Class (2016 TV series)

Class
Genre
Created by Patrick Ness
Written by Patrick Ness
Starring
Opening theme "Up All Night" by Alex Clare
Composer(s) Blair Mowat
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Running time 43–50 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor BBC Worldwide
Release
Original network BBC Three
Original release 22 October 2016 (2016-10-22) – present (present)
Chronology
Related shows Doctor Who
External links
Website www.bbc.co.uk/class

Class is a British science fiction drama programme, and a spin-off of the long-running programme Doctor Who. It is created and written by Patrick Ness, who also produces alongside Doctor Who showrunner and lead writer Steven Moffat, and Brian Minchin, who acted as producer on Doctor Who and two of its previous spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. In June 2017, Ness announced that if a second series were to go ahead, he would not continue writing for the series.

The first series of eight episodes was premiered on BBC Three on 22 October 2016, and concluded on 3 December 2016. The story focuses on five of the students and staff at Coal Hill Academy, a longtime recurrent location of Doctor Who, who are tasked by the Doctor to deal with alien threats while trying to deal with their personal lives.

The series received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its darker tone, writing, music, and acting. However, the series scored poor viewership figures for its broadcast on BBC One.

Premise

The programme is set in Coal Hill Academy, a fictional school that has been featured in Doctor Who since the 1963 serial, An Unearthly Child, and focuses on six of its students and staff members.[1]

The sixth formers of Coal Hill Academy all have their own secrets and desires.[1] They have to deal with the stresses of everyday life, including friends, parents, school work, sex, and sorrow, but also the horrors that come from time travel.[2] The Doctor and his time-travelling have made the walls of space and time stretch thin, and monsters beyond imagination are planning to break through and wreak havoc upon the Earth.[3]

