A day late and a dollar short, here is this week's Tuesday's Overlooked TV--the short-lived ABC TV series The New People.
The New People involved a group of young college students who crash in a plane on their way home from a trip to Southeast Asia. They land on an island that, although uninhabited, is littered with ghost towns and mannequins made to look like a real American town. It's determined that the town was created by the American government for possible nuclear bomb testing. The students, with no adults over 30 as they died in the crash, use the town to create their own civilization, leading to several Lord of the Flies-type culture clashes and leadership contests.
The series, with a pilot scripted by Rod Serling, was intended to be an examination of issues presented by the counterculture of the time, and demonstrate the challenges that a youth-oriented control of society would face. However, the series did not receive either good criticism or ratings and only lasted four months. When Lost became a success, comparisons were made to this series, reintroducing the old series to the public.
There is scant footage of the series available, but what I could find is shown here. Thanks!
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