Class (new Doctor Who spinoff)

[Morrus]

Yeah, I think it needs to decide exactly what it wants to be. It feels a little unsure of itself right now.

 

[Tonguez]

damn Ram really has no luck with blood splatter does he?

and it does very much come across as Torchwood meets Buffy

It has possibilities, but the actors are going to have to grow into their roles. It's in danger of becoming formulaic with the cast consisting of a jock (with a problem), a brain, a (possibly) pansexual alien (hence my reference to Torchwood), and a tough guy (woman). If all they do is fill those roles then it's not going to come off, IMO. Updated "Breakfast Club" with aliens, but without the soundtrack.

On the other hand if they grow beyond their labels, I think the show has some possibilities. For example if the Jock's problem forces him to grow beyond his privilege, rather than just caving in on himself, that could be an interesting storyline.

I agree the first episode did seem a little contrived and had the Torchwood problem of trying too hard to be 'mature' but failing abysmally, the whole 'gay date' thing was dull and did the crazy old lady in the shop scene have any purpose at all?
The second episode was much better and did achieve some degree of character development as per Ram and Tanya and introducing the mystery of 'the Governors'. I'm still not sure what they're going to do with the nice girl violin player and her disabled mother, and worry that Ms Quills is going to become an annoying one-trick pony like Strax

However I did like the comedic moments throughout, including the stare-down with the Inspector, a very Doctor-esque drollity. There were also a number of in-jokes I appreciated like meeting friends for granola and falafel in Shoreditch as well as the references directly to the Hellmouth and the attractive people of Vampire Diary.

I can write the pilot episode off as a misstep so it definitely had potential, it captured the wit of a Doctor Who episode and placed itself somewhere between Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood. It should do okay if it can break out of stereotypes and bad writing and not try too hard to be edgy (or pander to US audiences).

 

[Ryujin]

damn Ram really has no luck with blood splatter does he?

and it does very much come across as Torchwood meets Buffy

I agree the first episode did seem a little contrived and had the Torchwood problem of trying too hard to be 'mature' but failing abysmally, the whole 'gay date' thing was dull and did the crazy old lady in the shop scene have any purpose at all?
The second episode was much better and did achieve some degree of character development as per Ram and Tanya and introducing the mystery of 'the Governors'. I'm still not sure what they're going to do with the nice girl violin player and her disabled mother, and worry that Ms Quills is going to become an annoying on-trick pony like Strax

However I did like the comedic moments throughout, including the stare-down with the Inspector, a very Doctor-esque drollity. There were also a number of in-jokes I appreciated like meeting friends for granola and falafel in Shoreditch as well as the references directly to the Hellmouth and the attractive people of Vampire Diary.

I can write the pilot episode off as a misstep so it definitely had potential, it captured the wit of a Doctor Who episode and placed itself somewhere between Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood. It should do okay if it can break out of stereotypes and bad writing and not try to hard to be edgy (or pander to US audiences).

Whoops! I forgot the "nice girl" cut-out in my summary. See how easy it is to just write her off?

Ram came off almost like limb severing porn.

I took the "in jokes" as trying a little too hard at being a Joss Whedon property. Every now and then someone tries (unsuccessfully) to recreate his pop culture references in a show.

 

[MarkB]

I tend to avoid Doctor Who spoilers like the plague, so I hadn't even been aware this was in the works.

The first episode felt like it could easily have been one of the "Doctor-lite" episodes they do about once per season in Doctor Who. I like the premise (though it's totally derivative of Torchwood's), but it could've done with standing on its own a bit more.

Yeah, I think it needs to decide exactly what it wants to be. It feels a little unsure of itself right now.

That's especially true in regard to the visual FX. The second episode had some great practical effects that really ramped up the tension along with the gore - but in both the first and second episodes, the CGI effects could have come straight out of Doctor Who or even the Sarah Jane Adventures, and against the backdrop of this more mature series they stood out as almost cartoon-like in comparison. If they want the series to succeed, they're going to have to take a more unified approach to its visual style.

 

[Jester David]

Saw the first episode. I was actually rather enjoying it until the end. The arrival of the Doctor rather derailed things. It was very much a pilot, as busy setting up the series as being an episode, which is potentially awkward.

I might have preferred just leaving the Doctor out. Just showing the TARDIS and such. Let the show find its legs before crossing over.

 

[Tonguez]

Saw the first episode. I was actually rather enjoying it until the end. The arrival of the Doctor rather derailed things. It was very much a pilot, as busy setting up the series as being an episode, which is potentially awkward.

I might have preferred just leaving the Doctor out. Just showing the TARDIS and such. Let the show find its legs before crossing over.

yeah I agree, having the Doctor save the prince and Quill from their planet was enough of a cameo to link the show to the Doctorverse and we didn't need the DMNPC deus ex machina to defeat the bad guys at the end too. Genius Nigerian girl could have worked out the bright lights trick on her own (with a chekovs stage spot light to help out) and the robot Inspector could have been used to scramble the coordinates.

I'd like to see the robot Inspector again actually, he seemed to have the most personality in the show

 

[wicked cool]

do you think there will be classic monsters from who in the show? Daleks, cybermen etc?

I personally would rather have had a show based on the old unit (recast brigadier etc as younger versions) like they did for Gotham.

 

[Ryujin]

do you think there will be classic monsters from who in the show? Daleks, cybermen etc?

I personally would rather have had a show based on the old unit (recast brigadier etc as younger versions) like they did for Gotham.

After the send-off they gave Nicholas Courtney, in multiple episodes of Doctor Who, I wouldn't want to see that role recast. "Retire his number", as it were.

They could certainly bring back U.N.I.T., though, and have in Doctor Who with The Brigadier's daughter.

 

[MarkB]

I always thought UNIT had the most potential as a Doctor Who spin-off. Knowing the show, though, there might be a messy web of intellectual property rights to fight through.

 

[Tonguez]

I always thought UNIT had the most potential as a Doctor Who spin-off. Knowing the show, though, there might be a messy web of intellectual property rights to fight through.

I thought Torchwood was suppose to be the 'UNIT' spinoff without actually calling it UNIT so they didn't have the copyright issues.

I'd like to see a Victorian Torchwood though, a direct follow up to Tooth & Claw that keeps the thematic focus on Gothic monsters (albeit recast as aliens). They could even have the occasional cameo from Strax, Jenny and Vastra