New Age TV Shows from the '70s and '80s

I have just finished reading Robert Bauval's "The Orion Mystery" when I started to think of all the shows that were about the New Age crazes back in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Battlestar Galactica: While a science fiction show, this series had its main characters wearing helmets that looked like Egyptian headdresses. They also landed on many planets with pyramids and other Egyptian looking monuments. Pyramid power was in and Egyptian mythology was the rage as the King Tutankhamun exhibit was showing around the country.

The Phoenix: Judson Scott (of Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn) played Bennu (Egyptian for phoenix) in this short lived series. Bennu was an alien who needed the sun for energy and would go around helping people in the series. Of course he was being pursued by government agents who wanted his secrets.

Fantastic Journey: Ike Eisenmann and Roddey McDowall starred in this series about a group of people who get caught in the Bermuda Triangle. They go through a strange force field and find an island that is separated by many such force fields. They spent their time trying to find their way home and getting involved with local problems.

Otherworld: Just like the above Fantastic Journey, only the family finds a portal in an Egyptian pyramid. Mark Lenard appeared in one episode, which was a requirement (Roddy McDowall was the other). Again the family spends the series trying to find their way home.

There were also many TV movies that served as pilots, and I am trying to locate the title of one I saw in the 1970s. It is about a young man who finds a part of a tablet. He goes to see a Native American and goes on a trip to find out he has only one piece of the tablet. He must find the others to put them together and decipher the message. It did not come back as a series, and so we did not find out where the tablet came from or what the man's journey would be.

How can I forget "Isis" (aka "The Secret of Isis"), a woman finds an amulet and turns into an incarnation of the Goddess Isis. Of course this was a children's show, so the problems dealt with kids getting into trouble. The New Age aspects of Egypt only played a part in the title sequence.

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The Phoenix

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Otherworld

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Fantastic Journey

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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The series started out as the usual science fiction tripe of the day, but the third season dealt with a lot of New Age themes. These are the episodes with the character Hawk.

Kid, the show that came immediately to mind was Stargate SG-1 but that was much later. Mid '90s.

Does "Quantum Leap" fit? I suspect more science fiction than "new age".

Or "Highway to Heaven"?

reply to post by Hemisphere


Highway to Heaven was about an angel, and the Stargate shows are from the late 1990s. The ones from the 1970s had that certain feel from that decade one cannot get from others.

Land of the Lost can be considered almost New Age because of some of the episodes in it (small homages to Erich Von Daniken and his ancient astronaut theories).

Most of the TV shows all had episodes where a character sees a UFO. The majority actually had a regular explanation for them, while others did not. Even Maude saw a UFO.

Don't forget Mr. Merlin, Powers of Matthew Starr, The Master, etc. All had mystical elements to them...or Wizards and Warriors (think Stephanie from Newhart as a princess)...

Galactica: don't forget, the Lords of Cobal (i.e. Adama) also had minor psychic powers as well...(there's even an episode where he practices telekinesis in his quarters)...yep, I'm that much of a geek (and no fan of the new Galactica)...

I have The Phoenix and Otherworld on DVD, lol.... I keep looking for all of my old favorites...

reply to post by Gazrok


I did mention Battlestar Galactica as they were into the Ancient Egyptian thing. I also loved the briefly run "Wizards and Warriors", which was a humorous take on the Dungeons and Dragons type genre. It was smart and funny, which meant it would be canceled quickly. You are correct that Julia Duffy of "Newhart" played the princess.

"Merlin" was a cute sitcom, and I didn't think "Matthew Starr" was very much into the New Age. "Starr" seemed more like a kids show with his powers and the simple plots.

There was also a TV movie on the Marvel character Doctor Strange of the same name. It was a pilot of a TV series that was not picked up and it was very good.

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There was a TV movie called "Mysterious Two" starring John Forsythe as a character named He. He and a female called She are getting people to join them on a trek. It was a pilot for a TV series, as we do not learn their motives and where they are sending the people they recruit.

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I loved the Dr. Strange pilot...never did know why it wasn't made into a series.... Probably just too high above the sheeple at the time? Though with the recent popularity of more cerebral shows (Lost, Heroes, Fringe), you'd think someone would check back on it...

reply to post by Gazrok


The character Dr Strange is slated for a feature film to be released sometime in 2012. Many TV movies are made as pilots, but aired as TV movies. If the ratings are really good, they may become shows. Also, the networks would look at other issues such as cost per episode, and that may have doomed the series if they did the special effects all the time.

Even ultra-successful shows still fail to launch a series.... Recently, just look at the spin-off attempt from Grey's Anatomy...but even the original Star Trek failed to ignite a planned spin-off....Gary Seven (planned to spin off from an episode that had a very young and unknown at the time, Terri Garr)....

reply to post by Gazrok


Many shows would do the episode within an episode as a possible spin-off. "Star Trek" is one example with "Gary Seven", which could of had a New Age spin on it. The rather low ratings "Star Trek" received at the time probably doomed the spin-off even though it was a promising idea.