The Tomorrow People

Premise

All incarnations of the show concerned the emergence of the next stage of human evolution (Homo novis) 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' and develop special paranormal abilities. These abilities include psionic powers such as telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation. Their psychological make-up prevents them from intentionally killing others.

Original series (1970s)

The original series was produced by Thames Television for ITV. The Tomorrow People operate from a secret base, The Lab, built in an abandoned London Underground station. The team constantly watches for new Tomorrow People "breaking out" (usually around the age of puberty) to help them through the process as the youngsters endure mental agonies as their minds suddenly change. They sometimes deal with attention from extraterrestrial species as well as facing more earthbound dangers with military forces across the globe keen to recruit or capture them for their own ends. One thing they lack is the capability to intentionally take another life. This pacifistic element of their make up is referred to as the "prime barrier" and any Tomorrow Person who causes the loss of a human life would be driven insane by the confusion in their brain. They also have connections with the "Galactic Federation" which oversees the welfare of telepathic species throughout the galaxy. In addition to their psychic powers (the so-called 3T's of telepathy, telekinesis and teleportation), they 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 programme. The team used jaunting belts up to the end of Series 5, after which they used much smaller wristbands.

In the original series, the Tomorrow People are also referred to as both Homo novis and Homo superior. The term appeared in David Bowie's 1971 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 when 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. Price has sometimes been quoted as saying that the lyrics to this song were inspired by the series.

Alistair McGown of Screenonline cites the book The Mind in Chains by Christopher Evans as a primary source. Evans also became a scientific advisor for the series. He was 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 series. McGown also suggests a similarity between The Tomorrow People and the children's fantasy fiction of Enid Blyton.

Series One

Price saw the lead casting as very important, as he wanted talented and attractive actors who would appeal to the young audience, but also be personable and easy to work with during the long hours envisaged in studio or out on location. 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 Lynne Frederick (later the last wife of Peter Sellers) for Carol, the female lead, but following a meeting with her, Paul 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, the youngest TP, was given to Stephen Salmon after he had been discovered in a drama workshop while theatre actor Philip Gilbert was selected to provide the 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 Jedikiah in the opening adventure. Stephen would be very much the show's hero and focus for the audience while John was something of an authoritarian figure who took his responsibilities for the species' future and welfare very seriously. Young was the only TP to be in every single episode and the actor was able to have some say in the production of later seasons as he was considered as an unofficial producer. Kenny was given very little to do and was often left behind in the Lab (due to being the youngest) while the others went off to have the actual adventures. Filming commenced in March 1973 with location work in Muswell Hill. Production of this first story, "The Slaves of Jedikiah" was much troubled, as the crew found they were unfamiliar with the technical demands of a science fiction drama. The first day in studio was disastrous, with virtually no usable material getting made and there was some tension between the cast and Paul Bernard, who was very authoritarian with them. Additionally Nicholas Young hit a wall while working on the darkened entrance to the Lab, which was being filmed inside the actual disused tube station at Wood Lane, which had closed in the 1940s. Young was fortunately not badly injured and able to carry on later that day after a recovery break.

Early publicity included a photo session showing the cast with Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee to indicate a friendly rivalry between the two shows. Look-in provided a great deal of coverage of the series and by July launched its own comic strip version (which ran on and off in its pages for the next five years). TVTimes also promoted the new show with an article on its first week.

Series Two

The success of the first series saw another 13 episodes go into production quite soon after, but with a number of changes. Off-screen, both Bernard and Finch departed leaving Price to take more control as writer, director and producer, while on-screen Kenny and Carol disappeared (sent to the Galactic Federation's headquarters The Trig to work as ambassadors for Earth). Salmon was simply not asked back as there was a feeling the character had failed to work and his acting was considered wooden (plus Salmon had never been very keen to appear as he had no interest in acting), while Winmill's departure was voluntary as the actress was concerned about being associated with a long running series. 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 one. Price and Boswell were still 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, where she is doing her teacher training. This was the start of a near-annual event where a new TP was introduced in the first story of each series, a handy way of maintaining interest for returning viewers and a convenient way for Price to re-establish the basic premise of the show for new audiences every year. Adare stayed until the end in 1979 but grew unhappy with the quality of later scripts. Knowing the importance of her appearing as a black female actress on a British TV production, she decided to remain.

