The Tomorrow People
Encyclopedia
The Tomorrow People is a British children's science fiction television series
, devised by Roger Price
. Produced by Thames Television
for the ITV
Network, the series first ran between 1973 and 1979. The series was re-imagined in 1992, Roger Price acting as executive producer. A third incarnation, running between 2001 and 2007, returned to the original concept and characters, but this time produced as a series of audio plays for Big Finish Productions
.
(Homo superior) known colloquially as Tomorrow People. Born to human
parents, an apparently normal child might at some point between childhood and late adolescence experience a process called "breaking out", when they develop their special abilities. These abilities include psionic powers such as telepathy
, telekinesis
, and teleportation
. However, their psychological makeup prevents them from intentionally killing others.
The original series was produced by Thames Television
for Britain's
ITV
network. The Tomorrow People operate out of a secret laboratory, The lab, built in an abandoned
London Underground
station. The lab was revamped at the beginning of series 6. The team watches for new Tomorrow People "breaking out" to help them through the process and sometimes deal with attention from extraterrestrial species. They also have connections with the "Galactic Federation" which oversees the welfare of telepathic species throughout the galaxy. In addition to their psychic powers, they also use advanced technology such as the biological (called in the series "biotronic") computer TIM
, which is capable of original thought, telepathy, and can augment their psychic powers. TIM also helps the Tomorrow People to teleport long distances, although they must be wearing a device installed into a belt or bracelet for this to work. Teleportation is referred to as jaunting in the program.
In the original series the Tomorrow People are also referred to by the term Homo superior. This term appears in David Bowie
's song "Oh! You Pretty Things
": "Let me make it plain. You gotta make way for the Homo Superior." This term came up as part of a conversation between Roger Price and David Bowie at a meeting at Granada studios in Manchester. Price was directing a programme in which Bowie was appearing. Price had been working on a script for his Tomorrow People project and during a conversation with Bowie, the term Homo superior came up. Bowie liked the term and soon afterwards wrote it into his song, pre-dating the series itself which was eventually produced by Thames TV in 1973. Price has sometimes been quoted as saying that the lyrics to this song were inspired by the series, not the other way around.
Alistair McGown of Screen Online cites The Mind in Chains by Dr Christopher Evans
as a primary source. Evans also became a scientific advisor for the series. He would be credited as such on every single episode but most people working on the show seem to recall that he only had involvement in the first couple of seasons. McGown also suggests a similarity between The Tomorrow People and the children's fantasy fiction of Enid Blyton
.
While they reveal their existence to some, the Tomorrow People generally operate in secrecy for fear that normal people (whom they term "Saps", a pejorative abbreviation for Homo sapiens) will either fear or victimise them because of their special powers or try to exploit them for military purposes. In order to defend themselves they must use non-lethal weaponry such as "stun guns" or martial arts due to their unwillingness to cause harm, referred to as the "prime barrier".
Price initially offered the format to Granada but was turned down so offered it to Lewis Rudd at Thames who commissioned a 13 episode series, having seen the potential of the format. Ruth Boswell was brought in as associate producer and script editor as she had experience of children's fantasy drama (Timeslip
and Tightrope) while TV dramatist Brian Finch was hired to co-write the scripts. Thames effectively poached Doctor Who
director Paul Bernard to help set up and oversee the first season. He would be credited as director for two stories but was unofficially a third producer.
Casting was seen as very important in that the leads would have to be personable enough to attract a young audience while Price also wanted people who would be easy to work with over long periods. Nicholas Young was cast as the group's leader, John while Peter Vaughan-Clarke was offered the role of Stephen after Price saw him in a Manchester rendition of Peter Pan with Lulu. Ruth Boswell wanted Lynn Frederick (later the last wife of Peter Sellers) for Carol, the female lead, but following a meeting with her Bernard felt she was a bit too upper class and precious for what he had in mind as he saw the character as being similar to Doctor Who's Jo Grant
. They finally settled on Sammie Winmill
who was relatively well known for playing Nurse Crumpton on the popular Doctor at Large situation comedy (also a Thames production). The role of Kenny was given to Stephen Salmon after having been discovered in a drama workshop while theatre actor Phillip Gilbert was selected to provide the ever so paternal tones of biotronic computer TIM. Making up the team were two Sap friends, a couple of bikers called Ginge (Michael Standing) and Lefty (Derek Crewe) who encounter the Tomorrow People when acting as henchmen for the villainous shape shifter Jedekiah
in the opening adventure.
