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''Gerry Anderson & Christopher Burr's Terrahawks'', usually referred to simply as ''Terrahawks'', is a 1980s
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
produced by Anderson Burr Pictures for
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...
and created by the production team of
Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...
and Christopher Burr. The show was Anderson's first in over a decade to use puppets for its characters, and also his last. Anderson's previous puppet-centric TV series included '' Thunderbirds'' and ''
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for distributor I ...
''. Set in the year 2020, the series follows the adventures of the Terrahawks, a taskforce responsible for protecting Earth from invasion by a group of extraterrestrial
androids An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...
and
aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
led by Zelda. Like Anderson's previous puppet series, futuristic vehicles and technology featured prominently in each episode.


Premise

The series is set in the year 2020, after an alien force has destroyed
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
base and
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
is under threat. A small organisation, The Terrahawks, is set up to defend the planet. From Hawknest, their secret base in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
, they develop sophisticated weapons to prepare for the battles to come. ''Terrahawks'' was less straight-laced than any of Anderson's previous series, featuring a wry, tongue-in-cheek humour as well as dramatic jeopardy. The ensemble cast, with each member assigned a vehicle, had many similarities with Anderson's '' Thunderbirds'', whilst the alien invasion plot was reminiscent of ''
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for distributor I ...
'' and the live action ''
UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
''.


History

Prior to ''Terrahawks'' and throughout the entirety of the 1960s, Anderson's series were noted for their use of his patented
Supermarionation Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", "marionette" and " animation")La Rivière 2009, p. 67. is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet T ...
technique, which made use of electronically augmented
marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...
s (the final series to use this technique was the
live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
/Supermarionation hybrid ''
The Secret Service ''The Secret Service'' is a 1969 British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of Father Stanley Unwin, a pupp ...
'' in 1969; Anderson switched to live action production beginning with 1970's ''
UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
''). In contrast, producers of ''Terrahawks'' made use of
latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...
muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...
-style hand puppets to animate the characters, in a process Anderson dubbed '' Supermacromation''. This was partly dictated by the relatively low budget (latex hand puppets being much cheaper to produce than the sculpted wooden marionettes of previous series), but the absence of strings allowed for much smoother movement, and could be used to more easily produce the illusion of the puppets walking. The necessarily static puppets of previous series had been a source of frustration to Anderson during his Supermarionation days.


Production

The series' most prolific contributor,
Tony Barwick Anthony Clive "Tony" Barwick (10 July 1934 – 18 August 1993)https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10182/biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?itemId=447240&action=showRecord was a British television scriptwriter who worked ex ...
, constantly used tongue-in-cheek aliases whenever he wrote a different episode, calling himself, for instance, "Anne Teakstein," and "Felix Catstein." (He was not alone in this;
Donald James Donald James (born Donald James Wheal; 22 August 1931 – 28 April 2008) was a British television writer, novelist and non-fiction writer. Life and career Born in World's End, Chelsea, and educated at Sloane Grammar School and Pembroke Colleg ...
wrote the episodes "From Here To Infinity" and "The Sporilla" under the names "Katz Stein" and "Leo Pardstein" respectively.) The only episodes of the series ''not'' credited to pseudonyms ending in "-stein" are "The Midas Touch," scripted by Trevor Lansdowne and Tony Barwick, the latter billed under his real name for the only time on the series, and the two-part opener "Expect The Unexpected," written by Gerry Anderson. The first 13 episodes were filmed on a budget of £3 million at
Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...
with a crew of 65. A fourth series would have developed the characters of Stew Dapples ("Stewed Apples") and Kate Kestrel further. This was explained in a documentary on the special features disc of the series, in the Gerry Anderson book ''Supermarionation'' and the ''Terrahawks'' DVDs. Two of the scripts were called "101 Seed" (a parody of the title "Number One Seed"), written by Anderson himself (as "Gerry Anderstein"), and "Attempted MOIDer" by Tony Barwick (alias in this case D.I. Skeistein). In the UK, six specially prepared compilations of ''Terrahawks'' were released on
video cassette A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recordin ...
, covering 24 out of 26 episodes from the first series. The first tape contained a few scenes in the premiere episode that had been edited out of the broadcast master due to time constraints (those scenes are not on DVD). The final volume, entitled "Zero Strikes Back" had a smaller print run than the rest of the tapes, and was quite a collectors' item, with copies generally going for around £100 on
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
until the series began to be released on DVD. The series is available on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in the United Kingdom and North America. A Blu-ray release of the first series was released in June 2016. Unlike virtually all of Gerry Anderson's other puppet-based series, ''Terrahawks'' was not produced by
ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...
. This meant that after ''Terrahawks'' repeats disappeared from UK airwaves in the late 1980s and the six compilation video tapes went out of production, the series was noticeably hard to find compared to Anderson's other series, most of which received a renaissance throughout the 1990s.