Cast

Main

Recurring

Notable guest

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"For Tonight We Might Die"Ed BazalgettePatrick Ness22 October 2016 (2016-10-22)
Alien refugees Miss Quill and Charlie are hiding out at Coal Hill Academy in disguise as a teacher and a pupil. As the Shadow Kin invade and kill pupils, Charlie is forced to reveal to April, Tanya, Ram and Matteusz that he and Quill are the last survivors of an alien war, he a prince, and she is his enslaved bodyguard. At the sixth form prom, the Shadow Kin come through the tear, killing Ram's girlfriend Rachel and severing his leg. The Doctor, who rescued Charlie and Quill and had them hide in the school, arrives to defeat the Shadow Kin. He appoints Miss Quill and the pupils as protectors of the school, noting that it has become a beacon throughout space-time. April is left sharing a heart with the Shadow Kin king, Corakinus, and Ram has his leg replaced with a robotic one.
2"The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo"Ed BazalgettePatrick Ness22 October 2016 (2016-10-22)
Ram struggles to recover from the attack at the prom. Coach Dawson scolds him for poor performance in football and demotes him to the second string team. That week, Ram witnesses a creature attack both the assistant coach and a school cleaner, but struggles to find evidence of their deaths after the fact, leading him to question his sanity. Tanya, Charlie, and April investigate on his behalf, and learn that a dragon manifesting in different parts of the school is connected with Coach Dawson. They learn that the coach was bound to a female dragon who came through a rift in time, and became fused to his body as a tattoo; its mate roams the school, killing in order to feed her. Convinced by the sixth formers, the male dragon takes his mate along with the coach back through the tear in time. Ram later tells his father about the events thus far.
3"Nightvisiting"Ed BazalgettePatrick Ness29 October 2016 (2016-10-29)
On the second anniversary of her father's death, Tanya is visited by an apparition of him, imploring her to take his hand and bond their souls across space and time. Throughout East London, alien vines emerging from the spacetime tear at Coal Hill are capturing Londoners with images of dead loved ones. Even Miss Quill is visited by an entity that claims to be her sister. Ram and April investigate together, and grow closer. Matteusz and Charlie take their relationship to the next level after Matteusz is kicked out of home by his homophobic parents. After interrogating her "sister," and confirming that Earth has simply been invaded by a hungry alien creature called the Lan Kin, Quill severs the vine outside Tanya's house using a stolen double decker bus, causing the Lan Kin to flee in pain.
4"Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart" (Part 1)Philippa LangdalePatrick Ness5 November 2016 (2016-11-05)
Following the events of the prom, April is struggling to control herself since she began sharing her heart with the king of the Shadow Kin, Corakinus; the king's attempts to mitigate his impairment have backfired, giving he and April an even deeper psychic connection. Dorothea Ames introduces herself as the new headteacher of Coal Hill Academy following the death of Mr Armitage. She tells Miss Quill of how the Governors are interested in her and later introduces her to an alien carnivorous flower that has been replicating in worrying numbers. April's father is released from prison and pays his family a visit. During a key confrontation, April's parents discover the true nature of her problem as she uncontrollably attacks the both of them. Sensing that Corakinus has discovered her location, April leaps through a tear in space-time to take her heart back, with Ram closely following her.
5"Brave-ish Heart" (Part 2)Philippa LangdalePatrick Ness12 November 2016 (2016-11-12)
April and Ram arrive on the planet of the Shadow Kin, referred to as the Underneath, where she seeks out the king to claim her heart back. Meanwhile on Earth, carnivorous flower petals are continuously multiplying and are swamping streets and consuming humans. Dorothea Ames recruits Miss Quill to force Charlie into using the Cabinet of Souls (a weapon of mass destruction made up of the preserved souls of his species) in order to kill the petals, but he seems torn between sacrificing the souls of his people and letting humanity die instead. Channelling the king's own power, April defeats him in combat and becomes king of the Shadow Kin. Returning to Earth, she dispatches her army to destroy the petals, sparing Charlie his decision. The imprisoned former king severs his connection with April, however, once again breaking her control over the Shadow Kin. Ames is pleased at having exploited the situation to learn more about Charlie and the Cabinet of Souls.
6"Detained"Wayne Che YipPatrick Ness19 November 2016 (2016-11-19)
Miss Quill places Charlie, April, Ram, Tanya and Matteusz in "detention" whilst she attends urgent matters. A meteor flies through a tear in space-time and displaces the classroom that the five of them are in to an unknown location described as being outside of both time and space. They are trapped; with nobody else aside from a small meteor. This meteor forces whoever is holding it to reveal ugly and personal truths. They soon learn that the meteor is the consciousness of a murderous prisoner; and the five pupils are currently in his augmented prison cell. Charlie soon realises that he is more guilty than the prisoner itself so is thus able to defeat him and return the group back to Coal Hill Academy in one piece. Miss Quill returns, having had quite a day whilst they were away – as apparent from the fact that she is now able to use a gun.
7"The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did"Wayne Che YipPatrick Ness26 November 2016 (2016-11-26)
Taking place concurrently to the events of the previous episode, Quill meets Ames after dropping Charlie in detention. Explaining that the Governors have decided to help Quill remove the Arn from her brain, Ames introduces a shapeshifting alien named Ballon (who has become frozen in his human form). The three of them are teleported to a metaphysical reality. Ames explains that as long as a place can be believed in, it exists and can be visited using this device. Over time, they find an Arn specimen to study, obtain the blood of the 'Devil' (to unfreeze Ballon so that he can perform surgery on Quill). They finally obtain the brain of a Quill goddess to study before returning to Coal Hill. Ballon performs the surgery and removes the Arn, freeing Quill but leaving her eye scarred. It's soon revealed that the two of them are in fact in the Cabinet of Souls and Ames will only allow one of them to return to Earth. They end up fighting to the death, with Quill winning a bittersweet victory. Quill returns to the school at the time at which the previous episode ended. She faints and Charlie discovers that she is visibly pregnant.
8"The Lost"Julian HolmesPatrick Ness3 December 2016 (2016-12-03)
Corakinus returns to Earth through minute tears in space-time and murders Ram's father and Tanya's mother. Following this, Tanya seeks the help of Quill and discovers her pregnancy. Charlie and Matteusz confront and threaten Ames into helping them. Corakinus returns and attempts to kill Tanya's brothers; Quill steps in to save them, but not before Corakinus is able to tie his life to Charlie's. Quill teaches Tanya how to fight in preparation for an inevitable war whilst both Ram and Tanya command Charlie to use the Cabinet of Souls in order to prevent any more people from dying. Corakinus threatens to kill Matteusz and tells April that he will leave Earth if she sacrifices herself; however, this is proven to be a lie. When the Shadow Kin invade Earth and take over the streets, Charlie is left with no choice but to use the Cabinet of Souls, which is expected will also kill April and himself. The Cabinet wipes out every last Shadow Kin. Charlie, saved by Quill, survives, while April awakens in the body of Corakinus. Elsewhere, Ames returns to the Governors where she is judged unfit to continue serving them or witness "the arrival" for having allowed the Cabinet to be used, and is murdered by a Weeping Angel.

