Class dr who key terms

1. TV CSPs TERMS & ARGUMENTS
BBC Publicly funded, through the license fee, PSB (public service broadcaster). While the BBC
and ITV are much bigger than the other 2 terrestrial (traditional) TV stations, C4 and C5, their
budgets are a small fraction of Sky’s (Murdoch’s subscription TV service) or Netflix & even
Amazon. It self-regulates on some aspects, but is mainly overseen by OfCom. Its various
channels/stations & online services are required to ensure they fulfil a legal duty to serve the
full range of the UK public.
BBC LICENSE
FEE
This may change eventually; the right-wing, pro-free market Tory government dislike this
model & want the BBC to become a private company. The BBC does not carry ads or charge
for its main services – the UK BBC TV channels and radio stations, plus extensive online
content. It is mostly paid for by the
license fee, compulsory for anyone
watching TV, whether it is BBC
channels or not, including through
devices. It is around £150 annually,
double the Amazon Prime fee, about
the same as Netflix, and MUCH smaller
than Sky.
They also sell programming abroad, &
have a BBC America channel (on which
Class was more successful than on
BBC3).
PSB: public
service
broadcasting
(educate,
entertain,
inform)
The terrestrial channels, especially the
BBC, have legal duties and responsibility to
inform and educate, not just entertain or
chase audiences – BUT pressure to justify
the license fee ensures the BBC are
sensitive to low audiences (eg they
scrapped Class after poor ratings figures).
Digital channels don’t have these
requirements. EDUCATE, ENTERTAIN,
INFORM is the mission statement laid down by the BBC’s 1st
chief executive a century ago
terrestrial,
free-to-air,
spectrum
scarcity, EPGs
The UK TV channels that were available to all TV owners without any subscription: BBC1,
BBC2, ITV1, C4, C5. These have MUCH bigger audiences than any digital channel, and so
advertising costs are MUCH higher!!! [NOTE: no advertising on BBC] Also referred to as free-
to-air as there is no fee for watching other than the license fee.
in the pre-digital/satellite/cable age TV, like radio, was ‘broadcast’ through the airwaves. Just
like wifi today, there are technical limits on how much data can be squeezed into that
bandwidth, and so until 1982 there was just BBC1, BBC2 and ITV.
C4 was added in 1982, and compression technology enabled C5 to
be launched in 1997. These are the ‘terrestrial’ stations. Each
company has since launched multiple additional digital channels
and online catch-up services. (Guardian TV history; Barb [audience
measurement] timeline 1981-; science museum timeline 1926-)
The terrestrial channels are given legal PSB requirements such as
minimum hours of news coverage which the digital channels (see

2. below) don’t. They are also protected on EPGs (electronic programme guides), + given listing
at the top. The picture shows the 5 terrestrial channels +1 eg of a digital sister channel
digital channel All UK channels are now effectively digital as the old analogue
signal was switched off in 2012, but this term specifically denotes
the non-terrestrial channels, and smaller audiences, often with a niche focus (whereas BBC1
+ ITV1 especially are mainstream, mass market)
The pic shows 3 egs of digital/cable/satellite channels. Sky’s budget dwarfs the combined
BBC/ITV budgets.
The BBC has a wide range of TV channels (+ radio stations), including regional services for
nations within the UK (but only BBC1/BBC2 are considered terrestrial channels)
timeshifting,
catch-up
services,
iPlayer
Most young people watch TV through timeshifting devices, whether DVRs or set-top boxes or
streaming sites like Netflix and iPlayer. The BBC were a global pioneer of catch-up services,
but the iPlayer is now struggling with young people increasingly more likely to use Netflix,
Amazon Prime or any of the increasing
number of options like Disney+ (which
will soon have exclusive rights to
Doctor Strange and the rest of the
MCU).
The BBC was blocked by OfCom from
joining with ITV, C4 + C5 in a new
streaming service – but they’re trying
again (with ITV), arguing they can’t
compete with or survive against the
mega-budget Netflix etc. iPlayer is also limited by only being allowed to stream shows for
ONE MONTH
Read more about the planned £5/month ‘BritBox’ here, which would include boxsets of
archive shows … like Class? The Guardian thinks its doomed!
conglomerate,
subsidiary
A company that owns other companies. The BBC is a conglomerate (eg BBC America is a
subsidiary).
globalisation,
co-production,
cultural
imperialism;
normativity of
London
The BBC is a global operator, selling shows its produced; formats for local remakes (eg many
versions of Top Gear); and even some foreign subscription or ad-funded channels (eg BBC
America). However, its UK streaming service, iPlayer, is locked for UK users only due to
rights issues.
The BBC does reflect the dominance of American culture in some of its productions (cultural
imperialism is the dominance of a larger culture over smaller cultures), and Class did do
better in the US than in the UK. It often co-produces expensive TV series with US partners, in
this case its own part-owned subsidiary BBC America.

