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The New Tomorrow
TheNewTomorrow.jpg
Opening credits
Genre Children's drama / Science fiction
Created by Raymond Thompson
Harry Duffin
Developed by Cloud 9, Five, Seven Network
Theme music composer Raymond Thompson
Opening theme "Tribe Spirit" by Tribe Sister
Country of origin New Zealand
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 26
Production
Executive producer(s) Raymond Thompson
Geoff Husson
Producer(s) Janet Stubbings
Production location(s) New Zealand
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 25 minutes
Release
Original network Seven Network
First shown in Australia
Original release 17 September (2005-09-17) – 9 December 2005 (2005-12-09)
Chronology
Preceded by The Tribe

The New Tomorrow is an exciting New Zealand TV show made by Cloud 9. It's a follow-up to a popular series called The Tribe. Raymond Thompson created this show, which first aired on September 17, 2005, in Australia on the Seven Network. The story of The New Tomorrow takes place after the final episode of The Tribe. It's not fully clear how much time has passed between the two shows.

What is The New Tomorrow About?

Imagine a world where all adults have disappeared because of a virus. Only children are left to survive on their own! Most of these children have formed groups called tribes. Each tribe has its own unique look and way of life. They also follow different ideas, which often leads to arguments and conflicts.

While The Tribe mostly showed kids living in a big city, The New Tomorrow focuses on children in the countryside and the forest. The show mainly follows three special tribes: The Ants, The Barbs, and The Privileged.

Meet the Characters

Here are some of the main characters you'll meet in The New Tomorrow:

Main Characters

  • Sky (played by Nick Fenton) – Sky is a mysterious person who doesn't belong to any tribe. He first meets The Ants, then becomes close to The Barbs and Zora. He doesn't remember where he came from.
  • Dan (played by Rafe Custance), from The Ants – Dan starts with The Ants but doesn't agree with their beliefs. He likes how The Barbs live and eventually joins them after a special test.
  • Omar (played by Trey Brown), from The Ants – Omar is very protective of The Ants. He doesn't trust outsiders and also dislikes Dan.
  • Flame (played by Cameron Wakefield), from The Privileged – Flame is the leader of The Privileged. He is a bully and doesn't care much for Harmony or Shadow, even though they are like family to him.
  • Zora (played by Felicity Milovanovich), from The Barbs – Zora is the strong leader of The Barbs. She feels like she knows Sky from somewhere before.
  • Jag (played by Joshua Rippon), from The Barbs – Jag doesn't like outsiders. He believes protecting other Barbs is the most important thing. (He appears in episodes 1–16).
  • Harmony (played by Lara Custance), from The Privileged – Harmony is Flame's main helper. But secretly, she has doubts about his leadership.
  • Faygar (played by Zoë Robins), from The Ants – Faygar is the leader of The Ants. She is also their chief priestess, leading their religion that worships ancestors.
  • Kwarli (played by Thomas Steventon), from The Barbs – Kwarli likes to help everyone, not just his own tribe. He tries to do what's best for all.
  • Cass (played by Paige Shand-Haami), from The Ants – Cass is the cook for The Ants. She is a kind girl who likes to help and comfort others.
  • Shadow (played by James Shaw), from The Warps – Shadow is the leader of The Warps, who are The Privileged's army. He is Flame's bodyguard and a great fighter. He has a scar over his left eye and keeps a pet rat. Harmony later gets rid of him, but he escapes. (He appears in episodes 1–24).
  • Gwyn (played by Henrietta Steventon), from The Discards and then The Privileged – Gwyn used to be a Discard (a slave). She is chosen to become a "Privileged" but remembers what it was like to be a Discard. She treats her Discard servants with respect. The Privileged later send her to spy on The Barbs and The Ants. On this mission, she finds her long-lost brother, Dan.
  • Erin (played by Arthur Caughley), from The Barbs – Erin is Leanne's younger brother. He is often lazy and loves to cause trouble.
  • Leanne (played by Katie Alexander), from The Barbs – Leanne is Erin's older sister. She often gets annoyed by his playful tricks.
  • Sal (played by Abbey-May Wakefield), from The Ants – Sal is only 6 years old. She has a pet pig named Star and is very protective of her tribe's animals.

