Last week marked the series premiere of The Tomorrow People. For those who haven’t heard of it, it is a story about a teenager named Stephen, who meets an underground group of people who have special abilities–and he learns he has them too. The group is pursued by another organization called Ultra, bent on eliminating any of the “Homo Superior” race. Need to catch up on the premiere or would like to see our opinions on the show? Check it out all after the jump!
Don’t need the The Tomorrow People episode recap for the pilot? Click here to jump directly to Josh’s thoughts on the episode!
To see Violet’s thoughts on this week’s The Tomorrow People pilot episode, click here to get directly there!
The Tomorrow People Pilot Recap Overview
Need a quick The Tomorrow People episode recap of the pilot? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed The Tomorrow People episode recap for the pilot if you need more information!
- The main character, Stephen, is introduced, who is diagnosed with a sleeping disorder. Also, John and Cara work to figure out who their “savior” is–turns out it’s Stephen
- After an argument with his friend Astrid, Stephen heads to class, and is mentally visited by Cara. Then they and John have a meeting at John and company’s hideout. Ultra is also explained-a group dedicated to hunting down the “superior” humans
- We meet Jedikiah Price, the leader of Ultra, the group hunting down the “Homo Superior” people with their own kind.
- Stephen wakes up at home after his meeting with the Tomorrow People, and he has a better grasp of his power, but it’s not quite under control yet. He is also taken by Ultra on his way home.
- Cara and Russell go to rescue Stephen. John shows up too after saying he wouldn’t. Stephen is able to use his powers in the building despite others not being able to, and is able to save the Tomorrow People from an untimely death.
- John, Russell, and Stephen escape, and Stephen heads home to see his uncle–Jedikiah. To keep his family safe, Stephen decides to join him at Ultra.
The Tomorrow People Episode Recap: The Pilot, the Details
Meet Stephen, John and Cara
The episode begins with Steven Jameson, the main character, narrating his life so far. He takes medication, and we learn he is pretty much a loner at school. We see his house, and discover he has to tie himself down in bed for some reason–which we learn later in the episode.
Next we meet a character named John, who is breaking into a building. It seems to be a hospital, and they are looking for the psych center. He is being helped via phone by a woman. John searches for a file, locates it and makes for an escape. He runs for the edge of a building, then teleports to ground level, escaping undetected–so he thinks. We then see some other teleporters chase him down, and he is jumped in a subway. John is able to take them down, and he boards the subway. Another teleporter jumps onto the train, and a fight breaks out. They fight and teleport about, as a homeless man watches.
Back at base, the woman yells at him for using his powers. We then learn the contents of the files he stole–they are Stephen’s files. The girl, named Cara, then telepathically communicates with Stephen who is asleep–between a man and a woman. The couple wake up a freak out seeing him in between the two. The man drags Stephen out of the room, and back home. Stephen’s mother tries to explain his sleeping disorder, but the man says he will call the cops if it happens again–this seems to be a recurring thing for him. In the bathroom, he puts some laxatives in his prescription pill bottles, and chuckles to himself for some reason.
Stephen Goes a Little Crazy, or Maybe Not
At school, he talks with his friend, Astrid about his sleeping disorder medicine. They head to class, and while sitting in class, Cara begins to contact him telepathically again. He then panics and says “Shut Up” to the voice in his head. The teacher asks him about what is going on, and he leaves the class abruptly. As he is walking down the hall, he is met by a guy who appears to be a bully, who takes his medication from him–which this time is laxatives.
At home, Stephen has a dream about who I would guess is his father. He then has Cara in his head again, who tells him to get on a train. John then teleports onto the train, and teleports both of them back off. They meet up with Cara, and they go back to the Tomorrow People’s hideout/home.
Stephen questions what just happened, and seems to be in disbelief. He is convinced it is a dream, and the two try to explain and convince him what is “real”. Finally, seemingly believing John and Cara, they tell him more about the “Tomorrow People”, who call the “mutated” people, Homo Superior. John and Cara then explain the “shadow war” between Ultra and the Tomorrow People. Ultras is a group that hunts the Homo Superiors down, using the advanced people as their own agents.
Meet Dr. Jedikiah Price
The scene then moves to Ultra’s headquarters, where we see the agent that jumped Jon on the train getting reprimanded for letting John getting away. The boss, named Dr Jedikiah Price, threatens the agent, but we learn the Homo Superiors are unable to kill, as he tries to shoot the boss. Unhappy with his agent, he shoots the agent in the head.
John then tells Stephen of Stephen’s father’s powers, and how he was their leader and most powerful Tomorrow Person they knew. It seems he has disappeared without a trace. Stephen refuses to help find his father since he was abandoned by him. John wants to convince Stephen that his father isn’t such a bad guy, and we learn that John has a recording for Stephen from Stephen’s father that is a message for Stephen. Stephen refuses to watch it though and demands to leave, and Cara teleports him out.
Was it All a Dream?
After the commercial break, Stephen wakes up at home. He goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and he reaches for his toothbrush, and we see it float. He is put into a state of shock. At school, he tells Astrid of his powers, but she is not buying it. He plans to convince her by showing her that he can move a basketball with his mind. Unfortunately for him, he is unable to perform with an audience. She says that he probably should see his shrink. Stephen goes off on her, and she tells him that he is pushing everyone away.
