Terrahawks – stay on this channel, this is the definitive story!

My third book, Flaming Thunderbolts: The Definitive Story of Terrahawks, is currently available from Anderson Entertainment.

As the book’s title suggests, Flaming Thunderbolts is the official series guidebook to Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr’s cult classic Supermacromation sci-fi-action-comedy TV series, originally broadcast between 1983 and 1986. The book tells the history of Terrahawks from its initial inception and development in the late 1970s under the embryonic name of Thunderhawks to its eventual production, broadcast, reception, aftermath, audio revival, and beyond. It’s jam-packed with original interviews, behind-the-scenes images, episode guides, character biographies, vehicle specifications and much more!

Terrahawks was Gerry Anderson’s return to puppetry and television after several years of personal and professional upheaval following the end of Space: 1999 in 1977. Terrahawks saw Anderson embrace a new form of puppetry dubbed Supermacromation in a TV series full of all the usual hallmarks of an Anderson venture, but laced with a firm layer of humour. The series tells the adventures of the heroic Terrahawk organisation defending the Earth against the villainous alien android Zelda, her grotesque family and hoardes of memorable monsters.

The book is meticulously edited by Chris Dale and wonderfully designed by Rob White. In a landscape full of multiple series biographies of the same classic Anderson series, this is the first English-language book that attempts to bring together as much of Terrahawks‘ extensive history as possible, and I’ve endeavoured to leave no stone unturned.

Naturally, Flaming Thunderbolts dives deep into the actual making of Terrahawks, with extensive details of the series’ scriptwriting, direction, production, special effects, cast and crew members, and an episode-by-episode analysis of the series’ progression. It also charts the history of what happened before and after Terrahawks. The book contains extensive coverage of Gerry’s initial attempts to get Terrahawks off the ground, first as a live-action series named Thunderhawks, and later as an anime incarnation named Terrahawks: Order to Recapture Earth.

After both of these attempts failed, Gerry’s eventual partnership with Christopher Burr sealed his return to puppetry and the eventual lift-off of this divisive yet hugely distinct entry in Anderson’s filmography. As well as detailing the TV series itself, Flaming Thunderbolts charts the histories of Terrahawks in comics, annuals, and other spin-off media, as well as its eventual revival in audio form from Big Finish.

Flaming Thunderbolts: The Definitive Story of Terrahawks is available to order from Anderson Entertainment.