The Tomorrow People 1:3: The Vanishing Earth
01/07/2002 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
Video: Revelation/Fremantle PAR 50128. 100 minutes. Price: £10.99- £ 9.99(UK) - prices vary so shop around. Stars: Sammie Winmill, Nicholas Young, Peter Vaughn-Clarke, Stephen Salmon, Michael Standing and Philip Gilbert with guest-stars Kevin Stoney, John Woodnutt and Nova Llewellyn. Looks to me like Revelation are keeping
up their promise of a bi-monthly Tomorrow People video or DVD - depending
on which format you prefer.
If it’s anything like Taunton’s MVC shop, then they’re selling
quite well as they’ve been restocking the earlier tapes as well
and I didn’t see any around when I was in Bristol a month ago.
My publisher might disagree regarding the fascination my generation
has with seeing old 70s shows, but the figures are beginning to
speak for themselves. People out there are collecting these videos.
There’s definitely a nostalgia kick going on that should be encouraged
into the adult market. Anyone remember ‘Spyder’s Web’?
This isn’t to say ‘The Tomorrow People’ isn’t perfect nor dated
compared to some of the shows of today, but it was still one of
the first shows using humans with extra-powers in the children’s
hour.
It’s very much a history lesson of how things were done back then
and how it had to deal with limited budgets. The way some of the
dialogue is set, the script wasn’t entirely aimed at the younger
audience.
With this story, the Tomorrow People become involved when natural
catastrophes are getting out of hand and discover it is caused by
an alien called Spidron and his sometimes partner, Joy aka Sander
(actress Llewellyn wearing the kind of clothes that could resurrect
70s fashions) who are mining a rare element that keeps the Earth
together with the aid of some abducted mind-controlled humans, including
Ginge Harding. Spidron (actor Woodnutt) is suitably villainous,
rolling his S’s as all good villains should do.
Even Ginge describes him as looking like a Ku Klux Klan member
as we never see what he truly looks like. Into this mix, is an adult
alien Tomorrow Person in the form of Harry Steen (actor Stoney),
a galactic policeman powerless to interfere on a ‘closed world’
until he discovers the terrestrial Tomorrow People and whose developing
powers means they can be considered for Federation protection.
An indication from him about the size of the Federation also indicates
there are far too few law enforcement officers around to keep tabs
on the more villainous types.
This is last story from Season One. The last episode feels especially
cut up. We only infer the rescue of the kidnapped people and the
replacement of the mineral in the Earth’s crust and the scene changes.
I suspect creator/writer Roger Price was planning this story as
a 5 parter and then had to cut back either because of budget over-runs
or space allocation or whatever. Watching on TV when it was first
shown in 25 minute chunks didn’t always make it apparent. Watching
them all in a single sitting, it’s obvious that everything had to
be shoe-horned together.
In many respects, there are far too many cast members waiting around
to do something at times. It isn’t too hard to see some changes
were likely to happen in the second season as well as spreading
the plot to accommodate everyone. Considering this is writer Roger
Price getting his feet wet scriptwriting, we are seeing something
of his development here.
Get while it’s still available.
GF Willmetts
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