THE PHOENIX (1981)

Admittedly, my memories of the 1981 television series, The Phoenix, are pretty dim. This short-lived series starred Judson Scott of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as a Von Daniken-inspired ancient astronaut named Bennu, who was wakened from suspended animation within an Incan pyramid by a team of archeologists. Possessing various psi powers, he became a target for government agents (led by the always-sinister Richard Lynch), who constantly pursued him. (As we all know, if a character has any sort of super-abilities on a Space: 1970-era television series, he has only two options: secret agent or fugitive.)

According to the IMDb, there were only five episodes produced (although I coulda swore there were more than that). There was a subplot about Bennu searching for his mate, whose body disappeared sometime before his resurrection, and all the usual "stranger in a strange land" tropes. Scott was a good choice for the role - he always had a certain "alien" quality about him, which served him well when he guested on sci-fi TV shows like the original V, The Powers Of Matthew Star, Babylon 5, The X-Files and Star Trek - The Next Generation.

As I say, I don't remember much about the show. I'm sure I watched all or most of the episodes when it aired, and I saw part of one again back in the mid-90s when it aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.  What little I can recall is reasonably positive, though. I don't think it was much worse than many more successful genre shows... but obviously, the network was unhappy with it and cancelled it almost immediately.

As it does fall within my arbitrary Space: 1970 timeframe (1969-1983), I wanted to include it here; I'm sure there are some Star Kids who remember it both more clearly and more fondly than I do.