The New People is a short-lived 1969 American television series on ABC that focused on a group of young college students who were returning from a trip in Southeast Asia when their plane crashed on an island in the south Pacific Ocean. The crash killed several of the college students, and all but one of the adults, who was badly injured and later died. The surviving students were the only human life remaining on the island. The island was unusual in that it had been built up as a site for a potential above-ground nuclear test which never took place, leaving all of the buildings and supplies untouched and ready for use by the survivors.
CreatorsAaron Spelling, Rod Serling
Pilot
Sep 22, 1969
""Richard Kiley guest stars in a Rod Serling story that sets the scene for this series. A planeload of American exchange students crash lands on a Pacific island. Once planned as an atomic test site, the sanctuary offers a completely provisioned village. The survivors, a microcosm of their generation—white and black militants, leftists and rightists, glue sniffers and middle-of-the-roaders—must now suit their actions to their ideas and create a society of their own."" (TV Guide, September 22, 1969)
Panic in the Sand
Sep 29, 1969
""The outbreak of a mysterious epidemic raises a point in medical ethics: who will be guinea pigs for a chemical that may cure -- or cause -- the malady?"" (TV Guide, September 29, 1969)
The Tin God
Oct 6, 1969
""[A] new look at the old issue of the rebel vs. the establishment. When Bob Lee injures a girl with his car, a committee decrees that he take care of her. On the other hand, Bob Lee has spent a lifetime not doing the things required of him."" (TV Guide, October 6, 1969)
Murderer!
Oct 13, 1969
""The specter of murder haunts the New People when a youth is found dead at the foot of a cliff. Not that they lack a suspect: enigmatic Dan Stoner had both opportunity and motive. But how should they handle the tragedy?"" (TV Guide, October 13, 1969)
Comes the Revolution, We Use the Girls' Shower
Oct 20, 1969
""Always a rebel, Stanley wages a slightly ludicrous campaign against building an aqueduct for the girls' showers. He sees the project in terms of an emerging power structure, a virtual assault on the spirit of unfettered man."" (TV Guide, October 20, 1969)
Lifeline
Oct 27, 1969
""Several youths decide to leave the island by raft. A near-suicidal scheme to start with, the plan is further endangered by the inclusion of Christine Miller, a neurotic."" (TV Guide, October 27, 1969)
Marriage-Bomano Style
Nov 3, 1969
""Van Heflin's daughter Kate plays her first major role in ""Marriage -- Romano [sic] Style."" Cara, a teen-ager reared in church tradition, runs away from an unsanctified marriage, her emotional trauma intensified by the imminent birth of a baby."" (TV Guide, November 3, 1969)
Is This Any Way to Run an Island?
Nov 10, 1969
""Even in a society without rules, problems arise when everyone ""does his own thing."" The beach boys, for example, feel free to take the food -- and George, the others' quasi leader, feels just as free not to get involved."" (TV Guide, November 10, 1969)
The Dark Side of the Island
Nov 17, 1969
""The discovery of a shallow grave gives rise to fears that someone -- or something -- may inhabit the unexplored side of the island. The fear mushrooms into near hysteria when one of the girls disappears."" (TV Guide, November 17, 1969)
A Bride in Basic Black (1): The Courtship
Nov 24, 1969
""A two-part story begins with ""A Bride in Basic Black: The Courtship."" Susan, frightened by Ben Geary's insistence that she live with him, demands a law protecting the women on the island -- a proposal underscored by another girl's accusation of rape against Bob Lee."" (TV Guide, November 24, 1969)
A Bride in Basic Black (2): The Surrender
Dec 1, 1969
""A two-part story concludes with ""A Bride in Basic Black: The Surrender."" Having failed to get a law protecting women, Susan fears nothing will stop arrogant Ben Geary from forcing her to live with him."" (TV Guide, December 1, 1969)
The Pied Piper of Pot
Dec 8, 1969
""Wash takes issue with a self-proclaimed mystic who proposes to show the way to bliss through meditation and marijuana."" (TV Guide, December 8, 1969)
Speed Kills
Dec 15, 1969
""Mental illness -- and the problems of coping with it -- loom with dramatic suddenness when a normally happy-go-lucky guy erupts in murderous paranoic outbursts aimed at George."" (TV Guide, December 15, 1969)
The Guns of Bomano
Dec 22, 1969
""The election of an armed peace officer brings to the island the old issues of law and order, gun control and the role of police in society."" (TV Guide, December 22, 1969)
The Prisoner of Bomano
Dec 29, 1969
""Wash's fate is in doubt after he is imprisoned by fellow blacks. They're establishing their own society, and they don't trust him to ""keep the faith."""" (TV Guide, December 29, 1969)
The Siege of Fern's Castle
Jan 5, 1970
""""The Siege of Fern's Castle"" examines pride and individual rights. The drama centers on Fern, a self-sufficient New Englander who's made a home in the wrecked plane -- and refuses to leave when a dangerous mine is beached near-by."" (TV Guide, January 5, 1970)
On the Horizon
Jan 12, 1970
""The appearance of a distant fishing trawler raises the exciting hope of being rescued -- if the New People can agree that they want to signal the ship."" (TV Guide, January 12, 1970)
