Terrahawks-Volume 3 (1983) |
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Terrahawks-Volume 3 (1983) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Science Fiction | None | |
| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1983 | ||
| Running Time | 116:30 (Case: 120) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By |
Tony Lenny Tony Bell |
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Studio
Distributor |
Anderson Burr Picts Beyond Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Denise Bryer Windsor Davis Jeremy Hitchen Anne Ridler Ben Stevens |
| Case | Alpha-Transparent | ||
| RPI | $29.95 | Music |
Gerry Anderson Christopher Burr Richard Harvey |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Full Frame | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | None | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Producer Gerry Anderson is perhaps best known for the 1960’s science fiction supermarionation television show Thunderbirds, which today still has a devoted cult following. After a string of unsuccessful shows similar to Thunderbirds the producer joined with Christopher Burr to create Terrahawks, a show which relaunched Anderson’s career in the early 1980s.
Terrahawks had a short lifespan of two years on television but the show has also gained a worldwide cult following due to its absurdity. Nevertheless the show is weird and wonderful mainly due to the marionette characters that have surprising yet memorable personalities.
Set in the year 2020 and hidden in South America is the base of the Terrahawks Earth Defence Squadron (Hawknest) where an elite fighting force is lead by a clone named Dr 'Tiger' Ninestein. Dr Ninestein is an aggressive leader whose southern drawl sounds like a mixture of John Wayne and Jack Nicholson. He is a strong leader of this top secret team and has a firm belief that humans are higher beings than androids.
Other members of his team include Captain Mary Falconer; who is a civilian pilot, Lieutenant Hiro; who provides intelligence, Captain Kate Kestrel; a tribute to Tina Turner and pilot and Lieutenant Hawkeye, a southerner who provides weaponry for the team. The team is aided by Zeroids who act as foot soldiers and two bickering thinking robots in Sergeant Major Zero and Sergeant 101.
The team’s primary goal is to protect Earth from the evil android alien Zelda, who attacks Earth from her base on Mars. Zelda’s plan is to enslave humans as revenge for humans using androids as slaves on her planet. Zelda has the ability to control matter and create something from nothing. She is aided by her dim-witted son Youngstar and her sister Cystar. Zelda controls her foot soldiers, Cubes through mind control and also offers a variety of antagonists in the form of monsters, androids and bears.
Each 23 minute episode explores Zelda’s often failed missions to destroy Earth as Terrahawks is concerned with the simple ideal that good will overcome evil.
On volume 3 of the Terrahawks DVD collection, there are five episodes:
HAPPY MADEDAY
Zelda sends Moid, a master of disguise to infiltrate the Terrahawks' ship. Moid is disguised as a commander and is welcomed by Hiro. Zelda then initiates a massive attack on Earth and the Terrahawk crew.
GUNFIGHT AT OAKYS CORRAL
During a shootout between the cubes and Sergeant Major Zero, one cube escapes. Ninestein leads the chase to find the cube and finds himself in the midst of a shootout.
THE UGLIEST MONSTER OF ALL
Zelda unleashes one of her most terrible monsters, Yuri, a space bear who despite its cuddly exterior harbours supernatural powers. The Terrahawks befriend him, unaware of the threat Yuri poses.
THE GUN
A mysterious space transporter returns to Earth carrying rare tungsten ore. The Terrahawks are suspicious of its appearance and shoot it down but quickly learn Zelda has other plans in store.
THUNDER PATH
The Overlander, a land train which brings supplies to the Terrahawks' secret base, is hijacked by Sram, one of Zelda’s monsters.
As expected the transfer quality is below par, similar to the previous volumes.
The television show is presented in an aspect ratio of full frame 1:33.1, and is not 16x9 enhanced
The picture is soft yet the colour remains bright and vivid.
There are no subtitles provided on this DVD.
| Sharpness |   |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts |  |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
Sound quality is poor but tolerable.
There is a single English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) track available.
There are no major problems evident with audio synchronisation.
The music is largely based on the synthesizer theme composed by Gerry Anderson. In some episodes the character of Captain Kate Kestrel sings eighties inspired ballads to the crew.
The surround channel usage is poor, with most sound occupying the front. The soundtrack is limited - most is based on dialogue and the use of music is minimal.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use |  |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
There are no extras. The main menu is static and practical, although each episode on this DVD consists of only one chapter.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 1 version of the show comes in a 5 disc set containing:
The Region 2 contains all of the above features and includes various features spread over three box sets such as:
The entire series is spread over three separate box sets with total of 9 DVDS.
Box Set 2 includes the following extras
Box Set three includes:
The technical specifications remain the same for all releases.
NOTE: The local boxset is identical to the Region 2. Priced at around $30 each
The 80s nostalgic television show Terrahawks has been released locally in dire quality in separate volume releases.
The local or international box sets may be better suited to fans of the show.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Denon DVD-1910, using DVI output |
| Display | Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
| Amplification | Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS |
| Speakers | (Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12 |