Title sequence and end credits

The opening and closing sequences were created using hand-drawn
cel animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proce ...
to imitate
computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
. The opening title sequence begins with a video game playing on a screen when Doctor "Tiger" Ninestein appears and says: "Terrahawks! Stay on this channel! This is an emergency!". The end credits, the Zeroid and Cube robots would often "play"
noughts and crosses Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian or Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who take turns marking the spaces in a three-by-three grid with ''X'' or ''O''. T ...
(
tic-tac-toe Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian or Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who take turns marking the spaces in a three-by-three grid with ''X'' or ''O''. T ...
) with each other, resulting in a different winner each week (the Cubes usually had to cheat and steal a Zeroid's position in order to win). The exception to this was the episode "A Christmas Miracle", which featured the song "I Believe in Christmas" as sung by Kate Kestrel played over a still of a Zeroid. The original opening
title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...
was used for both the United States and the UK versions of the series, but a different version of the
end credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...
was produced for the US variant, featuring a Zeroid bouncing up and down next to one of Zelda's Cubes as a "Kate Kestrel" song plays. At the conclusion of the credits the Zeroid jumps off of the screen and crashes back down onto the Cube. When the series was purchased for airing in Japan, the title and ending credits were augmented by an all-new
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
-style sequence, the first highlighting the Terrahawks craft and the Zeroids, and the ending credits showcasing a lonesome
spacesuit A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...
ed female remembering her life on Earth as Spacehawk flies over her. The songs used in these sequences are and , respectively, by
The Lillies The Lillies were an indie rock band formed as a collaboration between members of the bands Cocteau Twins (Simon Raymonde), Lush (Miki Berenyi, Chris Acland) and Moose (Kevin McKillop, Russell Yates).Miki Berenyi of Lush (band) in the ''Von Pip M ...
Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (bo ...
and Mayumi Tsubame.


Music

Without the lavish budgets of his earlier television series, it was apparent to Gerry Anderson from a very early stage of production that it would not be possible to record full orchestral scores for ''Terrahawks''. However, the development of synthesised music had advanced considerably since the early days of the experimental 'electromusic' composed and recorded by
Barry Gray Barry Gray (born John Livesey Eccles; 18 July 1908 – 26 April 1984) was a British musician and composer best known for his collaborations with television and film producer Gerry Anderson. Life and career Born into a musical family in Blackburn ...
for ''
Supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...
'' and ''
Fireball XL5 ''Fireball XL5'' is a 1960s British children's science-fiction puppet television series about the missions of ''Fireball XL5'', a vessel of the World Space Patrol that polices the cosmos in the year 2062. Commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, ''XL5' ...
'', and by 1983 it was possible to create electronic music that could at least approach the scale and majesty of a full orchestra, but at a fraction of the cost. Richard Harvey was introduced to Anderson by a mutual friend, music producer Tony Prior, who has previously suggested
Derek Wadsworth Derek Wadsworth (5 February 1939 – 3 December 2008) was an English jazz musician, composer and arranger. Early life Wadsworth was born in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire on 5 February 1939. His first instrument was the cornet and he started playing the ...
as composer of the music for '' Space: 1999'' Year Two. A graduate of the Royal College of Music with a background in ancient and classical music, Harvey had worked extensively with film composer
Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009)allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations with ...
in the late 1970s. This experience made him the ideal choice to compose the music for ''Terrahawks'', combining his knowledge of the structure of classical orchestral music with the latest synthesised music reproduction techniques. Anderson and his business partner Christoper Burr had regular meetings with Harvey to discuss the style of music that they wanted for ''Terrahawks'', particularly the main theme which was envisaged as a combination of the 'best bits' of the themes to ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'', ''
E.T. ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dub ...
'' and ''
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
''. In 2002, Fanderson records released a soundtrack compiling 75 minutes worth of music, the album included 3 of Harvey’s Demo Themes for the show, 6 full episode scores and 3 surviving Kate Kestrel songs, "S.O.S", "It’s So Easy" and the latter half of "Living in the 21st Century" which was used as the End Titles music in the U.S. syndication run. The remaining songs and first half of "Living in the 21st Century" are currently missing, presumed destroyed.


