''Tomorrow's World'' is a British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First broadcast on 7 July 1965 on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorrow's World'' title was revived in 2017 as an umbrella brand for BBC science programming.
Content
''Tomorrow's World'' was created by Glyn Jones to fill a half-hour slot in the 1965 BBC summer schedule. Jones and his wife conceived the show's name the night before the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' went to press.
In its early days the show was edited by
Max Morgan-Witts and hosted by veteran broadcaster and former
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
pilot
Raymond Baxter. For some years it had an instrumental
theme tune composed and performed by
John Dankworth. During the 1970s the programme attracted 10 million viewers per week.
The programme was usually broadcast live, and as a result saw the occasional failure of its technology demonstrations. For example, during a demonstration of a new kind of
car jack that required much less effort to operate, the jack disintegrated. Pressing on in the face of such adversity became a rite of passage, both for new presenters on the show and for the young assistant producers whose job it was to find the stories and make sure this kind of setback did not happen.
Sometimes, however, the liveness gave an added dimension of immediacy to the technology, such as inventors personally demonstrating flame-proof clothing and bullet-proof vests while the presenters looked on. Sometimes it was the presenter who acted as test dummy.
''Tomorrow's World'' also frequently ran exhibitions, called ''Tomorrow's World Live'', often based in
Earls Court, London. These offered the general public the chance to see at first hand a variety of brand new, pioneering inventions, as well as a selection from that year's show. The presenters, by this time
Peter Snow and
Philippa Forrester, also ran an hour-long interactive presentation within.
The show was also occasionally parodied, for example by ''
Not the Nine O'Clock News'', which featured demonstrations of such inventions as a telephone ring notification device for the deaf – powered by a
microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...
looking like a "
Shreddie", and later by the second series of ''
Look Around You''.
Presenters
Raymond Baxter, the show's first presenter, was noted for pointing out features of the new inventions with military precision using his
Parker pen ("as you will see: here, here and here"). He left the show in 1977 after a difference of opinion with new young editor
Michael Blakstad, who allegedly referred to him in a press interview as "the last of the dinosaurs".
Other presenters included:
*
James Burke (1965–1971)
*
Michael Rodd (1972–1982)
*
Anthony Smith
*
Lyall Watson
*
William Woollard (1974–1978)
*
Judith Hann (1974–1994—the longest-serving presenter)
*
Anna Ford (1976–1978)
*
Kieran Prendiville (1979–1983)
*Su Ingle (1980–1984)
*
Peter Macann (1983–1991)
*
Maggie Philbin (1983–1994)
*
Anna Walker
*
Howard Stableford (1985–1997)
*
Kate Bellingham (1990–1994)
*
John Diamond (1991)
*Carmen Pryce (1991–1994)
*
Monty Don (1994–1995)
*
Carol Vorderman (1994–1995)
*
Vivienne Parry (1994–1996)
*
Rebecca Stephens (1994–1996)
*Shahnaz Pakravan (1994–1997)
*
Richard Mabey (1995)
*
Craig Doyle (1996–1999)
*
Philippa Forrester (1996–2000)
*
Jez Nelson (1996–2000)
*
Peter Snow (1997–2000)
*Anya Sitaram (1998–2000)
*
Nick Baker (1999–2000)
*Lindsey Fallow (1999–2000)
*
Sophie Raworth (1999–2000)
*Katie Knapman (2002)
*
David Bull (2002–2003)
*
Adam Hart-Davis (2002–2003)
*
Roger Black (2003)
*
Kate Humble (2003)
The idiosyncratic
Bob Symes showcased smaller inventions in dramatised vignettes with themes such as ''Bob Goes Golfing''. These often presented challenges for film directors with whom he worked when a close-up was required as Symes's own invention-related exploits in the workshop had resulted in him losing parts of several fingers. It was hard to find a finger that did not look too gruesome to show on screen. Other regular features included ''Whatever Happened to ...'', picking up on the oft-levelled criticism of the show that a significant number of inventions seemingly were never heard of again.
Technologies introduced
In many cases the show offered the British public its first chance to see key technologies that subsequently became commonplace, notably:
*
Breathalyser (1967)
*
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...
(1967)
*
Light pens and
touchscreen
A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...
s (1967)
*
Artificial grass (1968)
*
Synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
(1969)
*
ATM and
chip and pin (1969)
*
Pocket calculator (1971)
*
Digital watch (1972)
*
Teletext (
Ceefax) (1974)
*
Mobile phone
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
(1979)
*
Personal stereo (1980)
*
Compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
and player (1981)
*
Camcorder (1981)
*
Barcode reader (1983)
*
Wind-up radio (1993)
*
Starlite insulation (1993)
* Robotic
vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum, is a device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets, hard floors, and other surfaces.
