Class: Nightvisiting

(Spoilers Ahead)

TV shows with an ensemble cast often have the same series structure where specific episodes are given to developing a specific character within the group. Class did something like this last week with Ram and the synopsis to this week's episode made it look like it would focus on developing Tanya. It certainly does so, although all of the characters are developed in some capacity.

Tanya's dead father was mentioned in the previous episode and now he comes to visit her in the dead of night. It's blatantly obvious to a genre-savvy audience that the dad is a disguise by an alien being, and it's somewhat obvious to Tanya too. Nevertheless, she has understandable doubts.

The alien parasite, the Lankin, is not too bad a monster. It is yet another monster that matches the theme of the episode, this being grieving for loved ones. A giant series of roots stretching from the rift in Coal Hill, through to peoples' homes. it is more successfully realised than the CGI dragon from last episode.

Ram also receives a visitation by his dead girlfriend, but it isn't long before he and April go on the run, try to sort the situation out, and eventually kiss.  Some might find it odd that Ram quickly moves from  missing his girlfriend to making out with April in a matter of hours, but I would disagree. Ram already faced his fears last week, so him kissing April is the final move towards losing those fears. April doesn't get a visitor but she knows the term nightvisiting from her fiddle practice and this segues to her backstory and drunken father. Her use of the term nightvisiting makes it seem like this is her episode.

Charlie and Matteusz develop their relationship and Matteusz moves in. They get the first sex scene in the show. His subplot is alright but he feels like the character with the least to contribute to the overall plot.

Miss Quill is by far the most efficient of the protagonists this week. She quickly susses that the dead sister is a fake and moves on to a nasty interrogation. She saves the day by driving a bus into it. It is also kind of sad at the end of the episode that she is ignored by the group. If this show is like Buffy then this episode is 'Dead Things' and Miss Quill is season 4/5 Spike, a character left on the sidelines who wishes to be part of the group but cannot entirely be trusted.

The blatantly obvious plot stops this episode from getting too higher marks. Occasionally the 'I'm your relative...no you're not' conversations do get a bit repetitive. Nonetheless it is an alright episode that does at least give Tanya more depth and gives Ram an interesting new direction now that he is no longer grieving from his girlfriend.

6/10

Class: The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo

(Spoilers Ahead)

Second episodes can sometimes be much better at setting the tone of the series than the first.  For Tonight We Might Die struggled with having to introduce the main characters and tell an action-adventure story within a limited time. The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo, had much less to take on, and was better for it. The story had a better chance to breath. Instead of focusing on an entire group we get to focus on Ram's journey.

After the events of the prom, Ram has been struggling with the death of his girlfriend and also trying to play football with an artificial leg. Ram is the kind of character that would have no interest in Doctor Who in the real world, so it is interesting seeing someone like that having to adapt to a sci-fi/fantasy universe.This is ultimately a story of a young person recovering from trauma. It is well written by Patrick Ness and pulled off superbly in performance by Fady Elsayed.

Ram's football Coach, Dawson, has his own issues. He has bonded with a female dragon which takes the form of a tattoo in his body. He is now being hunted for by the dragon's mate while he personally uses his tattoo for power. The resolution of Ram persuading the dragon to adjust to his mate's new condition is an obvious parallel to the heroes events.

The other characters featured less prominently. Charlie and April taking a backseat to Ram's story while Matteusz was absent. Tanya got the best moments as she could relate to Ram's loss through the loss of her own father. Most of the comic relief went to Miss Quill in an amusing subplot involving an OFSTED inspector who turns out to be a robot which was eaten by the dragon. This was where most of the comedic bits went. There were also some nice digs at the education system.

There were still a few Doctor Who references in this episode, along with Ram holding a bat which is similar to the one Ace used in Remembrance of the Daleks. Sadly the headmaster, Mr Armitage, died in this episode. it was a shame because he was a likeable character. It will be interesting to see whether the new headmaster will be a more permanent fixture on the show, like Buffy's Principle Snyder to Principle Flutie. With less references it felt like Class was coming into its own though hopefully it won't entirely forget the parent show.

