Troublemaker.

I didn't mind the ones in Series 8 too much - in fact Courtney Woods took me by surprise and I actually didn't half mind her (for her brief duration anyway). It was those kids back in Series 7 that Clara was babysitting... I mean, that Gaiman episode had a lot of problems. But they were really, truly awful. I'll never forget that young girl slamming a Cyberman with "I hate you!".

On Patrick's Twitter page, he says that they are discussing the series and we'll know more soon.

They were truly the worse, but hopefully everyone that is writing Class, knows how to write teenagers effectively. That is what the success of the show will come down too, not the alien aspect, but are the characters actually interesting and enjoyable to watch.

It has a similar setting to Buffy, so i will be so pleased if it is even a quarter as good as Buffy was.

Patrick Ness is a specialist writer for teenagers so I expect him to write his characters well.

He's had no TV experience, so that's where Moff and the Doctor Who team will have to help him

Adult themes dosen't have to be about swearing and rumpy-pumpy. Plenty of printed sci-fi, as well as cinema, deal with adult issues without anyone loosing their knickers down the back of an acceleration couch.

Saying that, Class will be aimed at kids, so older viewers probably won't see much in it, no matter if it is good or not.

I doubt it'll be aimed at kids.

I suspect that it's only audience will be Doctor Who fans in all honesty; adults, teens, kids... I can't see any of them watching it unless they're Doctor Who fans; the type of Doctor Who fans who will simply watch anything connected to the 'brand' (I'll never understand how adults can sit and enjoy the Sarah-Jane Adventures).

Talk of a second series is hugely optimistic. I think it will bomb pretty badly. Not only is the above audience not that huge but it will also partly consist of a hostile element who will watch wanting, and expecting to hate it because it is replacing Doctor Who for a year.

In terms of critical reviews: it will probably get the usual Doctor Who good will from the media (they're very loathe to seriously criticize our beloved national treasure (UK) or be uncool enough to trash the great cult phenomenon (Rest of the world) ) but nothing like the level to attract an audience or to win over the sceptical or hostile portion of fans.

Frankly, it's just a bad idea. This kind of overly calculated spin-off never works. I'm 36 years old and when I was a teen there was no such thing as 'young adult fiction'; had there been I know I would have found it a hugely patronizing label and would have avoided it like the plague. When I was young I wanted material aimed at adults; I didn't want adults talking down to me with their 'young adult fiction'. I suspect this kind of material is mostly read by arrested develoment adults who want to escape into their youth rather than develop an adult sensibility (the kind who are proud to list Harry Potter as their favourite book). I think anyone not into this kind of fiction will find little to enjoy about the show.

If this Patrick Ness has good credentials why not invite him to write for the actual show?

I agree with that, i don't expect this to be successful, too many factors against it.

Well some might say the same of DW, I would not be so kick to get on your high horse, DW has a lot more in common with Harry Potter than it does Adult books.. and as DW fan you should know that there's nothing wrong and indeed is fun to enjoy things that's not purely adult, as a well functioning adult.. because the oh so pure adult books can often lack a joyful element and fun creativity that stuff like DW and Harry Potter have..... I'm sure there's people who can put Potter as their favourite because it hit them in some way at a certain time, and that sticks (again like DW can) it doesn't mean they don't also read and enjoy adult books and should be looked down upon.... its good to have a balance and not be so serious all of the time... Your point is off...

This show has a similar setting to Buffy, which lets just say was very successful. But i don't think it'll last more than 1 season as you say.

I can't see Class having Buffy's complex adult themes, Joss Whedon's writing talent or Anthony Head though. :P

I will check it out when it comes. I haven't got great expectations for it.

I think the snipes at TSJA and "teen fiction" are wide of the mark and reveal a certain amount of intellectual snobbery. Tom, you are the one looking down your nose and sneering at those who as adults enjoy those things and Harry Potter too. Added to which you're projecting what would be your reaction (about being "talked down to") onto the intended audience. Obviously, many of them don't feel patronized. Some of these things are extremely popular and sell very well.

It's similar in a way to this: Many teenagers go through a phase of disliking or even despising childish things. Driven by the need to be social, fit in with the crowd and be seen as "cool" so as to be popular within their peer group, they affect to be cynical, worldly wise (they're not) and reject anything that smacks of childishness. It's a sign of immaturity. When they get older, many regain their appreciation for the simple, naive things, carefully crafted for children or a young audience. It doesn't mean they've become less sophisticated or less able to see the world as it is. Quite the opposite.

TSJA and teen fiction in general are not intended to be great literary classics, but they serve a need for a section of the population. Some of them will come to be seen as children's classics. There are many 19th and 20th century works for children now considered "classics".

We can't judge yet which of the current crop will be considered to be classics.

