Silverhawks

Infobox Television
show_name = SilverHawks


caption = The official logo for "Silverhawks".
format = Animated television series
runtime = 22 minutes
creator =
voices= Bob McFadden
Earl Hammond

country = USA
network = first-run syndication
first_aired = September 8, 1986
last_aired = December 5, 1986
num_episodes = 65
list_episodes = List of Silverhawks episodes
website =
imdb_id = 0090520
tv_com_id =

Silverhawks was an animated children's television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. In total, 65 episodes were made. It was created as a space-bound equivalent to their previous series, "ThunderCats".

There was also a Silverhawks comic book series put out by Star Comics (an imprint of Marvel Comics).

Currently, Warner Bros. (who purchased Lorimar in 1989) owns the rights to Silverhawks, and a DVD release of part of the series has been announced for October 14, 2008. [ [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Silverhawks-Season-1-Volume-1/9861 Silverhawks DVD news: Announcement for Silverhawks - Season 1, Volume 1 | TVShowsOnDVD.com ] ]

Overview

Production and Development

Rankin/Bass followed up their successful "Thundercats" series with this series about a team of human heroes in the 29th century who were given metal bodies and hawk wings to stop organized crime in the Galaxy of Limbo. "Silverhawks" featured many of the same voice actors who had worked on "Thundercats", including Larry Kenney, Peter Newman, Earl Hammond, Doug Preis and Bob McFadden.

tory

Bionic policeman Commander Stargazer recruited the SilverHawks, heroes who are "partly metal, partly real," to fight the evil Mon*Star, an escaped alien mob boss who transforms into an enormous armor-plated creature with the aid of Limbo’s Moonstar. Joining Mon*Star in his villainy is an intergalactic mob: the snakelike Yessman, the blade-armed Buzz-Saw, the "bull"-headed Mumbo-Jumbo, weather controller Windhammer, shapeshifter Mo-Lec-U-Lar, robotic card shark Pokerface, weapons-heavy Hardware, and "the musical madness of" Melodia (uses a "keytar" that fires musical notes)

Quicksilver (formerly Jonathan Quick) leads the SilverHawks, with his metal bird companion TallyHawk at his side. Twins Emily and Will Hart became Steelheart and Steelwill, the Silverhawks’ technician and strongman respectively. Country-singing Col. Bluegrass played a sonic guitar and piloted the team’s ship, the Maraj (pronounced "mirage" on the series, but given that spelling on the Kenner toy). Rounding out the group is a youngster “from the planet of the mimes,” named Copper Kidd (usually called "Kidd" for short), a mathematical genius who spoke in whistles and computerized tones. At the end of every episode, Copper Kidd was quizzed (along with the home audience) on various space facts.

Launching from their satellite base, Hawk Haven, the SilverHawks flew into battle five days a week for one season. The fictitious Galaxy of Limbo in which the series takes place apparently has an atmosphere; characters speak in space and operate "open-air" vehicles, and Windhammer's powers work even when he is not on an actual planet. There is also gravity; characters not "flying" tend to fall downward relative to whatever vehicle, satellite, or other platform with which they lost footing. However, since Silverhawks is a fantastical children's cartoon, it should not be held to high standards of realism.

Characters

Heroes

Original Silverhawks

* Comdr. Stargazer (Bob McFadden) - A tough and grizzled old cop with bionic capabilities. He captured Mon*Star several years ago, and had him imprisoned. Older than the other Silverhawks, he longs to return to Earth for either a vacation or for retirement. He chiefly serves as the Silverhawks "eyes and ears", keeping them apprised of their current situation. His first name is apparently Burt. Stargazer's weapon-bird is "Sly-bird."

* Quicksilver (Peter Newman) - Jonathan Quick was the former head of the Interplanetary Force H, and is the field leader of the Silverhawks. He has a cyborg/bird companion called "Tally Hawk." Known for his quick reflexes (and even quicker thinking), Quicksilver is an accomplished tactician and athlete.
* Bluegrass (Larry Kenney) - He is second-in-command of the Silverhawks, and the chief pilot of the group, as well as a cowboy at heart. He is the only Silverhawk who cannot fly (other than Comdr. Stargazer), but he is the one that flies the team transport vehicle, the Maraj. He likes to use his weapon/instrument (portrayed in the toyline as his weapon-bird with the name "Sideman") as an interface with the Maraj's advanced dynamic piloting system, which he has affectionately dubbed "Hot Licks."

* Steelheart & Steelwill (Bob McFadden and Maggie Wheeler) - Emily and Will Hart are twin siblings. They are the "gearheads" of the team. They share an empathic bond in that when one sibling feels something, the other feels it as well. They are the only Silverhawks who have had real stainless steel hearts implanted during their transformation. Their weapon-birds are "Rayzor" (for Emily) and "Stronghold" (for Will).

