Customer Reviews

Terrahawks: The Complete Series

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the last pure puppet series Gerry Anderson created, coming back to the medium after Space 1999 and UFO, and before the rarely seen Space Cops. It's a lot more tongue-in-cheek than his earlier works like Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet (Also available on DVD) but no less entertaining.

The plot is familiar - alien androids on Mars declare war on Earth over a misunderstanding. Zelda is leader of the android (disfunctional) family of Yung-star and Cy-star, and later in the series, Cy-star's child, It-star (an androgynous "birl-goy", as Cy-star couldn't make up her mind which gender it should be). Zelda attacks earth regularly with the assistance of interstellar villains like Moid, (Master of Infinite Disguise) Lord Sram (a lizard with a scream that'll put Black Canary to shame) and Yuri, the telekiektic teddy bear. (Like I said, more tongue-in-cheek)

Earth's last defense is the Terrahawks team, led by "Tiger" Ninestein, a genetically engineered clone with eight backup copies, the perfect expendable leader. The team also includes Mary Falconer, (Tiger's emotional interest), Kate Kestrel, Pop Star (She performs the show's supercool closing theme, "Living in the 21st Century") Lieutenant Hawkeye and Liutenant Hiro. The main soldiers of the team are the Zeroids, spherical robots with their own individual personalities. Sargeant-Major Zero, leader of the Zeroids is voiced by British character actor Windsor Davies.

The series came and went with barely a release in the US in the early 80s, but it was warmly received by those who caught it. It's great to see that it's getting the same treatment as the rest of the Anderson series. Well worth a look.

Flaming thunderbolts! What in spacefire is it?! Well, mine grandmother, it's "exactry" 39 episodes of the WEIRDest puppet show of the 21st century: TERRAHAWKS! This far out Supermacromation marathon stars the hideous android witch, Zelda (Imperial Queen of planet Guk), her equally hideous sister, Cystar (who persists in shouting "WON-DER-FUL!" despite the fact that it always makes her yellow wig fall over her eyes), and Zelda's gurgling "cretin" of a son known as Yung-Star (also hideous). Did I mention these puppets are HIDEOUS? I swear, this trio makes The Dark Crystal look like a beauty pageant! Anyhow, the year is 2020 and Queen Zelda has destroyed Earth's base on Mars and replaced it with her own massive headquarters. From here, Zelda employs the aid of sinister partners in crime such as Lord Sram, Yuri the killer space bear, Sporilla the giant space gorilla, Lord Tempo, MOID (master of infinite disguise), and an endless supply of laser-firing cubes in her unceasing efforts to infiltrate the "stinking lair" of the "accursed Terrahawks" and exterminate the human race. No need to fear though, `cause video game fanatic Dr. "Tiger" Ninestein (the ninth clone of Professor Stein) along with Captain Mary Falconer and an army of bouncing metal bowling balls (the Zeroids) led by Sergeant Major Zero are taking care of Hawknest, while Space Sergeant 101 and Lieutenant Hiro watch over the planet Earth aboard Spacehawk. Meanwhile, Captain Kate Kestrel (the pop music diva with the color-coordinated hair) is in the Ander-Burr Records studio with Stew Dapples re-recording her biggest hit, "S.O.S. Mr. Tracy" (a tribute to the Thunderbirds), as Hudson the talking Rolls-Royce waits outside. In the event of a 10:90, Dr. Ninestein will issue a 10:40 and Lieutenant Hawkeye and the Hawkwing will be ready with a 10:10! The 5-disc Terrahawks DVD set comes very nicely packaged with 5 keep-cases enclosed in a thin cardboard box. My one complaint is that the same picture of Ninestein is on the front of all 5 cases. The picture quality on these DVDs is not very impressive, especially when compared to the quality of the Thunderbirds discs. The sound quality is not great either, but this show is so obscure, you really can't expect a full restoration. Extras include photo galleries and a couple of commentaries, which explain how some of the effects shots were achieved. The true value of this set comes from its hours and hours of family-friendly entertainment. Kudos to A&E for making the complete series available in one package. So don't just sit there slurping your Granite Crunchies, buy the Terrahawks DVD set today! And remember: "Zelder reclaims her own." *cue synthesizer music*