Patrick Ness is a successful and highly rated young adult writer. A lot of fans of his books will watch the show, irrespective of whether Dr Who is involved. SJA got 1 million or fewer viewers, and was considered a great success which went on for several series

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35815369

If it's going to be centered on a school, and the main characters the pupils of that school then it might be a bit creepy if it wasn't aimed at kids. The fact that the creator is a 'young adult' writer pretty much confirms it will be aimed at kids, although likely the older one's (who probably will find it childish)



That I certainly do agree with. Just seems like it will likely be too childish for your average adult doctor who fan, probably too grow up to the point of seeming dull to younger kids, and too childish for teenagers who are often into adult drama's.

I know we can't judge properly until we see it for real, but at this stage, whether a person cares about the doctor who connection or not, I just don't see who it's audience will be.

The casting for this will need to be good because it does seem like the odds are not in the show's favour and it hasn't even began filming yet, never mind aired.

I agree with the above. don't see it having an audience to speak of.

I also agree about not understanding how adults can enjoy the Sarah Jane Adventures. It was a childish show purposely made with that tone and designed to specifically appeal to kids and be on cbbc. I only ever made an effort to watch it on the two stories in which the doctor appeared, just solely to see an extra new bit of doctor footage, and even then didn't even make it to the end of the Matt Smith one.

You know you're echoing the comments of many of those who don't "get" Doctor Who itself, right?

I always liked SJA myself. I never minded that it was a children's show, I think some of the best books ever written happen to be children's books. The characters were very likeable and had interesting backstories, even if they were just a bunch of school kids, and despite being more bound to Earth than Doctor Who, I found it was a lot less stuck on trying to capture the mundane side of Earth like DW was at the time. Likewise, the sci-fi elements were a lot more interesting than what its parental show had to offer back then.

And best of all, it had Doctor Who's best ever companion as the main companion.

Not really. Some may be able to call doctor who childish, and some episodes even back up that perspective, but at the end of the day it's a prime time drama intended for all, and these elements are echoed in it's content of both dark and light, heavy and fun.

Someone who doesn't 'get' a prime time drama, is not the same as someone not 'getting' adults getting enjoyment from, and following a show that is purposely made for children and shown on childrens tv in the afternoon. Not telling people what to enjoy, or that there is anything wrong with enjoying it, just that it seems strange to me personally. I can even understand it if it's the kind of thing where they put a bit of adult humour in for the adults who have to watch with their kids, but from what little I saw of SJA it was pure kids only territory.

P.s you'll note my post was made agreeing with someone else who had said the exact same thing.

It also referenced Classic DW far more than the RTD era DW ever did as well (inc guest appearances from the Brigadier and Jo (Ace was meant to have one as well if the show carried on) ) which is probably a major reason why it appealed to adult DW fans.

I adored the Sarah Jane Adventures. All of it from start to finish and agree 100% about Sarah Jane herself. Still my favourite companion of all time. Lovely that she got to work with Matt (Death of the Doctor remains my favourite 11th Doctor story) and such a shame she didn't get to work with Peter - a Doctor very similar to her own!

I am looking forward to Class and am assuming/hoping Clara will never be in it!

It seems odd to me that someone who enjoys Doctor Who, which isn't exactly a drama in the conventional sense, it's a family drama which has to remain safe for younger viewers, would disparage TSJA as too childish. If you'd given it bit more of a chance you might appreciate it. Some of the stories are interesting from an adult's point of view.

Each to their own though.

I'm not sure what agreeing or not agreeing with another's post has to do with it?

...and that's just it really isn't it? Yes, the show was aimed at a younger audience, with Torchwood for an older one and then Doctor Who meeting in the middle. But some of the ideas the story covered were rather grown up in its time, and the show actually had a lot more serious consequences than Doctor Who has sometimes offered up. It dealt with Sarah Jane witnessing the death of her best friend, it puts her in a position where she watches her parents go off to their deaths, she loses her fiancé on the day of her wedding. The first series finale painted Sarah Jane as a child abductor, complete with news headline shots of her supposedly kidnapping someone else's son. The fourth series finale hinted very strongly at themes of dementia and alzheimer's (the show touched upon this a few times, actually) - ultimately playing the alien intervention card but being quite grown up about it along the way. It explored child adoption, absent fathers, youth homelessness, adult responsibility and had it gone on for another story or so was about to deal with the issue of teen sexuality for the first time.

Many of these ideas were admittedly framed in concepts that were accessible to a younger audience. To someone older the messages would have been obvious and with poorer scripts even rather blunt. But I always found something to enjoy about it, and I was at that middling age during my teens when I was most inclined to find things 'too childish'. It was all certainly a lot less jarring than Torchwood trying to pretend it was grown up by sticking in sex aliens and cyberwomen within its first four episodes.

SJA was definitely far more mature than Torchwood, despite the intended audiences. Torchwood was essentially a teenager's show, even if it wasn't trying to be, indulging itself in things it thought made it adult and ending up looking more like the kind of ridiculous low-budget horror movie you rent from Poundland. SJA actually dealt with grown up themes that Torchwood didn't even touch until Children of Earth.

I don't have high hopes for Class, but if it's more SJA-quality than Torchwood then it's definitely on the right track.