The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo was certainly a much better than the previous episode and is hopefully a sign of things to come.

8/10

Class: For Tonight We Might Die

(Possible spoilers Ahead)

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

Doctor Who and Class News

These last few months have seen a dearth of Doctor Who related news, so it's just the right time for more information to be revealed.

The Christmas special is titled The Return of Doctor Mysterio which guest stars Justin Chatwin as a superhero. The actual costume that Justin wears looks pretty good, with only the mask looking a little plastic and naff. It is not clear yet what the 'G' on his logo stands for.  The name 'Dr Mysterio' not only sounds like a weid super villain name but it is a nice callback to the name the show was billed as during early Spanish broadcasts of the show. It will be interesting to see whether the Doctor wants to help the hero, compete with him, or whether the superhero is really a villain. Doctor Who has done many genres over the years including horror and Wild Westerns so it's about time there was a superhero episode in a time when Marvel dominates the Box office.

Some new trailers have been released regarding Class and its becoming more intriguing now the details of the story are being made clearer.. The show appears to show students protecting the school from rifts in time. The second trailer acknowledges the debt owed to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other shows of its ilk. Other images suggest that this will be a bloodier, darker show and that should be fun. It's a shame American viewers won't get to see the show until next year.

Threads (1984)

I've seen a lot of retro-tv in my time, but Threads is definitely one of the more disturbing dramas out there. This acclaimed piece of television drama, written by Barry Hines and Mick Jackson, focuses on the idea of a UK in decline after nuclear fallout.

The story focuses on the Beckett and Kemp families. Ruth Beckett  becomes pregnant  with Jimmy Kemp's baby and they are due to be married. Their plans for the future are cut short when war breaks out and the Soviets launch nuclear missiles over the United Kingdom.

There is a sense of hopelessness. The Sheffield authorities try to survive in an underground bunker, but there is a cave in at the entrance. By the time the rescue team dig to the bunker all of the authorities are dead. Jimmy disappears and we never truly find out if he's still alive.  Jimmy's parents die of radiation sickness. Ruth's parents stick to the government regulations, they still end up dead - killed by looters who are trying to steal their food.

Jimmy's dissapearance means that Ruth is the closest thing to a main protagonist. She has no goals other than to survive. It is through her trying to live her life that we see the burned victims and

The one tiny bit of hope is the birth of Ruth's baby, Jane. The story flashes to ten years later and things have only improved a little Farming is difficult due to increase in insects and the use of old fashioned farming tools. Jane and the other children of the post-war world are illiterate. Jane gets pregnant and her baby is a stillborn mess.

There is no incidental music. The horrible sound of the howling wind, or the burning fires, help to create an atmosphere more than just shoving in some faux-dramatic orchestra. There is no need for music to bludgeon through.

Putting this in a blog called 'The House of Trivia' is somewhat troubling. The subject matter can hardly be considered trivial. All in all this is one of the more interesting depictions of a Britain in decline. I would highly recommend this, although the DVD version seems to have been coped from an old VHS release. It's not a particularly nice tale, but it is a very compelling one.

9/10

Doctor Who:...???

 

Since Peal Mackie's casting announcement there's been little to no news on production of Series 10 of Doctor Who. Today we got a lot of new information at once. The headline being that Matt Lucas will be reprising the role of Nardole from The Husbands of River Song and this time he will be a regular character.

With his departure iminent, has Steven Moffat gone a little bit madder? Of all the new characters to appear in the modern series, I can't pretend that Nardole was one I particularly wanted to come back. I like Matt Lucas but the character he played didn't really stand out as anything special. I suppose that could be the point. Perhaps Moffat felt that Matt Lucas had been underused and decided to give him a better developed role. Who knows.  It's hard to say how Nardole will change now he is a regular character. Will he simply be a comic relief character like Strax? Or whether he will be a more layered individual? Time will tell.

