# Blast from the Past: The Tomorrow People (1970's)



## Dave (Aug 5, 2002)

*The Tomorrow People*

Did anyone else watch this? I remember avidly watching it in my early teens. It was ITV's answer to the BBC's 'Dr Who'. At the time most teenagers thought that it was much more hip (cool). Unfortunately, I've seen it again more recently on the Sci-Fi Channel, and the acting is atrocious, the special effects bad, and the storylines are full of plot holes.

This early 1970's Thames Television show followed the exploits of a group of teenage super beings that were based in a secret lab in an abandoned London Underground railway station. They were the next step in human evolution: 'Homo Superior' (a name taken from a David Bowie lyric). The show's creator Roger Price came up with the idea after meeting Bowie, while making a TV pop show at Granada, and reading a mind-expanding novel called 'The Mind in Chains', by psycho-scientist Dr Christopher Evans. Evans would become the show's 'scientific adviser'.

The title sequence music and images was quite memorable, with a fist, a brain and some other objects that I never worked out, alternated between the faces of the current cast. 

The child actors came and went at an alarming rate, explained away in the series by them going to the Galactic Federation, the Galactic Trig, which Earth would one day be able to join, if we stopped waging wars. In reality, they had gone on to Drama school, or to get 'proper' jobs.

Many stories involved them discovering a new Tomorrow Person as they 'broke out' during puberty and discovered their powers. This could be a both frightening and potentially dangerous event.

They were able to teleport (jaunt), move objects by telekinesis, and communicate telepathically with each other as well as their own biotronic supercomputer 'Tim'. Tim could amplify their powers, and also kept a constant watch on all TV and radio broadcasts. He was a source of information only comparable with Batman's Bat-computer in an age before unlimited computer memory and the Internet.

Each week the villains would be a variety of military types who wanted to use them as cold war spies, evil galactic criminals with bushy beards, and aliens who used forced child-labour. They would inevitably be knocked out, have their minds controlled, or lose their special powers completely.

The earlier episodes were the best and most thought provoking. This is quite a realistic review: http://www.animus-web.demon.co.uk/tellydoc/peeps.htm and stacks of further information here: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html 

There was a recent re-imaging of the series, but I only saw part of an episode, and it just wasn't the same. The older series ended very abruptly, there was supposed to be a concluding serial, but the day that they would start filming the last serial, there was a strike at Thames Television, and it was cancelled.


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## ray gower (Aug 5, 2002)

Would this be the one where in one episode thay were taken over, witnessed by sizeable amounts of cling film. And cured themselves by virtue of contacting a cold? Reminisent of the Body Snatchers.

If so. Yes I remember it.

Another had a warring race arriving and befriending Earth. 
Seem to recall the kids persuaded an Astronaut to take them to the Galactic Federation Headquarters in his new space ship. Then torpedoing the headquartrs with nuclear missiles to make them do something.


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## Dave (Aug 5, 2002)

I'm afraid that the later episodes got worse and worse. I think the story you are referring to is the one with Peter Davison (before he was 'Dr Who' or in 'All Creatures Great and Small') as a kind of male slave to female dominant aliens, when he dressed up as a Cowboy and Traffic Warden. It was extremely cringe making.

Watch the first season before you denouce it completely. 'The Vanishing Earth' story and 'The Blue and the Green' were as good as any 'Dr Who' stories.


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## ray gower (Aug 5, 2002)

I quite enjoyed the ones I saw. Just didn't see many of them

Effects, such as they were, tended to be less imaginative than Doctor Who and a few of the kids looked as if they were reading the prompts.

But hey! We are going back nearly thirty years! Almost all SciFi was done on the cheap then! It is bound to look tacky now, when effects are glossy, easy and cheap(ish).

Think I would still prefer to see reruns of the Clangers though?


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## Bayleaf48 (Aug 11, 2002)

I remember it vaguely, but didn't watch it all of the time though


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## Brit Chick (Sep 25, 2002)

I SO remember this series - like you Dave, I was in my early teens when it was on and my brother and I were just waiting for the day when we would 'break out' - unfortunately for my little bro all he broke out in was acne !!!    We just used to pretend we were Tomorrow People and had these super powers and esp. 

