In the same month that Doctor Who fandom is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the dark, sexy BBC3 spin-off, Torchwood, another dark, sexy spin-off series has just begun, and on the same channel. Perfect timing. There have certainly been mixed reactions towards Class in the build-up to its release. Some fans were disappointing at the idea of a spin off where the only real link to the main show is the name of the building. On the other hand, those who had read the works of Patrick Ness seemed to be looking forward to this writer's contribution to the 'whoniverse'. They were both, in some senses, right.
Some critics and bloggers have compared the show's format with that of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode definitely shares similarities to Buffy's first story, Welcome to the Hellmouth. In both instances we have a group of mid-teen students and a schoolteacher being forced to work together and fight monsters drawn through a portal at their school. Buffy is even gets a name check in the dialogue. However, there are a few differences. In Buffy, the protagonists became friends fairly quickly. The protagonists in Class start out from separate paths and even by the end of the episode it more time will be needed for the characters to become proper friends.
The tone of the show is an area where the show differs from Buffy. Where Buffy often relies on the written wit of Joss Whedon, Class is a little more moody but with some humour peppered throughout it. The Doctor's 'ikea' gag was funny, and Mrs Quill is funny when she chews the scenery.Buffy's first story concluded with the new students friends being very perky about their new role to save the world whereas Class concludes with the students returning home, stunned at facing a new, uncertain future.
Charlie and his teacher. Miss Quill. are the most interesting characters so far. Both are survivors of the same planet. Charlie is an alien prince made socially awkward through his ignorance towards Earth customs. As Charlie's protector, Miss Quill is ruthless and gets most of the best lines here. I can see her become a fan favourite, though time will tell whether she stays loyal to the team or betrays them if someone comes along who offers her the freedom she wants.
The remaining protagonists are fairly straightforward archetypes at the moment. April is nice on the outside but hides a fiery heart, Tanya is the fish out of water. The nerd looking for friends among older students. Ram is the cocky sports player who pretends to be cool but cares about things deep down. By the end of the episode we can see how these characters may yet evolve from their traits.. Ram losing his girlfriend and his leg on the same night will undoubtedly have emotional and physical consequences. April's speech at the prom has forced her to stand up for herself for the first time.
Tanya may now have found the friends she wanted. Another character is Matteusz, Charlie's prom date, who was not in any of the promotional material. It is unclear whether he will go on to become an important character or is just being set up as a sacrificial lamb for a future story.
The appearance of the Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, was necessary to link the show to the parent series. With his darker attitude, he is the Doctor most suited to appearing in this particular spin-off. There were a lot of other nice Doctor Who references sprinkled throughout the show. Coal Hill School might have been updated to Coal Hill Academy, but at least the Headmaster from The Caretaker was back as a recurring character. I also liked the callbacks to Clara Oswald and Danny Pink. It would be nice if they could at least sneak a picture of William Russell as Governor Ian Chesterton into one of the later episodes.
Blaire Mowat has done a decent job at composing the music for this episode. The theme tune is nothing special, but the music does feel nicely different to Murray Gold's. There weren't any particularly memorable tunes but it sets the tone well. I especially liked the electric guitar version of the Twelfth Doctor's theme.
It's tricky for the writers any new TV shows to pull off a good first episode. They need to convey the gist of the show without being an info-dump. This episode wasn't a game-changing piece of television but it at least it was solid. I feel this show definitely has the potential to grow into something really good. I will certainly be watching to see if it becomes better than Torchwood, and even more impressive if it surpasses the high bar set by The Sarah Jane Adventures.
7/10
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