Production

Development

The programme was announced on 1 October 2015.[17] Steven Moffat executive-produces the programme.[18] It was revealed on 27 April 2016 that Coal Hill was no longer a school and was now an Academy.[1] Ed Bazalgette was the first director announced for the first series.[19] Philippa Langdale directed two episodes,[20] Wayne Yip also directed a number of episodes for the first series,[21] and Julian Holmes directed the finale.[22]

In June 2017, Ness announced that if a second series were to go ahead, he would not be continuing as a writer for the series.[23]

Casting

On 4 April 2016, the main cast of the programme was unveiled.[19] Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah star as four Sixth Formers, with Austin playing a character named Charlie, while Katherine Kelly portrays Miss Quill,[24] a Coal Hill Academy teacher.[13][25] Nigel Betts reprises his role as Mr. Armitage from "Into the Dalek", "The Caretaker" and "Dark Water" from the eighth series of Doctor Who.[13] Paul Marc Davis appears in a recurring role in the programme.[9] Anna Shaffer portrays a character named Rachel in the programme.[15]

Patrick Ness revealed on Twitter that one of the lead characters would be a male with a boyfriend.[26] This was eventually revealed to be Charlie, his boyfriend being known as Matteusz.[27] Peter Capaldi, who plays the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor, appears in the opening episode of the programme.[16]

Filming

Class began filming on 4 April 2016.[19] Wayne Yip reported his block finished filming on 16 August 2016.[28] Filming wrapped on 2 September 2016.[29]

Music

The incidental music for Class is written by composer Blair Mowat. The theme song is a shortened version of "Up All Night" by Alex Clare.[30] The BBC created an official playlist of the songs featured within the first season of Class as announced on the BBC Class Twitter page.[31][32]

Broadcast and release

Broadcast

After being released on BBC Three online from 10am each week in the UK,[33] the episodes also began to be broadcast on BBC One from 9 January 2017.[34][35] In the United Kingdom, episodes were available digitally in HD shortly after broadcast on the UK iTunes Store.[36] However, the series scored poor viewership figures for its broadcast on BBC One.[37][38]

In January 2016, the programme was picked up in the US by BBC America,[39] where the programme received its premiere on 15 April 2017, directly after the premiere of the tenth series of Doctor Who.[40][41][42]

The programme received its Canadian premiere on 22 October 2016 on Space.[43] In September 2016, the programme was picked up in Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where the episodes were fast-tracked from Britain for ABC iview starting on 22 October 2016, and was broadcast later on ABC2 starting on 24 October 2016.[44]

Home media release

All eight episodes from the first series of Class were released on Blu-ray worldwide, and DVD in Region 2, on 16 January 2017.[45][46]

Reception

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season a 88% rating based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10.[47] Overall reception for the series have been mostly positive. The show's darker tone, writing, music, and acting were praised, as was the overall evolution of the characters during the series.

