Changes: Class (TV series)

Revision as of 12:41, 25 April 2022

Class was a multi-media spin-off series of Doctor Who, co-produced by BBC Wales and BBC America^[1] for digital television station BBC Three and BBC America^[1]. It was announced on 1 October 2015. Class was aimed specifically at a young adult audience and contained sexual content, violence and language above the level allowed on the parent series. Class was the first BBC-produced Doctor Who spin-off series since The Sarah Jane Adventures ended in 2011.

Created by Patrick Ness, who was also the sole writer, Class took place in Coal Hill Academy,^[2] (formerly Coal Hill School) which first appeared in Doctor Who's very first episode as the school Susan attended in 1963. Coal Hill had also been a recurring location during series 8 and series 9, as the school where Clara Oswald and Danny Pink both worked as teachers and the Twelfth Doctor briefly worked as a caretaker whilst under "deep cover".

Class was first released on BBC Three's streaming service on 22 October 2016, with a BBC One broadcast following in January 2017. In Canada, the spin-off aired on the Space channel.^[3] Australia aired it on ABC2.^[4]

Class is in many aspects similar to its sister spin-off series Torchwood as well as series 5 of its mother series Doctor Who, in which "the boundaries of space-time have been stretched to breaking point, allowing all manner of creatures through." However, Ness pointed out that "We're not telling stories of the 'chosen ones'." and that "It's happenstance that puts these people [at the centre of things]. What if your timing is just weird and things happen to you? How do you deal with it? I'm interested in real consequences. The Doctor is always exciting, but he never [stays]. He goes off on the next adventure. What happens to real people?"^[5]

Cast

Main cast

Secondary cast

On 13 June 2016, a bit earlier than scheduled, Ness revealed the lead would be a gay character who has a boyfriend, whom he kisses, sleeps with and loves. Ness told that given the recent Orlando shootings, riots caused by homophobia, over the weekend, it seemed less important to keep that a secret.^[6]

Television stories

Series 1 - 2016

Main article: Series 1 (Class)

Series 2 - Cancelled

Main article: Series 2 (Class)

Genesis

Class originated from discussions between Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin about potential spinoffs. Minchin expressed his interest in discussing the idea that they had in mind with Ness. According to Steven Moffat, when interviewed by DigitalSpy, "he came in. And completely changed the idea, really. To, in my view, a much better one." ^[7]

Ness, however, related to Radio Times, on 29 July 2016, that the idea for Class had started from the rejection of a Doctor Who episode; "At first they asked me to write an episode of Doctor Who, and I said it's a brilliant show, but I've just spent so much time doing work for other people, and I really want to do something of my own. And they said, well we have this idea for setting a spin-off in a school. And it was like, 'ding'! It's been fantastic, I've got six weeks of filming to go. The cast are great, and it's been a fantastic experience. I can't wait for you to see it. Fingers crossed! It's going well."^[8]

In an interview for Doctor Who Magazine #502, Steven Moffat told: "My boys are both teenagers, of course, so I'm quite excited to see what they'll make of Class, which has a lot of great stuff for that age group. Well, for every age group, but thanks to Patrick Ness, it captures that teenage world with great poignancy and wit."^[9]

Rumours

On Twitter, Ness jokingly confirmed that Class would feature the return of Quatermass, an all-nude episode, OMD, Toyah, a dream episode, and otters.^[10]

It was rumoured that the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas special would be a Class crossover, but this rumour turned out to be false.^[11]

Due to misinterpretation of Fady Elsayed's CV, some fans also believed that he would be making a cameo appearance in Series 10. This turned out to be false, and his CV was actually referencing a cut appearance in The Bells of Saint John.

Cancellation

On 4 June 2017, Patrick Ness announced that the future of the series was uncertain, and that even if it were to be renewed he would not be taking part. ^[12] ^[13]

On 7 September 2017, Radio Times spoke to BBC3 controller Damian Kavanagh about a future return of Class, in which Kavanagh said: "No, no. There was nothing wrong with it, I thought Patrick [Ness] did a great job, he explored an amazing world. In honesty it didn’t really land for us on BBC3; some shows don't and I have to make decisions about what we’re going to do from a drama point of view, and what we did after Class was Clique which worked really well for us."^[14]

Novels

Three books set during series 1 were released in the UK on 27 October 2016. :

Joyride by Guy Adams
The Stone House by A.K. Benedict
What She Does Next Will Astound You by James Goss

In the US, they were instead released as follows: 7 March 2017 (The Stone House), 3 October 2017 (Joyride) and 6 March 2018 (What She Does Next Will Astound You).