Filming of Series 2 began in late 1973 with Michael Standing returning as Ginge. On the first day he fell off his motorbike and broke his leg, prompting a speedy rewrite whereby Ginge's younger brother, Chris (Chris Chittell), was now the new Sap regular. Chris was mentioned in the dialogue as already being known to the Tomorrow People, so few changes had to be made to the script. Ginge's absence was explained on by his having been admitted to hospital for the same injury as in real life. Price would later comment that he felt neither Ginge or Lefty had ever felt right for the format.

Series Three

In 1975, the third series added Dean Lawrence as gypsy Tyso Boswell, yet another character from a minority as Price was determined that the Tomorrow People could be from any ethnic or society background. Chris disappears after only appearing in one episode (his absence is never explained) while telepathic secret agent Tricia Conway appears in two stories before fully breaking out in the series climax which saw the young heroes menaced by old rival, Jedikiah. Viewers saw on screen why the youngsters have to maintain their secrecy and vigilance from the rest of humanity, as the British Secret Intelligence Service hunted them down for their own purposes in the opening adventure. This series 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. Production on this story ran into trouble when Lawrence hurt his knee during location filming and the injury had to be included in the script.

A comedy script was attempted in "A Man for Emily", which featured Peter Davison in his television debut and his future wife Sandra Dickinson,. Price was keen to get more into humorous writing. The backlash to this experiment resulted in a planned sequel story being dropped. Such actions added to Price's increasing frustration with the show. Philip Gilbert also made the first on-screen appearances as Timus Irnok Mosta, an ambassador from the Galactic Federation who had a hand in building TIM and thus sounded like him. Timus was a clone. His identifical brother, Tikno, also appears. They made semi-regular appearances until the final story in 1979, helping to fulfil a clause in Gilbert's contract that he had to be seen or heard at least once every episode. As stated, old enemy Jedikiah made a dramatic return to exact revenge in the last story. It ends with an air of finality as the Tomorrow People (including the just broken out Trisha Conway), having only just survived the encounter (at one point John, Elizabeth and Tikno are violently gunned down and left barely alive), decide to leave Earth for the Galactic Trig with only a promise from Elizabeth that they will return at some time.

Series Four

By now, Price had become tired of his creation and attempted to end it by killing off the leads at the conclusion to Series 3, but Ruth Boswell made him rewrite it so that they survived. Thames Television had a ratings winner (as well as excellent overseas sales) and insisted he continue the programme, albeit in shorter, staggered seasons from now on. Price only ever allowed one attempt by another writer to work on it solo, with John E. Watkins penning the story "Into the Unknown" broadcast in early 1976. Price was not satisfied with the final episodes and decided he would be sole writer from that point on. Having fewer episodes to write every year, Price would have more time to work on his comedic and light-entertainment productions, which 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 who were the regular house band on Price's You Must Be Joking, and Price hoped that his young charge would be Britain's answer to Donny Osmond or David Cassidy. Mike's arrival swells the ranks of TPs in the Lab to five (Tricia had remained on the Trig, due to Ann Courthoys' departure from the series) which made things look a bit overcrowded, this led to the decision to sack Vaughan-Clarke as Stephen, who ignobly disappears off screen after the season finished and is never even mentioned again. Mike was now being touted as the show's hero and 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 mostly redundant for some time due to not having been written into scripts that year. His late inclusion was only addressed a couple of weeks before filming started when Price discovered from Lawrence that he was still available to appear in the programme (he had been led to believe that he had moved abroad). This meant Tyso only had limited screen time and few lines. What scenes Tyso was in he was either the butt of a joke, or in a position where he was rarely pleased to be seen. Anne Curthoys was asked back to play Tricia, but was committed to a daytime soap at Thames.

Series Five

Vic Hughes took over as producer for Series 5, which began transmission in early 1977 and was the only series not to introduce a new Tomorrow person (although the first story does feature a potential TP in Russian teenager, Pavla). All three adventures were two-parters which allowed Price to write them quickly and remove any padding which tended to slow down the action. Mike Holoway was now very much the star of the show as on screen, Mike developed into the resident hero guided by an increasingly parental John and Elizabeth. His band Flintlock even appeared in the closing adventure, "The Heart of Sogguth". From this season on, Price was only be credited as the writer but he retained overall control of the series and was heavily involved in major decisions.

