TV: Class - notes from the lessons

Our second television Close-Study Product is Doctor Who spin-off Class from 2016.

Remember, TV is an in-depth study which means we need to analyse the products in terms of media language, industries, audience and representation. Television will be examined in Paper 2 with a short clip to analyse - either from Class or from Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child. You can find the Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child notes here and the Doctor Who case study blog tasks here.

For Class, the notes are below and you'll find the case study blog tasks for on this separate blogpost here.

Notes from the lessons

Television CSPs - what we need to study

Episode 1 of Dr Who: An Unearthly Child, 1955
Episode 4 of Class: Co-owner of a Lonely Heart

Media Language: how the television shows communicate their message through mise-en-scene and narrative.
Industry: how the shows are produced and marketed; BBC funding and regulation.
Representation: How certain groups and individuals and ideas / issues are represented in the shows.
Audience: Target audience and audience pleasures.
PLUS: Historical, cultural and social significance of the television shows.

Language

Key terminology for studying Class:

• Brand Identity: how a business presents itself and wants to be perceived by the consumer.
• Spin Off: a by-product of another, main product (e.g. this is from the Doctor Who universe).
• Ethos: characteristics of a product based on the attitudes it shows.
• Hybridity: Two genres or media types combined e.g. Stranger Things is a science fiction / horror television drama. 
• Intertextuality: When one media text references another media text (e.g The Doctor appears in Class)
• Multi-strand: when a narrative is made up of lots of different storylines

Reminder - TV drama conventions: 

• Dramatic narrative, usually linear (with continuity across episodes.) This is called narrative arc e.g 13 Reasons Why and The Killing where the mystery spans the series.
• Ensemble cast (characters with own storylines). Sometimes an episode will focus more on one character e.g. in LOST.
• Specific technical codes e.g. realistic lighting and editing for social dramas to keep it gritty.
• Use of stereotypical characters to get messages across quickly.
• Narrative formula that is always followed e.g. Casualty (3 Strand); Homeland (multi-strand narrative).
• Common use of flashback, point of view shots, dialogue and voice over, enigma and action codes throughout. 

Reminder - Science Fiction conventions (NCIS):

Narrative

• Alien invasion
• Scientific advancement
• Artificial intelligence
• Time travel  
• Mutation
• Post-apocalyptic struggles to survive
• Chemical poisoning
• Advanced technology
• Experimentation
• Disease / Contamination
• Space travel 

Characters

• Doubles / Doppelgangers / Clones
• Aliens who look like humans
• Aliens who look different 
• New species
• Scientists 
• People with advanced / superior intelligence
• Robots and advanced AI e.g. computers who can think

Iconography

• Futuristic hair and clothing
• Military uniforms
• Spaceships
• Space suits and helmets
• Futuristic weapons (light sabers / laser guns)
• Laboratories and experimental props
• Prosthetics / make-up
• Colours- blue, silver, grey, green 
• Time machines / advanced computers/gadgets

Settings

• Futuristic worlds
• Parallel universes / alternate dimensions
• Different time periods
• Space or other planets
• Dystopian or post-apocalyptic environments
• Laboratories
• Contaminated or toxic environments

Class: An introduction

Class is a spin-off series from Doctor Who and was shown on BBC3 and iPlayer in 2016.

The story focuses on five of the students and staff at Coal Hill Academy (which is the same school featured in Episode 1: An Unearthly Child - an example of intertextuality) who are tasked by the Doctor to deal with alien threats while trying to deal with their personal lives. 

Class is aimed specifically at a young adult audience and contains sexual content, violence and language above the level allowed on the parent series.

The premise of series one is that some characters are the last survivors of an alien war (with the Shadow Kin) and are hiding on Earth after being rescued by the Doctor.  The Doctor appoints Miss Quill and the pupils as protectors of the school, noting that it has become a beacon throughout space-time. Until that moment a normal student, April is left sharing a heart with the Shadow Kin king, Corakinus, after a short fight in the first episode.

