Class: Industry and Audience

There are some important contexts we need to learn for the Industry and Audience key concepts for Class.

You can find the notes from the lessons below and then simply scroll down to find the blog tasks you need to complete.

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.

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:

 

Class: Industry and Audience blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Class: Industry and Audience blog tasks' and answer the following questions:

Industries

1) What was the objective of BBC3 when it was launched? You can find the answer in the notes above.

2) Why did BBC3 go online-only in February 2016? 

3) How does Class meet the BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain'?

4) How did the distribution of Class contribute to the failure of the show with audiences?

5) What advertising and marketing was used to try and promote Class to an audience? Why do you think this wasn't very successful?

Audience

1) What were the viewing figures for Class and why do you think it did so badly? Look at the notes above to find out the answers.

2) What audience psychographic groups might particularly enjoy Class? You can revise Pyschographics here.

3) What audience pleasures are offered by Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.

Personal Identity:

Personal Relationships:

Diversion (Escapism):

Surveillance (Information / Facts):

4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart?

5) How did fans in the 'Whoniverse' (also known as 'Whovians') react to Class? Watch the fan reaction video (and read the YouTube comments) embedded above or check the comments in the extension articles below to help with this.


Comparison: An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart

1) How are the technical conventions different between 1963 Doctor Who and 2016 Class (e.g. camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)?

2) What similarities and differences are there between An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart in terms of the science-fiction genre?

3) What similarities and differences are there between An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart in terms of how they meet the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain?

4) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows?

5) What similarities and differences can you find in terms of the audience pleasures for An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart?


Grade 8/9 extension tasks and reading

Read this Digital Spy feature on why Class was cancelled after only one series. Do you agree with its criticisms regarding scheduling, audience and character development?

This Guardian review of Class is much more positive - but the comments 'below the line' (BTL) are largely critical. Do you agree with the original review or the comments - and why?

Read this Den of Geek fan review of Co-owner of a Lonely Heart. Do you agree with the praise and criticism in it and why?

Finally, read this Indiewire feature on Class. It contains plenty of references to other films and TV shows (intertextuality) - what popular culture references can you find in this article?

Due date on Google Classroom.

Doctor Who: Industry and Audience blog tasks

The second half of our Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child case study focuses on the key concepts of Industry and Audience.

You'll find all the answers you need in the notes and clips below. You can then complete the blog tasks at the bottom of this blogpost.

Notes from the lessons

Audience

General audience notes:

• Mainstream – broad appeal as millions of people watch the BBC
• Long-running which shows it appeals to masses (12-40) and the reboot helped gain younger fans.
• 12 certificate so maybe young teens
• 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
• Gender- split down middle (although boys are more usually fans of science fiction, this has changed over time. Also introduction of romance and drama in narrative. From 1970-2010 the female audience grew by 22%.
• More diverse representation over recent years (gay characters, black central characters, strong female characters and of course the new female doctor) have all encouraged a wider audience.

Audience pleasures

We can apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory when analysing the audience pleasures offered by Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child. Remember, we must consider it from the perspective of a viewer in the 1960s who would have reacted in quite a different way to an audience in 2020. Remember, the four key categories for Uses and Gratifications theory:

INFORMATION/SURVEILLANCE: learning information that you did not already know. Doctor Who offers its audience an education about space travel, science and history.  

PERSONAL IDENTITY: personally relating to something - seeing your lifestyle on screen. Think about how different audiences may identify with Susan, her teachers or the Doctor.

DIVERSION/ENTERTAINMENT: escapism and being entertained away from your normal life. Science Fiction is a classic genre for escapism - what examples of this could be found in the episode?

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: caring about characters and wanting to find out what happens to them. This is the first episode of four - which characters do you think the audience will want to follow on their journey? 

The 3 Vs

VISCERAL PLEASURE: Physical thrill of watching something e.g hairs on the back of your neck in a horror film, sport, big explosions. 

VICARIOUS PLEASURE: Experiencing something through the characters (e.g. time/space travel). 

VOYEURISTIC PLEASURE: Watching something you wouldn't normally get a chance to see (e.g. inside TARDIS).

Industries

Importance of Doctor Who to BBC

Doctor Who is one of the most iconic franchises that the BBC has.  It has been launched all over the world through BBC Worldwide and generates huge income for the BBC.

In 2014, a BBC Worldwide Report stated Sherlock and Doctor Who as the BBC’s biggest exports of the past year. The worldwide simulcast (simultaneous transmission) of “The Day of the Doctor” in 2013 saw this episode air at the same time in 98 countries on six continents.

 

BBC: Industry notes

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

BBC regulation

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.

Audience and Industry: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Doctor Who: Audience and Industry blog tasks' and answer the following questions:

Audience

1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Has it changed since 1963?

