Welcome to the next stage of human evolution. Not your everyday Homo sapiens, the Tomorrow People are Homo superiors, children with amazing powers--here in our world TODAY. Originally broadcast in the 1970s, THE TOMORROW P... more »EOPLE introduced British television viewers to an instant cult classic in Sci-Fi adventuring. Imagine young Stephen's surprise when he learns he is actually one of the Tomorrow People, teenagers with powers of telekinesis, teleportation (called jaunting), and telepathy. Headquartered in a secret underground Lab and protected by the supercomputer Tim, the Tomorrow People look for the emergence of more of their kind and battle evil forces from the farthest reaches of space and time. Thought provoking, action packed, and creatively produced, this edition of THE TOMORROW PEOPLE contains all twenty-six episodes from the series' first two seasons on DVD for the first time. DVD Features: Commentary with Stars Nicholas Young, Peter Vaughn-Clarke, and Sammie Winmill on "The Slaves of Jedikiah"; Cast Biographies; Interactive Menu; Scene Selection« less
This was competition for Doctor Who back in the day. Produced by the ITV network, which was pretty much the only other choice besides BBC back then. There are some rather good episodes in this first set, and some of them downright creepy. For me, the show seems to degrade as the seasons progress. The very last episode on the end of Set 3 must be seen to be believed. One of the most preposterous pieces of Scifi I've ever seen in my life. Like Sesame Street gone berserk. One of the hideous aliens looks like some sort of deranged phallus. (There was an alien like that on Doctor Who as well, named "Alpha Centauri", who made a recent appearance again in the latest season.)
There was another series entitled: "Tomorrow People: The New Generation" which was made back in the 1990's. It is quite different than the older show, but worth watching. And then a 3rd series was made very recently by the CW network, which I thought was very good, and am sad it was cancelled.
Movie Reviews
HIS SPECIAL POWERS
Thomas E. O'Sullivan | Knoxville, Maryland United States | 06/04/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I love THE TOMORROW PEOPLE. This, with DOCTOR WHO and YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON TELEVISION(Go Moose!)were the staples that kept my world together back in the 1980's. As to why... that's hard to explain. Anyone looking at the series today may be a bit put off by its low budget, often off kilter effects (early "jaunting" seemed to come across more like some disco acid flashback), "this and that" writing style (it's very obvious when the writers are padding out the middle episodes - and for a show that was supposed to be a simple adventure, they seemed to go through some of the most complex escapes I've ever seen... really, instead of jaunting or just walking through the door marked EXIT they opt for digging their way out through the center of the Earth with a rusty butter knife - NOTE: this DOES NOT happen in the show - but gives you some idea of how they work around the problem), and (sometimes) uneven performances and wonder what the "big deal" was.
I guess you could say that, like the X-MEN, THE TOMORROW PEOPLE got it right with their target audiences. Young teens, both male and female, wondering if there was something, anything, that made them special... and this show spoke to that. Special Powers, a living computer (TIM), space travel, hyper space, time travel, aliens, robots - you name it, this show managed somehow to pack it all in and make it work each and every week. There a number of positives to take from this show... empowerment, equality, friendships, trust, truth, respect for life - the show was heavy with lessons and values... and to be honest, it is also lousy with attitude as well. As advanced as THE TOMORROW PEOPLE were - they also were rather closed minded. Normal humans were called "Saps" - short for Homo sapains, which is fine, but it did seem to put the Tomorrow People above us (John's attitude towards normal humans always seemed to be a bit cold - and whenever it might seem that the Tomorrow People might be found out, he drags out his "we'll be put in cages" speech, which is funny since a majority of the aliens they meet in the course of the show often end up putting them in actual cages - so maybe he had a point all along), not alongside us. They erased minds at will, often to cover their tracks in their adventures, and sometimes seemingly because they can. There's an air about the show that sometimes smacks of "we're better... much better than you" - its casual, and you have to look for it, and while it is a bit dark (because the Tomorrow People are the next step in human evolution - they will replace us, and they will colonize the universe), it rings true - it's just unusual for a show to have this air (watch for this in THE BLUE AND THE GREEN - watch the message on screen, but then push behind it and just compare it to how the Tomorrow People live and operate). I can't say there's anything more than what you see on the screen - but, then again, they're might be.
