Hawkwing [Terrahawks]: Century 21 Tech Talk [2.6] | Hosted by General Ed Straker [UFO] 

Same, looooads of things like that in the series :)

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Not in the winter it's a sort of russet-brown.

Indeed. I just went through the numbers. UFO was set in the 1980s but the series was filmed in the early 1970s when the late Ed Bishop who played Ed Straker was in his 40s, so we can assume that to be the age of his character in UFO. Terrahawks was set in the 2020s some 40 years after the events in UFO, so his character would now/then be in his 80s. In Terrahawks the alien androids from Guk had destroyed the NASA Mars base, so I wonder what the Mysterons were doing then? Maybe they had not yet reached Mars?

Mysterons were still dormant on a different part of Mars, ditto for the Rock Snakes. A combination of 21st Century medical science, Straker's reputation, iron will and physical and mental fitness allowed him to remain General long past mandatory retirement age. He recorded these briefings a week before his 80th Birthday, when he finally elected to step down from active duty.

@Strawberry Milk I am guessing you are younger than me which probably helped. I found it incredibly childish in many ways. I remember watching Fireball XL-5 as a kid, in the 60's, but my favourite was Thunderbirds and later Captain Scarlet. I didn't like Joe 90 as much, but did love Space 1999 and UFO. After that I didn't like any subsequent Anderson releases, but in all honesty Terrahawks was the one I hated the most, as it tarnished the memories for me. Finally, for me Thunderbirds was the most iconic theme tune. Terrahawks sounded like any one of countless fantasy B movies from the '80s.

@Strawberry Milk Interesting. I actually agree with much of what you said, the stand out difference is that I loved Thunderbirds. I do agree that Stingray had more interesting personalities however and one of my very favourite vehicles to boot. If I am honest, I probably prefer Thunderbirds as it was the first one I saw. I understand your reasoning regarding it being repetitive, as most episodes revolved around them rescuing people from dire emergencies. Thinking about it logically, of the Supernarionation titles Captain Scarlet was the best overall. For me Terrahawks is the very worst, but by the time it was released I was far too old to be the target market. But, the cheesy Space witches and the awful puppets that tried to look more life-like and yet whose faces looked strangely off, looking at you Dr Ninestein, meant I couldn't get past a few episodes. Tiger was by far the least likable hero of all, with even Joe 90 being more interesting. I didn't watch any other live action series other than Space 1999 and UFO. I tried to watch Space Precinct but it never engaged me. Finally, the Secret Service never appealed to me. Unwinese was fine in small doses, but quickly got annoying and the switching from live action to puppets destroyed any immersion because of the jarring changes. Furthermore, he reminded me of the far superior John Pertwee's Dr. Who, who was also an elderly white haired gentleman driving a vintage yellow car. I know that Secret Service came out a year earlier, but I was a die hard Dr. Who fan and much preferred that series. Besides, I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief that becoming 2 foot tall would be particularly useful even in espionage, as you would struggle with everyday routines, which would far outweigh any stealth advantages.