Even for the time, the special effects of the original show were considered sub-par and camp, largely attributable to the show's small budget. Season 1's recurring villain, Jedikiah was originally devised to be a long running foe but after seeing the poorly designed robot that was the shape changer's true form, an unimpressed Price elected not to use the character again until the final of season 3 which was planned as the series end (noticeably the robotic form fails to appear). Despite this the season proved popular with its young audience who watched in droves.
The success of the first season saw another thirteen episodes go into production quite rapidly, but with a number of changes. Off-screen, both Bernard and Finch left leaving Price to take more control as writer, director and producer while on-screen Kenny and Carol disappeared (handily sent to the Galactic Trig to work as ambassadors for Earth). In their place came student school teacher Elizabeth M'Bondo, portrayed by Elizabeth Adare
. Adare initially thought her character was to be a teenage girl and made every effort at her audition to look and act like an adolescent. However Price was suitably impressed to change the Elizabeth character so that she breaks out at an older age due to a latent puberty. Elizabeth is uncovered by Stephen when working at his school. Filming began in late 1973 with Michael Standing returning as Ginge, but on the first day he fell off his motorbike and broke his leg, prompting a speedy re-write whereby Ginge's younger brother, Chris (Chris Chittell
), was now seen as the new Sap regular. Chris was mentioned in the dialogue as already being known to the Tomorrow People, so little in the way of changes had to be made to the script. Ginge's absence was explained on-screen by his having been admitted to hospital following a fall from his motorbike – reflecting Standing's real-life accident. During the 3 adventures, the Tomorrow People would battle aliens that feed off violent energy; take a trip to the first century AD and accidentally create a time paradox where the Roman Empire never fell; and finally stop the war mongering Doomsday Men from causing a nuclear holocaust.
In 1975, the third series added Dean Lawrence as gypsy boy Tyso Boswell. Boswell is captured and held prisoner by the Secret Intelligence Service, who see the Tomorrow People as a potential weapon to be used in the Cold War. Chris disappears after only appearing in one episode while telepathic secret agent, Tricia Conway appears in 2 stories before fully breaking out in the season climax which saw the young heroes menaced by old rival, Jedikiah. This season also saw the group visit an alien world for the first time when the Galactic Trig dispatches them to help the telepathic population of the planet Peerie. A comedy script was attempted in the much derided "A Man for Emily" as Price was keen to get more into humorous writing. The negative backlash to this experiment resulted in a planned sequel story being quietly dropped but such actions added to Price's increasing frustration with the show.
As the series wore on, Price became tired of his creation and attempted to end it by killing off the leads at the conclusion to season 3 (Ruth Boswell made him rewrite it so that they survived). However Thames Television considered TP a ratings winner and insisted he continue the programme, albeit in smaller series from now on. Price only ever allowed one attempt by another writer to work on it solo with Jon E. Watkins penning the story "Into the Unknown" in 1976. With fewer episodes to write, Price would have more time to work on his comedic and light entertainment productions that he enjoyed more than the demanding sci-fi drama. At the start of the fourth series he attempted to give a boost to the format with the introduction of teenage idol Mike Holoway as Mike Bell. Holoway was the drummer with pop band Flintlock and Price hoped that his young charge would be Britain's answer to Donny Osmond or David Cassidy. Mike is featured prominently in the later series of Tomorrow People, maturing into a juvenile hero. This meant the controversial decision to sack Vaughan-Clarke as Stephen, the programme's original male lead. With this change, it was noticeable that John and Elizabeth took on a more parental role as both actors entered their mid 20s. Tyso also vanished after the fourth year but his character had been pretty redundant for some time. Vic Hughes took over as producer with season 5, which was the only series not to introduce a new Tomorrow Person. Elizabeth was absent through most of season 6 as Elizabeth Adare was pregnant. In her place came Hsui Tai, played by Japanese actress Misako Koba whose poor grasp of English made her hard to understand and Nicholas Young later recalled that he and other actors found this difficult during production. A new Lab set was introduced with a slimmed-down but now mobile TIM and the jaunting belts were replaced by the cheap looking jaunting bands (worn on the wrists). The new Lab acted as both base and home for the TPs as they were now seen to be sleeping in their own cabins there. Season 7 in late 1978 introduced another Tomorrow Person in the form of Scottish lad, Andrew Forbes (Nigel Rhodes).