Finally - we get ripped off. While the UK Edition (Region 2) sports commentary on all the episodes - we only get commentary on THE SLAVES OF JEDIKIAH. And while it's great... it does grate. I, for one, would love to have heard comments from all the cast on the whole set, not just what amounts to a big tease from the producers of this set. Also, I'm not sure who put the graphics together for this collection - but they seemed to have gone out of their way to remove ANYTHING that smacks of the show. No CLOSED FIST, no OPEN HAND, even the font is alien to the series. I don't know why this was done (the UK sets represent the show much better), but it (I beleive) actually makes you not want to look at it. There's nothing to catch the eye, nothing to make it stand apart or even give people an idea of the kind of show inside. Poor work.
Excellent show. I love it... I just wish the people who released here loved it as much as I do and gave us the whole package... bloody Saps..."
Better than I remember
TammyJo Eckhart | Bloomington, Indiana United States | 06/27/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The special effects are, well, like Dr. Who, but the writing is actually pretty good for what was a kids show in the mid 1970s. Often I'm disappointed when I watch shows I remember from my younger days but with these first two seasons of "The Tomorrow People" I was reassured that I had something resembling good tastes when I saw it on cable in the 1980s. The sound is a bit off but my bet is its the tv show's sound, not the DVD -- just turn up the volume a bit more."
OK, it's not the best, but....
G. Wilkins | Massachusetts, USA | 03/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I think that this series, if you liked it when you were younger, isn't that bad still. I don't "regret buying it" as some do.
First, it might not stand up to today's TV, but then again most TV today doesn't stand up to what came out in the 80's anyway.
I do not, not for a second, regret getting this. I recall watching it on Nickelodeon. It was after I found Tom Baker's Doctor Who, but before I really got *INTO* British Sci-Fi. This series broke the mold that the British had more to offer than Doctor Who.
OK, the effects aren't stellar. Maybe the writing needs more. But it had something else people forget: atmosphere. As Jeremy Bentham wrote: 'it's all about putting aside reality for 30 minutes and immersing yourself in the story' (I paraphrased that a bit). Don't expect it to be Citizen Kane!! Put your expectations to one side and just remember it as a series trying to find it's feet and get a new concept out. Watch it for the joy of your youth, or the joy of finding something new. For those of you who regretted it, there is always eBay."
Great quality picture, missing the commentaries alot!
Mr. Jann Linder | San Jose, CA USA | 06/19/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I gotta say...everyone is saying the most obvious thing: Lack of most of the commentaries. However, I gotta remind everyone that the picture quality of these DVDs are excellent! Much better than their region-free UK brethren. I am surprised that they did not release them in a more normal fasion...ie: the UK series style (of around 13 episodes or the US season style of Season 1 in a boxed set then Season 2...etc.
However, we DO get a better buy this way. $50 US is an excellent price. I, like a previous reviewer, found them at Best Buy...
They DO include the excellent feature of the "Teaser" at the end of the episodes. Very much UK! (As the commentators point out: "It is because the eposidoes ran short on time!")
A&E, talkbackThames, THAMES, FreemantleMeedia, NewVideo -- listen up: INCLUDE ALL COMMENTARIES IN THE FUTURE! We deserve it and there is no downside for you!
Excellent...all-in-all!"
Great stuff, but... a disappointment.
Christopher Carpenter | Iowa | 06/01/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you were a fan of The Tomorow People from back in the days when it was shown on Nickelodeon, there is a lot to like about this four disc set. Granted, by today's standards the sets look cheap, the special effects look cheesey, some of the acting is poor (Kenny, anyone?) but The Tomorrow People is still a lot of fun, and at times can be just as enjoyable as vintage Dr. Who (which this very much resembles). If you liked it then, you'll like it now. But I have one problem with this set, and it is a big one. When the series was released on DVD in the UK, a cast commentary was included on every episode and those in the know have been commenting on how fun and entertaining these commentaries are. I purchased a few of the R2 discs myself and can attest to the fact that the commentary tracks alone are worth the cost of the DVDs. Unfortunately, for some reason the folks at A&E Home Video have opted to include only the commentary on Slaves of Jedikiah, the series one opener, and have not included them on any of the other stories. A poor decision, and one that prevents me from giving this my whole-hearted recommendation. In fact, if you are able to play them, I suggest looking into getting the UK editions which are also much more attractively packaged, instead of the R1 releases.
Summing up: Worthwhile stuff, but packaged by dunderheads."