Patrick Ness, writer and creator of Doctor Who spinoff series Class, has taken to Twitter this morning to announce that he will not be writing any more episodes of the show. This follows after the series concluded on BBC America this weekend. Although positively received Patrick Ness has decided to walk away from the series as he explains in a very heartfelt series of tweets.
Whilst this announcement does not necessarily mean that Class will not continue, it does now seem unlikely. When BlogtorWho spoke to Ness at a screening he confirmed that he did have a second series planned in his mind which he also alluded to this morning. Although he seems to have campaigned for that second series the show has not gone back in front of the cameras, much to his frustration. Ness also begrudged the difficult 10.45pm timeslot the show was given by BBC One. However his final messages were of praise for the cast and of gratitude to everyone who watched the show. This is what he had to say..
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871256325166071808
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871257357745086464
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871257807395463168
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871259351322959872
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871260398045073408
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871260675917664258
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871260887331557377
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871261034799128576
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871262211192360960
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness/status/871262884650733571
Somebody call the Doctor. Evidently the Monks are still at work as there are people who believe Class was “positively received.” No it was not. I now of only one person who liked the show, I have only ever seen one wholly positive review, and personally it’s the first Doctor Who-related production I gave up on. Unlikeable characters, no connection to the parent series, too much unnecessary sex and gore, a writer who didn’t seem to understand how the Doctor Who universe works (as evidenced that the best-received aspect of Class were the three novels written by veteran Who-franchise writers), and an ending that would have been laughed off Archive of Our Own. If pressed the only good thing I could say about it is some of the acting was alright.
I’m used to being the lone wolf when it comes to opinions. So if this was just me then that would just be a case of “OK, it wasn’t to my tastes move on”, but everything I’ve just said has been echoed multiple times by other fans including (like me) fans of Torchwood. It’s a shame the only Moffat-era spinoff we got was one no one was asking for instead of series featuring UNIT or the Paternoster Gang, both of which were fully set up for us.
I know quite a lot of people who love the show, myself included. I have read a number of reviews both praising and criticising. In the end I came to love the characters very much. One of the few TV shows that I really enjoyed the characters so deeply, and there were only 8 episodes! Also, I actually think only 1 of the 3 novels were any good LOL. I also enjoyed the little Easter egg connections to Doctor Who without it being directly involved. PS, I am a major Torchwood fan. So, to each their own!
It was very difficult to follow the flow of the show.
Did it have a story in it ?, I couldn’t find it.
So yes for Aliens and Monsters (the SJA substitute), but a big NO for class.