With inflation out of control in the late 1970s, the budget was stretched to breaking point, a factor which was constantly on the mind of new producer Vic Hughes. And indeed it was a dispute over the allocation of studio days that brought down the axe in 1979 when Hughes attempted to gain an extra studio day for the planned ninth season (which fell victim to the ITV strike that summer) following numerous problems during the production of "War of the Empires" which had been given only four days in studio. There has been much speculation as to the nature of this lost season as widespread belief in the fan world is that it would have been another solo 4 part adventure written by Price. However to date no script has ever emerged.
that ran somewhat concurrently with the 1970s series. Piccolo Books also released five tie-in novels during the seventies: The Visitor (1973), Three into Three (1974), Four into Three (1975), One Law (1976) and Lost Gods (1977). In 1978, there was also a children's annual.
Price produced the 1990s revival of The Tomorrow People for Tetra Films
(an independent production company, mostly comprising the former children's department at Thames Television) in association with the Thames-owned American company Reeves Entertainment
for Thames and Nickelodeon between 1992 and 1995 (Central in 1994 and 1995). After some pressure from executives, Price decided to start with a blank slate and so the show was almost completely different from its predecessor. The original cast, characters, and music were not used. The new series incorporated a multi-national cast to ensure that worldwide syndication sales would be easier to obtain.
The distinctive belt buckles were omitted, as the new Tomorrow People were able to teleport without them. The non-lethal stun guns and other gadgetry were also done away with. The new Tomorrow People relied more on their wits and powers to get out of trouble.
There remain some analogies, however. The Lab was replaced by a psychic
spaceship in the South Pacific
to which Tomorrow People are drawn when they "break out". TIM is replaced by an ostensibly mute computer that is part of the alien ship. The visual effects were improved considerably by effects artist Clive Davis along with the sets in the new series compared to the original series.
In 2001, Big Finish Productions
launched a series of new audio plays based on the original series, produced by Nigel Fairs
. Nicholas Young and Philip Gilbert
reprised their roles as John and TIM, with Helen Goldwyn and James Daniel Wilson appearing as Elena and Paul, the new Tomorrow People. Some releases also feature other original cast members, such as Peter Vaughan-Clarke
, Elizabeth Adare
and Mike Holoway
(notably Trigonometry). Trevor Littledale took over the role of TIM in the audio series from The Warlock's Dance onwards after Philip Gilbert's death.
Five series were produced of the audio series before it was cancelled, due to the discontinuation of a licensing arrangement with Fremantle Media Enterprises, in December 2007. CDs of the series were permanently withdrawn from sale on 7 January 2008, even so, the CDs have still been found in some stores around the UK, as forgotten and reduced stock, and online stores, Amazon
and E-bay still sell them, but the best time to find them are during science fiction conventions.
The following year, Fantom Films released a second DVD discussing the 1990s series with writers Lee Pressman and Grant Cathro, entitled Re-inventing The Tomorrow People.
1973 series
1992 series
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
, devised by Roger Price
Roger Price (television producer)
Roger Damon Price is an English television producer, also active in Canada, most notable for creating children's science fiction series The Tomorrow People, Junior Points of View and the Canadian sketch comedy You Can't Do That on Television, which became hugely successful on Nickelodeon in the...