Audio revival

It was announced on 19 April 2014 that ''Terrahawks'' would be returning as a run of full cast audio dramas featuring original cast members. The new audio series were produced by Anderson Entertainment in association with Big Finish Productions. The first new series was released in April 2015, and consists of eight episodes. Ann Ridler who played Kate Kestrel and Cy-Star was replaced by Beth Chalmers, as Ridler had since died, and
Windsor Davies Windsor Davies (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted ...
who played Sergeant Major Zero was replaced by Jeremy Hitchen, as Davies had retired from acting. A second series was released by Big Finish Productions in April 2016, and a third in July 2017. Free sample episodes are available on th
Big Finish website


Characters


The Terrahawks

Terrahawks (technically, the Earth Defence Squadron) is an elite task force that protects Earth from alien invasion. * Doctor "Tiger" Ninestein (real first name unknown): Terrahawk's pilot and the team's leader, so named as he is the ninth clone created by Dr. Gerhard Stein. Somewhat bloodthirsty, his first reaction to alien contact is often to blast it out of the sky. In between alien attacks, he is often seen trying (and failing) to beat the high score of 750 points on his favourite
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
. Ninestein's catchphrases are "Expect the unexpected", "I have a theory..." and, when frustrated, he often cries, "Flaming thunderbolts!" He also has a love-hate relationship with the Zeroids, particularly Sergeant Major Zero, and tends to push around Hawkeye. If he is killed, he can be replaced within 24 hours by another of the nine clones; his nickname of "Tiger" comes from the myth of
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
s similarly having "nine lives". Tiger's voice was provided by Jeremy Hitchen, who claimed he provided that voice in somewhat of an imitation of
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
. * Captain Mary Falconer: Battlehawk's pilot. She acts as Ninestein's second-in-command, weighing his offensive tendencies with her own regard for the value of life, whether in regards to one of Zelda's henchmen, or to the Zeroids. She was voiced by
Denise Bryer Denise Bryer (5 January 1928 – 16 October 2021) was an English actress, known for her voice roles on television and radio. Career Best remembered in her UK homeland for her work on the Gerry Anderson series, ''Terrahawks'', where she voiced ...
. Bryer used her normal voice for the role, unlike many of her other famous roles where she normally tended to use a "clucking" tone more typical of the voice of the character ''Zelda'' from ''Terrahawks,'' whom Bryer also voiced. * Captain Kate Kestrel (real name: Katherine Westley): The pilot of the Hawkwing
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
and number three in Terrahawks'
chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...
. Kate is also an internationally famous pop singer. Her record company is "Anderburr Records" – a
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsAnne Ridler Anne Barbara Ridler OBE (née Bradby) (30 July 1912 – 15 October 2001) was a British poet and Faber and Faber editor, selecting the Faber ''A Little Book of Modern Verse'' with T. S. Eliot (1941). Her ''Collected Poems'' ( Carcanet Pres ...
when speaking; Moya Griffiths (now Moya Ruskin) provided her singing voice. Beth Chalmers provides the voice of Kate in the audio productions, due to Ridler's death in 2011. * Lieutenant Hawkeye (real name: Hedley Howard Henderson III): Hawkwing's gunner. Due to a track-and-field accident, his eyes have been replaced with micro-computers that enhance his targeting abilities. When given an order, he always replies "aye-aye" as a pun on his name. He is number four in the Terrahawk chain of command. Hawkeye's voice was provided by Jeremy Hitchen. * Lieutenant Hiro (full name unknown): The commander of Spacehawk, Hiro keeps a large collection of flowers to which he gives names and reads poetry. As number five in Terrahawks' chain of command, his thick
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
accent is sometimes a source of humour. Like Ninestein, Hiro was voiced by Jeremy Hitchen. * Zeroids: Spherical robots that perform ground operations and serve as the firepower for the Spacehawk. There are two leaders among the Zeroids who exhibit human-like capacity for thought and emotion, much to the mechanophobic Ninestein's annoyance, who believes they should be unthinking, unfeeling machines that blindly follow orders; Sergeant Major Zero (voiced by
Windsor Davies Windsor Davies (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted ...
in a characterisation not dissimilar from his portrayal of Sergeant Major Williams in '' It Ain't Half Hot, Mum''), commands the Zeroids stationed on Earth, while Space Sergeant 101 (voiced by Ben Stevens) directs the Zeroids stationed aboard Spacehawk; 101 and Zero often have arguments over command of Spacehawk. Other Zeroids are given distinct personality traits of their own, such as the Zeroid Dix-Huit, whose name is French for his number, eighteen, and who speaks French and has a
handlebar moustache A handlebar moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy and upwardly curved extremities. These moustache styles are named for their resemblance to the handlebars of a bicycle. It is also known as a spaghetti moustache, because of its ste ...
, 55, who bobs up and down in rhyme, 21, who has a stutter, and 66, who has a very thick Scottish accent. These accents irk Dr. Ninestein to the point he demanded they all be re-voiced in "The Gun", only for Zero to get back at him by giving them all his own voice. They can increase their mass (becoming as heavy as a
black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...
), which allows them to perform devastating body-crash manoeuvres. This is often accompanied by a cry of "St-''roll'' on!" Sergeant Major Zero, for his part, as he launched into action, often gave the war cry of ''"GERONIMO!!!"'' Unlike the other cast members, Windsor Davies usually only voiced Sergeant Major Zero and The Sporilla (although in a couple of episodes he also provided the voice of another Zeroid, Dr. Killjoy), and in the Big Finish audio series the role of Zero was taken over by Jeremy Hitchen. * Colonel Johnson (first name unknown): The head of WASA (World Aeronautics & Space Administration). Though he is ostensibly Terrahawks' co-director, in reality, Ninestein constantly overrides his authority. Jeremy Hitchen provided Colonel Johnson's voice, as well as those of Hiro and Ninestein.


