Watch & Remark: Class

Class is the new Doctor Who spin-off that's airing right after Doctor Who in America. We're halfway through it now, with four episodes, and I'll be doing one review for each half to contain the madness that is fast becoming one of my new favorite TV show.

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Class is basically the new equivalent to Torchwood, and I love it. The main cast, bar one, are high schoolers, struggling to deal with hormones, when suddenly the school is invaded, and the students are drawn together over the trauma and the fact that they're the only ones who even remember half of the strange things that happen. They develop fast friendships and make for an interesting group dynamic that isn't overshadowed by Doctor Who.

Follow April (the smart one), Ram (the athletic one), Charlie (the alien), Matteusz (the Polish one), and Tanya (the young one) as they fight to protect Earth from a tear in time and space that happens to be located right in Coal Hill.

Warning: Major spoilers! Couldn't help myself, these are just some great episodes.

Episode One: For Tonight We Must Die

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Our introduction to these kids lets us know that one of them, Charlie, is an alien--he is, in fact, alien royalty, to a slaughtered people. The Shadow Kin who slaughtered his species are now heading to Earth to slaughter him and his protector, Ms. Quill. The students are brought together at the sixth form prom, but the Shadow Kin show up through a tear in space and time, hurting Charlie and killing his girlfriend Rachel. The Doctor shows up just in time to try and save the day, but the damage has been done. April is now sharing her heart with the king of the Shadow Kin, Ram is missing a leg and his girlfriend is dead, and everyone is thoroughly traumatized.

This was an interesting introduction to a show set in a high school--there's blood, death, and a lot of confusion--but it works for this show in that it helps to set it apart from Doctor Who while maintaining the loose connections that are probably necessary for the shows longevity.

I personally liked this episode because it sets up a strong friend group that is missing in many shows about high school, and gives them some real problems to solve. Probably not the best thing for these students to deal with, but it's really interesting to see how the show progresses!

Episode Two: The Coach With the Dragon Tattoo

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Ram is struggling to deal with his new leg, given to him by the Doctor, and is demoted from first-string on the football team. Meanwhile, another creature is stalking the halls of Coal Hill, murdering first a cleaner (that Ram witnesses) and later the head teacher. We learn that the alien responsible for killing these adults is doing so in an attempt to keep his mate alive--the mate who is currently stuck on Ram's coaches body as a tattoo.

Ram goes to Tanya for help first, which I love because it shows that these kids are building strong relationships, and trying to help each other stay alive. Everything turns out fine once Ram convinces the free dragon to eat his coach. The group is working together, and Ram even tells his father about the crazy alien happenings surrounding Coal Hill.

This episode really introduces us to the group dynamic that is developing--and it's seriously amazing. No one is hiding anything from anyone, they're all sharing information, and they're developing a fast friendship against all odds. It's so different from what you see on television shows about American high schools, and I'm here for it.

Episode Three: Nightvisiting

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This episode was seriously creepy. I liked it, yeah, but I was alone in a dark apartment, and I was a little freaked out.

There are strange vines emerging from the crack and invading East London, appearing to people in the form of lost loved ones. Ram sees his dead girlfriend and runs away from it, teaming up with April to try and save the rest of the group. Meanwhile, Charlie and Matteusz take their relationship a step farther, an Tanya is face-to-face with her dead father. Even Ms. Quill is visited by the image of her dead sister. However, everyone realizes that Tanya is in the most danger. Tanya and Ms. Quill are the ones to save the day--instead of giving the alien her feelings of grief, she gives it her feelings of rage, and Ms. Quill runs over its strongest vine with a double decker bus, sending it back from whence it came.

This was a cool episode, and we got to see more of the group working together to save each other. However, it is also the first sign of serious discomfort. Ms. Quill is most excluded, and we see that Charlie doesn't have the most humanitarian world-view about how he is allowed to use her.

Episode Four: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart

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The most recent episode, we see April struggling to deal with sharing her heart with Corakinus, the Shadow Kin leader, who is doing his best to sever their connection and steal April's heart. However, all his efforts are only strengthening the connection. This causes some tense moments in April's life, where she physically harms her father (recently released from prison), and heals her mother's paralysis. However, April senses that Corakinus has discovered her location, and jumps through the crack (accompanied by Ram) to try and get her heart back.

This episode focused more on April, which I hope is echoed in later episodes for the other characters like we saw with Ram in episode two. I personally like April and Ram as a couple (but I'm a sucker for romance)--what do you think about it? I love that we get their developing relationship contrasted against the strain that is appearing in Charlie and Matteusz's, and I'm interested in seeing how they treat these characters in future episodes (and hopefully future seasons).

Overall, I love this series. Sorry for the extensive summary, but I wanted to give you my take on them!

Which episode was your favorite?