Search - Terrahawks: The Complete Series on DVD

Hawkwing, you have a ten-fifty!

Vinnie Bartilucci | Whitehall, PA USA | 02/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Expect the Unexpected! The OTHER `Legend of Zelda'

iansomniak | USA, Planet Earth | 03/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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*"

Querky Show, For Anderson Fans Only

Rude Boy 1979 | Today I'm in Ybor City | 01/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Androids versus robots

Junglies | Morrisville, NC United States | 04/15/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."