Audios

In 2018, it was announced that Big Finish would be releasing two volumes of audio stories starring the cast of Class. These first two volumes were released 21 August 2018. A further two volumes were announced in 2019. They were then released 28 April 2020.

All twelve of the audios were set during series 1:

Class: The Audio Adventures
- Gifted by Roy Gill
- Life Experience by Jenny T Colgan
- Tell Me You Love Me by Scott Handcock
- Everybody Loves Reagan by Tim Foley
- Now You Know... by Tim Leng
- In Remembrance by Guy Adams
- The Soers' Ditch by Carl Rowens
- Catfish by Kate Thorman
- Sweet Nothings by Michael Dennis
- Mock by Alfie Shaw
- The Creeper by Lizzie Hopley
- Queen of Rhodia by Blair Mowat

External links

Footnotes

[BBCA-1] 1.0 ^1.1 https://twitter.com/bbcamerica/status/760575939642294272

[2] The Doctor Who Team (1 October 2015). Doctor Who Spin Off: Class. BBC Doctor Who. Retrieved on 5 October 2015.

[3] ttp://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/doctor-who-spin-off-class-finds-a-canadian-broadcaster

[4] Prepare yourselves, Class is coming to ABC2 and iview. ABC Media Room (26 September 2016).

[5] ttp://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-08-24/the-premise-for-doctor-who-spin-off-class-is-basically-torchwood

[6] ttp://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-06-13/doctor-who-spin-off-class-will-have-an-lgbt-lead-character

[7] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6nP_K8bFK0

[8] ttp://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-07-29/doctor-who-spin-off-class-started-with-a-rejected-who-episode#

[9] ttps://twitter.com/class_updates/status/758269922023731201

[10] ttp://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-11-06/patrick-ness-has-written-a-gross-and-evil-and-disgusting-scene-for-doctor-who-spin-off-class

[11] ttp://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-09-01/could-the-doctor-who-christmas-special-be-a-class-crossover

[12] ttp://www.ibtimes.com/class-canceled-or-renewed-patrick-ness-exits-doctor-who-spinoff-2547603

[13] ttps://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871256325166071808

[14] ttp://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-09-07/doctor-who-spin-off-class-cancelled/

