Class (TV series)
Class was an eight-episode 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 2
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.[2]
Television stories
Series 1 - 2016
- Main article: Series 1 (Class)
Genesis
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."[3]
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."[4]
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.[5]
It was rumoured that the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas special would be a Class crossover, but this rumour turned out to be false.[6]
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. [7] [8]
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."[9]
Novels
Three books set during series 1 were released 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
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://twitter.com/bbcamerica/status/760575939642294272
- ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-06-13/doctor-who-spin-off-class-will-have-an-lgbt-lead-character
- ↑ https://twitter.com/class_updates/status/758269922023731201
- ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-07-29/doctor-who-spin-off-class-started-with-a-rejected-who-episode#
- ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-11-06/patrick-ness-has-written-a-gross-and-evil-and-disgusting-scene-for-doctor-who-spin-off-class
- ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-09-01/could-the-doctor-who-christmas-special-be-a-class-crossover
- ↑ http://www.ibtimes.com/class-canceled-or-renewed-patrick-ness-exits-doctor-who-spinoff-2547603
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871256325166071808
- ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-09-07/doctor-who-spin-off-class-cancelled/
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