
Cheers Grant!
I remember watching this, I remember wanting it to be good, I remember it not being
That sums it up pretty well. Cheers!
I have been trying to get this series, I remember it from when I was a kid. Looking for his soul mate. This and another series hard time on planet earth. Loved this as a kid.
Cool! Wow, “Hard Time” is something I don’t remember at all, thanks for that. 1989 was kind of a lost year for me TV wise, I don’t even remember the Berlin Wall falling.
I remember that show, and I always call him the Phoenix guy, too.
I'm glad I'm not alone. Cheers 👊
If only THE PHOENIX met........................ Starman.
HELL yes, sign me up for that! Man, young 1980s Jeff Bridges at his best. That and the original TRON are two of my favorites from that era.
This show really captured my imagination when it aired in the early 80s. Erich Von Daniken was all the rage back then, and shows like this capitalized on his popularity. I wish there was a properly remastered version of this show, it would be so good to watch like that.
It would be nice to see it remastered, definitely. Cheers 👊
I remember that show
At my first comic con, I got into an elevator and Judson Scott was in it. I recognized him (The Phoenix had just started airing) and got an autograph. I think I still have it in a comic box somewhere.
Oh wow! Had Wrath of Khan come out yet at that point?
@@prodigioussaps Not yet. Phoenix was still on TV, which is why I recognized him. Khan came out a few months later.
Ah, of course. I've been wondering what the story was with why the Phoenix got canceled so quickly. Four episodes (plus the pilot) is so little, and it makes me think there must have been several episodes in the can that never aired... but if that were the case I figure they would have surfaced by now.
He was one of the greatest actors of all time for the specific type of role of being the main villain's 2nd in command in a science fiction movie.
The world wasnt ready for it in the 80s, he was an Ancient Astronaut, ...can you even Imagine what they could do with this series today. ABSOLUTELY Loved this show was so sad it was not produced.
Cool, yeah I loved it as well. As I've stated in other comments here, it says a lot that the show stuck with us all these years despite only running 5 episodes.
I do think Judson himself was a huge part of what made it so memorable. Who would you cast as Bennu now if it was rebooted?
Cheers! And thanks so much for commenting.
I remember this show. I only watched one episode.
Cool! You didn’t miss much. Crazy how memorable this was for such a short-lived show.
Showboat. Man, what a blast from the past show.
Yes! And points for watching to the end. 👊
I remember this show & the video game scene. I played that game myself as a kid, worth it. I managed to finally beat it last decade🥳. Better late than never😏.
Thanks for the nostalgia.
Oh cool! Yeah funny I think that video game scene was the main thing I remembered about the show. Turns out that was the last episode that aired, too. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@prodigioussaps No prob. Too bad the series had a short life though😞.
Other video games came along later like MAG MAX and DANGAR and TRUXTON and R TYPE that I liked better because one thing I love in a video game is if you can gradually gain more powerful weapons and more firepower and sometimes like in MAG MAX or DANGAR you get bigger making you more of a target but if you get hit you only lose one part. In phoenix there was not a progression like in some of these other games where you could gain more powers, it was set at one level. Some video games got "sequels" like R TYPE 2 and STREET FIGHTER 2 and some of the other versions of Pac Man and WW2 42 had a 1943 sequel with more airplanes and weapons but there was never (to my knowledge, please correct me if I am wrong) a PHOENIX 2.
@@Zurround I remember Dangar, never finished it but worth it seeing such evolve with each component on the way. The Phoenix video game was not so fortunate to get the chance to evolve, only 1 gun & force field...nothing more.
Pac-Man has made some modern versions to this day, like the 4 player competition table that lets players eat each other😱.
@@noahpartic7586 I live near an entertainment center where other old games like Space Invaders, the Pac Man you described, and centipede are all for up to 3 or 4 players at a time working together on a giant screen. I am surprised that there are not more modern MOVIES based on old video games. A Phoenix MOVIE or a Space Invaders MOVIE would be fun. And I don't mean that movie starring Adam Sandler where all of the video games came to life but rather genuine science fiction that borrows nostalgic elements of the video games.
I was about 11 when this came out, and I developed an immediate and intense crush on this character. (That feathered hair! That brooding, outsider thing! Those weird eyes!) I thought the show was amazing and I'd rush to make sure I was in front of the tv in time. I was totally baffled when it just suddenly disappeared. Why would any tv exec cancel an obvious masterpiece like The Phoenix? That was crazy! Every now and then, I still remember it and wonder if it's possible to watch an episode.
I was 10 when The Phoenix came out and had the biggest crush on the blonde hunk (Judson Scott). He took his shirt off every episode!!! Yes!!! LOL
Man those were good years 👌
Indeed! Cheers Howard
Solar powered amulet ... that was all that I could remember.
Still impressive for a show that only ran five episodes over 40 years ago!
