The Tomorrow People 1:2 (The Medusa Strain)
Plot Outline
In the first story, reviewed here, The Tomorrow People had to prevent Jedikiah from carrying out his evil plan and whilst onboard a spaceship orbiting Earth, Jedikiah is revealed as a shape changing robot. Cast into space during the showdown, the new story starts with Jedikiah being marooned for 50
Plot Outline
In the first story, reviewed here, The Tomorrow People had to prevent Jedikiah from carrying out his evil plan and whilst onboard a spaceship orbiting Earth, Jedikiah is revealed as a shape changing robot. Cast into space during the showdown, the new story starts with Jedikiah being marooned for 500 years until rescued by one of the last Homo Sapiens alive - the outcast criminal Count Rabowski.
Time travel is now possible, but the telepaths of the future are needed to operate the machines that permit it. With them in control of the time lanes, Rabowski has resorted to kidnapping a young telepath called Peter, suppressing his powers whilst in captivity with the mind sapping effects of a creature called the Medusa.
Rabowski merely wishes to use time travel to steal great treasures of the past, but Jedikiah has much more far reaching plans. He wants to return to the past and eradicate The Tomorrow People, gaining revenge against John, Carol, Kenny and Stephen, and erasing the future where telepaths are in control.
Will The Tomorrow People be able to avert this threat from the future?
Review
With my first review covering the background and general comments about the series as a whole, I'll say more this time about the specific story line. Time travel issues are always tricky things to introduce, especially into a children's show, as explanation of the concepts tend to slow down the narrative. I think the writers succeeded in finding the right balance, and the fact that they conveniently skipped over any attempt to explain how telepathic communications travelled not only in space but also time in this instance went unquestioned by my two children. Overall, I found this a much more satisfying story than 'Slaves of Jedikiah'.
With the characters and principles of the group already established in the first story, the actors are relaxing more into their roles in this run of episodes. However, it is already evident that Stephen Salmon had been cast as Kenny beyond the young actor's abilities, and increasing use was made by the writers of the "No, we need somebody to stay back here in the lab" ploy to reduce his screen time. Having said that, he does have a very effective scene with Ginge (Michael Standing) in which Kenny tests him with ESP cards to see if he does have any latent telepathic powers. It was a nice touch to show that the two henchmen weren't all bad, and both of them make reappearances throughout series one.
This story relies much more on studio sets, although some location shooting does take place in a disused London Underground station which is where the Tomorrow People have their secret HQ. There are some optical and video effects used to make more of the spaceship sets than is present in the actual build, some considerably less effective than others.
Considering the low budget of the show, the production team do rather well, although huge cost savings are evident in the many scenes where people are held in metal cages in the spaceship's jail.
And for those who love trivia, there's a rather loose connection between this show and Star Wars - Episode IV. Rabowski's android helper is played by David Prowse (rather fetching attired in a loincloth and spray painted silver). At one point he bangs his head on the bottom of Carol's cage at a time when it has been raised off the ground. David Prowse appears as Darth Vader in Star Wars of course, where one Stormtrooper bangs his head on the door that has been raised as they enter to search a control room. Neither of the scenes were reshot so both 'bloopers' were left in the final versions. Enough trivia, back to the review.
Stephen is convinced that there's something lurking out in hyperspace and both he and Carol venture out with a camera to attempt to get proof for the doubtful John. Whilst Carol and Stephen are in hyperspace Rabowski forces Peter to open the time lanes and freeze time on Earth so that he can steal the Crown Jewels. When Stephen and Carol return they are shocked to find everyone in the lab is motionless and at first presume them to be dead. Then they realise that time everywhere seems to have stopped - courtesy of some dodgy video overlay effects in front of stock stills footage of London.
When they track the only detectable moving beings to the Tower of London, Carol is captured and taken back into the future by Rabowski. There she meets Peter (child actor Richard Speight and son of Alf Garnett creator Johnny Speight). With only one Medusa creature to suppress both their abilities she is able to get a message through to John and the others before Jedikiah uses the suppressor headbands we saw in the first series. But John and Stephen now know where Carol is and a rescue attempt is mounted (with Kenny staying back in the lab with Ginge, of course).
It isn't long before Jedikiah's plan to revenge himself results in the capture of Ginge as well during an attack on their HQ, and even Rabowski finds that Jedikiah cannot be trusted. At gunpoint, Peter is forced to open the time lanes once more for Jedikiah to escape, but the destination is not quite what Jedikiah was hoping for.
Video
As a continuation of the same series, you'll not be surprised to hear that the quality is as previously reported - a full frame 4:3 ratio picture with soft contrast and colour. Once again, the archive material has been well looked after, and we should maybe be grateful that lessons had already been learned from the huge loss of archive material suffered (and even perpetrated) by the BBC.
Audio
A mono soundtrack that if anything seems a little clearer on these episodes. Even though a remix might have been too expensive, it seems a little harsh that a subtitle track could not have been provided for the hard of hearing to enjoy the show as well.
Extras
Once again it is the extras where this release redeems itself with full honours. In addition to the biographies, photo gallery, audio cassette extract, and a full episode guide repeated from the first DVD, you get production notes on 'The Medusa Strain', and transcribed text of an interview with Nicholas Young.
The star feature is once again the audio commentary featuring Nicholas Young (John), Peter Vaughan-Clarke (Stephen) and Philip Gilbert (the voice of TIM). The facilitator works well at keeping them in order once more, which considering the candid nature of some of their recollections is quite a feat. They are clearly enjoying the experience of reuniting to talk about the show, yet avoid all the insincerity of some other cast commentaries we've been subjected to on DVD.
The product is housed in a keep case, and once again the chapters stops at the previous episode synopsis and next episode start.
Overall
In all, this story packs more plot and action into it's four episodes than the opening five did, although the reason for that has already been explained. Acting limitations and the meagre budget again are the show's downfalls, but all concerned seemed determined to make the most of it. The result is an intelligent and enjoyable piece of Children's TV that stands the test of time well and is worth the space on your shelves if you have children or remember the show fondly from your own childhood.
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