* The Copper Kid is the youngest member of the Silverhawks, and the only one not a Terran (Earthling). A mathematical genius from the Planet of the Mimes, he "speaks" in mathematically calculated tones and whistles. At the end of each episode, he was quizzed in several astronomy lessons by Bluegrass as training to become the reserve Maraj pilot. (Sure enough, he was called in to fill Bluegrass's shoes, albeit infrequently). A natural acrobat, the Copper Kid has two razor-edged discs (one mounted on each hip) which he throws like Frisbees. His weapon-bird is "Mayday."

New Silverhawks

* Hotwing (Adolph Caesar) - A gold Silverhawk of African American heritage who was added in mid-season. He is a magician, and skilled illusionist. He receives his powers from a mystical energy force that 'chose' him to bear the powers to fight against injustice. He has to recharge these powers every few years, otherwise he will die. One notable time was when Zeek the Beak tricked the mystic force into giving him these powers, which would have resulted in Hotwing's death. Hotwing has a weapon-bird named "Gyro."

* Flashback - A green time-traveling Silverhawk from the far future. When he meets the 'much older' Stargazer, who tells him of the fateful day the Silverhawks died, Flashback travels back in time to save them from an exploding sun. He also traveled back in time to stop Hardware from destroying the Silverhawks (when the mad inventor sabotaged the Maraj during the S-Hawks hyperspace-sleep to Hawk-Haven from Earth, which would have caused the autopilot to fly them straight into the sun). Flashback's weapon-bird is "Backlash."

* Moonstryker - A turquoise Silverhawk. He can propel himself through space by a powerful cyclone generated from propellers that emerge from his waist. He is cocky but an expert marksman, as demonstrated when he shot a pen out of Stargazer's hand when they first met in the episode "Battle Cruiser".

* Condor - An old ally of Commander Stargazer, whom Condor calls "Gaze". Condor is a lone operative, believed to be either a bounty hunter or federal marshal. Instead of wings, he has cybernetic bodyparts similar to Stargazer's, and also a jetpack.

NOTE: It must be noted that only TallyHawk appeared in almost all of the episodes in the series. All the other "weapon-birds" only appeared only in a handful of episodes. Sideman has made an appearance and Gyro was killed by Melodia's instrument.

Other supporting characters

* Seymour (Adolph Caesar) - The television show's comic relief, is a space cabbie who frequently says "Y'know what I mean?". He might be inspired by Space Cabbie, a 1950s science fiction character.

* Zeek the Beak, - Seymour's pal. He is a green bird-like alien who often accompanies Seymour on cab rides. His catch phrases are "You wanna buy a fish?" and the interjection "Zeek!"

Villains

* Mon*Star (Earl Hammond) - An alien mob boss who escaped from his cell, located on Penal Planet 10. He uses the power of Limbo's Moonstar to transform into an armor-plated, spiked creature with rocket boosters in his elbows. Mon*Star rides a giant "space-squid" called "Sky-Runner", and has a weapon-bird (more like a vampire-bat) named "Sky Shadow". He has some bad blood with Stargazer due to their past conflicts, and extends that animosity to the Silverhawks. Like "Thundercats's" Mumm-Ra who transforms by saying “Ancient spirits of evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living!” Mon*Star transforms into his alternate form by calling on the Moonstar to "Give me the might, the muscle, the menace, of MON*STAR!".

* Yess-man (Bob McFadden) - Yess-man is a snake-like creature. He's basically Mon*Star's all-purpose lackey, thrall, and/or sycophant. As his name suggests, he is notorious for constantly saying "Oh yess, Boss...yess." Once used the powers of the moonstar alongside Mon*Star but did not change form. The Moonstar primarily gave him increased mental abilities and ambition. This led to a feud between himself and his boss until the powers faded.

* Hardware (Voiced by Bob McFadden) - An extremely intelligent creature who carries an over-sized rucksack full of self-engineered weapons and equipment. Hardware has the uniquely honed talent for invention, and can devise devilishly effective machines. Mon*Star considers Hardware his most dangerous minion because of this talent.

* Melodia (Maggie Wheeler) - A musical mistress who serves as a nemesis and counterpart to the Silverhawks' Bluegrass. Melodia is usually seen cruising around in a roadster, causing havoc and assorted acts of terror as diversions. Melodia almost always carries a musical synthesizer as a weapon.

* Windhammer (Doug Preis) - An environmental terrorist with a huge tuning fork that enables him to manipulate or generate destructive weather patterns.

* Mo-Lec-U-Lar (Doug Preis) - He is a unique creature with the ability to shift into any shape, form, or state of matter. He is Mon*Star's master of disguise and leading hitman. His weapon-bird is "Volt-ure."

* Mumbo Jumbo (Peter Newman) - A robotic minotaur who is basically the grunt for the Mob. He speaks in metallic grunts which his associates seem to understand (though he usually pronounces Mon*Star's name properly) and appears to be on the low scale of the intellectual spectrum. His signature attack is a quadrupedal charge at an opponent. He is a sworn enemy of Steelheart because of Steelheart's strength and skill which takes him down easily. Mumbo's weapon-bird is "Airshock."

