One of the Tomorrow People trademarks – along with the hair and the temporary cast members – is the lengthy reprises which, in the DVD commentaries, Nicholas Young never tires of telling us were caused by the episodes under running. Every time you’ve heard Terrance Dicks say that on a Doctor Who commentary, spare a thought for how much worse it was on the TPs. Some of their recaps went on for five minutes.

The evil ambulance takes Stephen to a country house. Why do evil villains always have country houses? Even ones that turn out to be aliens without private incomes to keep them in the manner to which real country house owners are accustomed?

Ginge and Lefty report in – mission accomplished. You’ll note Stephen has had a thing put on his head. Make a note of that – it will be important.

Jedikiah – for it is he of "Slaves of Jedikiah" fame – is angry that Ginge didn’t mention that a pretty, blonde, female telepath tried to stop them kidnapping Stephen at the hospital.

Stephen is tied to a glowing bed. How utterly fiendish.

He wakes up and tries to talk to Carol and John. They can’t hear him. Sucks to be Stephen.

Jedikiah explains that the thing on Stephen's head is a silencer. It blocks telepathic communication of all kind. And you don’t need me to say what that thing round his neck looks like.

Jedikiah wants to know who Carol is. Stephen says he doesn’t know. Which is true actually – she just turned up in his bedroom one afternoon and that was the first he knew of her. Jedikiah has clearly never rented a prostitute as he doesn’t believe Stephen’s story.

Hang on – Jedikiah is just starting to really bully Stephen when a voice from above tells him to leave the boy alone. So Jedikiah – who was in charge of Ginge and Lefty – isn’t actually in charge of the whole evil operating. A twist. I like it.

For some reason Stephen is amazed at the notation that a voice can come out of a speaker. We know his mother has a record player – thank you, episode 1 – so the concept of audio cannot be a new one to young Stephen. Maybe he’s acting, bless him.

Back at the lab, John and Carol still have no idea where Stephen is. Staring at the map hasn’t helped. Maybe Kenny’s got a good idea?

Nope – he’s pissing about with the golden snake gun thing from last week. Making it chromakey up and down by staring at it blankly. It’s his best work to date so don’t knock it.

John has a plan – Kenny can use his telekinetic power to glean information about the golden snake gun thing’s previous owners by staring at it blankly. Carol says it’s a long shot. I’d go one further and say it’s bollocks. But – on the bright side – John sends Kenny out of the lab to try it so he’s alone with the lady…

Back at the house, Ginge is taunting Stephen with quips about the view. Stephen asks where he is. Ginge doesn’t tell him. The fiend.

Stephen makes a break for it by stamping on Ginge’s foot and confusing Lefty with a turn of speed but only manages to run right into Jedikiah’s stomach. Jedikiah shouts at them. The two hoodlums feel like pieces of cheese.

Lovely – the policeman from chapter 1 is back to be made a fool of again by Kenny and his chromakeyed bridge sitting act. Lord love a duck.

His shout startles young Kenneth and he drops the golden snake thing into the Thames. Bugger. And John’s plan was almost certainly going to work as well.

Carol is appalled.

She goes off on a strangely satirical rant about putting Tomorrow People in a zoo.

I think Kenny says he’s sorry. To be honest, it’s hard to tell where one word ends and the next begins when you don’t bother opening your mouth during speech.

Meanwhile, Stephen is dragged downstairs. Jedikiah got there first and nabbed the podium so the already seven foot actor could pretend to be eight feet tall. He gives Stephen one last chance. Stephen says no. He’s put in "the machine".

Back at TPHQ, the gang look at old photographs. They’re looking for a picture of someone wearing the golden snake gun thing that Carol saw in a paper last week. She only thought to mention it now. She didn’t know it was a clue until Kenny dropped the original in the river.

She picks out the photograph and remembers the name of the man – Jedikiah. So our alien bully was profiled in the press a week ago. That’ll help them find him. If only other super criminals did that. Fiction would be a lot shorter.