Got this set pretty cheap and being a Stingray/Thunderbirds/Captain Scarlet/Joe 90/UFO fan thought I'd watch this show I had never seen. First off the quality of the video is not that crisp, its kind of soft in my opinion. The show is cool I guess, but I'm not totally sold as this being the best from Anderson (I don't think anyone thinks that but just saying). There are some cool effects and ships and lots of character's to follow which is great. I guess the main drawback would be the villian doesn't impress me much. If you can get the set cheap like I was able to it's worth it if your an Anderson fan, otherwise if this is your first forray into his work and looking for an inexpensive DVD set, get Joe 90 (probably my favorite show he did next to UFO). I think the main 5 stars reviews come from those who watched this when it first aired and have those memories, it's better than most that was out to watch then. But I'm writing this from a standpoint of watching this now for the first time, as I also am just watching Captain Scarlet and Joe 90 (I grew up with the Thunderbirds), I think those two shows are much more entertaining than this one for first time viewers.

I did not get the chance as kid to watch this show like I did Thunderbirds and Stingray. It had a different feel from the start due to the time it was created in. Very 80's, but once I got into it I was hooked. If you love Gerry Anderson and Supermarionation then you will enjoy this as well. Those who don't get it probably still wont be as interested, but as usual they dont spare any expence.The prop department was stocked from all its past shows and I feel that they used those archived props and came through with great details. Despite the fact it is a futuristic story that at times was very stark in its sets. I have all of the Supermarionation series and this is one that we still enjoy watching over and over agian in my house. I think my kids loved the bizarre Zelda and her crazy, spooky family the best. However it was all great to me.
Enjoy!

Much has been written about Gerry Anderson's stuff. Terrahawks has its moments, especially the later episodes, and is definitely worth a watch. The limited budget shows but the scripts are funny.

My children and I come from differing backgrounds, mine British, theirs, American having spent most of their lives here. Part of the time we spend together is exploring my cultural heritage as I have observed theirs at first hand whilst they grew up.

We have worked our way through the Gerry Anderson productions with mixed results: Fireball XL5 and Supercar brought the house down while Space 1999 and UFO were more appreciated.

When it came to Terrahawks, they were rolling in the aisles at first until we discovered that it was very different to the Anderson of yore.

Firstly, it is more of a tongue in cheek type of show aimed at children although I have to say that Anderson's skill in producing Puppets without visible wires is outstanding.

Secondly the show is based on a simple premise, that of tic tac toe, given away on the end credits. Simple enough really once you see the shapes of the two opposing robot soldiers. You win some you lose some.

Of course this does reflect a cold war standoff in a way if you want to be political, given when the show was made.

In the end, there is not much else to say as the episodes reflect that paradigm. My kids are lapping it all up and the worst thing is, the eldest is 18 and the other, three years younger.

WOW! You must see this series. Action, stringless, and Zelda. Super Macromation has reached great heights. The special effects are super.

Its been a really long time since I last watched Terrahawks, but as a child I watched it. I thought they rocked. It revolves around a spaceship crew fighting against some bad guys, as is usually the theme in these type of things. Basically, good versus evil and in the end there's an X versus O game. Sometimes I rooted for the X team and other times, the O. It was fun to watch with my sisters. I have the theme (full version) on my ipod for the sake of old times. I highly recommend it. It's really all about Terrahawks. I listen to the theme everyday. It's just so amazing!!

I like Gerry Anderson's stuff....but this one is the least favorite. Wouldn't mind having my money back on this one. Gave it 3 stars, but I was being kind since I like Gerry Anderson's work in general.

You have to have a taste for the marionette action of these series. But having that, these series are very entertaining. The old corny special effects by todays standards are fun. Just fun.