I had such a crush on Mike (can't remember his last name - some crush eh!) the one that went on to be in the pop band.  

I remember the Blue and Green ep and it was good - It all started with the painting in the antique shop if I remember correctly.  I wonder whatever happened to those actors !! I bet they do have a little cringe when they see themselves in the series.


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## Bayleaf48 (Sep 26, 2002)

Didn't really have a favourite character myself as I don't remember the characters 2 well

:blush:


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## Hi-lites (Sep 25, 2003)

I wasn't even alive yet when the original series came out and I was too young to remember the new one coming out, but from what I hear, this show sounded excellent! :coolyello  Too bad I won't ever get to see it.


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## L. Arkwright (Oct 6, 2003)

I have to be honest, I never liked the Tomorrow people. Well I say I never liked it, what I really meant was it scared the pants off me.   


Hmm so did a program called children of the stones or something like that. Lol I was such a cowardly child


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## ray gower (Oct 6, 2003)

LOL.

Did you have a good secret base behind the sofa for Doctor Who, like the rest of us, too?


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## L. Arkwright (Oct 7, 2003)

Haha, you know im begininng to think that their where subliminal messages in Dr Who because everyone who ever watched it and where "ahem" shall we say slightly unerved by it, always chose to hide behind the couch. Run out the room? Nope behind the sofa. Have a sudden urge for the loo? No way, instead feel the need to intimately study the differing types of fluff behind the settee.
    There was something very suspicious going on back then.


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## triffid (Oct 7, 2003)

Ahhhh, I remember the Tomorrow people. I used to watch that show on quite a regular basis when I were a kiddy. It's a pity they made such a hash of the re-imagening.


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## Brian G Turner (Apr 14, 2004)

*Who were the "Tomorrow People"?*

Did anyone here ever watch the Tomorrow People?

 If so, what did you think of the show?

 I was browsing DVDs today and saw quite a few on the shelves - obviously 1970's - but I don't remember watching any.

 I figure the special effects would be appaling, but what were the stories like, and was it generally any good?


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## Foxbat (Apr 15, 2004)

*Re: Who were the "Tomorrow People"?*

I vaguely remember watching this show - about a group of youths who have telepathic abilities and such like. The title sequence was of a hand opening to reveal a flower (this was the symbolism the group used to help emergent telepaths). From what I remember - a series aimed at teenagers with fairly standard plots(saving the world etc.). 

I don't know what I would think of it now.


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## The Master™ (Apr 29, 2004)

*Re: Who were the "Tomorrow People"?*

Here is what is said about the Tomorrow People:

"The Tomorrow People is a Science Fiction television series made in the 1970's. It follows the development of the next stage of human evolution, Homo Superior. 
A group of teenagers are the first members of Homo Superior, they are The Tomorrow People. They have new abilities including telepathy, telekenisis and teleportation. They no longer have the ability to kill, even to save their own lives.

From their base, the "Lab" in a disused London Underground tunnel, they wait for new Tomorrow People to start the dangerous process of breaking-out, and defend the Earth from enemies, both human and alien."

There was a re-make in the 1990's but seemed to be aimed at a slightly younger audience... DIDN'T WORK!!! And I think the 70's version is so outdated that it couldn't be shown again for teenagers of today!!! Unless UKGold started showing it on Morning TV like they have with Dr Who and did with Blake's 7...


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## philoSCIFI (Jul 22, 2004)

I wasn't born when the original aired. And unfortunately I haven't had the luck to see the original in any form of sindication or other recordings. I _have_ however seen the New Tomorrow People when it aired on Nickelodeon(? I believe?). I thought this was the coolest show when I saw the pilot. As much as I liked the new tomorrow people, I would have really loved to watch at least _one_ episode from the original series.


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## clandestine (Feb 3, 2005)

*Some news for any Tomorrow People fans.*

Some news for any Tomorrow People fans.