. Produced by Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Network, the series first ran between 1973 and 1979. The series was re-imagined in 1992, Roger Price acting as executive producer. A third incarnation, running between 2001 and 2007, returned to the original concept and characters, but this time produced as a series of audio plays for Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
.
Premise
All incarnations of the show concerned the emergence of the next stage of human evolutionHuman evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
(Homo superior) known colloquially as Tomorrow People. Born to human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
parents, an apparently normal child might at some point between childhood and late adolescence experience a process called "breaking out", when they develop their special abilities. These abilities include psionic powers such as telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, telekinesis
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
, and teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
. However, their psychological makeup prevents them from intentionally killing others.
Original series (1970s)
- List of Original Series episodes
The original series was produced by Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
for Britain's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network. The Tomorrow People operate out of a secret laboratory, The lab, built in an abandoned
Closed London Underground stations
The London Underground is a metro system in the United Kingdom that serves Greater London and adjacent counties of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The system has many former stations, while others were planned but not opened...
London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
station. The lab was revamped at the beginning of series 6. The team watches for new Tomorrow People "breaking out" to help them through the process and sometimes deal with attention from extraterrestrial species. They also have connections with the "Galactic Federation" which oversees the welfare of telepathic species throughout the galaxy. In addition to their psychic powers, they also use advanced technology such as the biological (called in the series "biotronic") computer TIM
TIM (Tomorrow People)
TIM is a fictional character from the British 1970s television series The Tomorrow People. His first appearance is in "The Slaves of Jedikiah", and appeared in every episode until the series ended. TIM is voiced by Philip Gilbert. Gilbert revived the character in the Tomorrow People audio series...
, which is capable of original thought, telepathy, and can augment their psychic powers. TIM also helps the Tomorrow People to teleport long distances, although they must be wearing a device installed into a belt or bracelet for this to work. Teleportation is referred to as jaunting in the program.
In the original series the Tomorrow People are also referred to by the term Homo superior. This term appears in David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's song "Oh! You Pretty Things
Oh! You Pretty Things
"Oh! You Pretty Things" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. It opens with only Rick Wakeman's piano and Bowie's vocal, before entering the catchy refrain. The simple piano style is often compared to The Beatles' "Martha My Dear"...
": "Let me make it plain. You gotta make way for the Homo Superior." This term came up as part of a conversation between Roger Price and David Bowie at a meeting at Granada studios in Manchester. Price was directing a programme in which Bowie was appearing. Price had been working on a script for his Tomorrow People project and during a conversation with Bowie, the term Homo superior came up. Bowie liked the term and soon afterwards wrote it into his song, pre-dating the series itself which was eventually produced by Thames TV in 1973. Price has sometimes been quoted as saying that the lyrics to this song were inspired by the series, not the other way around.
Alistair McGown of Screen Online cites The Mind in Chains by Dr Christopher Evans
Christopher Evans (computer scientist)
Dr Christopher Riche Evans was a British psychologist, computer scientist, and author.-Biography:Born in Aberdovey, he spent his childhood in Wales and was educated at Christ College, Brecon . He spent two years in the RAF , and worked as a science journalist and writer until 1957 when he began a...
as a primary source. Evans also became a scientific advisor for the series. He would be credited as such on every single episode but most people working on the show seem to recall that he only had involvement in the first couple of seasons. McGown also suggests a similarity between The Tomorrow People and the children's fantasy fiction of Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
.
While they reveal their existence to some, the Tomorrow People generally operate in secrecy for fear that normal people (whom they term "Saps", a pejorative abbreviation for Homo sapiens) will either fear or victimise them because of their special powers or try to exploit them for military purposes. In order to defend themselves they must use non-lethal weaponry such as "stun guns" or martial arts due to their unwillingness to cause harm, referred to as the "prime barrier".