He was also in V, the TV Series spinoff from the V the Final Battle mini series.
That's right - I've been meaning to rewatch V, it's come up in the comments a few times. That was a such a big deal when it came out.
The first SF stories I ever wrote were Phoenix fan fiction. They might still be out there somewhere. I always riffed on the pilot, cause I liked it better than the series--I had no use for Mira!
Wow, cool! Would love to hear the stories you came up with. As we've discussed on the show, it was a great concept, just not executed very well. I agree with you about Mira... seems like such a bland Hollywood thing, introducing a romantic trope to make something more relatable. Cheers Linda 👊
@@prodigioussaps Yeah, I wish I still had them. The one I was most proud of flashed back to Bennu and his family arriving in ancient Peru (it was not a Mayan tomb;the Mayans were in Central America) thousands of years ago. I made it clear that the Nazca lines were not made by the aliens: they were made by the locals to welcome the visitors and show them where to land. (That's visitors with a small "v" here! 😁) My sister got me books on pre-Inca civilizations from her college library, and I think I did more research than the show's creators!
Whoa! This is an 80’s show I only recently heard about. I vaguely remember stuff like “The Powers of Mathew Star”, “The Misfits of Science”, “Otherworld”, and “Outlaws”, and I remember “V”, “Automan”, and even “Manimal” pretty well. But this one is an enigma to me. It looked pretty weird for a prime time show even in the 80’s.
Well to be fair, with only 5 episodes it was an easy one to miss. That’s a great list of shows, too, some of which we’ve talked about on the podcast. Cheers Derek!
MeTV ran The Powers of Mathew Star about a year ago. I watched every episode. They're almost unbearably bad, but so fun.
Never heard of that channel. I guess there’s things even Tubi won’t touch.
@@derekp308 It's an American channel that plays all old shows. I think we here on the west coast of Canada get it from Seattle. What's Tubi?
I don't remember this show, but as you said it only lasted 5-episodes. Now, I do remember when I saw the actor in "Wrath of Khan" that I remembered him form somewhere? Otherwise, would've been great as a Adam Warlock TV Series. The actor looks like him and everything, maybe Warlock was their inspiration?
Ha, yes! The Adam Warlockishness of Judson Scott was mentioned by @thehouseofnaztrodamus2928 a couple weeks ago and we discussed it in the last podcast episode. Great observation.
@@prodigioussaps Oh, great! I would definitely love to see that episode, and will look for it soon as time permits. That's awesome that someone else made the Warlock observation. I loved both Warlock and the Killraven (War of the Worlds) comics. They along with Captain Marvel featured Marvel Comics best art work ever!
@@cbond1c113 Cool! Sorry, should have given you the link: ua-cam.com/video/d239idqHRns/v-deo.html
@@prodigioussaps Thank you sooo much, because I still hadn't found the time to look for it yet. You guys are the greatest!
now if Only i Could Find the TV show on DVD Without it Being Taped off TV with a Horrible Picture...
I know right? It’s a shame it’s so hard to find.
Judson Scott's character in Star Trek 2 The Wraith of Kahn was called Joaquin but Ricardo pronounced it Joe chin!!!!!
My mom had a thing for this guy. 😂
Ha! Your mom was cool. Cheers Ryan 👊
His name in Wrath of Khan was "Joaquin".
And he was on this show called "Phoenix".
Mind blown...or something.
Ha! It's like a double rainbow... what's it meannnn??
Cheers, thanks for that
I remember going to Wrath of Khan and thinking "he's the Phoenix guy"...
That was the appropriate response 👊
@@prodigioussaps as I was typing ( swiping?) It, you were saying the EXACT THING I WAS THINKING oh so many years ago.
Haaa! It’s in our VEINS, man! That’s so cool.
I remember one episode, the one with the video game. It's the only episode I saw and I started telling my parents they should buy me a video game console because it would improve my "hand-eye coordination". Which didn't work. But what I really remember was hearing some rural minister on AM radio explaining how this show was part of a shadowy conspiracy to control our minds through "the Satanic power of the triangle". It had already been cancelled at that point and even very young me thought, well, if there's really some conspiracy whoever's in charge of it is doing a lousy job!
Awesome. Yeah the video game episode was really the main thing I remembered, and that line “You just gotta BECOME the machine” stuck with me all these years even though I’m sure I only saw it once when it aired. That’s crazy about the conspiracy theory stuff, but doesn’t surprise me at all. Cheers man, and thanks so much for commenting and subbing. 👊
Judson Scott should play He-Man in that time.
That would have been awesome.
We were all easy to please in 1981, lol.
Yeah, it’s funny. Some things hold up from that era, others not so much.
Love the intro by Orson Wells
It almost sounds like that D&D commercial he did :D
It is really Orson? I couldn't find any info on the announcer voice.
