Rob Price
In this continuing series we are looking at the television movies produced by ABC under the umbrella programming of the ”ABC Movie of the Week”. We are going to diverge a bit in this article and look at two movies that acted as series pilots, which were not part of the original Movie of the Week programming. Each of these were inspired by Erich von Däniken’s books Chariots of the Gods which came out in 1968. The first movie is 1975s Search for the Gods and the second is the 1981 film The Phoenix. The book surmises that aliens visited ancient Earth and influenced structures and artifacts with advanced technology and primitive man looked to these beings as Gods.
Search for the Gods: A figure only in shadows, is after the pieces of an ancient medallion that was broken and scattered across the globe thousands of years ago. One piece has been discovered in the possession of Lucio (John War Eagle), an Indigenous American residing in Taos, New Mexico. The figure instructs his associate, Raymond Stryker (Raymond St. Jacques) to obtain the piece by any means possible. Willie Longfellow (Stephen McHattie) rescues Lucio from the men Stryker hired, but circumstances land both Lucio and Willie in jail. Also in jail is Shan Mullins (Kurt Russell) who befriends Willie. Lucio gives Willie his piece of the medallion with the instructions to give it to his granddaughter, Genera Juantez (Victoria Racimo) and shortly afterwards, Lucio dies. While Willie is trying to fulfill Lucio’s final wish he is attacked by two men hired by Stryker, and only with Shan’s help does he escape. Once the two find Genera, the adventure really begins as they begin to unravel what the medallion piece really is, and what that means for humanity.
The premise for this show was fascinating and I am sorry it didn’t get picked up as an actual series. The power that the medallions possess, or their purpose is never fully explained, which could have been part of the plot for the rest of the series. The use of Indigenous People’s folklore and societal relevance was a great setting for the film although I am not sure of its accuracy. Overall I enjoyed this movie, but like many television films of the 1970s it is very slow moving, there is some excitement with a car chase and a few fist fights, but the advancement of the plot crawls along at a snails pace.
The Phoenix: Unlike the previous film discussed, The Phoenix is much more of a science fiction, with Judson Scott playing Bennu, an ancient astronaut discovered in a sarcophagus in Peru that is reawakened in 20th century America. He has a vague memory that he is on Earth to fulfill a mission for his home planet, Eldebran. Bennu possesses special abilities including levitation, telepathy, precognition, telekinesis, and astral projection. These powers are amplified by his amulet that he wears around his neck. As was the formula for these types of shows in the 1970s and 80s, Bennu must go on the run as he is chased by government agents. Also, unlike Search for the Gods, this show was actually picked up as a series, but was cancelled after only four additional episodes.
I remember watching this movie when it premiered and being absolutely in love with it, and I can honestly say is one of the shows that shaped my childhood, even though it was so shortly lived. I, like many other fans, was devastated when it was cancelled all too soon. Judson Scott emitted a type of Zen confidence that was very refreshing and otherworldly. It wasn’t hard to believe that he was from a highly evolved race of beings. I am sure the series would be thought of as boring or formulaic to today’s standards but was really something special when it premiered. The main plot that ran through the series was Bennu’s search for his lost wife, Mira, whom he believes to be in suspended animation like he was.
Both these movies based their premise off the idea that ancient astronauts visited our planet some 40,000 years ago helping the primitive inhabitants advance, giving us advanced technology. And what would seem like supernatural powers to the unsophisticated was actually just machinery that functioned in a way incomprehensible to those that saw it, making them gods in their eyes. In Search for the Gods this plot is seen through the eyes of humans searching for answers to questions we haven’t even asked yet. The Phoenix goes the opposite route, with a much more fanciful story where we see our own humanity through the eyes of one of the ancient astronauts.