Fans of cult television, this one included, were delighted to learn that Gerry Anderson, producer of such puppet classics as 'Thunderbirds', 'Captain Scarlet' and 'Stingray' and live-action series including 'UFO', 'Space:1999' and 'The Protectors', was to launch a new puppet science-fiction series in autumn 1983. 'Terrahawks', co-produced by Anderson with Christopher Burr, trod familiar ground but with a whole new set of characters; the premise was that in the year 2020, an elite force named the 'Terrahawks', was established in South America to defend Earth from alien attack, after a NASA base on Mars had been destroyed by the aliens.
Unlike with Anderson's earlier series, the puppets used were not marionettes but latex hand puppets, not unlike those used by Jim Henson for his 'Muppet' characters. This was known as 'Supermacromation', following on from the 'Supermarionation' technique of using electronically-enhanced marionettes in Anderson's earlier series. The Terrahawks were led by Dr. "Tiger" Ninestein, one of nine clones. He was joined by second-in-command Captain Mary Falconer who would often rein in Ninestein's trigger-happy instincts. Other pilots included Captain Kate Kestrel, who led a dual life of pop singer (signed to "Anderburr Records", an obvious in-joke) and her co-pilot Lieutenant Hawkeye, who had micro-computers in place of his eyes. In addition to the human crew, the Terrahawks were assisted by spherical robots named Zeroids, the most prominent of which were Sergeant-Major Zero (voiced by veteran comedy actor Windsor Davies, famed for playing Sergeant-Majors in film and TV) and Space Sergeant 101.
The alien enemy was led by three androids, modelled on the oldest citizens of their home planet Guk. Zelda was the leader, with the power of teleportation and the chief architect of the schemes to conquer Earth, accompanied by her 'sister' Cy-Star (geddit?) and 'son' Yung-Star. Both are cowardly in contrast to Zelda, and prefer to laze about than partake in Zelda's schemes. They also had 'Cubes'; robot equivalents to the Terrahawks' Zeroids which had the power to combine and change into weapons as required.
The series had the familiar Anderson motifs of advanced technology, futuristic vehicles such as Ninestein's car HUDSON (a Rolls-Royce with camouflage technology built in) and dramatic action laced with liberal doses of humour.
Indeed it could be argued that 'Terrahawks' itself is just an updated cross between 'Thunderbirds' and 'Captain Scarlet'; with each member having an aircraft assigned to them (similar to 'Thunderbirds') while taking on an alien invader, similar to 'Captain Scarlet'.
The series ran for 39 episodes over three seasons, and was shown on ITV in the United Kingdom. Although successful during its televised run, it was overlooked during the 1990s when the earlier Anderson series (all produced via Lew Grade's ITC company) began to pick up in popularity with repeat runs on BBC TV. 'Terrahawks', which was produced by Anderson Burr Pictures, was not released on DVD until several years after the other series had been issued.
Below is the opening sequence to 'Terrahawks' complete with an unmistakably 1980s theme tune :)
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