Whatever happened to Tomorrow’s World?
Perhaps I’m showing my age ….
For those that don’t, it was the BBC’s flagship science show.
A generation of Brits watched as the latest trends in technology and beyond were beamed into homes nationwide.
The BBC’s future-focused programme ran for almost 40 years, before being axed in 2003.
At its peak Tomorrow’s World pulled in over 10 million viewers, almost a fifth of the UK’s population at the time.
Many of the presenters were household names.
When it was cancelled the show’s creative director said it was having trouble evolving and sustaining viewing figures.
But twenty years on it’s time for the Beeb to have a rethink.
At a time when the world is changing at the fastest rate since the industrial revolution, future focused output has never been more important.
One of the longest running presenters called for it to be revived in 2014. Reading the comments section of an article at the time shows public enthusiasm for her idea. But that was a decade ago and the proposal was met with silence.
Building on the legacy of the original, the Science Channel launched its own version in 2018. That programme is now in its eighth season, which shows there’s demand for the concept.
Auntie does a lot of forward-thinking stuff, from the way it delivers content, the formats it provides, the thinking it does, the way it communicates and the topics it covers.
But as a public corporation the Beeb is a big target. It’s always going to be accused of being behind the times.
Resurrecting Tomorrow’s World for a new generation, bringing together today’s rapid pace of technological change into a singular piece of output, would help change that narrative.
It certainly shouldn’t be the Tomorrow’s World of the past.
There are all sorts of exciting ways to reimagine the concept for modern audiences.
It would help deliver the Beeb’s strategic aim of reflecting our country’s values and culture to the world.
On the other side of the coin, in a world developing rapidly beyond the UK, there is a rich opportunity to cover many more science and technology developments in wider markets. These same countries would provide more viewers for the broadcaster’s growing global reach.
The BBC’s recently rebooted version of Gladiators received viewer and critical acclaim. For many it brought back nostalgic memories of the 90s, a decade back in fashion.
A reenergised version of Tomorrow’s World would deliver something quite different from nostalgia.
It would harness the optimism, excitement and ambition people have for the future.
In a quickly changing world with lots to be concerned about, capturing this positivity is half the battle.