The dirt is collected into a dust bag or a plastic bin. ...
, pioneered on
Electrolux Trilobite prototype (1996)
*
Targeted intra-operative radiotherapy for breast cancer (2000)
Perhaps the best-remembered item in the programme's history was the introduction of the
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
in 1981, when presenter
Kieran Prendiville demonstrated the disc's supposed indestructibility by scratching the surface of a
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
CD with a stone. The show also gave the first British TV exposure to the group
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...
, who performed their then-forthcoming single "
Autobahn" as part of an item about the use of technology in musicmaking. Another programme concerning new technology for television and stage lighting featured
The Tremeloes and the
Syd Barrett-led
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
.
Offbeat aspects
Featured inventions that did not change lives included a fold-up car that fitted into a suitcase, numerous gadgets such as a miracle chopping board for the kitchen, and collapsible knives and forks. Members of the public frequently sent in their ideas.
Final years
By the late 1990s, the live studio demonstrations had been dropped in favour of purely pre-recorded items. The final series, presented by
Adam Hart-Davis,
Kate Humble and
Roger Black, attempted to revert to the original live format of the show, even using a remix of one of the theme tunes used during its more successful years. However, ratings continued to fall and with only three million viewers the BBC decided to axe the show. At the time they said that they would produce a number of science special editions under the ''Tomorrow's World'' brand from time to time. The "Tomorrow's World Roadshow" appeared in 2004, with
Gareth Jones (co-host of
CITV
CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...
's ''
How 2'') and
Katie Knapman taking the helm as the last presenters of a show bearing the ''Tomorrow's World'' name, before a partial return to television in 2007.
For the 1000th episode, a commemorative CD was produced by Nimbus Records. It contained audio tracks of the four theme tunes that were used from 1965 to the early 1990s. 1,000 copies were made and given away in a competition. The CD was notable as being the first holographic audio compact disc ever made.
On 14 September 2009, the BBC made some clips and episodes available online.
In the United States, episodes of the series aired on the
cable channel TechTV
TechTV was an American cable television channel with a focus on technology. It was launched as ZDTV on May 11, 1998, by computer magazine publisher Ziff Davis, Ziff-Davis following two short-lived technology-based programs by the company. Init ...
between 2001 and 2003.
The Prince of Wales Award for Industrial Innovation and Production
At the end of each series, the Prince of Wales gave an award or awards for superlative inventions.
Revival of the brand
At the start of 2007, the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
announced that the ''Tomorrow's World'' brand would be used on science and technology news reports across the BBC's TV, radio and internet services, including a blog. The ''Tomorrow's World'' name returned to television screens on 8 January 2007 as part of the BBC's news coverage on
BBC Breakfast, hosted by
Maggie Philbin and as a blog on the BBC News website. In August 2007, it was reported that
Michael Mosley, director of development at the BBC's science wing, had pitched the concept of resurrecting the format to BBC commissioners.
In May 2017, the BBC announced it was launching a year of science and technology under the ''Tomorrow's World'' banner. Its purpose is to "seek to address how science is changing peoples' lives, reshaping the world, and rewriting the future of healthcare".
BBC 4 live edition
''Tomorrow's World'' returned for a one-off live special, with
Hannah Fry and four presenters from the show's original run: Maggie Philbin, Howard Stableford, Judith Hann, and Peter Snow. The 90-minute interactive show was broadcast at 9pm on BBC 4 on 22 November 2018.
Science Channel reboot
In May 2018,
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
premiered a new version of the show called ''
Tomorrow's World Today''.
The show explores sustainability, technology, new ideas and worldwide concepts around innovation. Julian Taylor serves as executive producer and the program features executive producer
George Davison as host and field reporters Tamara Krinsky and Jackie Long.
See also
* ''
Beyond Tomorrow''
* ''
Click''
* ''
Daily Planet''
* ''
Look Around You'' series 2 satirised ''Tomorrow's World''
References
External links
BBC archive material with clips and old episodesTV Cream on Tomorrow's WorldA view on the demise of ''Tomorrow's World''by
Simon Singh
*
* {{IMDb title, 0162829
1965 British television series debuts
2003 British television series endings
1960s British documentary television series
1970s British documentary television series
1980s British documentary television series
1990s British documentary television series
2000s British documentary television series
BBC One original programming
BBC television documentaries about science
Science and technology in the United Kingdom
TechTV original programming
British English-language television shows