TV Show of the Week: Class – Episode 8 – The Lost (Series Finale)

It has been a couple of weeks since Class ended, so it does seem strange that I am only now talking about it, but my initial decision was to let it pass by, but it kept playing on my mind and so I am now letting my anger out. 

Warning: I will be spoiling the entire series including some huge moments.

I can see what they were trying to do, and I can understand the limitations involved during the process from start to finish. To save money, the BBC pulled the plug on BBC Three on the TV and moved to iPlayer only. This has proved to be a controversial decision, because the people who enjoyed BBC Three’s shows, but don’t have a computer or an internet connection, they would not be able to watch anything on Three.

Since the move, BBC has mainly used Three as a way of broadcasting box sets with a few shorts here and there, essentially creating their own streaming service similar to Netflix and Amazon, and so it was only a matter of time when they aired a BBC Three excusive, which took the form of the Doctor Who spin-off, Class, centred around a group of children in Coal Hill school fighting off evil monsters and contending with the usual school stresses and life. As soon as it was announced, fans of Doctor Who increased the hype and it quickly became a hotly anticipated series.

Before the first episode aired, I knew that it wouldn’t be as glamorous as either Doctor Who, Torchwood, or Sarah Jane Adventures, because the money would be considerably less. The BBC set themselves the difficult task of creating a strong show with the limited resources they had. I can see their intent behind the show, which was mainly to promote BBC Three and its services, and it did just that. When the first episode was released, people flocked to watch it, and it wasn’t long before the audience had firmly grabbed in their hands and started to make theories, expectations, predictions, and explaining why they liked or disliked each episode. The BBC could sit back and enjoy their success.

Except, as the series continued, the quality started to drop. The first episode set the tone: It wasn’t on the same level as Doctor Who, but it wasn’t going to be as adult as Torchwood. It was intended to sit comfortably in between. The Doctor showing up in the first episode was a way of giving you a small appearance because of the lack of Doctor Who this year, but I couldn’t help but notice just how promotional his appearance felt. It felt as if the writers only put the Doctor in the episode to draw people in. That makes sense, because they were in charge of a risky move, but they could have masked that attempt a little better than they did. The main actors did a fine job, they showed a strong emotional range, and when the first episode ended, we knew exactly what we were going to get when the second came around the next week. However, with each passing episode, it started to suffer under its own weight. It’s part of a massive universe and with only the resources BBC Three had, that was a lot to ask. I had wondered if I wanted to watch the next episode if it kept up this pattern of dipping in quality. In the end, I decided to give it a chance, and I was right to do so, episode 6 picked up considerably.

All six teenagers were trapped in a classroom for the entire episode, with a strange alien stone that, once touched, forced you to tell the truth. Friendships were tested, and the emotional delivery was great. I was looking forward for the next episode when they showed the aftermath, but instead of doing that, they showed something else instead. Alongside episode 6, Mrs Quill was trapped in her own adventure, and episode 7 would show us what happened. I found episode completely pointless for one particular and massive reason. To explain why, I need to give a quick overview of Mrs Quill’s storyline throughout the series. 

She has a strange parasite in her head as punishment, and if she uses any weapon, it would attack her and cause her pain, and the more she tried to resist, the more it would attack, even killing her. It was an immediate prediction of mine that by the end of the series she would have had that parasite removed, and at the end of episode seven, that is exactly what happened. Or should I say, at the end of episode 6, which she stumbles exhaustedly into the classroom, complaining about what a tough day she had with a scar running down one side of her face where the parasite was removed from. Being the penultimate episode, it couldn’t be anything more than just an interlude story with the end result being the end of Mrs Quill’s series 1 story arc. When the credits rolled up and they showed a small preview of the next episode, I concluded that I didn’t have to watch episode 7 because technically speaking, I had just watched it. That episode doesn’t really serve any purpose other than what happened at the very end of episode 6, so it didn’t seem necessary to watch episode 7.

The next week, the finale, when it eventually got around to showing the aftermath of episode 6, it had a lot to wrap up. It was obvious that they were going to make another series, and so I had a hunch that they would leave it on a slight cliff-hanger to keep you interested and not forget about Class. When the episode ended, I was left gobsmacked, speechless, and asking many questions. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Except, I was left dumbfounded because it was the stupidest thing I had ever seen.

The main story arc was about April who, through some unfortunate events, is sharing a heart with a king of a brutal, dark, evil race that sits at the very corner of the universe. They are fierce warriors that you instantly knew when they appeared that whatever was brave enough to stand in their way would suffer the consequences. Being a series intended for older audiences, they could increase the power of the enemies; and they truly were a formidable alien race. The climactic battle at the end of the series saw the extermination of the race, and because April shares a heart, she collapsed out cold, and it was a tense moment when we really didn’t know what was going to happen. It was hard to predict if she would or would not make it, and I like that moment of unknown. Then the king of the race sat up, and looks around, confused. The rest of the group watched on with surprise and interest.

Then he spoke. Or should I say, then April’s voice coming from his mouth spoke. Then the episode ended. If it was their purpose to shock people, they certainly succeeded, but I have never seen anything so ridiculous. I would even go so far to say that even fan-fiction wouldn’t sink so far. At least when fans are creating their stories, they make sure it makes sense, and is believable. 

Alas, this is where I have a problem. My imagination got the better of me, and as much as I am going to have my head in my hands throughout, I cannot help but be curious about what’s going to happen next. Episode 1 of series 2 is probably going to show April trying to get back to her body, and the thought of the king of a fierce warrior race with uncharacteristic mannerisms, and sitting at home, on the sofa, trying to explain to her mother, is something I actually want to see. Not because I’m looking forward and am excited, but because seeing the stupidity unfold would be one heck of a laugh.

I thought the series was as strong as it could be, and I was grateful for the BBC to make it, but the show took an all-time low right at the very end, and I cannot see how they will be able to make the series serious again afterwards.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)