The narrative structure in each episode and across the series is built using a multi-strand narrative which means that there are a range of plots building across each episode and  narrative arcs which span the whole series. 

 

Characters

Charlie Smith, an alien posing as a human student. He is the gay prince of the Rhodians, and the last of his species.

Ram Singh, a tough, antisocial student and gifted football player.  Lost his leg in a fight with Corakinus on S1 Ep1.  Key episode Ep2.

April MacLean, an ordinary, unremarkable student whose life is forever changed when she encounters the king of the Shadow Kin, Corakinus.  She shares a heart with him in Ep1 [which is key to understanding Ep4].

Andrea Quill, real name Andra'ath, the physics teacher at Coal Hill Academy. Like Charlie, she is secretly an alien and the last of her species, the Quill, long-time war enemies of the Rhodians. 

Tanya Adeola, a child prodigy of Nigerian origin who moved up three years at due to her cleverness. Key episode Ep3


Corakinus, the evil king of the Shadow Kin.  Shares a heart with April.  Travels through time/space tear at Coal Hill.

Episode 1: For Tonight We Might Die


This is NOT the CSP that will come up in the exam but is useful to introduce the characters, setting and main themes of the show. You can find out details on the episode (and the rest of the series) on the BBC3 Class episodes page but unfortunately the programme is no longer on iPlayer. It is, however, on Netflix if you have a Netflix account.


Class: Co-owner of a Lonely Heart

Episode analysis

Watch episode 4 again - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart. You can watch the episode (and the rest of the series) on Netflix (link above).

Focus on your notes from class (or make your own notes) based around NCIS.

Narrative: multi-strand narrative


There are a number of narrative strands running through this episode.  They include:

• April's story
• Corakinus's story
• New Headteacher at Coal Hill Academy
• Flower petal invasion/danger

Audience

Unlike Doctor Who and more in line with Torchwood before it (which also debuted on BBC3), Class is aimed specifically at a young adult audience and contains sexual content, violence and language above the level allowed in Doctor Who.

It was broadcast initially on BBC Three (online only) to poor audience figures and later broadcast on BBC One between 10.45pm and 11.15pm slots.

When the programme was on BBC One it was aired at 11.30pm had an audience of 0.28 million, a share of 5.1% of total TV audience. Around 250,000 have accessed the episode on iPlayer 

Target audience

• Some mainstream appeal as it is linked to the ‘Whoniverse’ (Doctor Who universe) but too niche perhaps for a mass audience?
• The show tried to appeal to young adult audience by including sexual scenes, more violence and more daring representations. Why was this not effective?
• 15 certificate: ‘strong bloody violence, gory images, injury detail’
• References to popular culture (pop culture) has meant an appeal to a wider age range. 
• Demographics: A-E class as some complex plot points but also action and SFX that are easy to understand
• More diverse representation regarding gender, race and sexuality.

Fans - the 'Whoniverse' reaction

Watch this fan reaction video on Co-owner of a Lonely Heart from the Doctor Who YouTube channel:





Representations

Diversity in Class

Much has been made of the diverse casting for Class, as well as the LGBT lead which was touted by the BBC prior to Class’ release. Do you think these representations and narratives are executed well? 

RACE & CLASS: The actors are from a range of ethnic and social class backgrounds, and it seems as though more may be to come about that in future episodes, since the premiere seemed to hint at some difficulties between Ram and his father. 

SEXUALITY: The homosexual kiss that Charlie shares with his date is normalised due to his role as an alien who only follows feelings and has no preconceptions of sexuality. 

GENDER: Tanya (a member of the BAME community) and April have intelligence and an academic prowess that they’re rightfully proud of, and Ram has emotions that he’s not afraid to show or speak about.  Miss Quill is presented as an unemotional leader. These facts show that Class is trying to break barriers and subvert previous media stereotypes.

DISABILITY: April has a mother who is disabled and their relationship is explored.

AGE: The Doctor and Miss Quill are both powerful, older characters and the young characters are seen displaying maturity and making tough decisions. On the other hand, some characters (e.g. Tanya's Mum) reinforce stereotypes of the strict parent and some aspects of the main characters also reinforce teen stereotypes.

