"Alien Invasion or Teen Angst?" - The Fandom of Doctor Who

During my second year of university in 2016, I came across (by accident) the Doctor Who spin-off Class, which focused on a group of troubled sixth form students and their reluctant rebel alien teacher charged to protect an alien prince. What struck me instantly was Patrick Ness's writing, which was so captivating and grounded - all of the characters had their light and dark sides, making them all have morally grey moments and complex developments throughout. After the first two episodes, I thought it was good for its genre and by the third episode I was hooked and fully invested in the series - coupled with brilliantly diverse characters, fantastic direction and moving score, Class was a show that really stood out for me.

Which is why I was very disappointed that the BBC decided to not renew it for a second series. Despite it having little publicity and unrealistic broadcasting times, it still received praise from critics for its writing, acting and representation. Also, considering the series finished ended on a cliffhanger, there were so many unanswered questions.

However, Big Finish Productions soon picked up the mantel with twelve dramas set within Season One commissioned. The first six audio dramas were released in August 2018 with the original cast Katherine Kelly (Miss Quill), Greg Austin (Charlie Smith), Fady Elsayed (Ram Singh), Sophie Hopkins (April MacLean), Vivian Oparah (Tanya Adeola) and Jordan Renzo (Matteusz Andrzejewski) reprising their roles. The following third and fourth volumes set to be released in April 2020, with most of the cast returning and two roles being recast with Dervla Kirwan (Miss Quill) and Joanna McGibbon (Tanya Adeola) due to scheduling conflicts.

This was planned long before the fate of Class returning for a second season was decided, which is why these box sets are set during season one as individual character driven stories - However, director and producer Scott Handcock has said that based on the success of this new series and the confirmation that BBC aren't making season two, Big Finish are open to making Class S2 (similar with Torchwood's Season Five, as long as the rights are secured). So keeping my fingers crossed for the continuation of Class.

However, a few months after my graduation, I returned to the campus as a writer for a student film and worked alongside a BBC Director who was guest lecturing for this production - it was my first paid writing gig and felt slightly surreal returning to university in a teaching assistant role. Around that time, Jodie Whittaker's debut as the first female Doctor with Chris Chibnall as showrunner and I decided after years of not watching the show, I thought I'd give it another go. Although I loved the actress and had enjoyed Chibnall's writing in the past, I was only vaguely interested in that season. Despite raving reviews, I just thought it was... okay. But that was purely one opinion, that happened to be mine.

A conversation arose about NuWho during this shoot and two students (who were passionate Whovians) were discussing Whittaker's first few episodes with great interest and when I was asked, I simply stated "It's okay, I'm not really into this series. But to be honest I prefer the spin-offs. They're more mature and I find the arc more engaging. Like Class, I thought Patrick Ness as a writer was brilliant on that."

And, silence - actual silence followed that one off handed comment, which I didn't expect at all. Now, this shock wasn't because I was rude about the Dr Who or said something insensitive. No, because I was a fan of a spin-off and had fallen out of love with the original show - but you'd have thought I had. Somehow, Class wasn't seen in a similar light. Because it's not and that's what I liked about it. But I felt in that moment, I was being judged for 1) not liking a wildly popular show and 2) preferring a spin-off written by one of my favourite authors instead. Yes, that was the truth, despite growing up on the show, by Eleven (this is in no way to criticise Matt Smith) I'd found the single story arc with not much consequences slightly frustrating - I felt like I could dip in and out rather freely without missing crucial character moments - despite the "Rosa" episode co-written by author Malorie Blackman, I felt Whittaker's first season was running on a similar structure. However, Series Twelve has a bit more of a narrative thread with a darker tone to it. Class already had that dark undertone, with the stakes only getting higher as each episode progressed.

Character arcs are crucial for any long-running drama, which is something that Ness got so right when writing Class. Although some episodes may focus on a group or even one character, their traumas and relationship shifts impact fulling episodes and nothing was easily resolved at the end of the episode. Whether it was looking at Tanya's difficulty with grief and impostor syndrome, Quill/Ram/April's various struggles of dealing with PTSD, Mattiuesz coming to terms with his homosexuality and dating an alien or Charlie's internal battle of wanting to avenge his kingdom and give into his darker side. In many ways, this was like the British version of Buffy with a science-fiction twist.

All eight episodes explore these character arcs in-depth, with most of these ending in heartbreak or trauma - but Ness also makes a point of showing his characters picking themselves up and trying to keep going while still acknowledging their pain, which is a more poignant arc instead of giving the characters a happy conclusion. There's a line in "Nightvisiting", April confides in Ram about the aftermath of a car accident she was in with her mother and father, where her father intentionally drove off the motorway and left her mother paralysed.

People were really nice. So nice, but also careful. Like me and my mum were just glass figurines. I'm not made of glass. What he did, it's important, but if it's the thing that rules, then he gets to keep doing that to us every day forever, and I won't have that. I play folk music because I love it. I won't let him take that from me. And that's why I'm so goddamn sensible.

This is the kind of characters I want to see, facing their demons and not having it be the centre of their universe but it still having them be impacted by it. Despite having this layered complexity - some, not all - Who fans seem to take grave offence if Class or even Torchwood are preferred over any incarnation of the Doctor. The thing is, Doctor Who is a much more family friendly programme and has grown gradually and developed throughout the years. With the spin-off Class, it was intended for a more mature audience and ran with that, making Class a show of their own merits without being restricted by the Who lore.

My preference for spin-offs has only been enhanced by the Big Finish Audio Productions - As well as reviving Class, I have been able to relish in nostalgia with David Tennant's Tenth Doctor alongside Catherine Tate's Donna, the chance to delve in deeper with their Torchwood Range and even individual characters such as Rose Tyler, Lady Christina, Jenny, Captain Jack and many others having their own series - spin-offs allow stories to grow and thrive away from their source material.