Audience
1) What were the viewing figures for Class and why do you think it did so badly?
The viewing figures for Class started from over a million but then the last episode only had 0.28 million. I think it did so badly because most people didn't like the spin-off of Doctor Who since it was targeted towards much maturer audiences and wasn't as interesting as the original Doctor Who.
2) What audience psychographic groups might particularly enjoy Class?
The audience psychographic groups that might particularly enjoy Class are Strugglers and perhaps Aspirers.
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 Identity: April (Student) playing a musical instrument. Concerned parents of April and Ram (protective over children) as well as parents' evening
Personal Relationships: Want to see what happens to April (protagonist)
Diversion (Escapism): Shadow Realm (setting - links to Sci-Fi)
Surveillance (Information / Facts): Discover April's father is back and she shares 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: Shadow Realm (unknown world), Shadow Kin (aliens), the gory violence.
Vicarious: intrigued to establish whether April can defeat Corakinus.
Voyeuristic: binary oppositions (earth and Shadow Realm (alien world) experience aliens and their lives)
5) How did fans in the 'Whoniverse' (also known as 'Whovians') react to Class?
The Whovian in the video didn't like April and feels that she is kind of 'fake', but he likes the character of the headteacher and Mattheuz is his favourite character as well as liking the way the Shadow Kin are represented in a dark, scary way. The character of the father was also quite well acted to him. He didn't understand why Ram and April's relationship developed so quickly, saying they could have had more conversations as friends first and he's confused as to what happened in the end when April gives the heart to her mother and possibly gives her the ability to walk again, which he thinks would be the most typical reaction since it doesn't make sense. Class was very different to Doctor Who as it is more of an adult version but even BBC3 didn't know who Class was targeted towards. The whole TV series wasn't organised in a neat way and was all over the place.
Industries
1) What was the objective of BBC3 when it was launched?
The objective of BBC3 when it was launched was to educate, to inform and to entertain.
The Whovian in the video didn't like April and feels that she is kind of 'fake', but he likes the character of the headteacher and Mattheuz is his favourite character as well as liking the way the Shadow Kin are represented in a dark, scary way. The character of the father was also quite well acted to him. He didn't understand why Ram and April's relationship developed so quickly, saying they could have had more conversations as friends first and he's confused as to what happened in the end when April gives the heart to her mother and possibly gives her the ability to walk again, which he thinks would be the most typical reaction since it doesn't make sense. Class was very different to Doctor Who as it is more of an adult version but even BBC3 didn't know who Class was targeted towards. The whole TV series wasn't organised in a neat way and was all over the place.
Industries
1) What was the objective of BBC3 when it was launched?
The objective of BBC3 when it was launched was to educate, to inform and to entertain.
2) Why did BBC3 go online-only in February 2016?
BBC3 went online-only in February 2016 because they recognised that teenagers don't watch much TV, they are usually on their phone using other streaming services.
BBC3 went online-only in February 2016 because they recognised that teenagers don't watch much TV, they are usually on their phone using other streaming services.
3) How does Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart meet the BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain'?
The episode of Class Co-owner of a Lonely Heart meets BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain' by informing and educating the audience through the genre of Sci-Fi. They are entertained through the dramatic moments within the episode and the building up of tension.
The episode of Class Co-owner of a Lonely Heart meets BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain' by informing and educating the audience through the genre of Sci-Fi. They are entertained through the dramatic moments within the episode and the building up of tension.
4) How did the distribution of Class contribute to the failure of the show with audiences?
The distribution of Class contributed to the failure of the show with audiences because it wasn't promoted and the airing time for it was late; the series was also aired with double-bills. The series was axed after only one series, it lacked a big selling point and no one knew who the series was targeted towards.
The distribution of Class contributed to the failure of the show with audiences because it wasn't promoted and the airing time for it was late; the series was also aired with double-bills. The series was axed after only one series, it lacked a big selling point and no one knew who the series was targeted towards.
5) What advertising and marketing was used to try and promote Class to an audience? Why do you think this wasn't very successful?
YouTube trailer videos were used to try and promote Class to an audience as well as through iPlayer and Netflix. I didn't think this was very successful because the series was released on iPlayer right after it ended on the BBC show.
Comparison: An Unearthly Child and Co-owner of a Lonely Heart
YouTube trailer videos were used to try and promote Class to an audience as well as through iPlayer and Netflix. I didn't think this was very successful because the series was released on iPlayer right after it ended on the BBC show.
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)?