2) What audience psychographic groups might particularly enjoy Doctor Who?

3) What audience pleasures are offered by An Unearthly Child? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.

Personal Identity:

Personal Relationships:

Diversion (Escapism):

Surveillance (Information / Facts):

4) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2020 audience?

5) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to An Unearthly Child?


Industries

1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?

2) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC? 

3) How does Doctor Who meet the BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain'?

4) How is the BBC funded?

5) Who regulates the BBC and what is the watershed?


Grade 8/9 extension tasks and reading

Read this New Statesman feature on Doctor Who as a global phenomenon. What does it suggest about Doctor Who fandom, British identity and the importance of the brand to the BBC?

Read this Guardian feature on the representations of race and ethnicity in Doctor Who over the last 55 years. How has the programme changed in its representations of race and how does this fit the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain? 

You will have some lesson time to work on this but will need to complete this for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Doctor Who: Language and Representation blog tasks

Our first television Close-Study Product is Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child from 1963.

This is an in-depth study which means we need to analyse the product in terms of media language, industries, audience and representation. In addition, this CSP will be examined in Paper 2 with a short clip to analyse. This means we need to put in extra work on this media topic to ensure we are confident analysing clips in detail.

Notes from the lessons

Reminder: Narrative theories

Todorov: equilibrium

Todorov suggested that all narratives follow a three part structure.

They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when a new equilibrium is restored.

Equilibrium > Disequilibrium > New equilibrium

This can be applied to most media narratives.


Propp: character types

Vladimir Propp stated that there were seven basic character roles when he analysed classic fairy tales and that these were present in most narratives. Media products still use these recognisable character types today:

Hero, Villain, Heroine/Princess, Father, Donor, Helper/Sidekick, False Hero

Roland Barthes: Enigma and Action Codes

Action Codes: anything that suggests something dramatic is about to happen. E.g. when the TARDIS begins to take off or when the shadow appears in the final shot of the episode. 

Enigma Codes: a narrative code that creates mystery and gives the audience questions to keep them watching e.g. who is the Doctor and where is he taking them? Will the teachers get home? What is the mysterious shadow in the final scene?

Levi-Strauss: Binary opposition

Binary opposition is a theory that all narratives are driven by conflict of a series of opposing forces. There are many examples that can be found in this Doctor Who episode e.g. good v evil; young v old; human v alien; dark v light etc.

Doctor Who: An introduction

• Listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world with over 800 episodes.
• The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS [Time And Relative Dimension In Space]. The TARDIS has a vast interior but appears smaller on the outside.
• The Doctor travels through space and time preventing evil aliens or people from harming innocent people or changing history.
• The Doctor has gained numerous reoccurring enemies during his travels, including the Daleks and the Cybermen.
• Twelve male actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation. In 2018 the BBC had their first female incarnation for the thirteenth Doctor.

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child

Social and historical context

First episode: Saturday, November 23rd,  1963 on the BBC. The plot was a narrative arc (a story over several episodes) involving the Doctor and his companions voyaging 100,000 years into Earth’s past to help some cavemen discover fire. 

William Hartnell was the first Doctor, as an anti-hero who frequently put his companions in jeopardy for his own curiosity. Daleks made an appearance in the first series, as the arch enemies of the Doctor.

Jodie Whittaker took over the role as the Thirteenth Doctor in 2018 and is the first woman to be cast as the character. 

1960s Britain

1961- First man in space

1963- American President J.F. Kennedy assassinated

1963- Martin Luther King gives his “I have a dream” speech

1964- Beatlemania takes over America

1965- The introduction of the mini skirt in a fashion show

1966- England wins the football world cup

1968- Martin Luther King assassinated

1969- First Man on the moon

1969- Concorde is flown for the first time

The ‘hippy’ sixties as they are often called, had a shift in culture. There was more freedom for young people and a breakaway from traditions.

Episode analysis: An Unearthly Child

An Unearthly Child (sometimes referred to as 100,000 BC) is the first narrative arc in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963. Scripted by the Australian writer Anthony Coburn, it introduces William Hartnell as the First Doctor and original companions; Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman, with Jacqueline Hill and William Russell as school teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton. The first episode deals with Ian and Barbara's discovery of the Doctor and his time-space ship TARDIS in a junkyard in contemporary London. 

Plot of episode 1

Schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are concerned about one of their pupils, Susan Foreman, who seems to have a very ‘alien’ outlook on England. They have come to her listed address to investigate. They arrive in a junkyard and find a police box, which proves to be no ordinary police box. When Ian and Barbara enter, they discover it to be much bigger on the inside than the outside. In the TARDIS is Susan and her grandfather, the Doctor. Fearing that Barbara and Ian will give away the secret of the TARDIS, he kidnaps them and takes the machine to the Stone Age, where they will have to fight for their lives.