@Prodigious Saps I dunno for sure, sounds like him to me, and he was doing commercial voice overs at the time.
I like the story, so I'm just going to go with it!
Lol
@@Tasarran You may very well be right! It does sound like him.
@@prodigioussaps It was a commercial for Dark Tower, not D&D...
Holy smokes, did I just have a big time flash back! I had completely forgotten about this until right now. There was a dearth a sci-fi back in those days and honestly, networks had absolutely no idea how to handle things when they did start something, (I give you both seasons of Battlestar, Buck Rogers, the Planet of the Apes TV series, among others).
Imho, from what I remember of this show, it was as always, bad writing that did it in.
Totally agree, in retrospect of course. As a kid at the time I couldn’t get enough of this stuff. But in rewatching the Phoenix pilot last night, I was mainly struck by how hilariously languid the performances are. They’ve just found a living person in a 1000-year old sarcophagus and their line readings sound more like they’re chatting about last night’s football game. So I think direction was a problem as well.
@@prodigioussaps Yes, finding a competent director and producer was definitely a problem. Star Trek and the initial episodes of UFO and Space:1999 were good because they found people who were competent enough, even passionate enough, to pull off the job. They also had excellent writers.
The stigma back then was, serious directors, et al, didn't get involved with this geeky, Saturday morning kid stuff. Tbh, it's only been within maybe the last 15 years that this stigma has disappeared.
As for the acting, well, sometimes they kind of just phoned it in, lol.
What a pity they didn't have the brains to do better back in those days. What could've been....
Great stuff!
You're absolutely right... Gene Roddenberry himself was a rare breed who had to fight tooth and nail to keep that ship afloat, and he knew enough to hire the best sci-fi writers he could find. After that we were lucky to have people like Kubrick, Nicholas Meyer, Ridley Scott and the like to push the genre forward. But they all had to fight for it. I'm grateful they did.
You're absolutely right about the dearth of sci-fi and fantasy. For years I religiously watched any kind of show of those genres that aired because of how rare they were. I developed a nigh invulnerable tolerance for bad sci-fi TV that seemed to become stronger the worse the show was. At this point mediocre sci-fi is my kryptonite. It took years for my family to finally get cable, but once they did I practically OD'ed on shows like Farscape.
@@zkeletonz001 I understand. Like you, I watched what shows I could, up to and including The War of the Worlds, the TV series, (which came out of the gate hot but quickly fizzled), among other things.
I watched Phoenix as a teen. The production was ok, except I remember one episode where the actress was supposed to be dead or something, with eyes closed. But when the camera was on her face again, she opened her eyes for a second, looked right at the camera, then closed eyes. Oops. How the heck did they miss that edit before release?
That's hilarious, I'm going to have to see if I can find the scene you're talking about. I want to say that's ringing a dim bill in my middle-aged brain.
@@prodigioussaps ... Yes, I was watching that with my brother in 1981 & even he noticed it. I am pretty sure it was a Phoenix episode. Never watched it since, that show never repeated either, I don't think. And Judson is still alive & kicking, & afaik still rocking the same hairstyle after 4 decades.
Cool! Well, all the episodes are on UA-cam now, and fortunately there's only 5 of them to sift through. Yeah, Judson kinda looks like an aging martial arts sensai now.
In STAR MAN (filmed a little later than The Phoenix) the main character, a space alien that looked human mastered BILLIARDS so quickly that the redneck @$$H0L3$ in the bar thought he was a hustler and tried to beat him up but of course he had lightning fast reflexes and greater than human strength so that did not go well either. In PHOENIX it was a video game. Seems whenever you have a space alien taking human form they have to very quickly master something that would take a human years to show how "superior" they are.
Yeah, that's interesting. And "Starman" was after the Phoenix, too. I've been meaning to rewatch that one, someone else mentioned it in the comments.
@@prodigioussaps My nerd wet dream fantasy is for Star Man, The Phoenix and MATTHEW STAR (The Powers of Matthew Star) to all be in the same "fictional universe" together since the stories are similar, alien people with special powers that are not virtually invincible like Superman. Imagine them all meeting each other and becoming like a superhero team ahahahahahha.
That would be freaking awesome
@@prodigioussaps Matthew Starr would be like the "Superman" of the group from a literary standpoint since he seemed to have the most amazing powers, mainly because he had whatever "power" the script writer wanted at any given moment. I am not sure whose alien abilities are superior between the Phoenix and Starman though.
FYI, we addressed your comment about Matthew Star in the latest podcast episode: ua-cam.com/video/d239idqHRns/v-deo.html
Cheers!
Benu😊
of the Golden Light!
He would have made a good ADAM WARLOCK.
I love that idea! Damn.
FYI we addressed your comment in the latest episode (time code link): ua-cam.com/video/d239idqHRns/v-deo.html
🤣