A GAY GUIDE TO THE TOMORROW PEOPLE
This guide, meaning to be a catalog of all that could be conscrewed as gay in the TOMORROW PEOPLE series, is not meant to be all inclusive. I am sure I will probably miss about 100 references but if you spot any that I have missed, let me know. It was sparked by an article in the fanzine paper zine EVENT ONE: THE TOMORROW PEOPLE. The original article CARRY ON UP THE KILT by Philip Packer (name made up I am sure) was not flattering to the TOMORROW PEOPLE or Roger Price, the TP creator. While not being flattering to Price doesn't bother me in the least (he was responsible for the show's demise as well as the awful 1992 revival story one and then bowed out of it), his article doesn't thrill me because it is quite mean to the TP show overall, despite being written in tongue in cheek style and for fun. It does seem the writer is a fan though. The most interesting thing about the article is the mention "that Peter Vaughn Clarke had turned up to a convention in Scotland and allegedly attempted to seduce anything in trousers." Well all I have to say is where are you and what is your address, Peter, you hottie? Anyhow it does go on to say that the homo sexual context was just a subtext, not the reason for the show and some of it is highly dubious: was it meant to be that way or not. Price is mentioned in the article as being somewhat in love with kilts, teen boys, and slight s and m.
THE SLAVES OF JEDIKIAH
We have Stephen's breaking out (coming out?). Stephen looks rather fetching throughout this story and in the first two episodes he is in his pajamas, barefooted, and put on Jedikiah's brainwashing machine where we get to see some of his tummy as his pj top parts a bit. Carol says when discussing Stephen's possible betrayal of the TP and TIM, "You don't think he's one of those, do you?" John appears shirtless and looks quite good. We see his bedroom, Kenny's bedroom, and Stephen gets to lounge in the Lab with nice smiles all around to TIM. Stephen is happy that John will tell his mother and worried about what he was going to tell his parents. He asks John if John's parents know. John's parents do know (that's he a TP of course). Ginge and Lefty are two of the motorcyle gang and they seem awfully close and foppish. Ginge has too good a time hanging onto Stephen and later, when switching to the side of the good guys, he also hangs onto Kenny in a way that reminds me of how Dr. Smith held Will Robinson in front of him whenever there was danger coming their way (and sometimes when there wasn't). Ginge gets wet when he is dumped in a swamp, with Lefty I believe. The TP touch hands on the table to link. Stephen is different, his mom tells the doctor. Stephen kicks the gun from Ginge's hand. Stephen says, "I'll never be able to do it like Kenny." Of course, he's talking about TK.
THE MEDUSA STRAIN
Peter the Time Guardian is just lovely. His shirt top is frilly and parts all the time, it really connects only at his belly. He is tortured by Rabowski, an old chubby guy living in hyper space on a spaceship with David Prowse playing his very muscled, very naked (well except for some kind of loin cloth) silvery android slave---and Prowse is at his most built here! Rabowski also accepts the new Jedikiah, a much nicer looking appearance, rather easily and lets him stay on the ship. Peter accepts Jedikiah as an ally too easily and is tricked at least once. Peter's voice squeaks, he hides the key to his cage someplace in his outfit! He also was tortured by Rabowski on a turning wheel. He uses a rather queer hand motion to open the time lock. He screams like a girl, he kicks and hits like a girl. The medusa tentacles seem to be quite fond of Peter while trying to eat him. Stephen's comforting of Carol is a bit too fem and his hand motions are well also fem. John uses a movie of a bikini briefed diver diving off a diving board to illustrate the time freeze to the others. Stephen's memory is rather good now and he looks rather fem when describing what Jedikiah said in SLAVES. Rabowski spears Jedikiah and accidentally shoots his android Copin (yes that is David's name here Copin!). Rabowski talks about a time when men were men, not flitting about the galaxy as in the future. Stephen and Kenny are on 2 different soccer teams together and argue playfully about it. They spend time in the dark room together.
THE VANISHING EARTH
Stephen is rather very nice in this episode (and all the others I might add). Sandor aka Joy seems to have too much Joy when shooting Stephen and having him flung into the ocean face down. The alien Harry (fake name) Steen carries him out to save him. Spidron has a fem voice even though it is deep. Joy's macho man gypsy guy who does her and Spidron's bidding is just a sham: he's a coward and a bit fem too in reality. Lefty seems left out when Ginge falls for Joy (then literally Ginge falls for her). Stephen rides on the back of Lefty's motor bike. Not much else that I can see but I guess there are some. The men in the mine that are being used, brainwashed, by Spidron are muscled. Some are shirtless it would seem. Steen tells the Tp there will be more of them coming...uh, breaking out. The Tp join an organization.