Terrahawks vehicles

* Terrahawk – A flying command centre, which can detach from the main body of the Battlehawk. This is Dr. Ninestein's personal ship which he can be seen in the Pilot seat and Terrahawk is 95 feet long. * Battlehawk – A heavy-duty
carrier aircraft Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
which transports the Zeroids, the Megazoid-manned Battletank for heavy support, and other auxiliary equipment. Battlehawk is 265 feet long and is part of Terrahawk, Battlehawk is the Proclaimed Flag of the Terrahawks. * Hawkwing – A fighter aircraft with a separate over-wing, which can be released to act as a flying impact bomb. Hawkwing has a body of 70 feet and a wing span of 100 feet. * Treehawk – A
single-stage-to-orbit A single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle reaches orbit from the surface of a body using only propellants and fluids and without expending tanks, engines, or other major hardware. The term usually, but not exclusively, refers to reusable vehicles ...
spaceship, which transports personnel, such as Lieutenant Hiro, to the Spacehawk. Treehawk is also 80 feet long and flies into a part of space hawk for entry and exit. * Spacehawk – An orbital battle
station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
, customarily manned by Lieutenant Hiro, that provides the first line of defence against an attack. Spacehawk is 1600 feet in diameter and has a giant laser that can come out of the base. * Overlander – A three-segment land vehicle used for transporting goods. In all of its appearances, it has been hijacked and subsequently destroyed. * Battletank – A tank manned by a pair of Megazoids, usually used for major combat operations. It is transported by the Battlehawk, and is dropped out of its bay onto the ground. * Spacetank – A tank designed for operations in a vacuum. It only appeared in one episode, manned by Zero and Dix Huit. * Hudson – Ninestein's
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
of indeterminate model, equipped with artificial intelligence and the ability to change its color. Ninestein is particularly fond of it, although Kate seems to use it the most. * Hawklet – A small two seater space craft that is stationed in Spacehawk's hangar bay. It appears only in the episodes "First Strike" and "Jolly Roger One". * MEV – A space craft stationed aboard Spacehawk. It is outfitted with tread tracks for traversing terrain, and a grappling arm fitted with a cannon. * Groundhawk – A bomb disposal and demolition vehicle that appears only in the episodes "Child's Play" and "Space Giant".