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@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |aka          =
 |publisher    = BBC Three
-|type         = TV series
+|type         = TV series, prose, and audio.
 |release date = [[22 October (releases)|22 October]] - [[3 December (releases)|3 December]] [[2016 (releases)|2016]]
 |trailer      = Class Trailer (Official)
 |trailer2     = Official Trailer Class Series Premiere @ 10 10pm ET on BBC America
+|clip         = The Doctor Leaves the Humans in Charge For Tonight We Might Die Class
+|clip2        = April Becomes the New Shadow King Brave-Ish Heart Class
+|clip3        = Charlie Makes the Ultimate Sacrifice The Lost Class
 |bts          = Patrick Ness Introduces Class
 |bts2         = Meeting The Class Cast - Doctor Who The Fan Show
+}}{{Big toc}}
-|bts3         = Behind the Scenes on 'Class' - FINAL DAY OF SERIES 1!
+'''''Class''''' was a multi-media [[Doctor Who spin-offs|spin-off]] series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', co-produced by [[BBC Wales]] and [[BBC America]]<ref name="BBCA" >https://twitter.com/bbcamerica/status/760575939642294272</ref> for digital television station [[BBC Three]] and BBC America<ref name="BBCA" />. It was announced on [[1 October (production)|1 October]] [[2015 (production)|2015]]. ''Class'' was aimed specifically at a young adult audience and contained sexual content, violence and language above the level allowed on the parent series. ''Class'' was the first [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]]-produced ''Doctor Who'' spin-off series since ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' ended in [[2011 (releases)|2011]].
-}}
-{{Big toc}}
-'''''Class''''' was an eight-episode spin-off series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', co-produced by [[BBC Wales]] and [[BBC America]]<ref name="BBCA" >https://twitter.com/bbcamerica/status/760575939642294272</ref> for digital television station [[BBC Three]] and BBC America<ref name="BBCA" />. It was announced on [[1 October (production)|1 October]] [[2015 (production)|2015]]. ''Class'' was aimed specifically at a young adult audience and contained sexual content, violence and language above the level allowed on the parent series. ''Class'' was the first [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]]-produced ''Doctor Who'' spin-off series since ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' ended in [[2011 (releases)|2011]].
-Created by [[Patrick Ness]], who was also the sole writer, ''Class'' took place in [[Coal Hill School]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/953c5b1f-3cc8-4db9-8184-f1b6567260f1|title=Doctor Who Spin Off: Class|author=The Doctor Who Team|date of source=1 October 2015|website name=BBC Doctor Who|accessdate=5 October 2015}}</ref> which first appeared in [[An Unearthly Child (episode)|''Doctor Who''{{'}}s very first episode]] as the school [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] attended in [[1963]]. The school was also a recurring location during [[Series 8 (Doctor Who)|series 8]] and [[Series 9 (Doctor Who)|series 9]], as the school where [[Clara Oswald]] and [[Danny Pink]] both worked as teachers and the [[Twelfth Doctor]] briefly [[The Caretaker (TV story)|worked as a caretaker]] whilst under "deep cover".
+Created by [[Patrick Ness]], who was also the sole writer, ''Class'' took place in [[Coal Hill School|Coal Hill Academy]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/953c5b1f-3cc8-4db9-8184-f1b6567260f1|title=Doctor Who Spin Off: Class|author=The Doctor Who Team|date of source=1 October 2015|website name=BBC Doctor Who|accessdate=5 October 2015}}</ref> (formerly Coal Hill School) which first appeared in [[An Unearthly Child (episode)|''Doctor Who''{{'}}s very first episode]] as the school [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] attended in [[1963]]. Coal Hill had also been a recurring location during [[Series 8 (Doctor Who)|series 8]] and [[Series 9 (Doctor Who)|series 9]], as the school where [[Clara Oswald]] and [[Danny Pink]] both worked as teachers and the [[Twelfth Doctor]] briefly [[The Caretaker (TV story)|worked as a caretaker]] whilst under "deep cover".
 ''Class'' was first released on BBC Three's streaming service on [[22 October (releases)|22 October]] [[2016 (releases)|2016]], with a [[BBC One]] broadcast following in January 2017. In [[Canada]], the spin-off aired on the [[Space (TV channel)|''Space'' channel]].<ref>http://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/doctor-who-spin-off-class-finds-a-canadian-broadcaster</ref> [[Australia]] aired it on [[ABC2]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tv.press.abc.net.au/prepare-yourselves-class-is-coming-to-abc2-and-iview|title=Prepare yourselves, Class is coming to ABC2 and iview|date of source=26 September 2016|website name=ABC Media Room}}</ref>
