‘Doctor Who’ spin-off aims for younger set
One reason for the longevity of “Doctor Who” is that it’s essentially a kids’ program for grown-ups. There’s a goofiness about it that enables adults to tap into the fantasies and imagination of childhood.
As Peter Capaldi takes his final TARDIS trip as the 12th Doctor, BBC America launches a spin-off called “Class,” which will follow the Saturday, April 15, “Doctor” season premiere and is aimed at a younger demographic.
The eight-episode series, created by Patrick Ness and produced by the “Doctor Who” team, Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin, follows the adventures of four students at Coal Hill School, who seem to have been chosen via a diversity checklist. Ram (Fady Elsayed) is a jock. April (Sophie
Hopkins) is a bit of a loner whose mother is in a wheelchair. And Tanya (Vivian Oparah) is a few years younger than the others, but smart and loyal.
Charlie (Greg Austin) is a prince, an actual prince, but from another planet. He has come to Earth with Miss Quill (Katherine Kelly), who masquerades as a physics teacher but is inseparably bound to Charlie for reasons that make little sense. She’s from some other race on their former planet but can’t use a weapon if they happen to be attacked by the Shadow Kin who have managed to squeeze through the ever thinning walls of time to get to Earth.
The characters are forever explaining who’s who and what monsters come from what dimension, and it’s hard to keep it all straight. Mostly, a gang of four good kids, and the boyfriend (Jordan Renzo) of one of them, just try to get through high school in one piece.
At one point, shadows move like swarms of insects on the sides of buildings. At another, the supposedly dead return to their family members but tethered by veiny ropey things attached to their backs and connecting them to some extraterrestrial that seems to have OD’d on MiracleGro.
The performances are solid, the actors — especially the younger set — are sympathetic and appealing. Ness has made an effort to make them seem like real high school kids, even having a gay couple sleep together.
Oh, and just to ensure authenticity, the current Doctor pops in for an extended cameo, just in case we somehow missed that this particular mix of cheese, cheap and charm could only be a “Doctor Who” spin-off.