Price initially offered the format to Granada but was turned down so offered it to Lewis Rudd at Thames who commissioned a 13 episode series, having seen the potential of the format. Ruth Boswell was brought in as associate producer and script editor as she had experience of children's fantasy drama (Timeslip
Timeslip
Timeslip is a British children's science fiction television series made by ATV for the ITV network and broadcast between 1970 and 1971. The series centres around two children, Simon Randall and Liz Skinner who discover the existence of a strange anomaly, known as the “Time Barrier”, that enables...
and Tightrope) while TV dramatist Brian Finch was hired to co-write the scripts. Thames effectively poached Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
director Paul Bernard to help set up and oversee the first season. He would be credited as director for two stories but was unofficially a third producer.
Casting was seen as very important in that the leads would have to be personable enough to attract a young audience while Price also wanted people who would be easy to work with over long periods. Nicholas Young was cast as the group's leader, John while Peter Vaughan-Clarke was offered the role of Stephen after Price saw him in a Manchester rendition of Peter Pan with Lulu. Ruth Boswell wanted Lynn Frederick (later the last wife of Peter Sellers) for Carol, the female lead, but following a meeting with her Bernard felt she was a bit too upper class and precious for what he had in mind as he saw the character as being similar to Doctor Who's Jo Grant
Jo Grant
Josephine "Jo" Grant is a fictional character played by Katy Manning in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. They finally settled on Sammie Winmill
Sammie Winmill
Sammie Winmill is a British actress who had a number of roles in the 1970s, best known for portraying Carol in the Sci-fi series The Tomorrow People.- Career :...
who was relatively well known for playing Nurse Crumpton on the popular Doctor at Large situation comedy (also a Thames production). The role of Kenny was given to Stephen Salmon after having been discovered in a drama workshop while theatre actor Phillip Gilbert was selected to provide the ever so paternal tones of biotronic computer TIM. Making up the team were two Sap friends, a couple of bikers called Ginge (Michael Standing) and Lefty (Derek Crewe) who encounter the Tomorrow People when acting as henchmen for the villainous shape shifter Jedekiah
Jedikiah (Tomorrow People)
Jedikiah is a fictional character from the British television series The Tomorrow People. Jedikiah first appeared in the episode serial "The Slaves of Jedikiah", and later appeared in the serials "The Medusa Strain" and "The Revenge of Jedikiah." Jedikiah was initially played by British actor...
in the opening adventure.
Even for the time, the special effects of the original show were considered sub-par and camp, largely attributable to the show's small budget. Season 1's recurring villain, Jedikiah was originally devised to be a long running foe but after seeing the poorly designed robot that was the shape changer's true form, an unimpressed Price elected not to use the character again until the final of season 3 which was planned as the series end (noticeably the robotic form fails to appear). Despite this the season proved popular with its young audience who watched in droves.
The success of the first season saw another thirteen episodes go into production quite rapidly, but with a number of changes. Off-screen, both Bernard and Finch left leaving Price to take more control as writer, director and producer while on-screen Kenny and Carol disappeared (handily sent to the Galactic Trig to work as ambassadors for Earth). In their place came student school teacher Elizabeth M'Bondo, portrayed by Elizabeth Adare
Elizabeth Adare
Elizabeth Adare is a currently practising child psychologist but is better known as an English actress and television presenter during the 1970s and 1980s....
. Adare initially thought her character was to be a teenage girl and made every effort at her audition to look and act like an adolescent. However Price was suitably impressed to change the Elizabeth character so that she breaks out at an older age due to a latent puberty. Elizabeth is uncovered by Stephen when working at his school. Filming began in late 1973 with Michael Standing returning as Ginge, but on the first day he fell off his motorbike and broke his leg, prompting a speedy re-write whereby Ginge's younger brother, Chris (Chris Chittell
Chris Chittell
Christopher John Chittell is an English actor best known for his role as Eric Pollard in ITV's Emmerdale, a part that he has played since 1986....
