It’s always important to let your spin-offs stand on their own two feet and not rely too much on the mother show, otherwise that might set a bad precedent going into the series. People might even think that they are getting the same thing again. Which is what makes this first trailer for Class, the latest Doctor Who spin-off following the occasionally decent Torchwood and the often wonderful Sarah Jane Adventures. While respectively those two shows, created by then showrunner Russell T Davies, aimed for the adult and primary school markets, this spin-off aims to be one of those teen shows filled with witty and articulate, look-older-than-they’re-playing types. Basically it’s an attempt at making the British Buffy, a title currently held by Sky One’s 2004 drama Hex.
Of course, creator Patrick Ness is perfectly aware of these conventions and the main trailer below references the Hellmouth-style of the rips in space and time which apparently occur around Coal Hill Academy, which has apparently had an upgrade since we last visited the school way back in Series 8. Those rips aren’t that different from the rift which provided all the monsters for the Torchwood team to fight in Cardiff but the younger cast should appeal to a slightly different demographic.
There is perhaps the issue that a show like this might come across as a little old fashioned but it’s exciting to have some mainstream British science fiction back on TV, even if it needs to be a Doctor Who property to get it made in the first place.
The first of 8 episodes titled “”For Tonight We Might Die”arrives online on BBC Three on 22 October 2016.
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