 ''Class'' is in many aspects similar to its sister spin-off series ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' as well as [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|series 5]] of its mother series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', in which "the boundaries of space-time have been stretched to breaking point, allowing all manner of creatures through." However, Ness pointed out that "We're not telling stories of the 'chosen ones'." and that "It's happenstance that puts these people [at the centre of things]. What if your timing is just weird and things happen to you? How do you deal with it? I'm interested in real consequences. The Doctor is always exciting, but he never [stays]. He goes off on the next adventure. What happens to real people?"<ref>http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-08-24/the-premise-for-doctor-who-spin-off-class-is-basically-torchwood</ref>
-== Synopsis ==
-What if [[Rhodia|your planet]] was massacred and you and your worst enemy were the sole survivors? What if [[Twelfth Doctor|a legendary figure]] out of space and time found you a place to hide? But what if the things that want to kill you have tracked you down? And worst of all, what if you haven't studied for your [[A-levels]]...? Because [[Coal Hill School]] has been a part of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' since the beginning. But that's come at a price... Like all [[sixth form]]ers, our heroes navigate a life of friends, parents, [[school]], [[sex]], sorrow – and possibly the end of existence. Something waits for us there, just on the other side of sight, for its chance to kill everything, to bring us all into [[Shadow Kin|Shadow]]...
 == Cast ==
 === Main cast ===
 * [[Charlie Smith]] - [[Greg Austin]]
-* [[April MacLean|April Lean]] - [[Sophie Hopkins|Sophie Honkina]]
+* [[April MacLean]] - [[Sophie Hopkins]]
-* [[Ram Singh|Ram "smelly"  Singh]] - [[Fady Elsayed]]
+* [[Ram Singh]] - [[Fady Elsayed]]
-* [[Tanya Adeola]] - [[Vivian Oparah|Vivi Opara]]
+* [[Tanya Adeola]] - [[Vivian Oparah]]
 * [[Matteusz Andrzejewski]] - [[Jordan Renzo]]
 * [[Andrea Quill|Miss Quill]] - [[Katherine Kelly]]
@@ Line 37: / Line 35: @@
 * [[Corakinus]] - [[Paul Marc Davies]]
 * The [[Twelfth Doctor]] - [[Peter Capaldi]]
+* [[Frank Armitage|Mr Armitage]] - [[Nigel Betts]]
 * [[Vivian Adeola]] - [[Natasha Gordon]]
 * [[Varun Singh]] - [[Aaron Neil]]
@@ Line 48: / Line 47: @@
 === Series 1 - 2016 ===
 {{main|Series 1 (Class)}}
+=== Series 2 - Cancelled ===
+{{main|Series 2 (Class)}}
 == Genesis ==
+Class originated from discussions between [[Steven Moffat]] and [[Brian Minchin]] about potential spinoffs. Minchin expressed his interest in discussing the idea that they had in mind with Ness. According to Steven Moffat, when interviewed by DigitalSpy, "he came in. And completely changed the idea, really. To, in my view, a much better one." <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6nP_K8bFK0</ref>
-In an interview for [[DWM 502|''Doctor Who Magazine'' #502]], [[Steven Moffat]] told: "My boys are both teenagers, of course, so I'm quite excited to see what they'll make of ''Class'', which has a lot of great stuff for that age group. Well, for every age group, but thanks to Patrick Ness, it captures that teenage world with great poignancy and wit."<ref>https://twitter.com/class_updates/status/758269922023731201</ref>
+Ness, however, related to Radio Times, on 29 July 2016, that the idea for Class had started from the rejection of a ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode; "At first they asked me to write an episode of ''Doctor Who'', and I said it's a brilliant show, but I've just spent so much time doing work for other people, and I really want to do something of my own. And they said, well we have this idea for setting a spin-off in a school. And it was like, 'ding'! It's been fantastic, I've got six weeks of filming to go. The cast are great, and it's been a fantastic experience. I can't wait for you to see it. Fingers crossed! It's going well."<ref>http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-07-29/doctor-who-spin-off-class-started-with-a-rejected-who-episode#</ref>