THE BLUE AND THE GREEN
A number of cuties are in Stephen's art class or his class in general. We see a lot of cuties in the hallways and the streets around the school but the main guest star Jason Kemp, a blond babe, handsome and lean and tall is the main cute one. He's somewhat macho and fey at the same time. Speaking of that, don't miss Jason with Patrick Troughton starring in the three hour parts of THE BOX OF DELIGHTS. Jason plays a water sprite wearing nothing but a bunch of fig leaves, showing us his tight stomach and navel, tight arms and legs, and well, almost everything else! Drenched in a waterfall. Uhm, back to THE TOMORROW PEOPLE. Anyway, we get to see a number of bad boys in Stephen's class, influenced by the aliens. The aliens are the type that live in human bodies and need to hatch (come out). To do so they need the type of violence that only can come from human committing violence on each other. They make paintings that can influence humans to do this type of violence. They also give badges of blue and green for the humans to wear. At one point a gang of peaceful boys turn cruel and menace new TP Elizabeth. They are all shall we say quite butch and cute. Art teacher Liz and Stephen wrestle in the school hallway for a short time (no floor rolling though) as all hell breaks loose in the classroom and one boy is seriously hurt. We meet Chris, Ginge's brother. The actor who played Ginge had his motorbike fall on his leg apparently and this was written into the story and Ginge was written out. Chris tells John, "My own brother! After all these years, he turns out to be lousy stinkin blue!" John asks if that means Ginge has joined the conservative party. We see Stephen and John returning from one of their many swimming trists, this time two trips are mentioned. They swim at Gallia Island in the Carribean this time. John helps tear off Stephen's scuba outfit...and we see Stephen in just his tight little bathing suit, blue I believe. His bare stomach is quite nice and we see his chest and long hair. Uhm, uhm. Stephen, it must be mentioned looks quite nice in his school uniform. John is locked up by Robert after tossing Stephen under Robert's painting's influence. He also wrecks parts of the lab. Chris, after Robert, is a little too eager to beat him up. Two guys help Chris break into Robert's basement...but it seems they are taken over too and start a fight with Chris. To stop the violence, the TP have to put everyone to sleep with giant stun guns they make from already existing satellites in space. The violence in humans' dreams give the aliens what they need. Chris often dreams of violence and this time dreamt of what he would do to that Robert kid if he got his hands on him. Robert bonding with Stephen previously. Stephen felt bad about John getting captured and was brave enough to try to do something about it --without caring what Robert really was. Robert seems fond of both Stephen and John. Chris, after the whole thing is over, is found laying in the arms of a police captain whom he was fighting with when the whole world was put to sleep. I am sure there is more but I may have missed them.
A RIFT IN TIME
Gladiators! Need I say more? Of course. Peter returns. Togas. Swords. A villain named Gaius who when he examines a Stephen who is tied with his hands behind his back to a pole on the stairs, says, "A lovely young thing, like a wild animal. Does he have any spirit? He has, he has." Stephen and Peter have their hair very, very long. Peter, when the TP return to their own time but find it all changed to a parallel Earth and universe totally conquered by Rome, lays his head on Stephen's shoulder when they look for who was arriving. Fey apes ala PLANET OF THE APES, one of many conquered aliens are who arrives. Stephen and John share the same dream. John rushes over to "hold Stephen's hand" as Stephen puts it and we get to see Stephen's bedroom. They stay up all night together in the lab trying to find the gladiator vase that appeared in their dreams so that they can track Peter to the correct time. Chris is a bit too macho when he hears talk about gladiators and gladiator training schools, repeating, "Those who are about to die..." To act the part, Liz and John have tied up Stephen and Chris's hands and pull them along. Stephen tries to act as if he doesn't like it but Chris accepts the situation and offers his hands first. Stephen is good with swords and wounds one of Gaius's henchmen in the arena--Guthrun. Guthrun gets Stephen down with a sword pointed at his neck. Previously Peter was in the same situation when a blond boy, quite macho and brawny, had him down. Lothar, the other henchman, is handsome and built and we see his bare stomach and navel. He carries Stephen under one arm. He and/or Guthrun also grabs Stephen when he first tries to run away but carry him in both arms. Peter has a cell mate named Coatus (coat me!). This is played by the handsome blue eyed, brown haired slight but muscled bare legged boy doll Peter Duncan. Duncan is...shall we say gorgeous. He has been in THE SURVIVORS season two in a really bit part. But DON'T miss his SPACE: 1999--THE EXILES from season two of that show. He wears a skin tight outfit, is blond in it, and is a VERY bad boy. We get to see him shirtless as he lies nearly dies. He is also shirtless in a BLUE PETER episode, of which he was the host for a year or two. In a BLUE PETER annual and in the episode, he was in a bikini brief swim suit doing diving routines. Duncan also appeared in FLASH GORDON the movie from the 1980s as the kid who gets bitten by the Test Monster in the plant and has to have the Prince stab him in the stomach with his sword. He tries to hold in his cry