Aliens

Robots ("androids") from the planet Guk rebelled when their creators and masters deteriorated into a state of apathy. Zelda and company are modelled after the oldest and wisest citizens of their planet, explaining their grey hair and wrinkled skin. Zelda hopes to conquer Earth and make it a home for her Family of Androids and NONE-Human Beings. They need to consume only small amounts of silicate minerals a month to sustain their functions. * Zelda. The main villain of the series, Zelda is the wicked and scheming would-be conqueror of Earth. She has power over matter, mainly used to teleport her servants to and from Earth and to manipulate the size of any of her ships or aliens. "Zelda reclaims her own," Dr. Ninestein frequently says whenever Zelda teleports a defeated minion back to the Mars base. She was created as a bodyguard for Prince Zegar of Guk, but her inherently programmed ambition led to a revolt by herself and her fellow androids. She is known for referring to humans as "Earth-scum", "Earth-pukes" and "Earth-Wretches". She believes the humans are evil and that she is there to deliver the universe from their evil, destructive ways. Her voice was provided by
Denise Bryer Denise Bryer (5 January 1928 – 16 October 2021) was an English actress, known for her voice roles on television and radio. Career Best remembered in her UK homeland for her work on the Gerry Anderson series, ''Terrahawks'', where she voiced ...
. * Cy-star, pronounced "Si-ster." Zelda's "daughter" is not very bright, but is endlessly bubbly and optimistic. Frequently she gets so excited her hair slides around her head, leading Zelda to shout, in one episode, "One of these days I'm going to nail that to your skull!" She gives birth to It-star around the start of the third series. Her catchphrase is, "''I don't understand''" and "''WONNNNNNDERFUL!''" Her voice was provided on television by Anne Ridler and on audio by Beth Chalmers. * Yung-Star. Zelda's "son," Yung-Star is lazy, greedy, cowardly, and only slightly more intelligent than his "sister" – he mistakes the term "nincompoop" for a compliment. However, despite or because of receiving the brunt of Zelda's abuse, he sometimes shows initiative and is far more curious about his surroundings, qualifying him to be occasionally sent to accompany a monster. His catchphrase, uttered slowly in a revolting guttural voice, was "Great Steaming Lava!" Strangely enough, although an android, Yung-Star is partial to bowls of "granite crunchies" – rocks in a slimy green goo; he consumes these frequently, leading Zelda to call him gluttonous since, as stated, the Guk androids need only to consume small amounts of silicate minerals to sustain their functions. He was voiced by Ben Stevens. * It-Star is also known as "Goybirl" or "Birlgoy," since Cy-Star never decided on what gender this construct would be. It-Star is a "baby" android mothered by Cy-Star near the end of the series. It-Star is a clearly a
hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...
with two minds and voices, a young girl's voice when "innocent," and a male voice with a German accent when plotting. His plotting personality is highly vicious and clever, compared to the childish, infant-like one, earning his "grandmother's" respect. The female voice was done by Denise Bryer while the male voice was by Jeremy Hitchen. * Cubes are the aliens' answer to the Zeroids. They can combine into large constructs such as guns and force field cubicles. Their different sides are marked differently, indicating their different functions, such as one serving as a gun. Cy-Star keeps one, Pluto, as a pet.


