Audience
1) What were the viewing figures for Class and why do you think it did so badly?
It did so badly because it was shown on BBC three which didn't have a large amount of people watching the channel, also as it was aimed at young adults, at the time of release they would have used their phone more to watch things and only a recorded amount of 250,000 people only went on BBC i Player.
2) What audience psychographic groups might particularly enjoy Class?
It would be mainly aimed at explorers because they are more encouraged to complete their quest and it includes lots of action for them which they enjoy and it creates a sense of being very prepared or some sort of adrenaline rush.
3) What audience pleasures are offered by Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.
Personal Relationships:Want to see what will happen to April or how she will succeed.
Diversion (Escapism):Shadow Realm(links to si-fi)
Surveillance (Information / Facts):discovers what April's father is back and shares a heart with Corakinus.
4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart?
Visceral pleasures: shadow realm (unknown location)
Vicarious pleasures: intrigued to see if April can defeat Corakinus
Voyeuristic pleasures: binary oppositions (earth and shadow realm (alien world) experiences aliens and their lives.
5) How did fans in the 'Whoniverse' (also known as 'Whovians') react to Class? Watch the fan reaction video (and read the YouTube comments) on the Class notes blogpost or check the comments in the extension articles below to help with this.
people's reaction to the show was a positive reaction as Class is a spin-off of doctor who so there are character and objects that may appear in the show, it also has a similar si-fi feel to it making it more interesting, but it is more modern meaning that there may be some things which don't fit too much into the si-fi genre and may spoil the experience for them, but overall they did enjoy Class.
Industries
1) What was the objective of BBC3 when it was launched?
It is to bring younger audiences to high quality public services.
2) Why did BBC3 go online-only in February 2016?
Because it wasn't fit for TV as it included many different things that may violate some terms and services of the watershed hours and rules.
3) How does Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart meet the BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain'?
The entertain bit and some of educate as si-fi can include some sort of information also for the entertain the si-fi is already entertaining, also there are things in the series that are showing some sort of audience pleasures.
4) How did the distribution of Class contribute to the failure of the show with audiences?
The release got only 1 million people watching it, then they later started to decrease and they even struggled to get even half a million of people watching the later series.
5) What advertising and marketing was used to try and promote Class to an audience? Why do you think this wasn't very successful?
First it was only on BBC three (before it was taken to online-only) they even showed it on BBC one, this wasn't very successful as there weren't many younger audiences on BBC one and then the popularity of it started to drop down to where they couldn't recover from the damage.
Comparison: An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart
1) How are the technical conventions different between 1963 Doctor Who and 2016 Class (e.g. camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)?
The Class VFX and SFX are more advanced in Class, in the 1963 Doctor Who they had it so that they didn't even have any effects.
2) What similarities and differences are there between An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart in terms of the science-fiction genre?
It has all kinds of things of being transported to alien worlds or places, the TARDIS is included in both of the shows, some differences would be that one is more modern than the other one having trouble with family and another with teachers.
3) What similarities and differences are there between An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart in terms of how they meet the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain?
It is mostly entertain and a bit of educate as, si-fi contains some sort of education as there is some sort of science happening and some realistic possibilities but it is mostly entertain as it is something that someone would watch in their spare time or something that they like.
4) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows?
They show that both modern and people back in the time all had problems with family and teachers and how they deal with them or how they have people who are against them.
5) What similarities and differences can you find in terms of the audience pleasures for An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart?They both include parts of where the TARDIS is involved in both of the series, some characters like the doctor reappearing and the school is set in a more modern version of Unearthly Child's school: "Coal high school" in Class.
Grade 8/9 extension tasks and reading
Read this Digital Spy feature on why Class was cancelled after only one series. Do you agree with its criticisms regarding scheduling, audience and character development?
I think it is very accurate as we can see right now where and how Class is doing, it shows the failure of the series and then it talks about how they didn't even know their own target audience and how the series was shown in a way where it even surprised the director his own self.
This Guardian review of Class is much more positive - but the comments 'below the line' (BTL) are largely critical. Do you agree with the original review or the comments - and why?
I think that they go into depth of what the show is and how it failed, they show reasons and support them and give their opinion on how they think it did and what they could have done to do better, so in a way I would agree with their reasoning.
Read this Den of Geek fan review of Co-owner of a Lonely Heart. Do you agree with the praise and criticism in it and why?
Their logic and reasoning is sensible and can support things of how the episodes feel like "we skipped many episodes" only to be on the fourth episode and how it doesn't scare their viewers and how the lack of suspense is in the series.
Finally, read this Indiewire feature on Class. It contains plenty of references to other films and TV shows (intertextuality) - what popular culture references can you find in this article?
There are characters from other popular shows that have many viewers on them, (obviously) they have bits form Doctor Who and objects and things from the show into Class. They try to compare or fit in with their viewers by doing things that they like or usually do.
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