This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
True or false: The star of The Tomorrow People (Wednesday, 8 p.m., CW/Ch. 30) is related to the star of "Arrow."True: Robbie Amell is the cousin of Stephen Amell.True or false: "The Tomorrow People" is a rip-off of "X-Men," as some geeks have postulated.False: It's a remake of the 1970s British series that was also titled "The Tomorrow people.Executive producers Greg Berlanti ("Arrow") and Julie Plec ("Vampire Diaries") were both fans of the original, low-budget "Tomorrow People." They liked the whole idea of people who evolving beyond the human race with super powers.At the center of that is Stephen Jameson (Robbie Amell), who fears he's losing his mind. Not only is he hearing voices, but - as the pilot episode begins - he wakes up in bed with a neighbor and his wife.That doesn't go well.Turns out Stephen is one of the Tomorrow People, and he's teleporting in his dreams and receiving telepathic messages from other Tomorrow People.The Tomorrow People recruit Stephen to join their group. Which seems like a pretty good idea, given that there's also a secret, government-supported group - Ultra - that wants to get rid of all the Tomorrow People, seeing them as a threat to regular ol' humans.And it turns out that Stephen's long-missing father is somehow tied into all of this. As is another member of his family.This reboot is OK. It has possibilities. It also has problems.The first hour is sort of murky at best. It takes itself far too seriously, with too few moments of levity.And making your lead character a high school kid and then casting a 25-year-old who clearly is not a teenager is a mistake. (Why not just make Stephen a college student?)If you're an "Arrow" fan, you might want to stay tuned. Just don't expect too much.