Terrahawks

Terrahawks, stay on this channel! This is an emergency!

A show produced by Gerry Anderson in the mid-1980s, using a process dubbed Supermacromation rather than his trademark Supermarionation. (Basically, they used hand-puppets controlled from underneath instead of wire-puppets controlled from above.)

In the year 2020 the alien android Zelda attacks an outpost on Mars and makes it her home base in her efforts to destroy humankind and take over the Earth. To stop her, the Earth employs an elite task force known as the Terrahawks, who pilot an array of exotic aircraft into battle against Zelda's minions.

In 2015, the original cast got together with Big Finish to produce a new series of audio adventures.

Tropes used in Terrahawks include:
  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Subverted somewhat. The Zeroids have a nasty habit of developing individual personalities and wills of their own, but they always remain loyal. This doesn't stop one of the human characters distrusting Sergeant-Major Zero when he discovers that he's been making his own decisions.
  • An Ice Person: Coldfinger.
  • Anime Theme Song: When dubbed into Japanese as Earth Protection Force Terrahawks, the show also received its own traditionally animated opening and ending sequences complete with brand new theme songs titled "Galactica Thrilling" and "Taisetsu na Kotoba" (One Word) in addition to the original English Supermarionation/animation sequences and music.
  • Big Bad: Zelda
  • Catch Phrase: "I have a theory..."
    • "Flaming thunderbolts!"
    • "Exactry."
    • "Stroll on!"
  • Cool Starship: Several on both sides.
  • Enemy Mine: The Ultimate Menace.
  • General Ripper: Ninestein borders on being one since his first response to any alien contact is "blow it the hell out of the sky."
  • Humans Are the Real Monsters: Zelda thinks she's doing the universe a favor by wiping out a destructive, immoral race like the humans.
    • Ninestein on the other hand thinks Rousseau Was Right, and even though humans might screw up big sometimes, screwing up puts us closer to success next time.
  • Monster of the Week: The aliens have a supply of frozen monsters they defrost to pit against the Terrahawks. The same four or five tend to show up again and again, though.
  • Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: MOID impersonates Hiro in one episode and forgets to impersonate Hiro's thick Japanese accent, which is picked up on by the other characters.
  • Pinocchio Syndrome: Sergeant Major Zero, a robotic Zeroid with the desire of becoming human.
    • Much to Ninestein's annoyance.
  • Shout-Out: Kate sings a song called "SOS" in the episode "Play it Again, Sram," in which direct references are made to Gerry Anderson's earlier series Thunderbirds.
  • Sufficiently Advanced Alien: Zelda has mental control over physical matter. As she's an android, one assumes her powers are technological in nature.
  • We Gotta Stop Meeting Like This:

Hawkeye: [after a mid-air rendezvous with Kate] We must stop meeting like this.
Kate Kestrel: You're nothing if not original.

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