I Want to be a Homo...a Homo Superior That is!

(1/3) The Tomorrow People - Series 1 Episode 1



The first of 3 full episodes appearing on Youtube. Sci-fi children's show "The Tomorrow People" received a great amount of cult status, and remains one of the most cherised shows of the 70s. It had some crossover appeal, compelling to both adults and children. Created by Roger Price, this was about older children who were harnessing strange capabilities that were denoting an evolution of humans were afoot, to become more advanced beings. This involved psionic powers like telepathy, - the ability to read other people's minds- telekinesis, -to power to levitate or produce light/electricity and transportation. Hence "The Tomorrow People". The show really became a benchmark for the the 70s lasting from 1973-1979.

What is a Homo Superior? It was another name used for the Tommorrow People. This was originally brought to Roger Price's attention in a coversation with David Bowie. Both like the word so much, Bowie would first use it for his 1971 song "Oh! You Pretty Things".

The Tomorrow People would not reveal their extra powers in public, and so had their headquarters in an underground lab. They would keep on the watch for new kids/teens "breaking out", as in evolving. They were intelligent enough, to realise that killing was wrong, so used less harmful weapons like stun-guns.

This episode is entitled "The Slaves Of Jedikiah". The main characters at this time were Nicholas Young as John, Sammie Winmill as Carol, Stephen Salmon as Kenny, Peter Vaughan-Clarke as Stephen, Philip Gilbert as TIM and Michael Standing as Ginge Harding. This first episodes centres on Stephen Jameson who is kidnapped by a bearded, enigmatical man known as Jedikiah.

There is actually some truth to humans evolving from what they are now. If you've ever seen any of those science+technology news reports or in newspapers (chances of it being bull, probably doubled now), there is talk that some younger people are being born with "super brains" over people with "normal brains". What does it mean for the future? Not exactly telepathy, but maybe more intellectuals, less yobs? Well there's always someone who's going to say about younger generations; "They get worse and worse dont they?".

Laurence Olivier - narrated Epic Documentary with the Definitive History of the Second World War

The World At War - Episode 1 - A New Germany 1933--1939



"The World At War" was a true heavyweight of archive footage and documentary execution. Produced by Jeremy Isaacs and running for one series of 26 episodes in 1973 for ITV, the programme profiled a superb in-depth chronological history of the rise of Hitler's Germany and the eventual Second War War, from beginning to end. Narrated by 2-time Oscar winning Laurence Olivier.

I watched some of the episodes at High School, and although bearing the age of the documentary at even that time, it was a great one.

The youtube user account also includes a few other World At War episodes, as well as a "making of" documentary. It took 4 years of research to produce it.

Youtube Public Information Films Sweepstake

The last in the series of the Sweepstake posts, designed to give you a taste of the vast choice of clips/shows that will feature here on this blog:

Public Information Films or "PIFs", are either adverts, 5-30 minute short films, advising you the citizen how to either evade danger, not to take what is unhealthy for you, or just generally advising you on new features, like the motorway, back in the day.

Fireworks: Don't Be A Dummy 1988 Public Info Film



80's scare-mongering at it's scariest and finest! Short but downright goosebumps ridden advert-sized PIF. The eerie, hard hitting sounds pound right through you, as the images of children's faces, and then speeds up and and climaxes with a firework exploding, then to portrayed as exploding in the face of a child. What's happening is an indoor experiment of how a loaded firework can do when aimed at child's eye, represented by a grey mould of child's face. Then it gets even more creepy as non-appearing kids shouts "don't be a dummy, don't throw fireworks!" Other firework PIF's followed in the 80's and 90's but nothing as wonderfully deranged and as directful since. I haven't seen firwork PIF's around much these days. Maybe I'm not up at the right times to see. However, after this, firework PIF creators should've just packed up and left, because nothing will surpass this as getting the message across, and a re-introduction of ad would be welcome, come any November.

Public Information Film Charley Says.....Strangers



The "Charley Says" animated series is one of the most well-known of UK PIFs. It ran, especially the "Strangers" episode for literally years. Produced in 1973, it ran through the 80s and possibly the early 90s too, if my memory serves me right. The boy was voiced by an authentic 7 year old boy, who was the son of the producer's (Richard Taylor) next door neighbour. Charley is the name of the cat who in most episodes bar 1, to advise the boy away from danger. The boy seemed to be able to understand what Charley was saying, which were weird, mangled meiows, voiced by Radio personality and future television entertainer Kenny Everett.

Peter Kay on Public Information Films



A flashback with many clips from at the time, future insanely popular stand-up comedian, Peter Kay. Kay has engineered alot of his gentle comedy around nostalgia and that include TV nostalgia quite a bit. Before he made the big time, you could see him many times on certain nostalgic shows like the "I Love" BBC series. Was there to make his face more known on TV, or for his passion for nostalgia? I would say a bit of both, but turning more to passion for nostalgia, he engineered a career from it, for the holy mother. Mentioned are "Splink", the road safety PIF by Jon Pertwee, and David Prowse as the Green Cross Code Man.