The Tomorrow People

From "The Mod Squad" to "Being Human," TV's young misfits find it [family] where they can, and Tomorrow is that next step, too. Scripter Phil Klemmer wrote for "Chuck" and "Veronica Mars," good arguments for promise here (and "Undercovers," a bad one).

It’s an episode of television that exists at the intersection of Marvel’s superpowers-as-puberty metaphors and the half-baked cultural upheaval of True Blood—with a Whedon-esque anti-authoritarian streak thrown in for good measure. The show could devolve into a grab bag of familiar themes and tropes down the line, but its pilot does a remarkable job of synthesizing a cohesive introduction out of those disparate parts.

This won't be a show focusing on teenage angst, which is a healthy breath of fresh air from a network that capitalizes on brooding male protagonists.... One major aspect the pilot lacks is character development, as the fast-paced action and plot dominate the first hour to set up the series.

Although predictable in predictable ways, there are enough twists and turns and, relatively speaking, complexities of character to keep things interesting, and a pivot at the end that I did not see coming. Which bodes well.

The CW has established a reliable [network formula]: beautiful young things plus alienation plus supernatural powers plus slim-fit leather jackets. It works again in this new series. [11 Nov 2013, p.40]

With so many powers, the Tomorrow People seem near invincible, and the measures Ultra uses to thwart them seem flimsy. The idea that a prohibition against killing could be genetically encoded seems both convenient and implausible — and also lessens the stakes.

There’s enough set in motion here to perhaps lure a small, loyal audience from week to week.

It’s competently assembled and has a bland stylishness. What it lacks, at this point, is any kick in its storytelling: There are alienation, daddy issues and a looming love triangle, but they’re all pro forma.

Indifferently acted and badly plotted, Tomorrow cries out to be ignored.

Like all the CW series, The Tomorrow People has a gorgeous, young ensemble and a fresh (though not original) premise. But it's going to have to significantly broaden the scope of the story and the size of the cast if it hopes to succeed as an episodic.

They’re remaking The Tomorrow People and the results are just kind of “meh.”

Yet another in the assembly line of fantasy/sci-fi shows, it offers little in the way of thrills, suspense or drama.

Derivative of sci-fi and superhuman dramas we’ve seen plenty of times before, up to and including the slo-mo 'Matrix' bullets flying out of a gun.

Teen shows and sci-fi shows often get a bad rap for being ridiculous or campy or stupid, and Tomorrow People isn't any of those things. Unfortunately, it's just boring.

There's nothing in the pilot that feels particularly like today, much less like tomorrow.

The atmosphere is bland, the special effects and fight scenes are underwhelming, and the tone is mostly humorless.

Even though the fate of the world is presumably at stake, as tends to be the case in these fantasies, this one just doesn’t feel very rousing.

Tomorrow People simply feels too much like a knockoff of more familiar genetic superhumans.

The Tomorrow People, which is a remake of a 1970s British show, is completely bogged down with rushed exposition, stale acting, and pointless action scenes that leave not much to look forward to.

The CW’s newest wallow in adolescent angst.

This subculture specializes in the "three T's": teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis. They forgot "tired," "tepid" and "too too derivative," which much better describes the experience of meeting these lost kids.