Popular sci-fi series Doctor Who welcomes us to Class – a brand new eight-part spin-off in the New Year. Favorable comparisons have already been made with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its high school setting; together with its young cast that take the lead in this ensemble show. So what’s it all about?
Coal Hill Academy has been an important focus of Doctor Who ever since its early days in 1963. Here, a rift in space-time is attracting all sorts of aliens and monsters to terrorize the school’s students. As one of the clued-up kids points out in the premiere ‘it’s like the Hellmouth’ – a playful reference to Buffy’s Sunnydale setting.
We are rapidly introduced to the principal characters in a flurry of names and backgrounds – teacher Miss Quinn and students Charlie, Ram, April and Tanya – a motley crew that bands together through adversity. The writers have done the characters proud; each having a strong back-story that informs their actions and choices. The episodes and monsters are well realized and the series quickly gains a solid footing. The season as a whole is grounded brilliantly with a strong streak of realism and prosaic teen troubles serving as a foil to the fantasy elements. It’s this sense of otherworldly horror happening in the everyday that makes this such a compelling drama.
By the finale, the series has a unique identity of its very own. In decades to come people might look at the latest high school horror series and say it sounds similar to Class!
Class will be making its way across the pond onto American screens sometime in April next year so keep your eyes peeled for this unmissable drama.
Written by Greg Coltman