In its brief eight-episode run, Doctor Who’s teenage spin-off introduced us to a diverse gang of characters forced into friendship through adversity.
With an initial release on the online-only BBC Three last autumn, and then some rather shoddy scheduling on late-night BBC One earlier this year, viewing figures have been unspectacular and there has been no news on a recommission.
However, the show currently transmitting on BBC America straight after the new season of Doctor Who on Saturday nights does offer a small glimmer of hope…
Order Season 1 on DVD on Amazon here.
Order Season 1 on Blu-ray on Amazon here.
Should the show be lucky enough to return for a second run, here are a few things we would like to see…
Keep playing with the format
Class kept pushing its boundaries and that is something we would want to continue – from the blood splatter horror of ‘The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo’ to the wonderfully claustrophobic ‘Detained’ and the world spinning fantasies of ‘The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did’.
For our mind, the programme was strongest away from the primary threat of the Shadow Kin threat, and in its element with darker fare like the macabre ‘Nightvisiting’.
More Whoniverse connections
We are not asking for more visits from the Doctor here, (although it would be great to see him pop by in a different incarnation *paging Paul McGann*), but how about a story where the gang find themselves crossing swords with Kate Stewart’s UNIT?
Alternatively, with some clever scripting, the residents of Coal Hill could be left dealing with the after-effects of something the Doctor has done to save the Earth, or indeed the Doctor could be mopping up their mess as the launch pad to one of his adventures.
Oh hell, shall we just admit it – we want to see Captain Jack Harkness take on Quill (in whatever way is appropriate for the time slot!)
More of Coal Hill itself
Oddly, for a show set in an iconic Doctor Who location, we did not actually seem to spend that much time at the school.
It would be great to see a few more classes and teachers, rather than just the rather exclusive Sixth Form group. Hell, what’s Courtney Woods up to these days?
More Matteusz
While Jordan Renzo’s Matteusz may have been planned as a secondary character, he has more than earned his place in the group, and on the credits, with his compelling story as the conscience for Charlie’s alien attitudes.
As well as holding back Charlie from using his superweapon, we feel there are plenty more stories to tell surrounding the character’s home life, given he is ostracised from his parents due to his sexuality and living with Charlie and Quill (hardly the dream housemates!).
THAT cliffhanger ending…
There was plenty of groundwork laid in the season finale for a second run, not least Tanya’s toughening up, Charlie’s genocide of the Shadowkin, Quill’s pregnancy, the death of Ram’s father and April’s unexpected survival in the body of the ShadowKin leader!
However, the cliffhanger ending to the first season demands a follow-up and it would be fascinating to see what plans Patrick Ness has for the Weeping Angels.
For our mind, they had run their course on TV and were likely to be the preserve of Big Finish in the future, but just what are EverUpwardReach Ltd. and the Chair of the Governors up to with their ‘Arrival’ – and did the Angel simply kill Dorothea rather than the usual temporal method of dispatch?
Order Season 1 on DVD on Amazon here.
Order Season 1 on Blu-ray on Amazon here.
What do you want to see in Season 2? Let us know below…