An American remake of an old British television show? I know when I hear those words I am a little tentative about how it can go, so it was with a little trepidation that I tuned into the show, now being shown on E4. The premise of the show is simple – it is about a group of people who have developed psionic powers thanks to the evolution of mankind. They have three different types of ability – telekinesis, telepathy and teleportation, and are called The Tomorrow People.
We are introduced at the start of the show to Stephen (Robbie Amell) who quickly shows us his whole life in a quick show and tell fashion as he informs us that ‘lately strange things have been happening to me’. A heist in a hospital soon follows as we are introduced to Cara (Peyton List) and John (Luke Mitchell) who are looking for a mysterious file in a psych ward, which culminates in a fight in an empty subway station, complete with teleportation. Interesting special effects are used which add a little pizzazz to the show, which it desperately needs.
Conflict is introduced to the story through the group the Ultra Organisation who think that the Tomorrow People should be hunted down and experimented on – a containment program which uses captured Homo Superiors to capture others of their kind. Mark Pellegrino plays Jedikihah Price, the person in charge of the organisation, and he continues his run of playing the sinister bad guy. He does it in an understated way which makes him all the more engaging, but he is the only one in the cast who really stands out.
The tired old trope of the talented child who has a missing parent, who just so happens to be some sort of super talented individual is wheeled out here, and it isn’t done in an interesting or original way. The script is sometimes clunky, and at its worst borders on the ridiculous – lines like ‘Just because I’m in your head doesn’t mean I’m not real’ are given to us in the first ten minutes of the show, and it doesn’t exactly warm up from there. The fact that the Tomorrow People are called Homo Superior smacks of the ridiculous, although at least they are aware enough of that to make jokes about it. Even in the first episode you can tell that there will be a love triangle between Stephen, Cara and John, which hardly inspires confidence in the show overall.
There isn’t anything offensive, or particularly bad about the show, it just doesn’t inspire me at all. The cast is a little bland, and I think the script could do with some tightening up. I’ll continue watching, because I don’t like giving up on shows, but unless it dramatically improves I can’t see much of a future for The Tomorrow People.
5/10 – inoffensive, but unremarkable, The Tomorrow People hasn’t got off to a stellar start.
