On Saturday October 22, 2016 Class, a Doctor Who spinoff, premiered in the UK and Canada. Written by Patrick Ness and set in Coal Hill School (revamped as Coal Hill Academy for Class) this is a Young Adult series that has tangential links to the Doctor Who universe.  With so little actual Doctor Who right now Class is filling a huge gap in programming and is bound to be watched by so many fans looking for anything Who related.  Andrew can attest to my excitement – there was much clapping, some jumping up and down, and general squee.

To me the show felt somewhere in between Doctor Who and Torchwood.  It had adult themes, gore (a lot of gore at points), and sexuality all built into the first two episodes.  Though set tangentially in the DW universe Class has a distinct feel and vibe that is completely different than DW.  It feels more raw and like it has a completely different set of rules than the traditional Doctor Who episode.

For me the highlights of the first two episodes were the witty one liners and abundance of snark combined with a diverse set of characters.  Two of the lead actors are PoC and within the first episode we get an example of a queer relationship and see a person with a physical disability on screen.  I only hope that this representation continues in a meaningful way and that the characters are well developed beyond standard tropes.