but a small "NNNFFF" escapes. Oh kay, back to the TP. As Coatus, he tells Stephen if he got the thumbs down in the arena, he would not spare him. Stephen is chained at the wrists. Coatus is chained standing up. Peter feeds him and tells him to shut up about dying. Coatus was Gaius's favorite before but now he lost in the training and is going to be sent to Rome to die in the arena as sport for the gladiator horsemen who will stick him with their spears. Gaius is not from this Earth but from the parallel Rome (he may even be totally alien and not from that planet --Earth was renamed Rome in the time change---you see Rome was really not a parallel but a time change---from Gaius, Coatus found out about and made the steam engine much too early in history) either. Gaius orders Guthrun to kill the boys. Peter, a TP and a Time Guardian, cannot kill even though Coatus holds Guthrun between his thighs. Peter gets the spear but cannot do it. Guthrun gets free and is about to spear Peter when Chris breaks in and stun guns him. Stephen tells him he could have waited a while longer--things were just getting worked up in here or something like that. Maybe he was. Hey so was I. Okayyy, now. The Tp get all the cute young things out when Gaius's time transferer blow up the whole school (an implosion really thus the walls still stand). After the blast and vacuum (?) from it, the blond who previously almost killed Peter huff and huffs and huffs and relaxes on his back. Go figure. Coatus tries to save the TP who go back to the school to find the steam engine and Coatus after they realize about the time change. They want to change it back. They sleep above the ground one inch floating. Chris is on guard duty and is fooled by Coatus, who returned to get his engine parts. He is locked in the cell but Stephen gets him out. Coatus is knocked on the head by Gaius's men. Oh and previously, I just love how both Peter and Stephen foppishly hold their swords and bend their wrists. Making his first appearance is the distinguished looking Cawston who is in search of telepaths and usually he finds none but when he does it is a boy and Stephen. Later he finds Tyso in another story. He also is a medical doctor. His old lady colleague archeologist is the same lady who played in DOCTOR WHO-THE SEEDS OF DOOM. Did I miss anything? Probably. Peter's grandfather has scenes with Stephen in a time lock. Great story. And I mean that.
THE DOOMSDAY MEN
My first story. The first one I saw I mean. Also great. Stephen has to wear a kilt and doesn't want Chris to see. John and the UN spaceman they save, Lee Wan get way too close after so short a time. Stephen has to infiltrate a boy's school in Scotland. Lots of kilts and sword fighting. The "little saber rattler" as John calls him is Stephen, who was a master fencer in his school. In the school, sadist Douglas (the delightfully camp William Relton) delights in his power as headmaster's grandson (and secretly his grandfather is a killer Doomsday Man as is he). He sticks his stick into the chests of boys and stomachs, he orders them to put new boy Stephen on the trellace outside their high up dorm, and generally just makes life tough for the boys while not for himself. He is shirtless in one scene as is Stephen and the very very cute Paul (played by Simon Gipps Kent who was small here but by DOCTOR WHO-HORNS OF NIMON had filled out into a slight muscleboy). Paul is the masochist to Doug's sadist, although Paul does warn Stephen. To de macho Paul and Douglas later on, the TP show them a psi-movie in their minds about how REAL violence is, to rid them of the nonsense of glory and war that was ingrained in them. Stephen is outrun by Douglas. He is beaten by two DDMen easily. John tells Stephen he can't go into Space dressed like that (in a kilt). When first getting to the school Stephen is asked by Paul if he is wearing anything underneath his kilt. Paul has to take a look. Later, Stephen starts to remove his underwear while mind talking to Liz and John. "They don't! They just don't!" Liz laughs, mentioning it must be very drafty. Angry, Stephen throws his underwear into a drawer but then mentions he will play along and be the "proverbial grass monkey". The training scenes as the boys go through an obstacle course are long and cool. Stephen gets to show his belly while swinging on a rope. When trussed up and left outside on the window ledge, Stephen jaunts to the Lab to be chastised by John, who relates a poem to TIM about old men sending young boys off to die in war while the old men die in their sleep in bed. This is a real poem by the way. John feels bad but the next morning, Stephen tells him it was good he did even though John was being cruel and mean: he overheard the headmaster and the general Ddmen talking. The ritual to initiate new Ddboys is quite gross: they have to drink blood from the same gobulet. Stephen has to press both Doug's and Paul's matter transfer belts--he actually has to wrap Doug in one first and then press it about the belly button spot. Paul's is also pressed near his navel. John has to hold onto Paul from behind when Paul was confused and disorientated in the Lab after his matter transfer. Paul bites, John tells Stephen and fights like a wild cat. Earlier, Doug set Stephen up to fight with rapiers--that could kill---to fight him and three other boys. Stephen wins. Doug bends his wrist when hurt by the move that knocked his sword away. Stephen recovers in bed after the Ddmen that "kidnaped" Douglas hit him. It was a fake kidnaping. Stephen stun guns one of the DDMen heads and pushes him over so that the man falls back down onto the bed in the dorm. Doug plays the bagpipes. I must have missed about 100 more.