Phoenix Five

Each of the series had different crews and casts but took place in the same future and used the same space organisation and miniatures, much as Star Trek did in the '80s and '90s, thus making it the first TV sci-fi franchise.

The series was set in the year 2500 AD and followed the adventures of the crew of the galactic patrol ship Phoenix Five, "the most sophisticated craft in the Earth Space Control Fleet."

Together they patrolled the outer galaxies defending the innocent and warding off the repeated plots and attacks of the evil balding, blue-skinned humanoid Zodian of Zebula 9 and the eccentric pointy-eared renegade scientist Platonus.

All episodes exist complete in The National Sound and Film Archive but there has been no commercial release of the series, although odd eps of Interpretaris and Vega 4 and a dozen or so off air recordings of Phoenix Five have circulated among TV collectors since the 90's and found their way to YouTube at various times.

Australia, at this time, did not have the numerous movie and TV special effects technicians who worked on US and UK productions - and the FX supervisor Peter Hicks really had to start from scratch.