John (Tomorrow People)

Tomorrow People character
Title=John


First=The Slaves of Jedikiah: Part 1
Last=War of the Empires
Creator=Roger Price
Name=John
Species=Telepath
Age=17
Alliance=Tomorrow People
Nationality=British
Actor=Nicholas Young

John is a fictional character from the British television series "The Tomorrow People". John's first appearance is in "The Slaves of Jedikiah", and appeared in every episode until the series ended. John is portrayed by Nicholas Young.

Overview

John is 17 and the leader of the Tomorrow People.cite episode|title=The Slaves of Jedikiah: Part 1|series=The Tomorrow People|serieslink=The Tomorrow People|airdate=1973-04-30|network=ITV|station=ITV1|season=1|number=1] He is an inventor and scientist.cite episode|title=The Slaves of Jedikiah, Part 2|series=The Tomorrow People|serieslink=The Tomorrow People|airdate=1973-05-07|network=ITV|station=ITV1|season=1|number=2] He built "The Lab" and the biological computer, TIM, with some help from the Galactic Council. John was the first Tomorrow Person to "breakout" and had no guidance through the process.

Character development

Helping Stephen

Along with Carol and Kenny, John had been monitoring Stephen, as he had been unconsciously tuning into their thoughts, via his telepathy. After Stephen collapses and is taken to hospital, John gets TIM to communicate with the medical computer to find out which hospital he was taken to. When TIM tells them he sends Carol to talk to Stephen while he stays in The Lab. When he later loses contact with Carol, he jaunts to the hospital and finds her unconscious in the floor. He picks her up and TIM jaunts them both back to The Lab. Back at The Lab, Carol explains that Stephen has been kidnapped and shows John an amulet she managed to get from one of the men who took him. John tells Kenny he should try using his telepathic abilities to communicate with the amulet, and try to find out more about its origins. While Kenny is on Tower Bridge trying to talk to the amulet, he accidentally drops it into the Thames. The three Tomorrow People soon discover where Jedikiah is holding Stephen and jaunt to the house to help him. They jaunt into the house and rescue Stephen. As the other Tomorrow People go back home John leaves Stephen in The Lab to rest as he goes to Stephen's mother to explain what has happened to Stephen.

The next morning John is visited by a distraught Carol, who tells him she feels something is wrong.cite episode|title=The Slaves of Jedikiah, Part 3|series=The Tomorrow People|serieslink=The Tomorrow People|airdate=1973-05-14|network=ITV|station=ITV1|season=1|number=3] She told him that something must be wrong with TIM as she had to jaunt small distances to get to John's house. John and Carol jaunt their way back to The Lab, they see some kind of device and thinking it's a trap jaunt out. The device explodes and they are trapped in hyperspace. After a few minutes they both begin to feel sleepy, then Carol notices John's arm has started to disappear. John explains that hyperspace is trying to reject them because they don't belong there. Meanwhile Kenny and Stephen manage to get them back, but Jedikiah kidnaps Kenny.

aving Kenny

John, Carol and Stephen use the mind link to find out who switched TIM off the night before. They find out that Stephen had been hynotised by the Cyclops. They jaunt back to the house where Stephen was kept to look for Kenny.cite episode|title=The Slaves of Jedikiah, Part 4|series=The Tomorrow People|serieslink=The Tomorrow People|airdate=1973-05-21|network=ITV|station=ITV1|season=1|number=4] While inside they hear a strange ticking sound and John investigates. He says that the ticking is from a timing device and orders Carol and Stephen to jaunt out, and the bomb goes off. Back at The Lab, they are contacted by the Cyclops with co-ordinates to transport to.cite episode|title=The Slaves of Jedikiah, Part 5|series=The Tomorrow People|serieslink=The Tomorrow People|airdate=1973-06-04|network=ITV|station=ITV1|season=1|number=5] John and Stephen jaunt up to the spaceship, leaving Carol behind. When they arrive they find themselves trapped in a force field. TIM jaunts Carol up to the ship, to different co-ordinates. She shoots Jedikiah with her stun gun, and he damages part of the ship. John and Stephen are freed from the force field, they find Carol and go looking for Kenny. They free Kenny and he tells them that Ginge and Lefty were tricked by Jedikiah into capturing him, and that they are now on their side. The Tomorrow People meet the Cyclops, who informs them that he needs Telepaths to control his ship. John helps the Cyclops by jaunting him home, and the rest manage to escape the exploding ship, leaving Jedikiah onboard.

Powers and abilities

As John is a Tomorrow Person, the next step in human evolution, he possesses various psychic abilities. The primary powers of all Telepaths are "jaunting", the ability to instantaneously transport oneself from one place to another, telepathy, the ability to read the minds of other Tomorrow People and telekinesis, the ability to move objects with the power of the mind. Telepaths can also use their teleportation abilities to teleport other inanimate objects.cite episode|title=The Green and the Blue, Part 2: The Changing Picture|series=The Tomorrow People|serieslink=The Tomorrow People|airdate=1974-02-11|network=ITV|station=ITV1|season=2|number=4] A barrier which exists in the minds of all Telepaths, The Prime Barrier, prevents them from deliberately killing any living organism.cite episode|title=The Medusa Strain, Part 2|series=The Tomorrow People|serieslink=The Tomorrow People|airdate=1973-06-18|network=ITV|station=ITV1|season=1|number=7]

References