At his locker, Stephen is confronted by the bully about the laxative pills that he stole. The bully begins to beat on Stephen, but his powers kick in. Stephen attempts to strangle the guy, but he receives a headache, and passes out. His mother picks him up, and he is busted for “selling” his medication, despite it actually being stolen from him.
Stephen walks home so his mother can go back to work, but we see that he is being followed by a black SUV–which is never a good sign. Stephen contacts Cara telepathically and asks for help. He begins to run, and Dr. Jedikiah Price confronts him, telling him, “he looks just like him”, referring to Stephen’s father. The agents attempt to kidnap him, when Cara teleports in. She is unable to do anything though, and watches the SUVs drive away with Stephen inside.
Inside Ultra’s Headquarters, Stephen Proves Just How Powerful He Can Be
Cara heads back to base, and John tells her that he is a lost cause. John accuses her of getting too close to Stephen, but Cara says that he is key to the whole thing. Russell comes in the room, another of the Tomorrow People, and agrees with Cara that they should find Stephen. Their A.I. Tim (sort of like Jarvis from Iron Man) locates the car that took Stephen, and Cara and Russell plan their rescue. John refuses to help though.
At Ultra’s headquarters, Dr. Price talks to Stephen, and explains that he is doing the “right” thing, as they are essentially too powerful to exist in his mind. Cara and Russell enter the building, and begin a fight on the lower floor. Dr. Price, in the meantime, plans to inject him with a serum that will remove his powers. Stephen pleads, “There is nothing wrong with me!” Price then tells Stephen that his father is dead. A guard then interrupts their conversation, with news of the break in. Inside the building, Russell discovers that no “Homo Superior” powers work in the building, and the fights turn into an “old fashioned” brawl. John shows up and helps with the fight, while Stephen tries to break from his restraints. Despite the room supposedly not allowing powers, Stephen is able to get out. He meets up with John, Cara and Russell, and they make for the exit. Price is there waiting though, and yells for John. Apparently John has had some affiliation with Ultra as Price says to him, “Decided to come back home?”
Price takes aim at John and fires. Stephen immediately screams, “No!” and as this happens, time freezes (think the end of the original Matrix when Neo comes back from the dead and stops the agent’s bullets). Stephen has somehow frozen time, preventing the bullet from reaching its intended victim.
Stephen Makes Some Choices
This gives Stephen and the gang enough time to escape. Back at base, John agrees that Stephen must be something “special”. Stephen pays a visit to the A.I. Tim again, and he wants to see the full message from his father. The message tells Stephen to trust his heart, and no one else.
Stephen heads home, and there is a visitor at his house: Dr. Price. He claims that he is Stephen’s long-lost uncle. Left alone, Stephen confronts Jedikiah. He demands Stephen work for him in order to keep the people Stephen loves safe. He agrees in the end.
Stephen meets on a rooftop with Cara, and he is upset that Cara didn’t tell him Jedikiah is his uncle. Stephen asks what would happen if they turn themselves in, but Cara refuses to believe that will work, and she has a very “us versus them” attitude with the “normal” humans. Stephen then reveals he is going to work for Jedikiah as a way to figure out what happened to his father. Stephen heads home, dumps his medication, and heads to work for Dr. Price.
Josh’s Thoughts: The Tomorrow People Pilot
Violet and I actually saw (most of) this episode at Comic-Con. The first thing I thought of when I saw this film was the book series/movie, Jumper. For those unfamiliar with the premise of that book, there are people that are born with the ability to teleport. They also are pursued by a secret organization, but rather than use their own kind against them, they have advanced technology to hunt them down with. Very similar story lines though. There was some X-Men vibe to it too, with the endless people trying to hunt down the mutants in that franchise.
Unfortunately, while a pretty cool premise, and I say it a thousand times for shows such as Arrow and the like, but this one more so has the “CW-ness” to it, that makes it unappealing. In the first episode, the show has already set up the love triangle between Stephen, Cara, and John. Also, there seems one being set between Astrid, Stephen, and Cara to make it more “interesting” I guess if that’s what the writers are going for.
Having said all that, I will remain optimistic, as I had my doubts about Arrow at first too. That show, while still suffering from some of those flaws, turned out to be a lot better than I expected. If the writers can get the tone of the show right, and not make it a soap opera, I will totally be in. The next episode seems interesting, as Stephen will have to make a dramatic choice regarding a child’s life, it would seem. Let’s see how this show goes!
Violets’s Thoughts on The Tomorrow People Pilot
After seeing the pilot for a second time, I feel pretty much the same way I felt about it when we saw it at San Diego Comic-Con. I didn’t like much of the acting, especially from the main character, and I thought that he and especially his friend, Astrid, looked way too old to be high school students. How about the other Tomorrow People, are they supposed to be teenagers too? Because they also look older than high school aged. It really bothers me when the casting is way off like that.
However, even though they look older than teenagers, it sure felt like there was emphasis on the “teenage drama” aspect of the show. They really made sure to drive home Cara’s strong interest in Stephen. The show pretty much felt like another version of X-Men or the ill-fated television series Heroes, except specifically geared toward a teen or tween audience.
However, I am intrigued by the storyline so far, such as the mystery of Stephen’s father, and I’m curious to know what will come of Stephen’s undercover work for Ultra. The potential is there, so I’ll give it few more episodes to develop.
Scenes from The Tomorrow People, Episode 2: In Too Deep
Here are scenes from the next The Tomorrow People episode titled In Too Deep:
