"The Tomorrow People" Review

With great power comes great need to hide underground. No, wait, that’s not it. I do believe it has something to do with responsibility, so it comes as no great shock that one of the latest TV shows featuring super powered teens includes our good old, “Chosen One” cliché. This Chosen One comes in none other than the handsome outsider, Stephen Jameson (Robbie Amell). If he looks familiar, that would be because his cousin, Stephen Amell, is the lead actor in CW’s other show, Arrow.

Stephen is of course a very attractive teenager who is shunned by his fellow classmates on the account that he is on anti-psychotic drugs for his mental condition. This seems to consist of sleep-walking and voices in his head, as he is shown strapping himself into bed. Though one might hardly bother wondering how he actually sleeps because we are of course distracted by his wonderful abs and the rather kinkiness of it all. The three-way he wakes up to at his neighbours is of course the cherry on the top. 

Unbeknownst to Stephen, there is a shadow war going on between the Tomorrow People, and a secret organisation hunting them, known as Ultra. But who are the Tomorrow People? Well, apparently, it’s all about the 3 T’s— telepathy, telekinesis and teleportation. Quite nice that it’s wrapped up all neat and pretty. I had no idea that mutation could work quite so smoothly.

Genetics aside, I can’t deny that the TV show is rather gripping. Already we are halfway through the series and there have been quite a number of interesting story arcs. Perhaps the crowning glory of it all is the almost father/son relationship between one of the heads of Ultra, Jedikiah Price (Mark Pellegrino, who some may recognise from Supernatural as Lucifer) and the leader of the underground group of Tomorrow People, John (Luke Mitchell). This rivalry is alluded to in the pilot episode, with John describing Jedikiah as a sadistic creep. 

The writers do well with characterising villains and heroes alike with captivating and sympathetic back-stories. Stephen is first introduced to John, the laid back, but determined leader. Then there is Cara, the intense one who acts quite like a second-in-command. Last but not least, we have Russell (Aaron Yoo), the kleptomaniac comic-relief who is a firm believer in the “no-finger discount”. After all, Tomorrow People have telekinesis for that kind of thing. But how could I forget TIM? TIM is a super-computer stolen from Ultra by John. Witty and sarcastic, he will immediately remind Marvel fans of Iron Man’s JARVIS, albeit, with a British accent.

 Once again, mutation is used as an allegory for puberty, despite the fact that the majority of the cast already look to be in their mid-20’s. Even the ones who are meant to be in high school. So even in the wake of striking revelations and intense action sequences, the romances are still heavily explored. Now that is not necessarily a bad thing, but in the grand scheme of things, the romance can at times feel contrived. Love triangles will ensue, and frustrations will rise high, but in the midst of it all, the main goal is to find Stephen’s long lost father, who will lead them all to “The Promised Land”. A place where Tomorrow People can live without judgement— ahem!— Genosha. 

They say that the devil is in the detail, so perhaps my favourite character in the entire show is none other than Jedikiah Price, the villain pursuing the Tomorrow People. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good villain. He is the most multi-faceted character on this show. Neither truly evil, nor good, he is certainly layered. In the words of Tony Stark, “his secrets have secrets”. He truly believes that what he is doing is best for society, and it is this conviction that I at once admire and loathe. It would certainly be easier to hate him if he was simply doing it to be evil, but then where would the fun be in that? With that air of calm and wry smile, he is certainly one to watch out for.

So the recipe for The Tomorrow People seems to include a dash of narration, just like good ol’ Spidey, a sprinkle of Matrix style bullet freeze shots, a heap of hotness like any self-respecting CW show, and a drop of romance to keep up the teen angst. Boil it all together and what we get is a sort of X-Men meets Jumper and Push. In the end I’d like to think there is a bit of something for everyone, and I firmly believe that The Tomorrow People isn’t quite yesterday’s news. 

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