Industries

Class failed to make an impact for the BBC, with some mixed reviews and poor viewing figures. Class failed to make the BBC iPlayer Top 20 in its first seven weeks, and failed to secure over 1m viewers at any point when repeated on BBC One. This was for a number of reasons:

• iPlayer release only initially.
• BBC One late showing (after 10.30 slots).  Poor scheduling.
• The show was axed after one series.  Why was this?
• No-one – not even the BBC – seemed entirely sure who the show was for. A teen-oriented drama with adult themes, spun off from a series intended (primarily) for children, the tone of Class was confused.
• Creator Patrick Ness was baffled by the decision to air the series in double-bills, late at night, more than two months after its BBC Three debut.
• It sorely lacked a big selling point. Clearly, spinning itself off from Doctor Who was not enough to guarantee success.

Class distribution

Media distribution is a term for the way the product reaches audiences. In the case of Class it was originally distributed (shown) online only on BBC Three. It was then shown weeks later in a late night slot “the graveyard slot” on BBC One.

It was also shown on BBC America where it was slightly more popular. In America, the episodes were paired with Doctor Who episodes to create a ‘Whoinverse’ double bill.

Overall, the confused distribution model was almost certainly part of its downfall.

Class marketing and promotion


As Class was aimed at an older audience, there was a clear shift in the way it was marketed from traditional Doctor Who episodes (on a Saturday early evening slot).


Online marketing: Strong web presence.  Highly interactive.  Lots of video clips, interviews, fan art and fiction.  Trying to build brand loyalty BUT criticised for not making more of its link to Doctor Who.

Teaser trailer:



Longer trailer:

 



BBC3 focus

What is BBC Three and how does it fit into the profile of the BBC remit?

BBC Three launched as a TV channel in 2003 and its remit was to provide "innovative" programming to a target audience of viewers between 16 and 34 years old:

“The remit of BBC Three is to bring younger audiences to high quality public service broadcasting through a mixed-genre schedule of innovative UK content featuring new UK talent. The channel should use the full range of digital platforms to deliver its content and to build an interactive relationship with its audience. The channel's target audience is 16–34-year-olds.”

Until February 2016, BBC Three aired as a freeview TV channel. However,  as a result of planned £100 million budget cut across the BBC, it was proposed that BBC Three be discontinued as a television service, and be converted to online only. The BBC recognised that younger people may watch TV at different times, on different devices using different services (iPlayer, YouTube, Netflix, etc) due to the rise of streaming and on-demand services.

BBC3’s content budget was slashed from £85m to £30m, with around £10m now spent on comedy, £10m on serious factual, £3m for drama and the rest on new types of content, such as short-form YouTube videos.

Why the change? There were changes to its audience’s viewing habits. Less than 50% of the video consumed by 16-24 year olds is now via ‘live’ TV (back in 2003 it was 100%), while over 90% of them now own a smartphone and have at least one social media account.

BBC: Industry notes reminder

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is a public service organisation and the oldest national broadcaster and the biggest in terms of employees [over 20,000]. It is different from other TV broadcasters in that funding comes from us all as BBC licence fee payers whereas other channels rely on advertising and sponsorship.  The BBC has 3 key purposes: To Inform, Educate & Entertain. This means:

• To provide information (that is supposed to be balanced)
• To support learning for people of all ages
• To produce creative output
• To have diverse content (such as with its representations)
• To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world

Where does Class fit into these objectives and the BBC mission statement?


BBC regulation reminder

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has a board of governing members and is independent of government intervention.  This means that it can produce content free impartially.

Since 2017, The BBC is now regulated by OfCOM (the Office of Communications).  OfCOM oversees all media channels and produces a code of conduct that all media channels must follow or have their licence to make content removed and/or be fined heavily.  

This includes suitable programmes before the 9pm watershed and various other quality standards.

Important note: You can find the blog tasks for Class in a separate blogpost here.