The Guardian gave the show a positive reception, with Phil Harrison writing: "Ever since the sad demise of Torchwood, Doctor Who fans have been looking for something to fill those fallow months when the Tardis is away in another part of the galaxy and Who is missing from our screens. Now they might finally have it."[48]

Digital Spy was hesitant in its review, praising the cast for their performances but felt the script and pacing needed to take a breath and explore ideas in more depth, with Morgan Jeffery writing "A fast pace is all well and good – in fact, it's essential to hold on to a younger audience – but at times, 'For Tonight, We Might Die' is racing so much that it trips itself up". Summarising the programme so far: "Class is a bit like a hormonal teen – all over the place, with quite literal moodswings. But also like a teen, it's finding itself."[49]

Den of Geek recommended the programme and critic Louisa Mellor summed it up as: "Witty, energetic Doctor Who spin-off Class wears its influences well and gets a great deal right for its target audience."[50]

WalesOnline gave the programme's first couple of episodes a rating of five stars out of five, with writer David Prince summarizing the show as: "It's a bit like a British Buffy and Cardiff looks amazing – but it's not for kids".[51]

Brisbane Times television critic Melinda Houston gave the show a rating of three and a half stars out of four.[52] In a review for Flickering Myth, Alex Moreland rated the first episode of Class with a grade of 9 out of 10 — "Ultimately, Class debuts with a particularly strong first episode; it introduces us to a compelling cast of characters and an establishes an engaging overarching plot. Most importantly of all, though, it makes it obvious that this is a programme that can and will stand on its own – and maybe even surpass Doctor Who, one day."[53]

The Daily Dot writer Gavia Baker-Whitelaw gave the first few episodes a negative review stating "Unless you’re completely new to supernatural teen dramas, Class will seem hopelessly formulaic. In the first two episodes, it offers nothing we haven't already seen in Buffy, Teen Wolf, or Smallville. The comparisons to Buffy are especially unflattering because Class displays none of its subversiveness or wit, and Buffy was already playing with old tropes when it premiered almost 20 years ago." She goes on to say that despite the show's high-profile link to Doctor Who, "It's just too bad it doesn't live up to the hype, failing to move beyond a watered-down Joss Whedon structure or exhibit fresh insight into young adult life. With so many brilliant teen dramas already available elsewhere, it’s hard to see what Class has to offer unless it drastically improves in later episodes."[54]

Awards and nominations

In 2017, Class was nominated for TV Programme of the Year by the Diversity in Media Awards.

Books

A trio of books were published to tie in with the series:

