In Atmos, thousands of islands of rock called Terras shoot up from the clouds, each housing a variety of strange creatures and societies. Their only defence for an invading evil empire is a squadron of fearless Sky Knights who patrol the roads and skies with their powerful transforming vehicles, shifting from easy rider to easy glider at the flick of a switch. The Storm Hawks were the most legendary of all the Sky Knights until they were taken out by the dark forces invading the Terras. Now, with the threat of invasion looming again, it is up to five fearless teenagers to take up the Storm Hawks' mantle once again to save everything they hold dear...

Storm Hawks: Season 1 - Volume 1 contains 13 episodes of the kids animated series that follows a group of wannabe Sky Knights as they patrol the skies on the planet Atmos, hoping one day to become proper Storm Hawks. This young group have pledged to defend their planet from the evil Master Cyclonis and his followers, most notably the Dark Ace, who was once a Storm Hawk but betrayed his crew years previously - the result being that the Storm Hawks were wiped out.

We only received the second disc for review, so we've only seen eight episodes of the thirteen that are supposed to be included in this collection. The episodes that we received included:

Best Friends Forever: Piper gains a new friend called Lark. They become so close, and so fast, that the other Storm Hawks begin to get suspicious of her motives.

The Black Gorge: The Storm Hawks cut through the Black Gorge, where they encounter the strange, and deadly, creatures that live there.

Absolute Power: A distress call is picked up from a group of scientists. The Sky Hawks jump to the rescue, but getting to the scientists might not be that easy, as they are in a facility that has the best defence system on the planet.

Velocity: The annual Terra Saharr bike race gets under way. Aerrow get a chance to show everyone what he can do. But when a masked biker appears, he looks set to leave Aerrow in the dust.

Fire and Ice: Repton's reptile holiday paradise has been ruined after the Blizzarians have covered it in ice. Meanwhile, the Absolute Zeroes and the Storm Hawks undertake a training session.

For some strange reason, the rest of the episodes on this disc are listed under Bonus Episodes. I don't really understand why, as all the episodes in this box set seem to run in original broadcast order and the following episodes originally ran after the ones above. It could be that this is the way they were listed so that the first disc and the second disc both contained five episodes each as the main feature - although, why they just couldn't put seven episodes on disc one and six on disc two is anyone's guess.

"Bonus" episodes on the second disc include:

King for a Day: Finn is crowned king when the Storm Hawks stumble across the long lost Terra Vapos. Finn's in his element, until he discovers that he has a serious job to do in order to protect his newfound followers.

Terra Deep: Danger lurks in every corner - Murk Raiders are chasing the Storm Hawks and a Cyclonian attack fleet is not far off. How can the Storm Hawks keep out of trouble?

Storm Warning: The Storm Hawks think they're in luck when they manage to acquire a shipment of Leech Crystals from behind the Cyclonians back. However, things that seem too good to be true usually are. Meanwhile Piper, who was instrumental in obtaining the crystals, decides to quit to teach her team a lesson because she thinks that they aren't giving her the respect that she deserves.

Extras on disc two include Storm Hawks Squadron On-line Game (which can be played on your PC) and The Cyclonians (1 min, 08 sec look at the Storm Hawks's enemies). There might be extras on disc one as well, but I've no idea what these are.

To be honest, from what I've seen, I'd say that this is a pretty good value for money collection that Storm Hawks fans will enjoy.

8

Pete Boomer