Other Characters You Might See

  • Magdar (played by Imogen Cassin), from The Discards – Magdar is a Discard who serves Gwyn. Gwyn becomes her friend, but when Gwyn's place with The Privs is in danger, Gwyn blames Magdar for stealing. Magdar is then sent to the Forbidden Zone. (episodes 4–6).
  • Crusher (played by Marc Shaw), from The Warps – Shadow first picks Crusher to spy on the Ants and Barbs. But Flame rejects him for the mission. (episode 9).
  • The Stranger (played by Jimmy Kwan), from The Birds – He is the youngest brother of Sunni and Lord Attil. He steals things from The Ants and Erin. He doesn't speak at first, so Sky and Dan think he is mute. (episodes 19–26).
  • Sunni (played by Garrett Chin), from The Birds – He is the brother of The Birds' leader, Lord Attil. He also acts as a messenger. (episodes 24–26).

Tribes of The New Tomorrow

There are three main tribes in The New Tomorrow: The Ants, The Barbs, and The Privileged. A fourth tribe appears later in the series.

The Ants

The Ants are a tribe of farmers. They seem to be the more quiet survivors who needed someone to guide them. Faygar, their High Priestess, leads them. She has given them a belief system where they worship their ancestors. They pray to Bray, who represents good, and ask for his help. Bray's brother, Zoot, is seen as the 'evil' in their stories, causing all their problems. The Ants hope for the day when 'The Ancestor' will return. You can easily spot The Ants by their markings: a black mark under their eyes and a line with three smaller lines in the middle of their forehead.

The Barbs

The Barbs are a tribe that lives close to nature in the forest. They protect their lands and only take what they need to keep the environment healthy. Zora, a strong warrior, leads them in worshipping the Sun, Moon, and rain. They are good at tracking and hunting, and can move through the forest without being seen. Their simple village of wooden huts and campfires is in the middle of the forest. You can tell The Barbs apart by the markings on their heads: a five-pointed fan in the center of their forehead and a colored mask around their eyes. (Leanne is the only one without the colored mask).

The Privileged

The Privileged believe they are better than other tribes. They try to be perfect in how they look and act. They live in tunnels and rooms under an old water dam, led by Flame. The Privileged have a group of soldiers called The Warps, who are strong and brave. They also have a group of slaves called The Discards. These Discards work in mines and farms run by The Privileged, or they might become personal servants. Flame often decides who becomes a Discard, even forcing other Privileged members into slavery. The Privileged don't have special markings, but their clothes are much fancier than those of The Ants and The Barbs. The Discards have a honeycomb pattern on their forehead and wear gray clothes.

The Birds

The Birds first show up in episode 24 of The New Tomorrow. They are led by Lord Attil. Sunni, Lord Attil's messenger and brother, visits The Privileged camp. Sunni tells Harmony that his tribe has many enemies because if another tribe refuses to trade with them, they simply take what they want.

The Story So Far

The first few episodes of the show introduce the characters and the world they live in. In the forest, two tribes are rivals: The warrior Barbs, led by the strong Zora, and the farmer Ants, led by the religious Faygar. Both tribes are scared of two things: machines and The Privileged. The Privileged are a power-hungry tribe led by Flame, who is helped by his advisor Harmony and warrior leader Shadow.

A mysterious outsider named Sky finds his way to the Barb tribe. He doesn't know where he came from and can't remember much. He quickly makes friends there. An Ant named Dan meets the Barb tribe and decides he wants to be a Barb, not an Ant. Later, The Privileged attack the Barb tribe, but Sky defeats Flame, who then runs away.

During this time, Flame also allows one of the Discarded (the Privileged's slaves) to become a Privileged member. Her name is Gwyn.

