Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The Tomorrow People, Season 1, Episode 19: Modus Viviendi



Another episode of Tomorrow People, hang on to your hats and reach for your drinks and leave your intelligence by the door!

Jedikiah breaks into Ultra but can’t reach the super machine of doom because the Founder changed the locks. CURSE HIS CUNNING! Plan B, slamming one’s fist against bullet proof glass until it bleeds, is unsurprisingly ineffective.

The Founder turns this into a propaganda speech for his staff, all of whom seem to have forgotten that he was very much involved in Jedikiah’s “brutal regime”. I think a side-effect of being a Paranormal is to also be very very very naïve. Anyway, he wants the big bad Jedikiah found and brought to him for justice (police, courts? Nahhhh). Stephen warns John about this just in case the Jedikiah manhunt leads to Roger’s dead body. Anyway, Stephen wants to try the new nifty machine again but he can’t until he’s mastered how to stop time – (hey remember he can do that? Because it’s a skill he NEVER USES? Or even tries to use?). The place on the other side can only be occupied with Paranormals and it needs time stopping to get there – oh and the Founder totally dodges the question about whether you can come back or not. Which I think may be an issue.

This means training all of Stephen’s other powers. Which is apparently hard (especially using all 3 at once). There’s also more flirting with Hillary.

John drops in on Jedikiah who is a paranoid mess and keeps pointing his gun at John (honestly Jed, you shoot a paranormal or he uses teleportation and telekinesis to take the gun off you. These threats are silly). He refuses to leave and wants John to help him in his continual vigil over Roger’s body. Jed tries to bond with John, who isn’t buying, so instead, because he fears the Founder’s “weapon”, he tells John that if Ultra find them they need to destroy Roger rather than let him be used.

The Founder drops in on Stephen awkwardly preparing for Hillary’s visit (waaay too many candles) to say he wants a peace summit with the Tomorrow People – which also comes with a huge threat if they’re helping Jed. Stephen takes the offer to Cara who comments on the idea of a peace summit + threat as not being all that peaceful. But, hey, Stephen is all team Founder now for… I’m not even going to say REASONS because that shows this programme far too much respect. There are no reasons here, it just is for complete randomness.

They also discuss the machine, bringing Roger back and his bullet wound and Tim almost spills all the texts Hillary has been sending Stephen. Why is no-one creeped out by his monitoring their texts? Stephjen finally returns home for his date, briefly interrupted by Astrid calling and being quickly got rid of

So Astrid calls Cara because… she wants a friend? They both get together on how terribad that Stephen is sleeping with Hillary and how evil she is and untrustworthy and how they totally have to kidnap Hillary and read her mind.

Which leads to Cara agreeing to meet the Founder and send in her Lieutenant (Russell’s being thrown to the wolves) so long as she gets collateral – Hillary. Because letting petty jealousy get in the way of the battle over the survival of their species while simultaneously throwing one of your best friends into danger is just further proof of Cara’s awesome leadership skills.

Stephen takes Hillary to the tomorrow People and randomly tells her way too much about Cara and that they slept together once. Why? Well more angst and drama, clearly! And she d-chips Hillary.

As soon as they arrive, Hillary kisses Stephen goodbye while Cara and Russell watch (I think this is called “marking her territory”) and she openly invites Cara to read her mind. Showing her images of her having sex with Stephen.

Meanwhile the Founder schmoozes Russell, who is very very very easy to shmooze. Though he does throw in a “if I were evil I would do this!” because Russell is fool enough to eat and drink at the meeting and accept the gift of a watch. Seriously?

Russell staggers back home to tell everyone how cool the Founder is and how the war is totally over. I have no words. No really. At least Cara has some suspicion – but Russell at least makes the point that he wants peace so badly because he wants his real life back, he wants his family. Russell begs her to let them try the truce – so it’s party time.

Back at Ultra Stephen keeps trying to stop time and the Founder points out it took Roger 4 years. Stephen objects that there’s a time limit because of… nope, no reasons (actually I think it’s because the actor is already appalling at trying to pass for a 17 year old and 4 more years will be just laughable). Anyway he wants to try the machine that will kill him again.

The Tomorrow People topside party happens, Stephen joins in and embarrasses Cara into enjoying herself  because that love triangle needs more fuel for the fire. There’s a tense moment when Hillary brings a load of Ultra agents to the party (who look way to formal for a night out) before the ice breaks and everyone parties. Except Astrid who spends the whole night glaring at Hillary (she’s not quite willing to let the whole tried-to-kill-her thing go)

Elsewhere, the Founder finds the building where Jed is hiding Roger’s body and sends in a squad. Jedikiah is taken down in seconds because humans vs paranormals ends badly. Then John unleashes and beats them all except the paranormal agent – who sees Roger’s body. Jed wants John to kill him, but John refuses. Jed demands John call the Tomorrow People and Stephen to defend the body (and likely end the truce) – or he’ll kill Roger

Stephen happens to be passing anyway – and sees the broken doors, blood spatter, and the place deserted. His dad’s body is also missing.

Stephen teleports to Ultra, finding the injured squad and the Founder there to tell him about Jed and John – how they escaped “with a parcel.” A corpse. And the Founder warns him that the truce is threatened by John

I think the best line here would be “hey, how about I break all of Jed’s limbs and leave him on your doorstep?” Sounds good to me!

Jed and John have taken the body to Tomorrow People HQ, he’s thawing out so they need to do the bringing-back-to-life thing now. And the war will end because they’ll resurrect Roger and kill the Founder (and Jed. What? That sounds like the safest way to me!) Needing a nurse, John collects Marla (why don’t they teleport). And of course no-one prepares her for the preserved body of her husband. Of course they don’t.

Marla does quickly take over and put Jed in his place, which is good to see. The next step is Stephen has to “guide his father back” whatever that means – it’s dangerous but Stephen insists despite them only having Jed’s word it’s necessary. And Hillary wants to help because she apparently loves Stephen now, enough to risk her life despite there being no indication of any kind of deep emotion beyond lust between them.

This means breaking into the portal room (Stephen doesn’t need keys) to the mandatory shirtlessness machine! It works and he crosses over to tell his dad to come back to his body, even as Roger tries to push him away… drama drama tension tension (sorry I just kinda want everyone to die, bad storylines make caring hard).

The machine shuts off and Stephen is all tired and wrecked. Hillary unplugs him and they’re both gone before the Founder can investigate the broken lock. Ah, if only he could move from place to place instantly by some special power… alas, apparently he can’t.

And Roger gets a heartbeat. HE’S ALIVE MUAHAHAAHAH! Go FrankenRoger!

And Hillary and Stephen have a moment – Hillary has officially switched sides. Except she goes to the Founder to report everything, yes, she’s a spy. All part of the Founder’s plan.

John still finds kind of guilty though he’s technically not guilty of murder – but he wants to see if Roger forgives him.



I can understand the urge for a truce, Russell makes a really good point about that. But there mind numbing amount of naivety and trust on this show is getting on my very last nerve

Why was Marla brought in at the very end of the show? She kind of was in the background then revealed the big secret then sort of disappeared? And then we get all this Jed and Founder stuff and Stephen doesn’t tell her any of it (though, given her excess secret keeping, I can’t say I’m surprised). You’d think Luca would have at least confronted his mother about the super power thing?

It’s a shame because when Marla is actually involved in the plot? She may be the one thing that could have made this show tolerable

Actually that’s a lie. This show is too broken, too awfully written and too much of  a trainwreck for anything to save it.