Zelda's monsters

Zelda possesses a collection of monstrous servants, Outcasts from various worlds or civilizations, who she keeps in cryogenic storage until needed. * Sram is a reptilian beast with a devastating roar, capable of shattering mountains and destroying Hawkwing's shots before they can get close enough to hit him. His blood gives off fumes that are highly toxic to human beings. In his first appearance Sram is quite articulate, but he does not speak in any further appearances. Sram appears in "Thunder-Roar," "Thunder Path," as Zelda's drummer in "Play it Again, Sram", a member of Zelda's war party in "First Strike", and a hallucination of him is seen in "Mind Monster". He also makes a brief cameo in the audio episode "The Prisoner of Zelda". * The Sporilla is a savagely powerful beast that Zelda controls with a signalling device. After the device is destroyed, however, the Terrahawks find that the Sporilla is capable of halting speech and has no desire to fight them. Appears in "The Sporilla." In "Space Giant," another Sporilla appears. The Sporilla is a 7-foot tall metal-eating space gorilla (SPace gORILLA), covered in an off-white fur, a black gorilla face with horns and fangs. An imaginary Sporilla appears in "Mind Monster", while another (real) Sporilla is Cystar's co-pilot in "My Enemy's Enemy". * MOID: The Master Of Infinite Disguise. He is a skeleton-like alien with almost non-existent facial features, and endowed with the capacity to assume the physical appearance of anyone. "I wear many faces, but have none of my own," he once said to describe himself. The Terrahawks seem to find him pitiable, and he seems to regret living a life of servitude to Zelda. Despite working for her, he is also unwilling to take anyone's life. Appears in "Happy Madeday," "Unseen Menace," and briefly in "Play it Again, Sram" as
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
before returning in the audio episode "The Prisoner of Zelda", where his origins are finally explored. He seems to have feelings for Kate Kestrel. A hallucination of him is seen in "Mind Monster." * Yuri is a
teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
-like creature the aliens find hideous and frightening. He possesses the power to mentally control metal (his name appears to be a reference to
Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other ill ...
, who claims to have similar powers in real life.) Zelda sometimes refers to him as "the furry
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
." He appears in "The Ugliest Monster of All," "Operation SAS," "Terratomb," and as a member of Zelda's war party in "First Strike." He returned in the audio episode "Living Legend". * Lord Tempo. The master of time, Tempo can travel back and forth in time at will, and alter its flow locally. Lord Tempo appears in "My Kingdom for a ZEAF!", "Time Warp", "Timesplit", and as a member of Zelda's war party in "First Strike". * Tamura the space Samurai is a good and honourable alien with a powerful space cruiser, the "Ishimo". He intervenes in the dispute between Zelda and the Terrahawks with the aim of resolving the dispute. He is duped by Zelda who plans to double-cross him in order to destroy the Terrahawks. He finds out in time and Zelda's plan fails. He refers to Hiro is his "kindred spirit". He appears in the episode "Space Samurai". * The Krell is a hairy creature with an eyestalk that can fire a laser beam powerful enough to shoot down objects in orbit. It appears only in "The Midas Touch". * Cyclops is a black and red crawling creature with one giant eye. The cyclops absorbs metal. It appears only in "Space Cyclops". * Captain Goat is a space
buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...
who captained a
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
ship. He appears in "Jolly Roger One" and "Set Sail for Misadventure". * Cold Finger is an alien who is an expert at weaponising water and ice. His entire ship was made of ice. He only appears in Cold Finger.


Audio-only characters

Characters who only appear in the Big Finish audio series include; * Lois Price is a NASA operative who was sent to Hawknest to investigate the necessity of the continued funding of the Terrahawks project. She also became unintentionally involved in a plot by her commanding officer to eliminate the Terrahawks and later went behind her superiors' backs to give Ninestein command of the X-99 fleet. Voiced by Beth Chalmers, she appears in "The Price is Right", "Chain of Command", "My Enemy's Enemy", "Set Sail for Misadventure", "The Prisoner of Zelda" and "Enemies, Negotiation and Deceit". Her name is a pun: ''Lowest price''. * Zeroid 35 is an inexperienced and overenthusiastic female Zeroid with a crush on Sergeant Major Zero. Originally posted to Spacehawk, she was later transferred to Hawknest after her bravery during the Watchdog affair. Voiced by Beth Chalmers, she appears in "Return to Sender", "Renta-hawks", "My Enemy's Enemy", "No Second Chances", "Living Legend", and "The Prisoner of Zelda". * Justin Thyme is an American presenter on the TV21 channel who can always be relied upon to provide plot-related news bulletins. Voiced by Robbie Stevens, he appears in "Deadly Departed", "Clubbed to Death", and "Star Crossed". His name is a pun: ''Just in time''. * Crusher was a bouncer at Dick Branston's club, and later filled much the same role at Starsons Studios. He is a huge fan of Kate Kestrel and frequently asks her to sign various parts of his body. Voiced by Robbie Stevens, he appears in "Clubbed to Death", "Sale of the Galaxy" and "Star Crossed". * Dick Branston was a morally bankrupt billionaire with an eye for the ladies and any questionable money-making scheme. After a plot to destroy his own nightclub went awry he later founded Global Rescue, an organisation dedicated to saving anyone in distress – providing they can pay, of course. Voiced by Jeremy Hitchen, he appeared in "Clubbed to Death" and "Renta-hawks". * Kent Domuch is the "utterly unworthy" President of the Official Zelda Appreciation Society. Despite Zelda's frequent attempts to kill this fawning fan she somehow never quite manages to succeed. Voiced by Jeremy Hitchen, he appears in "Deadly Departed" and "My Enemy's Enemy". His name is a pun: ''Can't do much''. * Honor Spot is a roving World Comms reporter who has appeared on both TV21 and FAB FM. Voiced by Beth Chalmers, she appears in "The Wrong Clone Number" and "Star Crossed". Her name is a pun: ''On the spot''. * Dr. Chemi Rouge is a French NASA scientist and former flame of Tiger Ninestein's. She was in command of Lunarville 16 during the Watchdog affair and later transferred to Lunarville 8 to supervise the Ato-max project. Voiced by Denise Bryer, she appears in "Return to Sender" and "Enemies, Negotiation and Deceit".