+In an interview for [[DWM 502|''Doctor Who Magazine'' #502]], Steven Moffat told: "My boys are both teenagers, of course, so I'm quite excited to see what they'll make of ''Class'', which has a lot of great stuff for that age group. Well, for every age group, but thanks to Patrick Ness, it captures that teenage world with great poignancy and wit."<ref>https://twitter.com/class_updates/status/758269922023731201</ref>
-Patrick Ness revealed to Radio Times, on 29 July 2016, that the idea for Class started up with the rejection of a ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode; "At first they asked me to write an episode of ''Doctor Who'', and I said it's a brilliant show, but I've just spent so much time doing work for other people, and I really want to do something of my own. And they said, well we have this idea for setting a spin-off in a school. And it was like, 'ding'! It's been fantastic, I've got six weeks of filming to go. The cast are great, and it's been a fantastic experience. I can't wait for you to see it. Fingers crossed! It's going well."<ref>http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-07-29/doctor-who-spin-off-class-started-with-a-rejected-who-episode#</ref>
 == Rumours ==
@@ Line 58: / Line 62: @@
 It was rumoured that the [[Series 10 (Doctor Who)|2016 ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special]] would be a ''Class'' crossover, but this rumour turned out to be false.<ref>http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-09-01/could-the-doctor-who-christmas-special-be-a-class-crossover</ref>
+Due to misinterpretation of Fady Elsayed's CV, some fans also believed that he would be making a cameo appearance in Series 10. This turned out to be false, and his CV was actually referencing a cut appearance in ''[[The Bells of Saint John (TV story)|The Bells of Saint John]]''.
 == Cancellation ==
@@ Line 65: / Line 71: @@
 == Novels ==
-Three books set during [[series 1 (Class)|series 1]] were released on [[27 October (releases)|27 October]] [[2016 (releases)|2016]]:
+Three books set during [[series 1 (Class)|series 1]] were released in the UK on [[27 October (releases)|27 October]] [[2016 (releases)|2016]]. :
 * ''[[Joyride (novel)|Joyride]]'' by [[Guy Adams (writer)|Guy Adams]]
 * ''[[The Stone House (novel)|The Stone House]]'' by [[A.K. Benedict]]
 * ''[[What She Does Next Will Astound You (novel)|What She Does Next Will Astound You]]'' by [[James Goss]]
+In the US, they were instead released as follows: [[7 March (releases)|7 March]] [[2017 (releases)|2017]] (''The Stone House''), [[3 October (releases)|3 October]] [[2017 (releases)|2017]] (''Joyride'') and [[6 March (releases)|6 March]] [[2018 (releases)|2018]] (''What She Does Next Will Astound You'').
 == Audios ==
-In 2018, it was announced that [[Big Finish]] would be releasing a series of audio stories starring the cast of ''Class''. The audios would be set during series 1:
+In 2018, it was announced that [[Big Finish]] would be releasing two volumes of audio stories starring the cast of ''Class''. These first two volumes were released [[21 August (releases)|21 August ]][[2018 (releases)|2018]]. A further two volumes were announced in 2019. They were then released [[28 April (releases)|28 April]] [[2020 (releases)|2020]].
+All twelve of the audios were set during series 1:
-* ''[[Class: The Audio Adventures]]''.
+* ''[[Class: The Audio Adventures]]''
 ** ''[[Gifted (audio story)|Gifted]]'' by [[Roy Gill]]
 ** ''[[Life Experience (audio story)|Life Experience]]'' by [[Jenny T Colgan]]
@@ Line 81: / Line 90: @@
 ** ''[[Now You Know... (audio story)|Now You Know...]]'' by [[Tim Leng]]
 ** ''[[In Remembrance (audio story)|In Remembrance]]'' by [[Guy Adams (writer)|Guy Adams]]
-In 2019, it was announced that Big Finish were releasing a new set of audio stories in the ongoing series starring the same cast but with two significant changes; [[Dervla Kirwan]] as [[Andrea Quill|Miss Quill]] and [[Joanna McGibbon]] as [[Tanya Adeola]]. These audios would also be set during series 1.<ref>https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-11-27/doctor-who-class-big-finish-recast/</ref>
 ** ''[[The Soers' Ditch (audio story)|The Soers' Ditch]]'' by [[Carl Rowens]]
 ** ''[[Catfish (audio story)|Catfish]]'' by [[Kate Thorman]]
@@ Line 89: / Line 95: @@
 ** ''[[Mock (audio story)|Mock]]'' by [[Alfie Shaw]]
 ** ''[[The Creeper (audio story)|The Creeper]]'' by [[Lizzie Hopley]]
-** ''[[The Queen of Rhodia (audio story)|The Queen of Rhodia]]'' by [[Blair Mowat]]
+** ''[[Queen of Rhodia (audio story)|Queen of Rhodia]]'' by [[Blair Mowat]]
 == External links ==
@@ Line 99: / Line 105: @@
 {{ClassTV}}
+{{Spin-offs}}
+[[de:Class]]
 [[Category:Class (TV series)| ]]
 [[Category:Television overviews]]
-[[Category:Doctor Who spin-offs]]
-[[de:Class]]

Tardis