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Tomorrow’s World

A couple of million years ago there used to be a programme on BBC (because there was only the one BBC channel back then) called Tomorrow’s World. A tall thin guy who could have been a minor Bond villain but who actually was a former Spitfire pilot, and a short dumpy guy with glasses, who looked like an early Penfold, would talk to an attractive token female presenter about amazing inventions that would soon be available to us plebs.

Well, I’m still waiting for my flying car and my jetpack, but it occurred to me, driving back from Wales the other night, that the future is now and is sitting in our everyday objects, namely: our cars.

As I drove down Cheshire’s dark A-roads my car wouldn’t let me cross a white line on either side unless I had indicated correctly. The front and rear wipers activated themselves only when they needed to. Cruise control meant I could take my foot off the accelerator yet if I got too close to the car in front, or a cyclist, or a pedestrian, the car would disengage cruise control and start braking. And the lights flipped up to high beam when there was no street lighting and when there were no other vehicles around, but they quickly dipped themselves if a car came towards me (or if I gained on the car in front), or if I drove into a well-lit area. Now all that stuff is pretty amazing really, and yet it’s pretty base functionality in our cars these days.

I can’t help wondering what Tomorrow’s World would have made of it all. But just for some context, here’s a taste of an episode; just take a look at what the good folk back in 1969 reckoned we’d have as everyday objects:

5 thoughts on “Tomorrow’s World”

  1. I was an avid watcher of Tomorrow’s World back in the day (surprised face).
    I remember Raymond Baxter; Michael Rodd; Maggie Philbin and Judith Somebody-or-other.
    This clip also had James Burke, who I don’t remember seeing.
    I’m obviously too young.

    The car that we hired in Switzerland had all that jiggery-pokery you mention. Mrs.M (doing the driving) made me switch it all off.
    I don’t think she ever watched Tomorrow’s World.

    1. I used to love Tomorrow’s World. Can’t remember when it was on but it was a staple bit of viewing. Baxter, Burke, and Hann (Solo). OK, not Hann Solo, I made that bit up. Judith Hann. She was there to do the womany things. Food-related and vacuum cleaners and all that stuff. But Tomorrow’s World failed to see the rise of the automated vacuum cleaner, didn’t they? You try flying back to 1969 and explaining the Roomba to them and they’d cry “Nay, Sire. That is the work of The Devil. ‘Tis witchcraft! Burn it! Burn it at the stake!”.

  2. Just the other day I saw a clip about the car of the future. ABS, cruise control, and more, in 1971. It was particularly interesting to me, because it looks very much like it’s a Triumph 2500 PI, which was the car Dad bought in 1973 when we returned to NZ. Except ours didn’t have the fancy stuff. Just a rust problem.

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