"Terrahawks" (1983) TV series 1983-1986

Directors:

Tony Bell
Tony Lenny
(more)

Writer:

Gerry Anderson (writer, "Expect the Unexpected Part 1, " "Expect the Unexpected Part 2")

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

8 October 1983 (UK)

Genre:

Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In the year 2020 Earth is under threat from Martian androids who want revenge on the human race. They consist of Zelda...

Plot Keywords:

2020s | Sister Sister Relationship | 21st Century | Mother Son Relationship | Alien Invasion

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Hitchen	...	Chick King / ... (39 episodes, 1983-1986)
Denise Bryer	...	Mary Falconer / ... (39 episodes, 1983-1986)
Anne Ridler	...	Cy-Star / ... (39 episodes, 1983-1986)
Ben Stevens	...	Dix-Huit / ... (39 episodes, 1983-1986)
Windsor Davies	...	Sergeant Major Zero (39 episodes, 1983-1986)

Series Directed by
Tony Bell		(unknown episodes)
Tony Lenny		(unknown episodes)
Alan Pattillo		(unknown episodes)
Desmond Saunders		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Tony Barwick		(1 episode, 1984)
Trevor Lansdowne		(1 episode, 1984)
Gerry Anderson		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Gerry Anderson	....	producer (39 episodes, 1983-1986)
Bob Bell	....	associate producer (unknown episodes)
Christopher Burr	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Gerry Anderson		(unknown episodes)
Christopher Burr		(unknown episodes)
Richard Harvey		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Tony Lenny		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
Gary Tomkins		(unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Donald Toms	....	production manager (unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Derek Whitehurst	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Peter Holmes	....	props (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Roy Hyde	....	dialogue editor (unknown episodes)
Brian Lintern	....	dubbing editor (unknown episodes)
Alan Willis	....	dubbing editor (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Steven Begg	....	special effects director (39 episodes, 1983-1986)
Peter Farr	....	special effects technician (unknown episodes)
Malcolm King	....	special effects supervisor (unknown episodes)
Ross King	....	special effects technician (unknown episodes)
Gus Ramsden	....	special effects technician (unknown episodes)
Steven Woodcock	....	designer/model maker (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Kevin Davies	....	video game and titles animator (unknown episodes)
Nick Finlayson	....	model maker (unknown episodes)
Richard Gregory	....	model maker (unknown episodes)
Susan Moore	....	model maker (unknown episodes)
Harry Oakes	....	visual effects lighting cameraman (unknown episodes)
Paddy Seale	....	visual effects lighting cameraman (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Brian Ellis	....	focus puller (39 episodes, 1983-1986)
E. Michael Anderson	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)
Fiona Cunningham-Reid	....	focus puller (unknown episodes)
Jonathan Earp	....	focus puller (unknown episodes)
David Lawrence	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Alan Killick	....	supervising editor (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Christine Glanville	....	chief puppeteer (unknown episodes)
Jan Kendall	....	puppeteer (unknown episodes)
Judy Preece	....	puppeteer (unknown episodes)
Zena Relph	....	puppeteer (unknown episodes)
Earnie Shepherd	....	production accountant (unknown episodes)
Tina Werts	....	puppeteer (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Anderson Burr Pictures
• London Weekend Television (LWT)

Distributors

• Independent Television (ITV) (1983) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• A&E Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• NHK (1985-1986) (Japan) (TV)

Runtime:

23 min (39 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L

Company:

Anderson Burr Pictures

Trivia:

Terrahawks was the first Gerry Anderson puppet series to be made without the familiar "Supermarionation" puppetry technique and instead used a new superior "Supermacromation", a Muppet-style puppetry technique that made the puppets look more realistic and enabled them to be operated for the first time without any strings.

Quotes:

Sergeant Major Zero:[after landing in the desert] That stuff's hard. As hard as Ninestein's heart.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "EastEnders: Episode dated 15 February 2010" (2010)

Terrahawks. THE greatest Gerry Anderson puppetry programme ever conceived, created and commisioned!

Terrahawks is EASILY THE MOST BRILLIANT of ANY of Gerry Anderson's puppetry programmes/series. I have not seen it since the early eighties and it is the ONLY one I wish they would repeat. Why has it, like so many other programmes and films from various people, been forgotten about? There is nothing bad that I can think about the programme. If you like science-fiction then you will love Terrahawks! it is THE most sci-fi of the lot, is FULL of humour and constantly takes the mickey out of itself.

Oh what a fantastic, classic struggle of good against bad. Thankfully good ALWAYS won by the end of each episode/story line.

Some people have written that it is childish and is now dated; how wrong can they be?! It worked on an adult level as well and it is only dated because nobody learns the lessons and values it teaches anymore due to an ever deteriorating society. As a child I would much rather watch a programme that teaches that if you do something wrong you will get punished for it and that if you do something right you will get rewarded. In the programme, as in life, you don't get anywhere if you are bad whereas the good side were always pleased that they had yet again thwarted Zelda's plans and saved the earth from yet another horrible invasion attempt. That was the basic message. If you do good you will like the feeling it gives you and therefore want more of those wonderful feelings. If you do bad the complete opposite happens. To learn morals such as these as a child is great and doesn't happen anymore.

So if you can, beg, borrow, buy or steal (no don't steal. It's wrong to steal) one or more of the programmes. Get every one ever made and sit and enjoy a science-fiction programme that has, in my eyes, EASILY stood the test of time and is as good today as it was back in the eighties! How do I know it has easily stood the test of time if I haven't seen it for twenty years? Well if other series are being shown again now and this, as I stated at the start of this review, is EASILY THE MOST BRILLIANT of ANY of Gerry Anderson's puppetry programmes/series, will also have stood the test of time and therefore be as good now as it was back in the eighties!