This section of the book is meant to cast my own personal views and interest in the series. As there is too much to cover in simply this one chapter, this book will see my own views and interest throughout almost every part, but more explicitly in this part. Bearing in mind, this is just my opinion, and if yours differ that's perfectly fine. If any information in this book is incorrect, please kindly let me know and I will do what I can to rectify it.
Terrahawks is arguably the most famous of Gerry Anderson's productions in the years after the golden age of his ITC era of programs. It was the series that is remembered for rebooting his career following the decline of his career after the end of Space: 1999's production in 1976. With the divorce of his marriage from Sylvia Anderson, and the inability to find a backer to fund his programs (as Lew Grade of ITC had done since the days of Supercar), Anderson was forced to look elsewhere for financial support. His findings eventually led him to form a partnership with Christopher Burr to form AnderBurr Productions. Produced from 1983-1984, the series was shot at Bray Studios in Maidenhead, the place where the Space: 1999 visuals were shot a short distance away from where the AP Films/Century 21 puppet programs were made in Slough. Created in a new puppet format "SUPERMACROMATION" with hand glove puppetry, Terrahawks told engaging action-adventure and often experimental stories and placed great character emphasis throughout the series' episodes. Many old faces from the AP Films/Century 21/Group Three era returned to work with Anderson, ranging from Tony Bariwck, Bob Bell, Donald James, and Denise Bryer.
Some of the cast in the series are some of the most memorable characters in the entire Gerry Anderson canon. Running for a total of 39 episodes, the series came very close to securing a network American sale. Whilst AndersonBurr continued onto other projects (Dick Spanner, Space Police), Anderson would attempt to rise to even bigger and better programs than the small-scaled budgeted series Terrahawks was compared to his AP Films/Century 21/Group Three productions. After the 1980s, Terrahawks appeared to be far less well regarded than any of Anderson's ITC shows, and the series was not part of the astonishing Gerry Anderson revival of interest in the early 1990s led by Thunderbirds.
This book will attempt to look over the memory of the series, and primarily examine the Video Home Range the series has endured over the years since 1983 to demonstrate how the series has been kept alive following the last episode airing in 1986. The Precision Video/Channel 5 range will kickstart the range, followed by the 2002-2003 Revelation Films releases - which saw the very first DVDs of the series. And more recently, the series was released in HD by Network Distributing as a revival of Terrahawks interest was guided by Anderson Entertainment. The Big Finish Audios, special minisodes etc will also be discussed to play a part in the big picture of the series' longevity - a longevity that holds a unique place in the Gerry Anderson universe.
Now looking at Terrahawks after 2020, the year it was set, I think many would have preferred to live through with Dr. Tiger Ninestein than the year we all had! Being set in an age we have all now lived through, rather than the 2060s of several SUPERMARIONATION series, I find it interesting to compare the universe that was presented in Terrahawks to the one in the real world (apart from THAT thing in 2020). I had always heard of Terrahawks ever since I learnt more of Gerry Anderson's catalogue of programs when I was young. I knew of the importance Terrahawks was placed in the Anderson canon, and I had read about its similar comparison of a concept to that of Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons (now that is a favourite of mine!), exciting me to see Terrahawks even further. Some aspects I knew about the series seemed to creep me out a little, such as the disturbing character of Moid and the other creepy androids (and just the creepier looking puppets in my opinion to the SUPERMARIONATION ones). I defiantly appreciated the action and high-stake rescues in the series, and I enjoyed the great humourous characters.
Terrahawks is probably the most humourous Anderson series since Supercar, yet it's one of his most strange and weirdest of shows. My favourite characters would be either the Zeroids, Zelda or Yung-Star. Ninestein was a brilliant character too but at times I think he could be a right knob to people (even though to be fair he's an android so lacks heart for the most part). Sram and Lord Tempo I would say are my favourite guest villains, and my favourite episodes I would cite are The Sporillia (my top choice), To Catch A Tiger, Thunder Roar, Thunder Path, The Ultimate Menace, Operation SAS, Zero's Finest Hour, Space Samari and Gunfight At Okay's Corrall are a few excellent stories to mention. I typically felt the earlier stories were stronger than some of the later ones. Cry UFO is one of my lesser favourites, an episode created so Stew Dapples could potentially have his own spin-off show (something I think would struggle to get off the ground, Zeroids spin off yes please!). A Christmas Miracle is also a lesser favourite of mine, but I'm sure there are fans of both of these episodes out there.
The first time I saw Terrahawks was in November - December 2017 when I was burning through Gerry Anderson's content, and thoroughly enjoyed the run (albeit with a few clunkers towards the end of the series). I didn't really get around to rewatching the full series all over again until March 2022, and again from November 2023 - January 2023. Terrahawks was released at a time when the video market was booming, and when repeat viewings of programs on TV and on video of episodes. Continuity between episodes was essential to maintain, something that the series had to bear in mind far more than the previous Anderson shows. Now, Terrahawks has been fully reinstated with a whole new range of merchandise from the audios, posters, clothes, masks, and of course home media releases.
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Terrahawks: The Home Video Range
Non-FictionTerrahawks was the first program from the legendary Gerry Anderson in many years. The series saw the television producer reboot his career in 1983 with an all new puppet series. Produced in SUPERMACROMATION, unlike the former SUPERMARIONATION Thunde...