), was now seen as the new Sap regular. Chris was mentioned in the dialogue as already being known to the Tomorrow People, so little in the way of changes had to be made to the script. Ginge's absence was explained on-screen by his having been admitted to hospital following a fall from his motorbike – reflecting Standing's real-life accident. During the 3 adventures, the Tomorrow People would battle aliens that feed off violent energy; take a trip to the first century AD and accidentally create a time paradox where the Roman Empire never fell; and finally stop the war mongering Doomsday Men from causing a nuclear holocaust.
In 1975, the third series added Dean Lawrence as gypsy boy Tyso Boswell. Boswell is captured and held prisoner by the Secret Intelligence Service, who see the Tomorrow People as a potential weapon to be used in the Cold War. Chris disappears after only appearing in one episode while telepathic secret agent, Tricia Conway appears in 2 stories before fully breaking out in the season climax which saw the young heroes menaced by old rival, Jedikiah. This season also saw the group visit an alien world for the first time when the Galactic Trig dispatches them to help the telepathic population of the planet Peerie. A comedy script was attempted in the much derided "A Man for Emily" as Price was keen to get more into humorous writing. The negative backlash to this experiment resulted in a planned sequel story being quietly dropped but such actions added to Price's increasing frustration with the show.
As the series wore on, Price became tired of his creation and attempted to end it by killing off the leads at the conclusion to season 3 (Ruth Boswell made him rewrite it so that they survived). However Thames Television considered TP a ratings winner and insisted he continue the programme, albeit in smaller series from now on. Price only ever allowed one attempt by another writer to work on it solo with Jon E. Watkins penning the story "Into the Unknown" in 1976. With fewer episodes to write, Price would have more time to work on his comedic and light entertainment productions that he enjoyed more than the demanding sci-fi drama. At the start of the fourth series he attempted to give a boost to the format with the introduction of teenage idol Mike Holoway as Mike Bell. Holoway was the drummer with pop band Flintlock and Price hoped that his young charge would be Britain's answer to Donny Osmond or David Cassidy. Mike is featured prominently in the later series of Tomorrow People, maturing into a juvenile hero. This meant the controversial decision to sack Vaughan-Clarke as Stephen, the programme's original male lead. With this change, it was noticeable that John and Elizabeth took on a more parental role as both actors entered their mid 20s. Tyso also vanished after the fourth year but his character had been pretty redundant for some time. Vic Hughes took over as producer with season 5, which was the only series not to introduce a new Tomorrow Person. Elizabeth was absent through most of season 6 as Elizabeth Adare was pregnant. In her place came Hsui Tai, played by Japanese actress Misako Koba whose poor grasp of English made her hard to understand and Nicholas Young later recalled that he and other actors found this difficult during production. A new Lab set was introduced with a slimmed-down but now mobile TIM and the jaunting belts were replaced by the cheap looking jaunting bands (worn on the wrists). The new Lab acted as both base and home for the TPs as they were now seen to be sleeping in their own cabins there. Season 7 in late 1978 introduced another Tomorrow Person in the form of Scottish lad, Andrew Forbes (Nigel Rhodes).
With inflation out of control in the late 1970s, the budget was stretched to breaking point, a factor which was constantly on the mind of new producer Vic Hughes. And indeed it was a dispute over the allocation of studio days that brought down the axe in 1979 when Hughes attempted to gain an extra studio day for the planned ninth season (which fell victim to the ITV strike that summer) following numerous problems during the production of "War of the Empires" which had been given only four days in studio. There has been much speculation as to the nature of this lost season as widespread belief in the fan world is that it would have been another solo 4 part adventure written by Price. However to date no script has ever emerged.
Merchandise
A comic strip version, based on the original series, was also produced, written by Angus P. Allan and printed in TV comic Look-InLook-in
Look-in was a long running children's magazine centred around ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior TVTimes". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994...
that ran somewhat concurrently with the 1970s series. Piccolo Books also released five tie-in novels during the seventies: The Visitor (1973), Three into Three (1974), Four into Three (1975), One Law (1976) and Lost Gods (1977). In 1978, there was also a children's annual.
