What happens when you cross Doctor Who with Skins and forget to carry the one
The Concept In TheorySomeone looked at Coal Hill Academy - the school that's been terrorized by Daleks, Sontarans, and questionable educational policies since 1963 - and thought: "You know what this needs? Teenagers with feelings!" Class was going to be the spinoff that finally cracked the code: Doctor Who for the YA crowd. Aliens, angst, and A-levels all in one package. What could possibly go wrong? |
The Reality Check⚠️ LASTED: One season (8 episodes)
⚠️ AIRED: 2016 ⚠️ REMEMBERED: Sporadically Class had the unfortunate timing of arriving when everyone was asking "Do we really need another Doctor Who spinoff?" and then spending eight episodes not quite answering that question convincingly. Season 1 ✓ Season 2 ✗
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How It "Expanded" the Whoniverse
Class asked the bold question: "What if we took the most frequently invaded school in television history and added relationship drama?" The answer, it turns out, was "awkwardly."
"The Doctor saves the universe with a sonic screwdriver and witty banter. These teenagers save the universe while worrying about their GCSEs and whether they'll get a second season. Spoiler: they didn't."
What It Tried To BeBuffy meets Doctor Who meets Skins with a dash of Harry Potter |
What It Actually WasTeenagers angsting between alien invasions in a way that somehow made both less interesting |
Actual Contributions to Doctor Who Lore:
- Confirmed that Coal Hill Academy is still the most dangerous school in London
- Introduced the concept that alien invasions are really inconvenient when you have homework
- Proved that not every corner of the Whoniverse needs exploring
- Demonstrated that "darker and more adult" doesn't automatically mean "better"
- Added to the rich tradition of Doctor Who spinoffs that make you appreciate the original more
The show's greatest achievement was making viewers nostalgic for the days when alien invasions at Coal Hill were just a Tuesday inconvenience for the Doctor, not a multi-episode emotional journey.
The CharactersThe Students: A diverse group of teenagers dealing with typical teen problems like homework, relationships, and interdimensional rifts in the physics classroom. Miss Quill: The alien teacher who's basically if a Sontaran had to mark essays. Andrea Riseborough doing her absolute best with material that was... challenging. The Shadow Kin: Aliens who were threatening in a "we're definitely the bad guys" sort of way, though they had to compete with algebra for the students' attention. Everyone tried very hard, which somehow made it more heartbreaking when the show vanished faster than a student's motivation during exam season. |
Should You Watch It?Class exists in that unique space of television where it's not quite good enough to recommend enthusiastically, but not quite bad enough to be entertaining in its awfulness. It's just... there. Somewhere on BBC iPlayer. Probably. Watch it if you:
Skip it if you: Have literally anything else to watch in your queue. It's the spinoff equivalent of that friend who means well but maybe shouldn't have been given their own show. |