The First Doctor was played as less mischievous and more cruel than later incarnations. He also seems less concerned about saving the human race. 

His companion was made his ‘granddaughter’ because it was thought inappropriate for an old man to be accompanied by a young girl if she were unrelated to him. 

Representations

Daniel Chandler's representation theory: CAGE

This is a theory about how the media constructs or represents individuals or groups of people through the media. Key markers of identity can be remembered through the acronym CAGE:

C- Class
A- Age
G- Gender
E- Ethnicity

Characters and representation in An Unearthly Child

Susan Foreman
Susan Foreman is the first of a long-standing tradition of Doctor Who companions.  It was felt improper in 1963 for an older man, such as the Doctor, to be travelling through space with a young 15 year old girl; so she was written as his Granddaughter.  She is a strong link to the young target audience and will often react in ways that the audience might in future episodes [e.g. screaming at aliens].  Classically relatable.

She also provides a link between the chaotic alien madness of the Doctor and the human confusion embodied by Barbara and Ian (and the audience).  She is therefore a translator of the more Sci-Fi elements of the story to a naïve 1960s audience.   She can often be seen explaining some of the Doctor’s stranger outbursts to the humans Barbara and Ian.  Another example of exposition.

The Doctor
The Doctor represents the new age of technology and science that was emerging in the 1960s.  The ‘space race’ was underway and the world was fascinated with all things space travel and linked to other planets.  He represents this new world of discovery.

He is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey and he explores the universe with usually human companions who serve as audience surrogate characters to ask questions which allow the Doctor to provide relevant exposition.  He is often eccentric, distracted and dark in mood.  Some commentators have said he symbolises the struggle between good and evil, some have said he is a symbol of a God-like presence who wanders through time and space trying to change history for the better. 

Teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton

Barbara and Ian represent traditional human values and are classically middle class. They are the people the Doctor explains everything to, so that the audience understands as well.  This is known as exposition.

They are also Science and History teachers so often offer advice and opinions to the Doctor on matters of space and time.  They also have very clearly defined gender roles in the series.

Barbara and Ian also play the narrative role of mother and father to Susan who is very naive and who has not had that paternal guidance from the Doctor.  They are very traditional in their gender roles.  Ian is very physical when there is fighting or physical work to be done. Barbara is represented in a more homely, caring role in the series. These were stereotypical gender roles in the early 60s – but times were changing.  Ian and Barbara are bonded by their human characteristics in their Space adventures.  They represent the caring, empathetic part of the human condition in how they look after Susan and, in later episodes, the Doctor himself. 

Language and Representation: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called Doctor Who: Language and Representation blog tasks and complete the following questions on your blog:

Social and Historical context

1) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical contexts of the 1960s?

2) How might audiences have felt towards science fiction in the 1960s?

Language and close-textual analysis

1) Choose three key moments in the episode and write an NCIS analysis for those clips. You can use your notes from the screening in class or use this Google document of our class notes combined (you'll need your GHS Google login). Make specific, detailed references using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)

An Unearthly Child scene analysis

Narrative: 

Character: 

Iconography: 

Setting: 

2) How does Todorov's theory of equilibrium apply to An Unearthly Child? Try and use the expanded version of Todorov's theory: Equilibrium - Disruption - Recognition - Reparation - New equilibrium.

3) Applying Propp's character theory, what character roles do each of the main characters in An Unearthly Child fit into? Alternatively, you may wish to discuss how characters do not fit Propp's character types.

4) What enigma and action codes (Barthes) can you find in An Unearthly Child? Make specific, detailed reference to the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)

5) What examples of binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) can you find in An Unearthly Child? How do these create narrative or drama for the audience? You can find notes on binary opposition if you scroll up this page if you haven't covered this in class yet.


Representations

1) What stereotypes of men are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?

2) What stereotypes of women/girls are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?

3) What are common media stereotypes of young people and old people? Do any of the characters or scenarios reinforce or subvert these conventional stereotypes (consider this was 1963)? 

4) What representations of race/ethnicity can be found in Doctor Who: An Earthly Child? Is this surprising or not? Give reasons for your answer and consider historical / cultural context (the 1960s). Has this changed in more recent series of Doctor Who?

5) How is social class represented in An Unearthly Child? Think about how education and knowledge is presented in the episode.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks and reading

Read this Media Magazine article tracing the cultural impact of Doctor Who. What does it suggest regarding the importance of Doctor Who, representations and industry?

Read this Guardian feature on female characters in Doctor Who. What does it suggest regarding the representation of women over time in Doctor Who?

Consider representations of age in Doctor Who. How have representations of age changed over the 50-year history of the show?

You will have some lesson time to start this but will need to complete this for homework - due date set by your teacher and on Google Classroom.