WARNING: Minor spoilers ahead for those that have yet to see the episode
Time to be honest people. Firstly, I am currently watching way too many TV shows at the moment and the prospect of adding yet another is daunting. So I’m a bit hesitant. Secondly, I’m 30 years old and I really like watching TV shows on The CW network. Am I their target demographic!? I don’t think I am, but I don’t care either. I loved (all 10 seasons) of SMALLVILLE, SUPERNATURAL rocks, and ARROW blows my mind with how good it is sometimes. So yeah, there is a new show on The CW about mutants with cool abilities. Of course I’m going to at least give the pilot episode a go. The question is however, is THE TOMORROW PEOPLE a show I want to add to my DVR and spend countless hours with this year whilst consuming large amounts of ice cream? The short answer is “I donnnnnnnn’ttttttttt knooooooowwwwwww yettttttt!” Ok, that was kind of long, so I guess in the paragraphs below I’m just going to have to explain it all to you.
THE TOMORROW PEOPLE is the third live action reboot of the franchise so there may be some of you out there with some history. I am not one of these people and am entering the world of THE TOMORROW PEOPLE for the first time yet it feels oddly familiar for a handful of reasons. Let’s take a look at the synopsis provided by IMDB shall we:
“The story of several young people from around the world who represent the next stage in human evolution, possessing special powers, including the ability to teleport and communicate with each other telepathically. Together they work to defeat the forces of evil.”
Umm ok, call me bat-shart crazy but that sounds a whole hell of a lot like X-MEN and every other mutant-themed comic book franchise I have ever witnessed. Ok, so there are zero points for originality here, but it’s still a fun concept and a fun universe right? I suppose there are elements here and there in this pilot that are cool, but wholly familiar and unoriginal. THE TOMORROW PEOPLE is like Frankenstein’s Monster; it’s a little piece of everything that came before it culminating in a pretty cool looking, but slow, creature. Maybe it’s my years and years of reading comic books relentlessly, or my obsession with the X-Men, but I have already filled the void in my body that requires what this show has to offer. Get in line THE TOMORROW PEOPLE! I assume this show is geared towards younger, less acquainted people that don’t know much about comics and what their superhero stories have to offer. Ok, you get the point. It’s unoriginal, not better than cool superhero stuff I already enjoy, and offers very little in the “wow, I’ve never seen that before!” department.
The pilot itself was typical The CW fare. There were a lot of older actors portraying younger people, they are all pretty looking and wear cool clothes, and there is a nice energy about the show that The CW has a knack for. But there just wasn’t enough for this nerd to get pulled in. The actors were all mediocre at best. No bright stars shining here like you would find in ARROW or SUPERNATURAL. Robbie Amell (young cousin to ARROW’s Stephen Amell mind you!) is an alright lead as Stephen Jameson who shows some promise. I will admit that I daydreamed a lot during this episode and a few of those daydreams revolved around me pretending I had Robbie’s lip-mole and was trying to shave my face around it without slicing it clean off! His fellow Tomorrow People Peyton List (MAD MEN) as Cara, Luke Mitchell (HOME AND AWAY) as John, and Aaron Yoo (DISTURBIA) as RussellI all do a respectful job as a rag tag team who join together to better themselves and their powers. Besides those main players, we get to see the LOST alumni Mark Pellegrino (he played Jacob) act his chops off ass Dr. Jedikiah Price who has some interesting motives of his own and serves as the potential bad guy of the series. All in all, a solid enough cast that has some potential but nothing to write home about.
THE TOMORROW PEOPLE did not waste time showing us a normal everyday boy as he got thrust into a world of chaos overnight. While I appreciate getting straight to the action, it felt a bit rushed and the 45 minute run time of the episode was not enough to get me invested in any of the characters. And as mentioned before, I did find myself checking the time and daydreaming a few times during this episode. A big “no no” for pilot episode viewings. I was just overwhelmed with how much of a copy-cat this show was. To be fair, the end (which I will not spoil) did have a twist I did not see coming. THAT twist and THAT twist alone is what may grant a viewing of the shows second episode. But probably not because I am knee deep in quality programming at the moment and any new show would have to knock my damn Zelda-themed socks off to get my full attention. You could do worse, but if you are like me, THE TOMORROW PEOPLE just does not have what it takes to compete in the crowded lineup of kick ass Fall 2013 television shows.
Final Score: 5 out of 10
