La gente del mañana

Due to a timeslot conflict back in the days before even VCRs I never saw this back in the day so I am taking advantage of social distancing to binge it online to see what I am missing. I have been told that this was Thames TV's pale imitation of Doctor Who which is both factually correct but misses the point. First of all it had a fair run for any series. Dr Who is almost unique for it's long run so it's a bit unfair to use that yardstick. The effects and sets are cheaper than Dr Who but not as cheap as late Blakes 7. If I had seen it as a kid I am sure I would have loved it just as much as other stuff I was watching then. As an adult I am smirking a bit but definitely a fan. There is a tendency for villains to give up a bit easily (perhaps in fear of Whitehouse?) but there are some very sophisticated ideas being thrown about and (mostly) the science is real rather than technobabble with a credited science adviser. The worst thing about it is that either it was hurriedly rehearsed or they were too pressed to re shoot as flubbed lines are a bit too common and last night I lost it laughing at the boom mike popping in and out of shot but that's minor.

A British Sci-Fi children's Classic! Tomorrow people is the PRIME example of the "Golden Age" of British Children's television of the 70's. In 1973 Doctor Who was king and Thames Television decided to give the BBC a run for their money. The result was The Tomorrow People! Since this was produced in the 70's, the show is certainly dated along with campy special effects and wobbly sets (imagine Doctor Who on even a tighter budget!)but there is quite a charm to this series, and certainly will bring back alot of memories (especially those of us in the States who were early Nickelodeon viewers in the early 80's) Fortunately these episodes are being released on Region 0 DVD's in the U.K.! Not only is it great to have these episodes in good quality, but the fine folks at Big Finish Productions (who are also producing new Tomorrow People audio adventures with the original cast) have added recorded commentary from cast members including Nicholas Young (John), Peter Vaughan-Clarke (Steven), Philip Gilbert (Tim), Elizabeth Adare (Elizabeth) and conducted by Nicholas Briggs. The Commentary tracks are actually worth the price of the DVD alone! These give a FANTASTIC insight into the making of and behind the scenes stories. Many times they'll contribute their own comments about the scenes (ala MST3K) or even stray from the subject completely and will have you literally rolling on the floor with laughter! Highly amusing and recommended!

My memory of the show was completely buried from when I had seen it on Nickelodeon when I was a kid. Then I saw mention of it somewhere not long ago, and it all came rushing back to me, memories of what had been my favorite TV show at the time. That prompted some searching, and as a result, I am the proud owner of the first two seasons of The Tommorow People on DVD, which I ordered from Blackstar in the U.K. Watching it was quite an experience, being torn between thinking "this is so cheesy" and "this is absolutely brilliant". As I found watching the commentary, I wasn't the only one. Featuring Nicholas Young (John), Peter Vaughn-Clarke (Stephen), and Philip Gilbert (the voice of Tim), they made what I thought was going to be a technical commentary into a hilarious inside look at the making of the show, which they obviously thought was as cheesy and brilliant as I did. Everyone thinking of getting the DVD's should watch it. This is especially easy as the DVD's you order from the U.K. are Region 0, which means they can be watched all over the world (don't be fooled by blackstar.co.uk or amazon.co.uk when they mark them as Region 2 on the websites, they are all Region 0). Well worth the money for anyone who remembers the show and wants to take a stroll down memory lane.

I would like by saying that if you are American (as per the only other review), you may indeed find this series hard going. Not because of the story lines, generally, but because of the woeful effects. By US standard, even at the time, TV and film was way ahead of the game and an effects budget of just £12,000 a series was never going to cut any mustard. However, look through this and let yourself get involved with the plots and story lines and you will find yourself being almost hypnotically drawn into it. For a kids show at this time, it was way ahead of the game and many of us older viewers who remember it did indeed rush home from school to see it. Perhaps because it made a distinction between Saps (Homo Sapiens) and The Tomorrow People (Homo Superior), thus any kid left out of the cruel grim schoolyard politics of the depressive early 70's felt that they were catered for by Tim, Stephen et al. Granted it is exceptionally British middle class, and the characters good and bad are perhaps a little unidentifiable to anyone from, say Pismo Beach CA, but its worth the journey and heres why. The ingredients are all here, dark, strong and at times brooding stories; good well rounded 'good guys', fantastically over the top 'bad guys', bad and laughable effects but again all part of the fun; editing and lighting errors and gaffs (that are still in by the way), a haunting, industrial theme tune and great credits. The Tomorrow People episodes have influenced many contemporary scifi TV pro grammes and the series has been resurrected twice (latest this year).

So I urge you to try the original UK series. Laugh if you must, and you probably will, but I would wager the experience will stay with you for quite a while after. You may even love it as I do, even though you might not know exactly why. The Tomorrow People then. A classic BECAUSE of the flaws.

If like me, you were in your early teens when this first aired, you were probably a fan too of this low-tech but engaging children's sci-fi series. Replacing another favourite in the ITV schedules of the time, "Ace Of Wands", "The Tomorrow People" aimed even more at its target school-age audience by employing child actors in the lead roles of teenage "homo- superiors" with the ability to telepath and "jaunt" through time and space.

Unfortunately this was its biggest weakness, as the young actors in the starring parts are almost universally wooden, every take looking like they're repeating a line learned a minute before. The sets and special effects are similarly dodgy, all cardboard and flashing lights, yet watching the episodes today some forty years on, with its excellent theme tune and arresting title sequence, it still takes me back to my childhood, when I would settle in after school and watch it faithfully.

That nostalgic glow makes it easy to forgive its rather obvious shortcomings and to be fair the stories I've re-watched are okay too, sort of junior Dr Who. The good news is that all the original episodes are currently available to watch somewhere in hyper-space, unlike the late lamented "Ace Of Wands" so enjoy them while you can.