Spin offs


Comics

A comic strip adaptation was drawn by
Jim Baikie James George Baikie (28 February 1940 – 29 December 2017) was a Scottish comics artist best known for his work with Alan Moore on ''Skizz''. He was also a musician. Biography Baikie served as a Corporal with the Royal Air Force in 1956–1963 ...
for ''
Look-In ''Look-in'' was a children's magazine centred on ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior ''TVTimes''". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994.Odyssey 2 console was rebranded as ''Gerry Anderson's Terrahawks'' for its UK release, where it was published by
CRL CRL may refer to: Organisations Science and technology research * Chalk River Laboratories, a Canadian nuclear research center * Charles River Laboratories, an American biomedical company * Computational Research Laboratories, an Indian computer c ...
in 1984. It was one of the first video games with a TV show tie-in.


''Zeroids Vs Cubes''

On 10 December 2014, an animated spin-off web series was announced titled Zeroids Vs Cubes. It is produced by IDO Design & Animation and Anderson Entertainment and it came to
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
on 19 June 2015. Both Jeremy Hitchen and Robbie Stevens reprised their roles as the Sergeant Major Zero and Space Sergeant 101. However, only one episode was released.


Episodes


Kate Kestrel And The Terrahawks revival

On 12 August 2019, Anderson Entertainment announced that a revival of Terrahawks is currently in the works entitled Kate Kestrel And The Terrahawks. They revealed that it is to be co-produce with Tiny Giant and "is being executively produced by Jamie Anderson (''Gerry Anderson’s
Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...
'') and Stu Gamble (''Mansour, Nexo Knights''). Showrunner is Mark Hoffmeier (''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
,
Nexo Knights ''Nexo Knights'' (stylized as NEXO KNIGHTS) is a 3D animated television series that aired on Cartoon Network and premiered in 2016. It was produced by The Lego Group to coincide with the Lego theme of the same name. The series is based on a fan ...
, Marvel Super Heroes – Guardians of the Galaxy: The Thanos Threat'') who is producing with Mike Penketh ('' Bob’s Burgers,
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...
,
Wander Over Yonder ''Wander Over Yonder'' is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Created by Craig McCracken, it follows the adventures of the optimistic Wander, who rides across the galaxy to help the inhabitants of va ...
and
Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer a ...
'') and Vicky Kjaer Jensen (''
Ninjago Lego Ninjago is a Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninja since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja theme in 2000. Whilst it retains some elements of the previous ...
'')"


References


External links


Terrahawks at the Gerry Anderson website
* *


Terrahawks Series 1 at Big Finish Productions

Terrahawks Series 2 at Big Finish Productions

Terrahawks Series 3 at Big Finish Productions
{{Gerry Anderson 1980s British science fiction television series 1980s British children's television series 1983 British television series debuts 1986 British television series endings Alien invasions in television Androids in television AP Films Aviation television series British children's action television series British children's adventure television series British children's science fiction television series British action television series British science fiction television shows British television shows featuring puppetry English-language television shows Fictional military organizations ITV children's television shows London Weekend Television shows Mars in television Space adventure television series Television series about cloning Television series set in 2020 Television shows adapted into comics Television shows adapted into video games Television shows set in South America