* Poker-Face (Larry Kenney) - owner of the Starship Casino, who has slot machines for his eyes and carries a cane with playing card suits decorated on it.

* Timestopper (Peter Newman) - A cocky juvenile delinquent nyctophobe with the ability to suspend all ambient motion and kinetic energy around him (freeze time, as it were) for a minute. He is often in the services of Mon*Star.

* Buzz-Saw - A totally cybernetic (and independently sentient) war machine with razor sharp circular saw cutting blades that can be used as projectile weapons. His weapon-bird is "Shredator."

* Zero the Memory Thief - A long-nosed shady character who steals memories using a cattle prod-like weapon and records them on cassettes. He occasionally did business with Mon*Star's gang when the opportunity suited him.

* Bounty Hunter - He was imprisoned by Comdr. Stargazer for 200 years. He is broken out by Mon*Star and now wants revenge. He can absorb energy directed at him, and use it to sustain his physical form as well as to grow larger.

List of episodes

# The Origin Story 09/08/1986
# Journey To Limbo 09/09/1986
# The Planet Eater 09/10/1986
# Save The Sun 09/11/1986
# Stop Timestopper 09/12/1986
# Darkbird 09/15/1986
# The Backroom 09/16/1986
# The Threat of Dritt 09/17/1986
# Sky-Shadow (09/18/1986)
# Magnetic Attraction 09/19/1986
# Gold Shield 09/22/1986
# Zero The Memory Thief 09/23/1986
# The Milk Run 09/24/1986
# The Hardware Trap, Part 1 09/25/1986
# The Hardware Trap, Part 2 09/26/1986
# Race Against Time 09/29/1986
# Operation Big Freeze 09/30/1986
# The Ghost Ship 10/01/1986
# The Great Galaxy Race 10/02/1986
# Fantascreen 10/03/1986
# Hotwing Hits Limbo 10/06/1986
# The Bounty Hunter 10/07/1986
# Zeek's Fumble 10/08/1986
# The Fighting Hawks 10/09/1986
# The Rengade Hero 10/10/1986
# One on One 10/13/1986
# No More Mr. Nice Guy 10/14/1986
# Music of the Spheres 10/15/1986
# Limbo Gold Rush 10/16/1986
# Countdown to Zero 10/17/1986
# The Amber Amplifier 10/20/1986
# The Saviour Stone 10/21/1986
# Smiley 10/22/1986
# Gotbucks 10/23/1986
# Melodia's Siren Song 10/24/1986
# Tally-Hawk Returns 10/27/1986
# Undercover 10/28/1986
# Eye of Infinity 10/29/1986
# A Piece of the Action 10/30/1986
# Flashback 10/31/1986
# Super Birds 11/03/1986
# The Blue Door 11/04/1986
# The Star of Bedlama 11/05/1986
# The Illusionist 11/06/1986
# The Bounty Hunter Returns 11/07/1986
# The Chase 11/10/1986
# Switch 11/11/1986
# Junkyard Dog 11/12/1986
# Window in Time 11/13/1986
# Gangwar, Part 1 11/14/1986
# Gangwar, Part 2 11/17/1986
# Sneak Attack, Part 1 11/18/1986
# Sneak Attack, Part 2 11/19/1986
# Moon*Star 11/20/1986
# The Diamond Stick-Pin 11/21/1986
# Burnout 11/24/1986
# Battle Cruiser 11/25/1986
# Small World 11/26/1986
# Match-Up 11/27/1986
# Stargazer's Refit 11/28/1986
# The Invisible Destroyer 12/01/1986
# The Harder They Fall 12/02/1986
# Uncle Rattler 12/03/1986
# Zeek's Power 12/04/1986
# Airshow 12/05/1986

Action Figures & Merchandise

The Silverhawks action figure line by Kenner was based on the animated television series and was first released in 1987. Each figure was packaged with a companion bird and had an action feature of some type. The second series of figures is generally harder to find than the first with Ultrasonic Quicksilver being the most difficult. The MonStar with Laser Lance, Copper Kid with Laser Discs and the Copper Racer vehicle were not produced but were shown in the 1988 Kenner toy catalog. The series 1 Hawk Haven Fortress was never produced either, due to the high production costs it would incur.

There was also a lot of other Silverhawks merchandise released in the 1980s including a board game, puzzles and a plastic pencil pouch with the main characters on one side with a very sturdy metal zipper. They also released a set of pajamas which included wing flaps under the arms to more resemble the characters while wearing them.

External links

* [http://theflashsite.net/silverhawks Silverhawks flash site]
* [http://www.claws-and-paws.com/outtakes/silverhawks/ Silverhawks Outtakes] from [http://www.claws-and-paws.com/ Claws and Paws] (adult language)
* [http://video.aol.com/video-search/query/Silverhawks Full episodes of "Silverhawks" free at AOL Video]
* [http://www.tv.com/silverhawks/show/7307/summary.html Episode Guide]
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References