https://www.gerryanderson.com/terrahawks-zeldas-top-five-monsters/
Honourable mention – The Sporillas
While certainly an iconic and memorable monster, it’s difficult to find a way to include a Sporilla on this list since we never saw the same Sporilla more than once! The first one we meet (appropriately enough in the episode The Sporilla) turns out to be an ally to the Terrahawks once they release it from Zelda’s control, and subsequent appearances are either hallucinations (Mind Monster) or clip show episodes (Ma’s Monsters). The next time we see a ‘real’ Sporilla is in the episode Space Giant, but it clearly isn’t the same one the Terrahawks encountered previously! Both The Sporilla and Space Giant however do a good job of making their respective Sporillas both menacing and sympathetic, which earns them an honourable mention here.
https://www.gerryanderson.com/portfolio/terrahawks/
Terrahawks Episode List:
Expect The Unexpected
Expect The Unexpected Part 2
Gold
Thunder-Roar
Close Call
From Here To Infinity
Space Samurai
The Sporilla
Happy Madeday
Gunfight At Oaky’s Corral
The Ugliest Monster Of All
The Gun
Thunder Path
Mind Monster
To Catch A Tiger
The Midas Touch
Operation S.A.S.
Ten Top Pop
Unseen Menace
A Christmas Miracle
Midnight Blue
Play It Again, Sram
My Kingdom For A ZEAF
Zero’ Finest Hour
The Ultimate Menace
Ma’s Monsters
Two For The Price Of One
Child’s Play
Jolly Roger One
Runaway
First Strike
Terratomb
Doppelganger
Cry UFO
Space Cyclops
Timewarp
Space Giant
Cold Finger
Operation Zero
The Sporilla is a creature from the Terrahawks TV series. More than one of these creatures were kept in cryogenic storage by Zelda as part of her surpluss of monsters. They are described as untamable and virtually indestructible. They also do not require an atmosphere to survive and are unaffected by extremes of temperature. The name comes from a combination of the two words 'Space' and 'Gorilla'.
History
The first creature was controlled by a sonic device Zelda possessed and used in an attempt to eliminate Doctor Ninestein and Kate Kestrel. As soon as the sonic device was destroyed however, the Sporilla displayed an incredible act of compassion by refusing to strike down the Terrahawks and even helped to break open the base's sabotaged airlock along with Sergeant-Major Zero so that they could escape.
The second creature was deliberately allowed to be captured by humans after a fake attack on a Mars mining outpost. The creature was brought to Earth undetected in the presence of humans and was promptly sold to a Circus. The owner, Alonzo, took it upon himself to 'break' him and make him subservient. Zelda however, made sure things went a different path and used her powers to grow the Sporilla 40 feet tall where upon it crushed it's former master and took refuge in a nearby warehouse. He was not left alone for long however as the Terrahawks quickly entered the scene to neutralise him. He captured the Groundhawk with Mary Falconer inside, but upon realising that Hawkwing was shooting to kill him, he let Mary go presumably to save her from the blasts. After the attack, the Sporilla was left barely alive, but was then teleported back to Mars by Zelda.
Appearances
The Sporilla appears in only three episodes:
The Sporilla
Mind Monster (Hallucination)
Space Giant
Trivia
In Mind Monster, the Sporilla is presumed to be Ninestein's greatest fear as this is the form that the mind force used to scare him initially. The fact that the Sporilla is the only monster of Zelda's that Terrahawks were never able to defeat in combat is probably no coincidence and reflects on some of Ninestein's psychology. https://gerryanderson.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sporilla_(episode)
The Sporilla was the 8th produced and 38th broadcast episode of Terrahawks.
Plot
The Terrahawks' spy base on Juptier's moon Callisto has gone down and Ninestein, Kate Kastrel, Zero and 55 must go to try and repair it. They soon discover the cause of the problem is sabotage. But it's a trap! The airlock mechanism has been ripped to pieces. And now with no means of escape, they must try their best to survive against the most unstoppable force in the universe; The Sporilla!
Characters
Regulars
Doctor 'Tiger' Ninestein - Jeremy Hitchen
Lieutenant Hiro - Jeremy Hitchen
Kate Kestrel - Anne Ridler
Mary Falconer - Denise Bryer
Sergeant-Major Zero - Windsor Davies
Space Sergeant 101 - Ben Stevens
Zelda - Denise Bryer
Yung-Star - Ben Stevens
Cy-star - Anne Ridler
Guests
Pluto - (Does not speak)
Zeroid 55 - Ben Stevens
The Sporilla - Windsor Davies
Trivia
This episode's story is written as a pastiche of classic science fiction horror movies.
Shooting schedules for this episode place it as being filmed across the majority of March 1983
The Sporilla (episode)
Terrahawks: Season 3, episode 12
Foreign titles "Beast Sporilla of Space"
Air date July 20th, 1986
Written by Leo Pardstein
Directed by Tony Bell
Edited by Tony Hunt