Series Six

1978 saw changes being made, starting with Elizabeth's absence through most of Series 6 owing to Elizabeth Adare's pregnancy. On screen Elizabeth is working on diplomatic missions for the Galactic Federation and appears briefly on a screen so as to hide the actress's condition. In her place came Hsui Tai, played by Japanese actress Misako Koba, whose poor grasp of English made her hard to understand. Nicholas Young later recalled that he and other actors found this difficult during production. Koba had no previous acting experience and had been suggested for the role by her actor husband. A new Lab set was introduced with a smaller but now mobile TIM and the jaunting belts were replaced by jaunting bands worn on the wrists. These changes were forced on the production team following a fire at the Thames storerooms. The new Lab acted as both base and home for the Tomorrow People as they were now seen to be sleeping in their own cabins there. It was noticeably smaller than the previous set, which freed up more space in the studio for the designers to utilise on other sets. The 6 episodes were produced off and on through 1977 (a combination of Price writing scripts as and when it fitted with his other production commitments and a number of strikes at ITV over the year) and finally launched in the Spring of 78. Such was Holoway's popularity that he was featured on the cover of TV Times to promote the start of the season.

Series Seven

Series 7 in late 1978 introduced another Tomorrow person in the form of young Scottish lad Andrew Forbes (Nigel Rhodes). Rhodes had previously worked as an extra on A Much Needed Holiday, but became more known to Price when he worked on his 1977 comedy series, You Can't Be Serious. The young actor was delighted to win the role, as he was a great fan of the show. Andrew is introduced after he starts using his psychic powers to conjure up images of ghosts so as to provide a tourism attraction for the hotel owned by his father. Elizabeth also returned from her year on the Trig.

Series Eight and cancellation

With inflation out of control in the late 1970s, the budget was stretched to breaking point, a factor often the mind of producer Vic Hughes. A dispute over the allocation of studio days ended the show in 1979 when Hughes attempted to gain an extra studio day for the planned ninth series (which fell victim to the ITV strike that summer) following many problems during the production of "War of the Empires" (the sole four-part adventure that made up series 8) which had been given only four days in studio. This was in part due to an ambitious script that, with its frequent space battles, was inspired by Star Wars. Price had by this time emigrated to America after being headhunted to help set up children's channel Nickelodeon, and Thames was reluctant to carry on without him. Whatever the reason, the series vanished after a short repeat run in early 1980.

Characters

TIM (voice of Philip Gilbert). A biological computer, programmed with an artificially created intelligence, whose tubes are filled with bio-fluid. He was built in part by John, the leader of the Tomorrow People, and was given to them by the Galactic Council. TIM is housed in The Lab, situated in a disused station in the London Underground. TIM often helps out the Tomorrow People by providing vital information, which the telepaths can use in their current adventure. TIM's voice is identical to that of diplomat Timus Irnok Mosta from the Galactic Federation, because Timus' clone-brother Tykno is the premier AI scientist of the Federation and all Federation AI's have their voice.

John (Nicholas Young) – Aged 17, John is the leader of the Tomorrow People. He is an inventor and scientist. He built The Lab and the biological computer, TIM, with some help from the Galactic Council. John was the first Tomorrow Person to "break out" and had no guidance through the process. In later episodes he mentions that his father is a police officer and a Freemason.

Carol (Sammie Winmill, season 1) – Along with John and Kenny, Carol had been monitoring Stephen, as he had been unconsciously tuning into their thoughts, via telepathy. When Stephen collapses and is taken to hospital, John sends Carol to help him break out.

Kenny (Stephen Salmon, season 1). -- At 12, is the youngest of the original four Tomorrow People. According to Carol, he "broke out" when he was very young. He is always left behind to look after The Lab.

Stephen Jameson (Peter Vaughan-Clarke, seasons 1-4). The first Tomorrow Person to break out on screen. At first he finds it hard to believe that he is a Tomorrow Person, but comes to accept it.

