Class

This is a fun sci-fi series. If you enjoy Dr Who storyline's then this series references similar themes. Likeable cast and good effects. I hope they make more episodes.

Despite not having major advertisement, Class still managed to grasp my attention. Doctor Who used to be one of my favorite shows, and to see another spin off, aside from Torchwood was great.

We are introduced to our characters in a very well filmed opening tracking shot, as the camera pans on each of them. But I still can barley remember any of their names, unlike a TV show like Skins where I managed to learn all their names in the first episode. I couldn't learn them because the characters are boring, aside from two, that I found to be very interesting, these two tie heavily into the plot, and you'll know them when you see them.

But despite the boring characters, the plot of the pilot is pretty great. So great in fact, that I can remember nearly everything from it.

One last thing before the verdict, when seeing the trailer, I really didn't think it was going to be that good, I thought it was going to be a poorly acted, directed and cheap knock off of a British classic. But I was wrong, Class bring something to the table that Doctor who doesn't, a violent, well told tale about a group of regular teenagers defending their school. Sure the dialogue sounds unrealistic in some places, however Class is a fun teen drama that makes you think twice about the world of Doctor who.

My final verdict for Class is a - 7.3, as it's fun and has a brilliant narrative, however I found the characters to be a little boring and unrealistic.

The main influence of this series isn't Doctor Who but Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There is a long list of similarities, from the high-school grounds being the center of adventures, to the teen angst, and to easy parallels between the two monster-fighting gangs (prime example: the reluctant ally who would hurt the main characters if it wasn't for a brain implant). The show does well to openly acknowledge this influence (mentioning the similarity to Buffy's "Hellmouth" in the very first episode), which is actually part of a very good start: at first, the show doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, throwing in lots of jokes and pop-culture references.

This good start is later spoiled by the very wrong pacing, which makes the show run out of steam and out of ideas remarkably quickly. It's as if the creators decided to condense 22 episodes into 8. The development of the characters and of the dynamics among them skips several steps, there's hardly any bonding, team-building and character-developing episodes, since almost every single episode past episode 3 addresses the main story arc and feels like a finale. The rushed nature of the whole season is so obvious that I can't help but thinking it was for external reasons (budget cuts leading to a much shorter season than originally planned maybe?). In any case, a good opportunity has been missed in this show. It *could* recover if a second season returns to a normal pace, but there are a lot of rushed plot lines that need to be fixed for this to work.

Having watched every available Doctor Who episode from the beginning, K9 (2009), The Sarah Jane adventures and Torchwood I have seen a wide range of stories from the Doctor Who universe. This series is an odd mix from the SJA and Torchwood. It is geared to a younger audience but not too young. The blood, violence, and partial nudity seem out of place for a viewer too young. Overall the series feels like kids from SJA being thrown into Torchwood but without Captain Jack. That said, previous programs had an anchor that makes the show interesting and is a focal point. The Doctor, Captain Jack or Sarah Jane all fit that mold. This show lacks a leader or a team effort (so far). This may change since at this writing only three episodes have aired. The plots are pretty basic and the characters have a long way to go in development. However, this is true of any new show (case in point Star Trek: TNG took two seasons to hit it's stride). The brief appearance of the Doctor also felt very forced and not well written. The board on the school wall of student names was a nice touch though (freeze frame it to see several names you recognize). The show has potential but right now it is fair at best. I am hoping for better writing and character development. I even grew to like Matt Smith a little after he grew into the part of the Doctor after David Tennant left so there is hope if the production team put some effort into this.

This is a dark spinoff of Doctor Who. The students of Coal Hill Academy has to deal with strange other worlds in between class. Miss Quill is the harsh new teacher. New kid Charlie Smith is secretly a refugee, Prince of the Rhodians, from another planet. Quill is forced to be his protector. The battling races were caught unaware when their planet was conquered by the Shadow Kin. The Doctor rescued them and placed them in the school.

The chemistry with the kids is still developing. The kids are questionable as actors. The show is darker and faster pace than the Doctor Who of its time. It's pushing a bit too fast and too hard that the story gets a bit jumbled. The characters don't have the space and time to develop their relationships. Miss Quill is probably the best character. All in all, this is an interesting start but it's incomplete as a show. It needs more time. It's cancelled after an eight episode first series.