Terrahawks - Vol. 7 [DVD] [1983]

I love terrahawks and it was the first programme I clearly remember watching as a child in the 1980s. I was horrified by Zelda but loved watching the episodes over and over again on our first ever family video recorder. I am 23 now , not scared of Zelda so much , but I still adore this series. Terrahawks is bright , fun , exciting and very inventive in its storylines.The series is also surprisingly witty and some of the off the more off the cuff remarks were clearly aimed at an adult audience. However , if the series was great , this DVD box set is even better. This collection contains everything somebody could possibly want to know about the series. Here we have every single 25 minute episode from all three series , profiles of both characters and hardware , the American end titles , a look at the various merchandise associated with the series and much much more. Of most interest will be the special disc featuring a fascinating documentary with the original voice artists Ben Stevens , Anne Ridler ,Denise Bryer and Jeremy Hitchen in which they discuss the experience of making Terrahawks and in which they take on the old roles to read a terrahawks script. Add to that interviews with special effects man Steven Begg , graphic designer Kevin Davies and puppet maker Richard Gregory and you have a wondeful insight into the making of Terrahawks.

As for the series itself my favourite episodes were CRY UFO and FIRST STRIKE.

If you are a fan of classic television or watched Terrahawks as a child like myself, I cannot recommend this DVD collection enough. I am sure you will watch the episodes again and again.

Gerry Anderson has used organizations, often secret, as the basis for many of his productions. In this case a secretive Earth based organization defending the Earth from hostile, and untrustworthy, mechanical aliens based on Mars. This is aimed at a young audience. Fortunately there is much to entertain adults as well. The characters are distinctive and stereotypical which adds to the charm of this production. Along with the principal story line runs a level of humor directed at the parents which allows them to enjoy the episodes as well. The backgrounds often have their own interesting and often humorous details, not unlike a Giles cartoon. This production is quite old and many of the references are somewhat dated. The Terrahawks series targeted an international market but it retains Gerry Anderson's strong English (British) values.
So far I have covered the most important aspects the quality and detail of the stories which are first class. Sadly the technical quality of the DVD is no better than an old fashioned VHS cassette. Today the quality offered by DVDs and Blu-ray has led consumers to expect much higher standards of picture quality on a large modern screen. I hope this problem can be addressed in the future. That is the only criticism that I have and fortunately it will not affect the enjoyment that it will give to youngsters. Terrahawks The Complete Series [DVD] [1983]

It is the earth year 2020. Zelda and her android forces from the Planet Guk have taken over the red planet Mars, and are using it as a base to launch their planned destruction of Earth. Our only defence is the elite force Terrahawks. I wasn't sure if my son would go for this series as he has long tired of Stingray and Thunderbirds since overdosing on them as a 5 year old (he still has a soft spot for them though and loved the recent Thunderbirds movie). He's now 9 and is totally impressed with Terrahawks. The script and special effects were quite startling when it was first on TV in September 1983, and even as a 27 year old I did watch most of the series. I liked the fact it had a `smart' Rolls Royce (called Hudson - and being older I got the 'Upstairs Downstairs' gag). It isn't as swish, modern and pink as Lady Penelope's one though. At the time I found the series a bit childish compared to Dr Who, UFO, Space 1999, and Star Trek - which was no doubt the intention of Gerry Anderson. However I did think Zelda was a bit scary. Picture quality on this 4:3 DVD set isn't top-notch, but it's adequate on the small screen, and the colour is nice and bold. The special effects are at least as good as GA's other series, if not better.

There's quite a few extras on the episode DVDs 1 to 9: all the show scripts, 'interviews and biographies' [all text and interesting, but oddly in capitals so not easy to read], and things like the merchandise as a series of photo slideshows. There's also a separate extras bonus DVD 10 that has the U.S. and original UK credit sequences, 'Gerryhawks': a spoof sketch, and 'exclusive cast interviews' with Anne Ridler, Jeremy Hitchen, Ben Stevens and Denise Bryer. Our 'Terrahawks: The Complete Series' DVD set doesn't have any subtitles and has English audio only. The series is rated U, but probably best suited to age 6+.

Anyway, my son totally loves the series, and we are busily going through the episodes. Watching it again I now see it as a bit of an `inspiration' for the Power Rangers franchise, although Terrahawks itself has many plot elements from GA's Captain Scarlet and UFO. The stories are a bit repetitive perhaps (hardly surprising as there are thirty-nine episodes), but who can complain with great characters like: Tiger Ninestien, Mary Falconer, Captain Kate Kestrol, Lt. Hawkeye, Sgt Maj Zero and the Zeroids, the evil witch Zelda, her son YoungStar, sibling CysStar, and their monster's such as the robot `cubes', Tempo the TimeLord and Yuri the cuddly killer teddy bear. A bit expensive to buy perhaps, but you do get 39 x 25 minute episodes, and my son thinks they would be cheap at twice the price (as he's not paying). So, recommended for today's youngsters - particularly pre-teen boys. Also try the `Dan Dare' (2001) DVD set, GA's own `Joe 90' DVD set and the B&W `Torchy the battery boy' series for that young man in your life.