After the attack, The Barbs and The Ants decide they must work together. They join forces and agree that Sky should lead their combined tribes to avoid arguments. They set up their base in The Ant tribe's camp. Even with a few disagreements, they try to get along.

Flame sends Gwyn out as a spy to the combined tribes. She pretends to be an escaped Discard. She meets Dan, who turns out to be her brother! Even with her brother there, she stays loyal to Flame and gives him important information. When she goes back to The Privileged (The Ants and Barbs don't know she's a spy yet), she asks Dan to come with her. He says no, and she returns alone.

With the new information, Flame kidnaps Faygar and Sky when they are on patrol. The Ants and Barbs are very upset. Zora takes over leading the tribes.

Shadow and Harmony start to get tired of Flame's selfish ways. They begin to plan against him. Eventually, Flame and the Ant/Barbs decide to settle their differences with a game of passball, which is like Rugby. The Privileged barely lose. Harmony then takes over from Flame, and Flame is captured by the Ant/Barbs and held prisoner. Harmony had promised they would work together, but she betrays Shadow and makes him a Discard.

Faygar and Sky escape from the Discards. Shadow also escapes, and we don't see him again in the series. The tribes are overjoyed when Faygar and Sky return. Faygar and Zora have some arguments but then decide to share leadership of the tribe. Flame is set free, but he must now work like the rest of The Ants and Barbs. Sky and Dan, while on patrol, find a strange young boy who can't speak. They take him back to the tribe and let him do what he wants.

Harmony needs a personal assistant and chooses Gwyn. At first, it seems like Gwyn is Harmony's slave, but they soon become good friends. A mysterious Bird tribe arrives and meets The Privileged. They seem to want to trade. Harmony tells them they will meet with Zora and Faygar to discuss trading.

Eventually, they all meet. Harmony realizes the tribes have more in common than she thought, and they suddenly become friends. The rude Bird tribe soon leaves. Harmony also realizes that friends are more important than power. She gives the leadership back to Flame, who has also changed. Flame decides to free The Discards. The Privileged hope they will have more nights like this. Gwyn thinks about staying with her brother but decides to stay with The Privileged, knowing they will see each other again soon.

After the meeting, The Birds return to The Ant camp. It turns out the stranger who came to their tribe was their leader's brother. The Bird tribe came to take the boy back. Sky asks why he doesn't talk. The leader says, "He only talks about things he likes." (The boy only spoke two lines in the show: "Only the Prototype" and "BROTHER!"). This means he likes his brother and machines. The four tribes now seem united. The Birds leave, and the Ant and Barb tribe members stand in a circle. Faygar says, "I'm sure we'll have many more adventures to come." They put their hands together and say "Yay!" as the credits roll.

Connections to The Tribe

It's still not completely clear how The New Tomorrow connects to The Tribe, but there are some clear links:

  • The Ants worship Bray as the Ancestor who will return and save them.
  • The Ants believe that Zoot is an evil force who will try to trick them.
  • None of the characters in The New Tomorrow are older than 13. This has led some to think they might have been near where the virus from Ram's AI was released. However, this is just a guess, as the show doesn't confirm it.
  • The Ants have pictures of the Mall from The Tribe, which they believe is a special, spiritual place. Sky seems to know about the Mall.
  • Many people think that Sky and maybe some other characters in The New Tomorrow could be the children of characters from The Tribe.
  • Characters named Flame, Shadow, Harmony, and Omar were written into the first two scripts of The Tribe series 6. These were included as bonus features on The Tribe: Series 5 DVD.
  • When Sky finds a cave, he says he sees "a boat drawing away and then a door." This could be a hint to The Tribe series 5 ending, where the Mall Rats escape the city by boat.
  • In the cave, there is a picture of two babies. These are Bray (Amber and Bray's baby) and Brady (Trudy and Zoot's baby).

Where to Watch It

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: The New Tomorrow para niños

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