It’s an odd, interesting show. I have some of the queasy reaction to it that I always do when somebody uses the Odd John/Slan formula, which seems to be a mainstay of science fiction for kids: the invitation to fantasize that you’re secretly a member of the new master race, and that’s why you don’t fit in. At least in this case their intentions toward others are explicitly and necessarily benign, though as with Asimov’s robots, you can always come up with interesting questions about what constitutes doing harm; but the casually insulting way they’d talk about the “saps” sometimes gave me pause.

The show frequently had a surprisingly grim tone, set by the ominous opening theme music and surrealistic credits sequence; I know that if I’d watched it as a kid, I’d have thought I was being offered entry to something highly sophisticated and adult.

A mistake some of the writers made subsequent to her introduction, but in the very first episode she appears in she is the only one of her tribe of savages who question the mystical pronouncements of the holy man and is willing to do something about it. She does not have the benefit of being brought up in an advanced society, but she is clearly inquisitive and quick to adapt to the ideas she encountered in the wider universe and gains much from her travels with the Doctor. Only the worse writers made the mistake of characterising her as a simple savage.

In this case, ITV (the commercial channel, of which there was only one when The Tomorrow People was on) as opposed to the BBC, but it’s not specific: “This is rubbish. Turn over and see what’s on the other side”.

A quick poll of my co-workers suggests that it’s not still current. It presumably dates back to the 50s/60s when there were only two channels.

Oh, and I should add that it’s probably ‘the other side’ as in ‘the other side of the dial’ and not ‘the other team’, if that makes sense.

This seems to be a British idiom I’m unfamiliar with; the “other side” of what?

“thanks for the links, which I’ll follow
up. I wrote soemthing more elaboatre
about this a couple of years ago, and
will try to find the link.”

That would be great. And thank you for
being interested. It seems like so many
people feel that there are so many more
important issues at hand, and don’t realize
the link between the TV and the mess we’re in.

robin—ok, on Romana One. But Romana 2 didn’t do much more than stand around looking pretty (not much screaming, I admit). Leela was a savage, so, again, fair comment, but she was hardly complex. Actually, Liz (from Jon Pertwee’s first season) is probably a better counterxample to my general dismissal than either Leela or Romana (that may not be true—nut saying it makes my seem nerdier than thou).

terry—thanks for the links, which I’ll follow up. I wrote soemthing more elaboatre about this a couple of years ago, and will try to find the link.

Watching it as an adult, it seemed very strange to see the effects that I thought were cool and spooky and seem very cheesy now.

Good for you, it’s so easy for parents to think that TV is just harmless fun.

TV’s Effect on Education

“No matter what your intelligence or social background, watching a lot of television during childhood means you are a lot less likely to have a degree by your mid-twenties, according
to new University of Otago research.”

http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/2005/05-07-05_press_release.html

“Third graders with a bedroom television scored significantly lower on the Stanford Achievement Test than those without…”

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Parenting/tb/1303

The difference between TV and every other activity is that during every other activity the brain is producting Beta (and even Gamma) brainwaves. While watching TV, on the other hand, the brain very quickly goes into Alpha brainwave mode.

http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/usr/h99c/h9951826/television.PDF

It is natural for the brain to produce Alpha brainwaves while daydreaming, but it is not natural (or healthy) for the brain to be in Alpha brainwave mode for hours per day, every day. This is espcially true for young children as their brains are still developing.

The invention of the printing press brought about the Age of Reason. The invention of TV has brought us the Age of Entertainment.

And there are more studies linking childhood TV viewing with low achievement. See:

http://www.tvsmarter.com
http://www.trashyourtv.com/node
http://www.whitedot.org
http://www.turnoffyourtv.com

Leela? Romana?