Terrahawks

In the series’ imagined 2020, an android force led by Zelda occupies Mars and threatens Earth. Standing in its way are the Terrahawks, a specialist defence team led by Doctor Tiger Ninestein. From their concealed Hawknest base, they deploy aircraft, spacecraft and a force of spherical robot soldiers called Zeroids.

Terrahawks balances spectacular miniature action with sharp comedy. Ninestein may insist on military efficiency, but Sergeant Major Zero has a personality of his own, and Zelda’s family can be as difficult for her to manage as the humans she wants to defeat.

Created by Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr, Terrahawks first reached television in 1983. It was Gerry’s first puppet series since The Secret Service, but it used a different technique. Latex hand puppets, operated from below, replaced the familiar strings of Supermarionation. The new approach was called Supermacromation.

The 39 episodes combine those expressive puppet characters with miniature craft and environments. Steven Begg led the special effects, Gary Tomkins served as art director, and Richard Harvey composed the music. The result belongs clearly to the Anderson tradition while having an unmistakable 1980s character of its own.

Ninestein is one of nine clones, an idea that gives the team’s leadership an unusual science-fiction foundation. Captain Mary Falconer is his second-in-command. Kate Kestrel and Hawkeye operate Hawkwing, while Hiro works aboard the orbiting Spacehawk.

The Zeroids are far more than interchangeable equipment. Windsor Davies gives Sergeant Major Zero a commanding voice and a continuing battle of wills with Ninestein. Space Sergeant 101 and other robots add their own quirks to the organisation. Kate’s parallel life as a singer brings another kind of performance into the show, with Moya Griffiths providing her singing voice.

Zelda is supported — and frequently exasperated — by Yung-star and Cy-star, with It-star joining the family later. Her forces include the robotic Cubes and a collection of powerful allies, including Sram, Yuri, Lord Tempo and the Master of Infinite Disguise.

The humour does not remove the danger. Instead, it makes the enemy household feel as distinctive as the team at Hawknest. The series moves between invasion plots, disguises, strange powers and episodes in which character and comedy take the lead.

Start with the two-part Expect the Unexpected to meet both sides and see how the defence system works. The episode index below provides a complete route through the original television production.

The first Big Finish audio volume was released in April 2015, following the revival’s announcement in 2014. Denise Bryer, Jeremy Hitchen and Robbie Stevens returned, with Beth Chalmers joining the cast. The new stories developed the characters and their world in a different medium, alongside the original television adventures.

Explore the first audio volume at Big Finish. The television series and later audio stories are labelled separately so you can choose where to begin.

Choose a title to watch the full episode on our official YouTube channel. The two parts of Expect the Unexpected are listed separately. This retains the archive’s sequence; regional broadcast orders can differ.

1. Expect The Unexpected
2. Expect The Unexpected Part 2
3. Gold
4. Thunder-Roar
5. Close Call
6. From Here To Infinity
7. Space Samurai
8. The Sporilla
9. Happy Madeday
10. Gunfight At Oaky’s Corral
11. The Ugliest Monster Of All
12. The Gun
13. Thunder Path
14. Mind Monster
15. To Catch A Tiger
16. The Midas Touch
17. Operation S.A.S.
18. Ten Top Pop
19. Unseen Menace
20. A Christmas Miracle
21. Midnight Blue
22. Play It Again, Sram
23. My Kingdom For A ZEAF
24. Zero’s Finest Hour
25. The Ultimate Menace
26. Ma’s Monsters
27. Two For The Price Of One
28. Child’s Play
29. Jolly Roger One
30. Runaway
31. First Strike
32. Terratomb
33. Doppelganger
34. Cry UFO
35. Space Cyclops
36. Timewarp
37. Space Giant
38. Cold Finger
39. Operation Zero

Anderson Burr Pictures / LWT. 39 episodes of approximately 25 minutes; first broadcast in 1983.

Producers: Gerry Anderson & Christopher Burr
Associate Producer: Bob Bell
Directors: Alan Pattillo, Desmond Saunders, Tony Bell & Tony Lenny
Lighting Cameramen: Harry Oakes BSC & Paddy Seale
Art Director: Gary Tomkins
Special Effects Director: Steven Begg
Music Composed & Performed by Richard Harvey
Additional Music Composed by Gerry Anderson & Christopher Burr

Original voice cast: Jeremy Hitchen, Anne Ridler, Denise Bryer, Ben Stevens and Windsor Davies.