The Tomorrow People

When I was a wee little tyke one of the tv shows I would watch every weekend was the British import series THE TOMORROW PEOPLE. This Thames produced series created by Roger Price, followed the adventures of a group of young people who were the next step in human evolution. They had super powers -- telepathy, telekinesis and teleportation (or Jaunting). Also, they were incapable of killing. They operated out of a secret Lab underneath of London and were assisted by their supercomputer called T.I.M. They battled aliens, criminals, robots and monsters. This was Doctor Who-lite. A few years back A&E released the series on DVD. Also, Big Finish Audio produced a sequel series with many of the original cast. And there was also a reboot series produced in the mid-1990s in Australia, but I have never seen it.


While my memories of this series are deeply cherished, I also honestly acknowledge when rewatching this series as an adult, the show was very cringe worthy at times. The show had a very low budget, so low it makes the classic Dr. Who series of the same period look like a highly polished mega-budgeted blockbuster...LOL! And the stories are clearly written for young children, so there are plenty of plot/logic holes. But the series still has its charm and the concept is a great one. When Doctor Who was successfully relaunched, I though The Tomorrow People would be a perfect candidate for tv resurrection.

Well, it looks I will be getting my wish... sort of....

The Tomorrow People will be returning this fall... on the CW! Will it succeed?

I don't think I saw the original series, but I remember scraps of the reboot series from the mid 90's to a point I recall Christopher Lee played the villain in one of the episodes.

Looks like it has potential. The only problem I see is that it's on the CW and, generally, I despise their programming.

Q2 said:

Looks like it has potential. The only problem I see is that it's on the CW and, generally, I despise their programming.

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Yes, it is a very teen angst/soap driven network but sometimes that can be a good thing if done well.

NIKITA is fairly well produced and ARROW evolved into a very solid series over all.
And the Tomorrow People is about youth empowerment, so it might be a good fit.

I loved The Tomorrow People as a kid. In fact, I'm almost positive my oldest friend and I were pretty obsessed with it long before either of us got into Doctor Who. I'm sure it hasn't aged that well, but I still have a great fondness for it.

I like the idea of a new series, but the trailer makes me nervous. It's not the angst or the American setting, though both of those are a bit jarring. It's not even really the recycling of the names, though in my head I'm definitely thinking, "That's not John" or "That's not Stephen."

Instead, I think it's the fact that it seems to look like almost every other vaguely sci-fi teen drama, especially on the CW. Ripped abs? Check. Clean-shaven guys with seemingly unkempt (but actually very carefully kempt) hairstyles? Check. Dark-haired girl in tank top striking supposedly mysterious and/or badass poses? Check. Leather jackets? Check. I'm not saying it can't be good; I just wish that it looked a little more like a show that had some kind of substance to it and a little less like a fashion shoot.

I grew up on the 90s show, Jean Marsh and Christopher Lee were sublime villains

I tried watching the original run but could never really get into it, definitely a cult classic though with a lot of intriguing ideas and storylines, just don't have the time to sit through them all. I'll be sure to check out the CW revival, reminds me a bit of the old Mutant X show from back in the 2000s.

So I watched this, hoping for the best, expecting the worst....

Mostly I got typical CW formula entertainment, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

It is completely predictable and unoriginal, a mix of X-Men, Matrix, and of course the original series. But it was fast paced and entertaining. The show kept most of the primary basics of the original, with the most important aspect being The Tomorrow People are genetically incapable of killing. Though they sure can kick a lot of ass in this version!

I was very happy and surprised that they kept T.I.M., though how this rag tag group of outsiders living off of stealing, have an A.I. is not explained.

I found the last 15 minutes a bit groan worthy just because I have seen this done so many times before (and done better)... the new Tomorrow Person is the Savior, the evil relative, and the whole double agent, torn between two worlds thing....

So it was not a bad show. As I said it was fun but definitely not riveting or challenging. It appears the show will follow a safe and proven narration formula, rather than embrace full on the sci-fi aspects of the original. For example, Jedikiah was originally a shaping changing alien robot... LOL.

Not the worst thing on tv and I will check out a few more episodes before rendering a full judgment. But I would give the pilot a B minus.

I have it on my TiVo but after your comments I'll probably skip it. I have too much other stuff going on to waste it on a sub par show.

Q2 said:

I have it on my TiVo but after your comments I'll probably skip it. I have too much other stuff going on to waste it on a sub par show.

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It may improve. (fingers crossed... lol) I find tv pilots today (especially on network tv) are often flawed and rushed, and it takes a couple more episodes before the intention, style, tone and quality of the series becomes clear.

I liked this.

CANCELLED!!!

Not that surprising... it was too CW for its own good. While it was entertaining, it was never original or surprising.
A great tv concept completely wasted.

Now please cancel THE 100.