TIM explains that Jedikiah arrived from America a few days ago with the aim of setting up a UK wing of his religion. But TIM is confused – American immigration has never heard of him.

The only thing to do is to hold hands and recap. A series of quick cuts between faces and golden snake gun things follows. The result – Carol notices the snake only has one eye. It must be a Cyclops. So that’s what telepathic powers and superior evolution has given us – people who can count. Brilliant. No wonder Kenny just about qualifies for membership.

More good news – TIM has found out Jedikiah’s address. Yay.

Jedikiah gives Stephen one last last-chance but he still says no. So the machine is switched on and Stephen is twirled round while imagines flash on the screen. This would’ve been more effective had the same rapid-cut effect not been used sixty seconds ago. They must’ve reached that page in the instruction manual this week.

The gang arrive at Bentham Hall and run from where they landed – a rubbish bit near the pond – to the house itself. TIM passing comment on their lack of exercise perhaps. Or he’s just not as accurate as a genuine TOM TOM. Hey – there’s an idea – TIM TIM – a Tomorrow People themed sat nav system.

The machine is switched off – Jedikiah’s boss has learned all he wanted to know about Stephen Jameson and the Tomorrow People. He tells Jedikiah to capture the rest of the TPs as they essential to his purpose.

This instruction already seems to have been sent to Ginge and Lefty as they try to run our chaps over with their motorbikes. Luckily the gang jaunt away in the n. of t.

Ginge is appalled.

Stephen is put back in his cell but – and this isn’t a continuity error – his telepathy blocker has been removed. The trap is set into motion. First thing he’ll do is land his friends in it. Bet you.

Yup – they pick up his words loud and clear.

And walk straight into the trap without so much as a cube of cheese or a wriggly worm as compensation.

Ginge and Lefty walk in. Comically, Lefty drops the tray he was carrying in shock at there being four people where previously there had been but one.

The three proper TPs jaunt away and poor Stephen has to run for it. Sucks not to have a chunky but magical jaunting belt.

He makes it outside but is cornered by what I’m going to generously assume are two other motorbike thugs. They can’t be Ginge and Lefty. Can they? That would be a balls up of epic proportions.

Look at red hat – he stands there for the entire scene even though people are appearing, disappearing and running in all directions throughout. Even when the real Ginge and Lefty appear to shout at him, he just stands there like someone has carved tree stumps to look like Wellingtons and convinced him to put his feet in them.

It’s frankly hilarious as the four leather clad flunkies chase after the oft-vanishing TPs and bump into each other stupidly.

Ginge tries to run them over with his motorbike but they jaunt away and he lands in the river. That one stunt cost more than the last three series put together. You think I’m joking – wait until you see them.

Jedikiah watches the slapstick. He is appalled.

Back at the lab, Stephen is taught the three Ts – teleportation, telepathy and telekinesis. Kenny makes a cup float. That’s the end of the training. It’s not quite Master Yoda's crash course in Jediing but it’ll suffice.

TIM takes the stage and explains that he’s a biological computer that doesn’t need tapes and disks – he’s got fluid in tubes that let him think about stuff.

John shows Stephen TIM’s off switch. Hmm – I wonder if that’ll come into play at any point in the next 70 episodes?

Carol shows Stephen where he’ll sleep. Apparently homo superiors don’t need privacy. Still, a 14 year old boy with a bed in a public space. That can’t end stickily, can it?

Stephen has been in bed for 45 seconds and isn’t asleep yet. John thinks there must be something wrong. There is – how is he going to tell his parents that he’s a freak? John says not to worry – he’ll do it.

Mrs Jameson is appalled. For some reason she doesn’t believe John’s tale about special powers and human evolution.

So he jaunts to prove his bona fides.

She looks fine now – the truth always helps. That’s what I find.

Stephen is suddenly overcome by a remnant from his earlier mental processing and twirling.

His brain is washed and…

…he switches TIM off. Damn. The very thing we hoped he wouldn’t do.

Oh no – wait – letting Ginge and Lefty into the lab was the thing we hoped he wouldn’t do. He has. Bugger.