Silverhawks

I'm a big kid. I am a big anime fan and an 80's fan, and I remember this show growing up. This was a good show just to sit back and simply be entertained by. I still get a laugh out of watching this and just seeing how far that animation has come. People can say that this was a blatant rip-off of ThunderCats, but it was done by the same studio and it worked once right? The characters were likable, the dialog was cheesy but as someone else said before, it's just a cartoon. I was pleased to learn that the show had finally made it's way to DVD. It's about time, too, now that Voltron has finally made it. For all of the show's flaws, it's still good just to sit back and turn off the thought process and just be entertained by it. The origin of the show was very well put together and the first two episodes set the rest of the series up well. I just enjoyed this show as a kid and I still enjoy it today.

There have been better, there have been worse.

Yes, this is the same people responsible for Thundercats. Yes, the "writing" is incredibly formulaic. Yes, there are gaping plot holes, inconsistencies, and an utter lack of realism.

THIS IS A CARTOON!!! It is something that we watched because it was on, and at the time it was kinda cool. Besides, Thundercats was kinda played out. THe intended age range is 4-8, not 30+. Some of the space fantasy was softened for midwestern tastes. I find it amusing that the goodguy musician is a CW/R&B player, where the bad gall musician is Cindy Lauper on steroids--very 80s pop rock girl band style. We all know how evil Rock music is, right? For some reason, the cowboy has more dialog than the "leader" for the first 6 episodes.

Hmmm, a lieutenant outranks a colonel, but not a commander. ???

Also, if you're going to rip the cartoon by citing the similarity in chants between Mumm-Ra from Thundercats and Mon*Star, get the chant right. It's "Moon Star of Limbo {animated sequence/pause} Give me the Might! The Muscle! The MENACE of MON*STARRRRRRR!" As for falling in space, and people not needing life support: well, Limbo Galaxy has an artificial sun (which, technically should be artificial star, but that's a mistake that StarTrek makes on a regular basis without getting yelled at), maybe they also have an artificial gravity plane, or a black hole or two. That would explain why everyone was afraid of falling, now wouldn't it. Maybe the ships have atmospheric shields that hold in air, but don't stop lasers. Some of the races are aliens, maybe they can survive in space for a short time.

OK, as to why in some episodes Hardware has to have a ship with him, and in others he has a collapsible Pteridactyl in his backpack is a little less explainable (maybe he just doesn't always carry it with him?).

It's cheesy, dated, fun. Not the height of 80's animation, but not as bad as He-Man or {shudder}She-Ra.

I remembered loving Silverhawks when I was a child. At 20, I still love the show. True, the heroes are not always well drawn and there is some cheesy writing, but aside from that it is a great underrated show that doesn't deserve the flack it's gotten. Thundercats to me is the superior show, but Silverhawks I do not consider a rip-off at all, there is a difference between being a rip-off and having something that is conceptually similar and from the same company of which Silverhawks falls into the latter category. The animation is detailed and vividly atmospheric. What's more it does still hold up. The scoring matches the mood of each scene and episode with no problem at all, and the theme song is one of the coolest of any animated show from the 80s. The writing has some cheesy moments, but there is a campy charm and fun and thoughtful moments that is difficult to resist. The story lines are engrossing and well-thought out with some exciting action and heartfelt emotion. Say what you will about Silverhawks having bad science, but people are always going to say that Silverhawks has never tried to be a science-fiction documentary but a piece of escapism and should be seen as that, and actually I do have to agree. I know I have often complained of bad science in the Sci-Fi/SyFy channel movies, but unlike with Silverhawks these were stupid scientific errors that didn't hold water for a second and the movies on their own terms were not entertaining and had no excuse to not be. The characters are good, Tallyhawk is the best characters of the heroes, who are likable at least but not as well-sketched, but the heroes are outshone by the villains, who are interesting and wholly original. The voice acting is great, especially from Earl Hammond and Peter Newman. Summing up, a great show and very underrated and misjudged in my personal opinion. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I loved this show growing up and it still holds fond memories in my heart. It does require a bit of a suspension of disbelief ( but what 80's kid show didn't? ). The characters were cool, Mon-star had an interesting design for sure. I'd love to see this series on DVD as well as the other 2 Rankin Bass classics : Thundercats and Tigersharks.

Good times, good times.

I remember being an eight year old boy sitting in front of the tele watching the Silverhawks. Man, what a great cartoon. There were its flaws. I'm not sure why a commander and a lieutenant outranked a captain (must be some sort of Limbo galaxy military ranking thing). I'm not sure how a Steelheart survived with a metal heart. I'm not sure how the Silverhawks breathed in space. But I don't care. It was fantasy. It was fiction. And there was always a basic 'good prevails over evil' trend. Plus, the Copper Kidd thing at the end was very educational. This is far better than the crap that comes on the tele now. There are cartoons on now that I wouldn't dare let my children watch. And I don't mean adult cartoons like "Family Guy" or "South Park" or "Aqua Teen". I mean children's cartoons that come on children's networks. Is the Silverhawks cheesy? Of course it is...it was the 80's. Everything was cheesy. But in the end, the morals were pure and the message was good. That's what makes it great. 10/10