SYNOPSIS

Though he looked like a concerned, frequently bare-chested beach bum, Bennu was in fact a messenger from an alien world. He had come to the Earth 1,500 years before as a scout from a dying civilization and had been entombed in a pre-Incan sarcophagus in the Andes. Centuries later, when modern-day scientists had stumbled upon him - and revived him, his goal was to find Mira, his partner, now in some other ancient burial ground somewhere in North America.

Along the way, he used his exceptional powers, vested in the amulet he wore around his neck, to help people in distress, and talked frequently voiced his concern for the environment - which seemed to be in as much danger here as it had been on his planet. None of this impressed a hard-nosed government agent named Preminger, whose goal was to capture Bennu and control his special powers.

The Phoenix was first seen as a movie special on April 26, 1981, and returned as a short-run series in early 1982.