TV Report Card | 'The Tomorrow People' Season 1 Review

Overview: In the second half of the series’ first and only season, The Tomorrow People’s leader returned. There was a revolt and eventually peacemaking.

Storyline Pros: Action and story resolutions plowed through the remaining episodes of the series. The character development found most on a full circle journey. There was real purpose that drove the second act of the season. Stephen’s father being thawed from his deep freeze and his reconciliation with his family was dealt with interestingly. Addressing the difference between what being a Tomorrow Person and a “normal” human meant was explored with depth. At the beginning of the series it had always been irksome that there was an implied variance between the two and it was cleared up nicely.

As an action/adventure series it delivered and the characters were fun to watch. John and Jed were the characters that stood out amongst the fray. Their arcs were interconnected and unpredictable. They evolved throughout the series and it was a unique process, as characters on other shows commonly regress from their early debuts. Perhaps, it was the evolutionary element of the overall story because they perfectly exemplified the theme of the show, only improving as the show went on.

Storyline Cons: Roger’s fate coming into the final episodes seemed rather obvious and the lack of patience the alliance showed him to have dinner with his family seemed out of sorts. The most disappointing arc was Russell’s abrupt change in character from a loyal friend to backstabbing jerk. The comedic relief amongst the solemnity of the other characters, it was completely out of character for him to turn into a traitor. More after the jump...

The last minute introduction of Natalie, a rebel without a cause or purpose, stirred up chaos that came out of nowhere. She was also mega-powerful without any indication as to how. As strong as the series was on other fronts, the love triangle between Stephen, Cara and John proved one of the weaker links. Why the overly mature Cara continued to be so drawn to the teenage Stephen was hard to fathom. Astrid was the only character with enough sense to realize Cara’s folly by noticing how much John had to offer.

Production Caliber: Sleek, efficient and futuristic with a modern twist.

Performance Quality: The ensemble as a whole was strong, a well assembled cast that entertained from beginning to end. Luke Mitchell proved to be the breakout star of the series, capturing a strength and compassion as John that is scarce on the CW. As previously mentioned, his career is going places.

Mark Pellegrino struck the perfect balance between villain and anti-hero as the nefarious and torn Jed, switching on a dime and keeping viewer interest peeked at every turn. Aaron Yoo was marvelous as Russell, keeping the comedic cadence in full tilt. Despite the drastic turn at the end of Russell’s arc, Yoo managed to bring a profundity to his characterization that made it difficult to write Russell off.

Overall Grade: A-, there wasn’t a week where a new episode didn’t yield great anticipation. “The Tomorrow People” was a fun show and by far the saddest cancellation of the season, personally. There were many stories still left to delve into and the characters were dynamic enough to have followed for several seasons.

Creatively consistent, it was the best new show of CW’s 2013/14 season; fresh, exciting and most importantly, human. A lot of sci-fi series make the mistake of veering away from emotion. “The Tomorrow People” bravely rushed right in and it paid off brilliantly.