Jedikiah (Francis de Wolff and Roger Bizley). "[A] fierce, shape-changing alien robot," initially seen (in "The Slaves of Jedikiah") in the service of the "Cyclops" (later discovered to be 'Ranesh'), who uses Jedikiah to capture the Tomorrow People in an effort to use their psi powers to enable the Cyclops' damaged ship to return home. By the end of the serial, Jedikiah had been damaged and jettisoned into space. By the time he is recovered (in "The Medusa Strain"), 500 years had passed, and the damage caused to Jedikiah in the previous story, coupled with this long isolation, had driven the robot insane, possessing a pathological hatred of the Tomorrow People. He has since devoted his existence to their destruction. However, in "The Revenge of Jedikiah", in which the character made his final appearance, he was stripped of his shape-shifting powers by Timus and the Galactic Federation and condemned to labour on Earth forever as a homeless derelict.

Tie-in fiction

A comic-strip version was also produced, written by Angus P. Allan and printed in the comic Look-In , which ran somewhat concurrently with the 1970s series. Children's book imprint Piccolo Books, which had also published the first edition of Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke's THe Making of Doctor Who, published 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.The Visitor was written before production began on the series and offers a glimpse of some of the original ideas for the show that never made it to screen. Here, Tomorrow People contact TIM via wrist communicators, as the computer is not telepathic and the characters of Ginge and Lefty are portrayed as much younger than on screen. The Lab is also accessed from the back of a regular Tube station.

Revivals

1990s series: (1992–1995)

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 (broadcast by Central in 1994 and 1995 on ITV as Thames had lost its franchise at the end of 1992). 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. Each story is five episodes long, unlike the 1970s show, which never had a story that long after "The Blue and the Green" in the second season.

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 compared to the original series, along with sets.

The lead role of Adam Newman was given to Kristian Schmid, who at the time was famous in the UK for his regular role in Neighbours. The other original stars were Kristen Ariza as Lisa Davies, Adam Pearce (who had no previous acting experience) as Kevin Wilson and Christian Tessier as Kevin's American friend Marmaduke "Megabyte" Damon. The 1992 season consisted of a single five-part story written by Price, which had no on-screen title but was named as "The Origin Story" in the DVD release. Adam is newly broken out as the series begins with Lisa and Kevin breaking out simultaneously in the first episode. Megabyte also breaks out in the last episode of the story. The plotline borrowed heavily from the 1975 story "Secret Weapon", even reusing the name of that story's villain Colonel Masters, and involved the intelligence services pursuing the Tomorrow People in order to use them for their own ends. The story also introduced Jeff Harding as Megabyte's father General Damon, an American officer stationed in the United Kingdom, who became a regular ally to the Tomorrow People.

Audio revival

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 in 2004.

Five series were produced of the audio series. It was cancelled in December 2007 because of the discontinuation of a licensing arrangement with Fremantle Media Enterprises. CDs of the series were permanently withdrawn from sale on 7 January 2008. However, the CDs are often still available from online sellers such as Amazon and eBay, and at science fiction conventions.

2013 American series

In November 2012, Deadline Hollywood announced that Julie Plec and Greg Berlanti had obtained the rights to The Tomorrow People and commissioned a pilot written by Phil Klemmer. This occurred after a similar rights option expired to an aborted attempt two years previously.

It was announced on 28 January 2013 that the revival had received a pilot order from The CW Television Network. On 21 February 2013, Australian actor Luke Mitchell was cast for the pilot as John Young.

The pilot was picked up as a series on 9 May 2013. It aired on Wednesdays in the 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central timeslot following Arrow. On 17 March 2014, The Tomorrow People moved to a permanent Monday night time slot.

On 8 May 2014, just one day shy of its first anniversary of being picked up by the CW, the channel declined to renew The Tomorrow People for a second season.

2020s book series

In 2023 a new series of original, authorised novels was launched by Chinbeard Books and Oak Tree Books to mark the show's 50th anniversary.

The Tomorrow People: Changes (2023) was written by Andy Davidson, with original series creator Roger Price

This was followed by a bi-monthly series of novellas The First One (2024) by Gary Russell, Children of the Evolution (2024) by Iain McLaughlin, Homo Inferior (2024) by Nigel Fairs and The Man Who Sold the World (2025) by Rebecca Levene and David Derbyshire, Prime Factors by Kenton Hall and The Last One (2025) by Gary Russell.

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 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.