Notes

  1. ↑ Despite never being credited in the opening credits of the series, Renzo's character was advertised as a series regular by the BBC multiple times.[6][7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rob Leane. "Class: Barbara Wright tribute revealed". Den of Geek.
  2. ↑ Zamora, LA (8 October 2016), "'Doctor Who' Spinoff Air Date, News & Update: 'Class' – Coal Hill Students Left Alone To Fight Aliens, Time Travel Danger Impending?", Gamenguide, retrieved 23 October 2016
  3. ↑ Kelly, Stephen (18 October 2016), "The creator of Doctor Who spin-off ‘Class’ tells us what’s in store", Inews, retrieved 23 October 2016
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Peter Capaldi confirmed for Class Doctor Who spin-off". RadioTimes. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "6 Things You Need to Know About Class". Class. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Class – 6 Things You Need to Know About Class – BBC Three".
  7. ↑ "Series 1, Class – Matteusz Andrzejewski – BBC Three".
  8. ↑ MYM Buzz (30 October 2016). "Class Cast & Crew Panel @ MCM London Comic Con" – via YouTube.
  9. 1 2 Martin, William (18 April 2016). "‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’ actor joins ‘Doctor Who’ spin-off ‘Class’". CultBox. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Moss, George (25 September 2016). "Who Are The Cast of ‘Class’?". Blogtor Who. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Aaron Neil on Twitter".
  12. ↑ "Patrick Ness on Twitter".
  13. 1 2 3 Martin, William (3 April 2016). "‘Doctor Who’ actor to reprise role in new spin-off ‘Class’". CultBox. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "Patrick Ness on Twitter".
  15. 1 2 Fullerton, Huw (25 May 2016). "Harry Potter star Anna Shaffer has joined Doctor Who spin-off Class". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Confirmed: Peter Capaldi will be appearing in ‘Class’!". CultBox. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  17. ↑ The Doctor Who Team. "BBC Latest News – Doctor Who – Doctor Who Spin Off: Class". Doctor Who.
  18. ↑ Dowell, Ben (29 February 2016). "Doctor Who spin off Class begins filming in April 2016 and may feature Peter Capaldi". RadioTimes. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 The Doctor Who Team (4 April 2016). "BBC Three announce cast for Doctor Who spin off – Class". Doctor Who. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  20. ↑ "United Agents: Philippa Langdale".
  21. ↑ "United Agents: Wayne Yip".
  22. ↑ "Twitter: Julian Holmes Directs Finale".
  23. ↑ Marcus (4 June 2017). "Patrick Ness Calls Time on Class". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  24. ↑ Olivia Waring (30 April 2016). "Doctor Who spin off Class: Names of main character and first episode revealed – Metro News". Metro. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  25. ↑ Martin, William (4 April 2016). "‘Class’ first look: Main cast revealed for new ‘Doctor Who’ spin-off". CultBox. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  26. ↑ Patrick Ness. "Twitter: Patrick Ness on LGBT Representation".
  27. ↑ "Matteusz Andrzejewski".
  28. ↑ "Instagram: Wayne Yip Conludes Filming".
  29. ↑ "Patrick Ness on Twitter".
  30. ↑ "BBC Music: Class". BBC Playlists. BBC. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  31. ↑ "All Music: Class". BBC Playlists. BBC. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  32. ↑ "Class Twitter Music Announcement".
  33. ↑ "BBC – Class – For Tonight We Might Die – Media Centre". BBC Media Centre. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  34. ↑ Williams, Kathryn (2 October 2015). "Doctor Who spin-off Class: Everything we know so far about the new BBC Three series". WalesOnline.
  35. ↑ "BBC One Class Twitter Announcement".
  36. ↑ "Class: Series 1". iTunes Store. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  37. ↑ "'Class' ratings: 'Doctor Who' spin-off launches to disappointing numbers". 29 November 2016.
  38. ↑ "Doctor Who Spin-off Class Released to Limited Audience, Received Disappointing Ratings". 4 December 2016.
  39. ↑ Holloway, Daniel (8 January 2016). "‘Doctor Who’ Spinoff ‘Class’ to Premiere on BBC America". The Wrap.
  40. ↑ "BBC America on Twitter". BBC America. 9 September 2016.
  41. ↑ "Doctor Who spin-off Class will get a late night slot when it airs on BBC1 next year". RadioTimes. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  42. ↑ "Peter Capaldi Announces His Last Season of "Doctor Who"". The Futon Critic. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  43. ↑ Space (TV channel) [@spacechannel] (23 September 2016). "The Doctor is in. Watch him in the #ClassDW series premiere OCTOBER 22nd on Space." (Tweet). Retrieved 10 October 2016 – via Twitter.
  44. ↑ "Prepare yourselves, Class is coming to ABC2 and iview". tv.press.abc.net.au. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  45. ↑ "Class – Series 1". 16 January 2017 – via Amazon.
  46. ↑ "Class – Series 1". 16 January 2017 – via Amazon.
  47. ↑ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/class/s01/
  48. ↑ Harrison, Phil (22 October 2016), "Catch-up and download: from Class to DJ History", The Guardian, retrieved 22 October 2016
  49. ↑ Jeffery, Morgan (22 October 2016), "Class episodes 1 & 2 review: For Tonight We May Die & The Coach With The Dragon Tattoo", Digital Spy, retrieved 22 October 2016
  50. ↑ Mellor, Louisa (22 October 2016), "Class episodes 1 + 2 review: does Doctor Who's Young Adult spin-off get top marks?", Den of Geek, retrieved 22 October 2016
  51. ↑ Prince, David (22 October 2016), "We've seen the first episodes of Doctor Who spin-off Class at last – but is it any good?", WalesOnline, retrieved 22 October 2016
  52. ↑ Houston, Melinda (22 October 2016), "Television highlights: Being Evel, Class, Shadow Trackers and Say Yes to the Dress Australia", Brisbane Times, retrieved 22 October 2016
  53. ↑ Moreland, Alex (22 October 2016), "Class Season 1 Episode 1 Review – ‘For Tonight We Might Die’", Flickering Myth, retrieved 22 October 2016
  54. ↑ Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (24 October 2016), Class is a disappointing addition to the Doctor Who universe, retrieved 24 October 2016
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