2016 Class is more modernised with more colour whereas 1962 Doctor Who doesn't show much colours, just black and white occasionally. There is more music in 2016 Class to match with the way the different scenes are portrayed. The camerawork is more professional in 2016 Class but in Doctor Who, children would be able to watch it whereas the showing of Class contains quite a bit of sexual content.
2016 Class is more modernised with more colour whereas 1962 Doctor Who doesn't show much colours, just black and white occasionally. There is more music in 2016 Class to match with the way the different scenes are portrayed. The camerawork is more professional in 2016 Class but in Doctor Who, children would be able to watch it whereas the showing of Class contains quite a bit of sexual content.
There are more interesting props in Class as it contains petals that kill living things. Doctor Who has more appearances of the Doctor whereas Class rarely invites their Doctor; the plot is quite messy for Class.
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?
Co-owner of a Lonely Heart is the spin-off of An Unearthly Child; a similarity between both CSPs is that there is an unknown planet with aliens in it. An Unearthly Child involves the TARDIS but the Co-owner of a Lonely Heart doesn't though the Co-owner of a Lonely Heart still involves advanced technology as well as space travel. There are both aliens who look like humans and aliens who look different in both episodes, which is another similarity. There is futuristic weapons within Co-owner of a Lonely Heart but not in An Unearthly Child. They both have the colour of blue but the Class episode includes shades of orange as well. They both have electronic, suspenseful and tense non-diegetic sounds.
Co-owner of a Lonely Heart is the spin-off of An Unearthly Child; a similarity between both CSPs is that there is an unknown planet with aliens in it. An Unearthly Child involves the TARDIS but the Co-owner of a Lonely Heart doesn't though the Co-owner of a Lonely Heart still involves advanced technology as well as space travel. There are both aliens who look like humans and aliens who look different in both episodes, which is another similarity. There is futuristic weapons within Co-owner of a Lonely Heart but not in An Unearthly Child. They both have the colour of blue but the Class episode includes shades of orange as well. They both have electronic, suspenseful and tense non-diegetic sounds.
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?
An Unearthly Child meets the BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain' through the use of Science and classroom setting inside the series, whereas Co-owner of a Lonely Heart also uses Science but only partly meets their remit; it does entertain, it could educate others about aliens within Sci-Fi genre if the audience didn't already know about it but I don't believe the Class episode informs about anything. April argues with her History teacher, which is educating and this also happens in An Unearthly Child but instead Susan is arguing with her Science teacher.
An Unearthly Child meets the BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain' through the use of Science and classroom setting inside the series, whereas Co-owner of a Lonely Heart also uses Science but only partly meets their remit; it does entertain, it could educate others about aliens within Sci-Fi genre if the audience didn't already know about it but I don't believe the Class episode informs about anything. April argues with her History teacher, which is educating and this also happens in An Unearthly Child but instead Susan is arguing with her Science teacher.
4) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows?
A difference between both CSPs is that the doctor is shown in An Unearthly Child whereas the doctor isn't shown at all in Co-owner of a Lonely Heart. The plots are quite different as well as the episode from Class being more modernised and the BBC doesn't know who the target audience is for the whole series whereas there is a definite target audience from the 1st episode of Doctor Who. There is an acceptance of homosexuals in Class, but the idea of homosexuality isn't introduced in Co-owner of a Lonely Heart since it only focuses on Sci-Fi and doesn't involve relationships or any sexual content. Coal Hill Academy, which is a school, also features within both shows.
A difference between both CSPs is that the doctor is shown in An Unearthly Child whereas the doctor isn't shown at all in Co-owner of a Lonely Heart. The plots are quite different as well as the episode from Class being more modernised and the BBC doesn't know who the target audience is for the whole series whereas there is a definite target audience from the 1st episode of Doctor Who. There is an acceptance of homosexuals in Class, but the idea of homosexuality isn't introduced in Co-owner of a Lonely Heart since it only focuses on Sci-Fi and doesn't involve relationships or any sexual content. Coal Hill Academy, which is a school, also features within both shows.
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?
Both CSPs have a range of characters that the audience can personally identify with. The audience would want to see what happens to Susan and April in both CSPs, so a personal relationship would be formed. They both provide diversion for an audience due to the Sci-Fi genre. An Unearthly Child provides surveillance for allowing them to develop their own ideas to do with Science and technology. They both give vicarious pleasure but Class provides more such as the voyeuristic and the visceral pleasures. In both CSPs, audiences can experience space travel through the characters.
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