Thunderbirds has proved influential across countless other television series and films – and not just science fiction. From Ultraman to Wallace & Gromit, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s classic Supermarionation series continues to inspire a range of eclectic works. It’s perhaps unsurprising then that one person who looked back on Thunderbirds as an education for creating their own works was none other than Gerry Anderson himself! Various elements of his post-Thunderbirds work can often be singled out as taking apparent inspiration from his 1965 series, one such series being 1983’s Supermacromation science fantasy, Terrahawks.
This Thunderbirds Thursday, which also coincides with Terrahawks Day, we’re counting down five ways that Thunderbirds influenced Terrahawks!
5. Secret headquarters
Futuristic headquarters are a firm staple of many classic Gerry Anderson productions – but how many of them are actually secretive in nature? SHADO HQ operating under the disguise of a film studio is one example, whereas Terrahawks‘ Hawknest clearly has its roots in Thunderbirds‘ Tracy Island. Located somewhere within a jungle region in South America, the Terrahawks’ secluded base of operations is known publicly as the White House.
Hidden within the depths and far-reaching grounds of the estate lies the Terrahawk base, including its fantastic vehicles, ready to spring into action whenever the villainous Zelda strikes. The sprawling estate of Hawknest and its exotic location, mostly hidden from the world, carries distinct echoes of Tracy Island. Both locations may give the impression of their respective occupants living in lazy luxury, but at the first sign of trouble, Hawknest erupts into life!
4. Secret agents
Terrahawks may not have had a secretive network of undercover operatives like International Rescue had, but one of the Terrahawks’ core members serves as a vital link to the outside world. Kate Kestral and Lady Penelope share a variety of similarities, with both of them having undercover alter egos that allow them to operate outwardly in public whilst still serving their respective organisations. Kate trades in Penelope’s aristocratic background for being a globally celebrated pop star, able to use her celebrity status to investigate suspicious activity. HUDSON in particular reads like a combination of FAB 1 and Parker rolled into a single character.
Taking this a stage further, Kate’s musical prowess with the real-life singer Moya Ruskin was perhaps a determined effort to enable giving Terrahawks a star female icon, trying to recapture that same popularity as Lady Penelope had given Thunderbirds.
3. Disaster-themed adventures
The Terrahawks are a far more military-themed outfit, focusing on the defence of the Earth rather than sharing International Rescue’s altruistic intentions. However, various scenarios scattered throughout Terrahawks hint at the ever-present influence of Thunderbirds finding its way into individual episodes. Mary Falconer using the Battlehawk’s excavating capabilities to rescue Tiger from being trapped within a collapsed cave in Thunder-Roar feels such a throwback to the pod vehicles’ own tunnelling features. The threat of the combined Cubes used to destroy the dam in The Gun calls back to Path of Destruction, as does the runaway Overlander in control of Sram in Thunder Path.
2. Individually-purposed vehicles
Terrahawks began life in the late 1970s as Thunderhawks. Had that earlier incarnation been fully realised, Thunderhawks’ set-up as an outfit would have been close to Spectrum or SHADO. The Thunderhawk outfit would have consisted of entire armadas of specialised vehicles. Thunderhawk 1, Thunderhawk 2, Thunderhawk 3 and Thunderhawk 4 all serve unique purposes, yet are mass-produced to perform a truly global operation of defence and attack against intergalactic enemies. By comparison, Terrahawks features entirely individualised vehicles, pushing their similarities in function closer to Thunderbirds.
The heavy-duty Battlehawk carries obvious comparisons to Thunderbird 2, but the remaining craft all feature shades of most of the remaining core Thunderbird machines. Hawkwing’s rapid response functionality makes it Terrahawks‘ equivalent of Thunderbird 1, while the combined shuttle and satellite duo of Treehawk and Spacehawk ensure that Thunderbirds 3 and 5 are well represented.
1. Elaborate launch sequences
Terrahawks mainly doffs its cap to Thunderbirds through its elaborate vehicle launch sequences. The secretive nature of Hawknest and the individual functionality of the Terrahawk craft result in each machine demanding its own unique launch sequence whenever disaster strikes. As well as serving as affectionate reminders of why Thunderbirds remained in the popular consciousness well into the 1980s, Terrahawks‘ launch sequences allowed the series’ special effects department to showcase their skills.
Hawkwing’s means of being catapulted through an underground tunnel and shooting off into the sky via an artificially generated whirlpool is one of the series’ most ambitious sequences and gives the series a rare dip into water-based visual effects. Treehawk’s departure through a concealed jungle tree, which unfolds to allow immediate take-off for the shuttle. The most tongue-in-cheek of the Terrahawk machines’ lift-off showcases has to be the White House, which unfolds ala Tracy Island’s swimming pool and Thunderbird 2’s hanger to allow the Battlehawk to blast off into action.
Precisely how all of the White House’s furniture and fixings remain in place whenever the house is forced to mechanically unravel in the way that it does is never quite explained. However, we do get the amusing scenes of Tiger forced to contend with all of the building’s collapsing interiors in Terratomb when Mary is forced to fly the Battlehawk out of danger when the craft unknowingly brings a bomb into Hawknest. Far from the only instance of Terrahawks trading in internal logic for self-referential humour!
From secret agents to ritualistic vehicle launches, there’s more than a hint of Thunderbirds‘ creative DNA scattered throughout Terrahawks!
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