Class (2016 TV series)
7.6 /10 1 Votes
8.2/10 TV Composer(s) Blair Mowat Original language(s) English | 7.1/10 IMDb Genre Science fictionDrama Country of origin United Kingdom First episode date 22 October 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Greg AustinFady ElsayedSophie HopkinsVivian OparahKatherine Kelly Similar Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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. The first series of eight episodes 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.
Contents
- Class trailer official
- Premise
- Main
- Recurring
- Notable guest
- Development
- Casting
- Filming
- Music
- Broadcast and release
- Home media release
- Reception
- Books
- References
The debut of the programme received a positive reception from television critics including writers for The Guardian, Den of Geek, WalesOnline, and Brisbane Times. WalesOnline gave it a rating of five stars out of five, and Brisbane Times gave it three and a half stars out of four.
Class trailer official
Premise
The programme is set in Coal Hill Academy, a fictional school that has been featured in Doctor Who since its original 1963 serial, and focuses on six of its students and staff members
The sixth formers of Coal Hill Academy all have their own secrets and desires. 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. 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.
Main
Recurring
Notable guest
Development
The programme was announced on 1 October 2015. Steven Moffat executive-produces the programme. It was revealed on 27 April 2016 that Coal Hill was no longer a school and was now an Academy. Ed Bazalgette was the first director announced for the first series. Philippa Langdale directed two episodes, Wayne Yip also directed a number of episodes for the first series, and Julian Holmes directed the finale.
Casting
On 4 April 2016, the main cast of the programme was unveiled. 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, a Coal Hill Academy teacher. Nigel Betts reprises his role as Mr. Armitage from "Into the Dalek", "The Caretaker" and "Dark Water" from the eighth series of Doctor Who. Paul Marc Davis appears in a recurring role in the programme. Anna Shaffer portrays a character named Rachel in the programme.
Patrick Ness revealed on Twitter that one of the lead characters would be a male with a boyfriend. This was eventually revealed to be Charlie, his boyfriend being known as Matteusz. Peter Capaldi, who plays the twelfth and current incarnation of the Doctor, appears in the opening episode of the programme.
Filming
Class began filming on 4 April 2016. Wayne Yip reported his block finished filming on 16 August 2016. Filming wrapped on 2 September 2016.
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. The BBC created an official playlist of the songs featured within the first season of Class as announced on the BBC Class Twitter page.
Broadcast and release
After being released on BBC Three online from 10am each week in the UK, the episodes also began to be broadcast on BBC One from 9 January 2017. In the United Kingdom, episodes are available digitally in HD shortly after broadcast on the UK iTunes Store. In January 2016, the programme was picked up in the US by BBC America, where the programme is set to premiere on 15 April 2017, directly after the premiere of the tenth series of Doctor Who.
In Canada, the programme premiered on 22 October 2016 on Space. 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.
Home media release
All eight episodes from the first series of Class was released on Blu-ray worldwide, and DVD in Region 2, on 16 January 2017.
Reception
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."
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."
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."
WalesOnline gave the programme 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".
Brisbane Times television critic Melinda Houston gave the show a rating of three and a half stars out of four. 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."
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."