6.8 /10 1 Votes
6.5/10 TV Original language(s) English Final episode date 30 August 2006 | 7/10 IMDb Country of origin Australia First episode date 1 June 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Created by Judith John-StoryDavid SummonsCarmel Travers Starring OriginalSonia HumphreyCarmel TraversChris Ardill-GuinnessAmanda KellerAndrew CarrollMaxine GrayAnthony GriffisDr Caroline WestDr John D'ArcyJeffrey WatsonSimon NashtSharon NashSimon ReeveIain FinlayBryan SmithPresentMatt ShirvingtonGraham PhillipsHayden TurnerAnna ChoyDr Caroline WestSara GroenKim Watkins No. of episodes Beyond 2000: 475Beyond Tomorrow: 51 Executive producer(s) Peter Abbott (1981-1999)David Alrich (2005-2007) Cast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beyond Tomorrow is an Australian television series produced by Beyond Television Productions. It began airing in 1981 as Towards 2000, then in 1985 was renamed Beyond 2000, a name the show kept until its cancellation in 1999. It then started airing again in 2005 with the name Beyond Tomorrow.
Contents
Towards 2000 and Beyond 2000
Towards 2000 debuted on the ABC in 1981 as a half-hour show dedicated to showcasing developments and inventions in science and technology. Original presenters were Jeffrey Watson, Sonia Humphrey and David Flatman. There were two series of the program and it was a popular and high rating success on the national broadcaster. Some personnel were approached by the private sector to move to a commercial network. After a name change to Beyond 2000 and a switch to an hour-long format, the show moved to the Seven Network, airing until 1993 when it was picked up by Network Ten, airing until 1999. Beyond 2000 was also broadcast internationally, airing on the Discovery Channel in the United States and Canada, on RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland, and on the satellite channel Sky News in Europe and on TV One in New Zealand. An American-produced version of the show also aired on the Discovery Channel in 1992, with an American presenter (Henry Tenenbaum, presently an anchor/reporter for television station KRON San Francisco) used for the studio segments. An American version entitled Beyond Tomorrow was hosted by newsman Dave Marash and aired in the early years of the Fox television network.
Fourteen series of Towards/Beyond 2000 were produced, with the last being made in 1999 as a one-off, after a production break of about four years. At this point, the rising cost of producing the series, coupled with increased competition from other science and technology shows forced the closure of the program.
A Beyond 2000 website was published by the same company between 1999 and 2003. This provided science and technology news, as well as video clips from the old TV shows. The website was summarily axed in a round of company-wide budget cuts that reflected a general downturn in the Australian media industry at the time.
Presenters
Beyond Tomorrow
In 2005, Beyond 2000 returned to the Seven Network under the new name of Beyond Tomorrow. The first episode aired 1 June 2005. Picking up where its predecessor left off, Beyond Tomorrow delves even deeper into the world of technological innovations and scientific breakthroughs. Topics range from how probes planted in the brain can now be used to battle Parkinson's disease and obsessive compulsive disorder, to how the grumpiness of North Sea oil workers has led to a cure being found for snoring. Segments from MythBusters, another Beyond Television production, also air as part of the program. The hour-long magazine style episodes feature breakthroughs in all areas of life including the environment, medicine, sport, computers, space, agriculture, transport, architecture, leisure and adventure. Beyond Tomorrow airs in the US on The Science Channel and on Discovery Channel Canada; The series has been criticised by some fans of the earlier "Beyond 2000" for featuring 'futuristic' technologies that are obsolete or have been in common use for several years. The official website is no longer up. Production of the show ended in 2007 after 51 episodes, however reruns still continue to air on The Science Channel.