Class/Dr. Who Flashcards
What is ‘Class’?
A spin-off series from Dr. Who and was shown on BBC3 in 2016.
What is the basic premise of ‘Class’?
Five of the students and staff at Coal Hill Academy who are tasked by the Doctor to deal with alien threats while trying to deal with their personal lives.
What is special about the setting of ‘Class’?
It is the same school featured in Episode 1: An Unearthly Child.
How does Doctor Who relate to series one of ‘Class’?
The last survivors of an alien war are hiding on Earth after being rescued by the Doctor, who appoints Miss Quill and pupils as protectors of the school, noting that it has become a beacon throughout space-time.
What happens in Episode 4 of Class?
In a previous episode, April is left sharing a heart with the Shadow Kin king, Corakinus after a short fight. This episode focuses on them after the event.
Who is Class aimed at?
A young adult audience.
What types of content does Class feature?
- Sexual content
- Violence
- Language above the level allowed on the parent series.
What type of narrative structure does Class have?
Each episode and the series is built using a multi-strand narrative - there are a range of plots building across each episode, with key episodes focusing on key narratives (e.g. Ep.4)
Charlie Smith (main characters)
- Alien posing as a human student
- Gay prince of the Rhodians
- The last of his species.
Ram Singh (main characters)
- Tough, antisocial student
- Gifted football player.
- Lost his leg in a fight with Corakinus on S1 Ep1. Key episode Ep2.
April MacLean (main characters)
- Ordinary, unremarkable student
- Life is forever changed when she encounters the king of the Shadow Kin, Corakinus.
- Shares a heart with him in Ep1 [which is key to understanding Ep4].
Andrea Quill (main characters)
- Real name Andra’ath
- Physics teacher at Coal Hill Academy
- Secretly an alien
- Last of her species, the Quill, long-time war enemies of the Rhodians.
Tanya Adeola (main characters)
- Child prodigy of Nigerian origin
- Moved up three years due to her cleverness.
- Key episode Ep3
Corakinus (main characters)
- Evil king of the Shadow Kin.
- Shares a heart with April.
- Travels through time/space tear at Coal Hill.
Codes and Conventions of Teen Sci-fi in Class
- Dull lighting depicts danger
- Props: Weapons / aliens / special effects; use of technology (e.g. mobile phones)
- Teen characters – ‘the good guys’
- Setting: School and Urban
- Costumes: hoodies, jeans, trainers, T-Shirts.
