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Pow
Galactic Ambassador
Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3421
Location: New York
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 Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:25 pm Post subject: The New People (1969~1970) |
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The New People ran on the ABC Network from September 22, 1969 until January 12, 1970 for a total of 17-episodes. Interestingly, the running time for this series was unique as it ran for 45-minutes.
The show was created by Larry Gordon & Aaron Spelling, and developed by Rod Serling.
Synopsis: A group of college students are returning from a trip in Southeast Asia when their passenger jet crashes on a remote island in the south Pacific Ocean.
With the exception of the badly injured pilot, all the adults and several of the students are killed. The pilot dies later on.
The island the survivors are stranded on is a site for potential above-ground nuclear bomb testing which has never taken place. Buildings have been constructed to represent a mid-size city.
There are also (improbably) supplies stored in the buildings.
The students were originally on a Goodwill Tour for the United States State Department. It all went awry when one of the students disrupted it, feeling that what they were doing was fake and a way to gloss over what was happening in Vietnam.
The pilot script was written by Rod Serling under the pseudonym John Phillips.
The theme music was performed by The First Edition.
The series reflected the youth counterculture of the 1960s with all its anger, frustrations, and mistrust of the U.S.
Rod Serling always wrote about issues that mattered and were controversial. So I could see his attraction to a show like this that would explore such material. |
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17063
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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________________________________
I haven't yet found a good poster for this series or a decent YouTube version, so I'll just thank Pow for making us aware of the series. 
_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Apr 27, 2021 1:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Krel
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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For some reason my Dad liked this show. I wonder if he was waiting to see if it would end with "The Bomb" being dropped on the island. 
David. |
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17063
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2024 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| POW wrote: | The island the survivors are stranded on is a site for potential above-ground nuclear bomb testing which has never taken place. Buildings have been constructed to represent a mid-size city.
There are also (improbably) supplies stored in the buildings. |
What a great premise for a story! Castaways find an unoccupied town, complete with supplies, they can live until they're rescued.
I guess the supplies were there to test the effects of the bomb, just like the structures. The bomb probably would be dropped directly on the island, because that would just vaporize everything. But if if were dropped a few miles away, the effect on the human habitats could be studied to determine how bad a nuclear blast would be at a certain distance from ground zero.
Here's a YouTube version of the pilot, made from a 16mm print, but still watchable.
I sampled a little of it and was surprised that the town isn't a subdivision with houses, it's was more like the Mayberry main street, but significantly larger. The production designers did a good job of making it look decades old. There's palm tree growing up out the street, and the old cars park here and there look both dusty and rusty.
The only problem is that the town looks too much like full fledged mid-sized city, with multistory brick buildings. Did the military actually create such places for nuclear tests?
When I read Pow's post, I imagined something more like the fake community in Indian Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — a fake suburb with houses.
The unfortunate thing about the way the series was presented if that viewing it now, in 2021, the poor thing is drowning in elements of the sixties culture!
The dialog is packed with phrases like "groovy" and "far out". The title theme and the music might have been "like, really cool, man!" in 1969 — but now it just grates on the nerves, inspires laughter, and makes you roll your eyes in disbelief so often you start getting a headache. 
The premise appears to focus on the idea that these young might eventually create a society that avoids the faults and failings of America in the late sixties. That's a totally dated story idea here in 2020, but the basic concept — if it's turned into a much better tale of survival than either Lost or Gilligan's Island — could be really good!
I wonder if somebody in Hollywood has toyed with the notion of taking the premise and turning it into a new series.
___________The New People (1969 ABC Promo)
__________ 
If the snazzy jazzy (annoying) title theme seems hauntingly familiar, Pow pointed out that it's by The First Edition — of which Mr. Kenny Rogers was a member at that time. It bears a strong resembled to the vocal sound in this wonderful song from the sixties by The Fifth Dimension.
I suggest that you enjoy the video below just to get the taste of the title theme of The New People out of your mouth.
___________________ Up, Up And Away (HD)
__________ 
_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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