With just five episodes aired in the 1980s, <em>The Phoenix</em> barely got a chance to prove itself on ABC. The short-lived drama aired for just one month in 1982, but despite its brief run, it packed a distinct combination of mind-bending science fiction, mystery, the paranormal, and alien mythology into its five episodes, making it one of television’s most overlooked cult gems.
Before shows like <em>The X-Files</em> and <em>Stargate SG-1</em> could run, The Phoenix crawled. The sci-fi classic follows Bennu, an ancient extraterrestrial with extraordinary abilities and certainly not the typical ET. Along the way, each episode introduces new mysteries involving the lead protagonist, who is also on the run from government authorities intent on weaponizing his power. Despite its very limited number of episodes, the show left a lasting impression on viewers, many of whom would agree that there were plenty of stories left untold when it was cancelled.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz
Which
Sci-Fi Hero
Are You Most Like?
Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
Paul Atreides
Capt. Kirk
Princess Leia
Ellen Ripley
Max Rockatansky
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher?
The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
AI absorb everything — every variable, every pattern — and move only when I know the path forward.
BI read the room, make the call, and own the consequences. Hesitation costs more than mistakes.
CI rally people. A cause needs a voice, and I refuse to let fear be louder than conviction.
DI assess the threat, establish what needs doing, and get it done without waiting for permission.
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis?
The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
CLASS = ”
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> B
Improvisation — I’m at my best when the plan falls apart and I have to invent a new one.
CLASS = ”
CQ_OPTION_LETTER ”
> C
Conviction — I know what I’m fighting for, and that certainty doesn’t waver under fire.
CLASS = ”
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> D
Composure — I stay functional when everyone around me is falling apart. Panic is a luxury.
CLASS = ”
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> E
Endurance — I outlast things. I take the hit and keep moving long after others have stopped.
03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for?Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
04
How do you relate to the people around you?Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do?How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
06
What has your heroism cost you personally?
Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in?
Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going?
The answer is the most honest thing about you.
Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Arrakis · Dune
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
- You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
- You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
- Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
- That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
- You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
- Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it but because you’ve earned it.
- Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
- That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
- You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
- You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause; you’ve never looked back.
- Leia is not a supporting character in her own story; she is the moral center of the entire rebellion.
- That same fierce principled unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
You are not reckless; not grandiose; not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero; you just refuse to stop when it matters.
- You see threats clearly; document truth even when no one listens; handle yourself when time comes.
- Ripley’s heroism earned; she doesn’t have speech; she has flamethrower; plan.
- You share composure under worst pressure; refusal pretend monster isn’t there.
- When counts; don’t flinch; that’s everything.
You have been through fire would break most people; what came out other side something world underestimates peril.
- You don’t ask help; need validation; wait anyone tell rules no longer apply.
- Your loyalty finally arrives absolute; earned silence tested action; words.
- Max nihilist; someone lost everything found against will still has something worth protecting.
- That bruised stubborn ultimately human core exactly yours.
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