The more exciting news is that some of the writers and directors have been announced. Apart from Steven Moffat, the other returning writers are Frank Cottrell Boyce and Sarah Dollard. While In the Forest of the Night had its faults I'm willing to see if Frank has done better this time around. Sarah Dollard's return is certainly a welcome one. Face the Raven was a highlight in the last series, so I'm quite interested in what new ideas she'll bring with her.

We also have a new writer in the form of Mike Bartlett who wrote the well recieved BBC drama, Doctor Foster. That's a pretty good creditfor a writer and I'm excited to see what this new writer does.

While I can't say I'm particularly happy or unhappy for Nardole's return, the writer news is exciting enough and hopefully Series ten will be good. Filming is supposed to begin next week so let's see.

Doctor Who: 20 years since the TV Movie

Twenty years ago, on this date, Doctor Who returned briefly to television screens in the UK. It was on this date, while spending my bank holiday in a rented cottage in Devon, that I personally became aware of the show. Its creators hoped that the movie would succeed as a backdoor pilot to relaunch the show. Sadly they did not reach the required ratings for this to be the case.

The failure of this pilot could perhaps be attributed somewhat to do with a continuity-heavy beginning
 with the Master being put on trial by the Daleks on Skaro and exterminated. We then move to the Tardis itself with the Doctor, still played by Sylvester McCoy, already established. It's a bit of a baffling beginning. After the Master's remains break free and attack the Tardis, the ship crash lands in San Fransisco, 1999, where Chang Lee is witness to the Doctor's death. These city sequences feel like they should have been the beginning.

Sylvester McCoy's presence is not a bad thing, but he is in it far too much for someone who is going to disappear. Still, it was great to see this brilliant Doctor for one last time. Even if he is a more passive figure, sitting down, reading books and drinking tea rather than the energetic, spoon playing trickster of the tv show. In his tweed he is now the American idea of an Englishman, very much like Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Although the plot is heavy, scriptwriter Matthew Jacobs makes it easy to understand by threading a theme of death and rebirth throughout the piece. Two Time Lords, like two angels descending on San Franscisco. Both are reborn. The Master wants to kill and the Doctor brings Grace and Chang Lee back which might seem corny but works in this story alone.

Paul McGann was a great casting choice for the new Doctor. He shows exuberance in all of the important scenes. Just as McCoy's Doctor played the quintessential Englishman in tweed, McGann is playing the effete Victorian gentlemen. In a way this lumbers him. He is often shown  a position of bewilderment or weakness, running away and being chained up. He is at his best when he is riding motorbikes, pocketing Professor Wagg's key and and running through the ITAR building. If the show had gone to series they would have had to toughen him up. Night of the Doctor would show how much of a swashbuckling adventurer he could have been.

Daphne Ashbrook was likable enough as Grace Holloway. The character is closer to the Liz Shaw or Barbara Wright style of professional companion who is an older woman with her own hopes and ambitions At points she is winy but I would have no objection to her being in a whole series.

Eric Roberts was adequate as the dying cadaver Master. The character has always been pretty camp so having him camp here does not make any difference. Dressing him up like the Terminator felt odd but he is delightful.

Yee Jee Tso is also good as Chang Lee. It's difficult to know whether he would have been a companion or an earthbound aid like Mickey or Danny. Still, he's a pretty different character for the show.

The rest of the cast are mostly background characters with little in the way of defining character traits although Professor Wagg is particularly memorable for being eccentric, as is Pete, the hospital attendant.

The music in this show is fairly conventional. The orchestral version of the theme is decent if not as striking as the more electronic, ethereal versions.

Visually this film is far more gorgeous than most Doctor Who stories. The Vancouver setting brings in a feeling of X-Files but the gothic look of the Tardis works against this.

The TV Movie was a failure, but by bringing Doctor Who back in the public spotlight, if only briefly, led me to become a fan. So for that, I am grateful. And at least we can enjoy the Eighth Doctor through Comic strip, the BBC Books and through the Big Finish Audios.