1990s series
List of New Series episodesPrice produced the 1990s revival of The Tomorrow People for Tetra Films
Tetra Films
Tetra Films was a London - based independent production company, founded by Alan Horrox, ex-controller of children’s programmes at Thames Television in 1992, the same year when classic ITV series The Tomorrow People was revived...
(an independent production company, mostly comprising the former children's department at Thames Television) in association with the Thames-owned American company Reeves Entertainment
Alan Landsburg Productions
Alan Landsburg Productions was an independent TV production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company had huge successes with In Search of... and That's Incredible!, which were two early examples of reality television long before the name even existed...
for Thames and Nickelodeon between 1992 and 1995 (Central in 1994 and 1995). After some pressure from executives, Price decided to start with a blank slate and so the show was almost completely different from its predecessor. The original cast, characters, and music were not used. The new series incorporated a multi-national cast to ensure that worldwide syndication sales would be easier to obtain.
The distinctive belt buckles were omitted, as the new Tomorrow People were able to teleport without them. The non-lethal stun guns and other gadgetry were also done away with. The new Tomorrow People relied more on their wits and powers to get out of trouble.
There remain some analogies, however. The Lab was replaced by a psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
spaceship in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
to which Tomorrow People are drawn when they "break out". TIM is replaced by an ostensibly mute computer that is part of the alien ship. The visual effects were improved considerably by effects artist Clive Davis along with the sets in the new series compared to the original series.
Audio revival
List of audio series episodesIn 2001, Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
launched a series of new audio plays based on the original series, produced by Nigel Fairs
Nigel Fairs
Nigel Fairs is a British actor, writer and producer.He trained at Bretton Hall College and has appeared in a number of theatre productions, most notably as Christopher Wren in the long-running London stage production of The Mousetrap. On television, he has appeared in EastEnders and as a Dalek on...
. Nicholas Young and Philip Gilbert
Philip Gilbert
Philip Gilbert was a Canadian actor.He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and educated at Vancouver College...
reprised their roles as John and TIM, with Helen Goldwyn and James Daniel Wilson appearing as Elena and Paul, the new Tomorrow People. Some releases also feature other original cast members, such as Peter Vaughan-Clarke
Peter Vaughan-Clarke
Peter Vaughan-Clarke is a British actor, born in Wandsworth, London on 11 June 1957.Vaughan-Clarke is best known for his portrayal of Stephen Jameson in the TV series The Tomorrow People in the 1970s, a character he returned to later in life in the audio continuation of the series by Big Finish...
, Elizabeth Adare
Elizabeth Adare
Elizabeth Adare is a currently practising child psychologist but is better known as an English actress and television presenter during the 1970s and 1980s....
and Mike Holoway
Mike Holoway
Mike Holoway is a British musician and actor. He was the drummer and percussionist in Flintlock and at the same time became an actor, notably in the cult TV series The Tomorrow People .- Career :...
(notably Trigonometry). Trevor Littledale took over the role of TIM in the audio series from The Warlock's Dance onwards after Philip Gilbert's death.
Five series were produced of the audio series before it was cancelled, due to the discontinuation of a licensing arrangement with Fremantle Media Enterprises, in December 2007. CDs of the series were permanently withdrawn from sale on 7 January 2008, even so, the CDs have still been found in some stores around the UK, as forgotten and reduced stock, and online stores, Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
and E-bay still sell them, but the best time to find them are during science fiction conventions.
Documentaries
In October 2005, Fantom Films and First Time Films released the 1997 documentary about the series entitled Beyond Tomorrow. The documentary features interviews with cast members from the original series including: Nicholas Young (John), Peter Vaughan-Clarke (Stephen), Sammie Winmill (Carol), Elizabeth Adare (Liz), Dean Lawrence (Tyso), Mike Holoway (Mike) and the late Philip Gilbert.The following year, Fantom Films released a second DVD discussing the 1990s series with writers Lee Pressman and Grant Cathro, entitled Re-inventing The Tomorrow People.
External links
1973 series
1992 series