The latest Audio Adventure (A Living Hell) is currently being pressed and will be out this month. I also understand that Michael Holoway has recently recorded some dialogue and will be reprising his roll as Mike Bell in a forthcoming Audio Adventure.


http://groups.msn.com/TheTomorrowPeople/


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## The Master™ (Jun 25, 2005)

They're teenagers blessed with the powers of teleportation, telekenesis, and telepathy. Together they protect Earth from alien threats, and work towards bringing mankind into its future, where communication with other worlds is the norm. But their gifts come with one limitation: They cannot kill, even to save themselves.

Cast:
Dean Lawrence 
Role: Tyso (season 3-4) 
Misako Koba 
Role: Hsui Tai (season 6-8) 
Philip Gilbert 
Role: Tim (season 1-8) 
Nigel Rhodes 
Role: Andrew Forbes (season 7-8) 
Stephen Salmon 
Role: Kenny (season 1) 
Sammie Winmill 
Role: Carol (season 1) 
Elizabeth Adare 
Role: Elizabeth (season 2-8) 
Nicholas Young 
Role: John (season 1-8) 
Peter Vaughan-Clarke 
Role: Stephen (season 1-4) 
Mike Holoway 
Role: Mike Bell (season 4-8)


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## Foxbat (Jun 26, 2005)

I have fond memories of this. Running home from school to watch the title sequence with the fist and fingers uncurling to reveal an open palm...

Still. I much preferred Timeslip - probably the best kids SciFi from the early 70s


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## The Master™ (Jun 28, 2005)

Why has this been moved here??? It has nowt to do with Blakes 7...


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## Foxbat (Jun 29, 2005)

> Why has this been moved here??? It has nowt to do with Blakes 7...


I wondered that myself.


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## The Master™ (Jun 29, 2005)

And nobody stuck in a message to say they were moving it... Weird goings on!!!! Time to move it back to the general section, me thinks...


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## Jayaprakash Satyamurthy (Jun 29, 2005)

I think Lacey's been drinking in the Staff Room again.


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## Dave (Dec 9, 2009)

*Re: Who were the "Tomorrow People"?*



The Master™ said:


> Unless UKGold started showing it on Morning TV like they have with Dr Who and did with Blake's 7...


UKGold did show it for a while in the noughties before it became a premium channel.

How could you not have watched this when you were younger Brian?

My own opinion was that the first few Seasons were best, with the later ones getting progressively poorer both in scripts and acting. The other problem was that the cast kept leaving to get adult acting jobs or to become pop stars. They had to keep writing them out - they usually went to join the 'Galactic Council'. I couldn't stand the John bloke either.

The supercomputer they had called "Tim" was a good innovation at the time, but now that we have the Internet and ubiquitous CCTV and communications it wouldn't seem so.

I only realised recently that they ripped off "jaunting" from 'The Demolished Man'.


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## The Ace (Dec 9, 2009)

*Re: Who were the "Tomorrow People"?*

I never got to see it myself, it was on ITV and thus, according to my mother, "Effin' Stupit,"  (the same reason I missed, 'The Goodies,' and much early, 'Dr Who.').


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## Vladd67 (Dec 10, 2009)

*Re: Who were the "Tomorrow People"?*

I remember it had an early appearance of Nicholas Lyndhurst as a neo nazi cameraman


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## Urien (Dec 10, 2009)

*Re: Who were the "Tomorrow People"?*

Good theme tune though. I think I saw a clip of "Tomorrow People" on something like "TV Hell"; possibly the worst acting in the universe (though I've heard "Fark and  Woondoggle" on Tau Ceti 4 is pretty bad).

Here's the extended theme tune from opening and closing credits... it's a lot more Kraftwork lite meets Blake's Seven than I remembered. Give it a listen and imagine you're HOMO SUPERIOR... (gotta love those seventies)

YouTube - The Tomorrow People

I loved the idea of jaunting when I was a kid and depserately wanted a jaunting belt.


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