3. Despite being co-produced by BBC Wales, and diversity in terms of ethnicity, family, class,
sexuality and disability, it is set in a London school and so contributes to the normative
representation of London/south of England as representing Britain/UK. Indeed, Charlie’s
claim to be from Sheffield (north of England) is treated like a joke. The London setting is more
likely to attract a UK audience + an international audience, both being more used to this
setting and accent than any other part of the UK.
watershed No adult content (strong language or sexual/violent content) before 9pm to protect children.
Failure to stick to this law could see OfCom (the UK’s TV regulator) issue a large fine to a
channel or even, if they do this repeatedly, withdraw their license to broadcast in the UK
(banning them). This generally rules out 15-rated (for DVDs) shows such as Class being
screened before 9pm
distribution,
BBC3,
graveyard slot,
primetime,
horizontal
integration &
synergy
By ep4 (our CSP) the audience
was down 50% from ep1!!!
How TV shows are made
available. Just as in cinema a
release strategy (especially
time of year: blockbusters are
usually kept for the main
holiday periods when children
are off school) can be critical,
so is scheduling on TV. Class
was seen as a high-profile
show, linked to a smash-hit
franchise, that would drive
traffic to the newly online-only BBC3 (launched 2003, went online in 2016).
This simply failed!!! The BBC has since been heavily criticised by OfCom for failing to
adequately serve or attract the 16-34 audience BBC3 is legally required to service (PSB
requirement). You should recall how Radio 1 was set up after similar criticism… When it
appeared on BBC1, it was put on in a late-night slot, 1130pm, too late for much of its
intended audience and known as the graveyard slot for a reason! Given the Dr Who franchise
link it needed a primetime push.
What was just as evident was the lack of synergy from horizontal integration – despite being
set in the Dr Who universe, with the Dr appearing in episode 1, and the school being the
same one from the original series, there was almost zero mention of Class on the popular Dr
Who social media and a lack of promotion on the main BBC channels. Indeed, there was an
obvious opportunity for synergy with Radio 1, serving a similar target audience, but there was
no promotional push or tie-in with this either. Another 2016 BBC3 show, Cuckoo, did well – it
WAS heavily promoted on BBC1, a key difference.
BBC America showed how the show could have been promoted, airing Class episodes
immediately after Dr Who episodes, helping it to a much bigger audience than in the UK. The
BBC1 screenings only attracted 0.3m viewers. However, the BBC did create a detailed show
website with multiple video etc … but perhaps an app might have been more engaging for a
GenY/GenZ audience?
Digitalspy wrote an article on why Class flopped. “When explaining the decision,
one thing to take into account is the show's dismal ratings
performance – Class failed to make the BBC iPlayer Top 20 in its
first seven weeks, and failed to secure over 1m viewers at any point

4. when repeated on BBC One in a late-evening slot across January
and February.”
It was also sold through iTunes as a download – not a popular choice with 16-34s in 2016
(Apple have finally killed off music DLs in 2019 + scrapped/split iTunes itself!)
Dr Who’s
Britishness;
non-
globalisation
The southern English accents of the 1963 characters are different from their 2016 Class
peers, though the white southern English characters and setting were even more obviously
normative at that time.
The big difference with Class is there is not attempt at considering a wider international
audience. The current Dr Who revival sells in over 100 countries, but the 1963 original wasn’t
created with a global audience in mind. Choices like the police box the Tardis was based on
were very distinctively British.
Class was only sold to the USA, Canada + Australia (Top Gear, another BBC show, is sold
either as the UK programme or format for local versions in over 100 national TV markets)
Dr Who world
record
simulcast + 3D
cinema for
2013 50th
anniversary
In 2013, the 50th
anniversary episode was simulcast [broadcast at the same time] in 94
countries, a world record to add to its longest-running sci-fi show in the world. It was also
given a limited cinema release – in 3D (very expensive to produce). This is a very strong sign
of the brand’s strength (the rebooted Dr Who peaked at 10m regular viewers, a long way from
Class’ 0.3m!!!). Surely we can say this was an abysmal mishandling of a franchise extension?
OfCom The ‘quango’ that regulates TV, radio & more in the UK. It is a statutory regulator, able to
issue fines (it has given out multi-million fines!) + even withdraw licenses (as it has for Press
TV, and may do soon for RT [Russia Today], though it is in theory quasi-autonomous (sort of
free from government control). OfCom fined the BBC £400k (2008) for fixing competitions and
£150k (2009) for an offensive Radio 2 show with Russell Brand – but … hit BT with a £42m
fine in 2017!
It has told the BBC it must do better to attract the legally-required 16-34 audience for BBC3
since going online-only in 2016. It has also attacked Radio 1 for similarly failing to serve the
youth audience it is intended to target. Overall, OfCom judges the BBC to be once again
failing to adequately serve 16-34s – remember, as a PSB (and the BBC is uniquely paid for
the compulsory license fee), the BBC has a statutory duty (which OfCom enforces) to serve
the full range of the UK public. (2018 Guardian article on headline below)
franchise,
spin-off, Dr
Who universe
The huge success of the MCU (eg Dr S) has made the notion of a ‘universe’ just as influential
as the wider term franchise. A universe refers to characters belonging to the same wide
narrative, whereas franchise considers expansion of IP whether through
sequels/prequels/reboots (etc) or spin-off
into multiple series and even different
media. Dr S originated as a comic book
character so the movie is an expansion
of the franchise.
Dr Who has had other, successful multi-
series spin-off shows including The
Sarah Jane Adventures (children’s, not family like main Dr
Who, so screened on CBBC, the BBC’s children’s
channel) and Torchwood (post-watershed, adults; the
central protagonist is bisexual and shown in passionate

5. gay embraces). Wiki.
intertextuality,
audience
pleasures,
sub-culture,
cultural capital
Coal Hill School & the ep1
(NOT ep3) appearance of the then-current Dr were both intertextual references: to follow the
preferred reading you need some familiarity with another text! Audiences take pleasure in
having such knowledge. In some sub-culture circles (eg sci-fi/comic conventions) such
knowledge brings what Bourdieu calls cultural capital, a form of wealth or social status.
See the note on gender in Dr Who below for a different point on cultural imperialism
genre: sci-fi The main genre of Class/Dr Who, as denoted by the futuristic tech (notably weapons +
transportation devices), aliens, electronic sound FX, VFX/CGI, and sometimes lighting
(especially blue tints/filters).
hybridity &
gender
stereotypes
Class is a hybrid of sci-fi plus drama, action, romance, mystery, with some notes of comedy
too. The original Dr Who lacked the comedy notes but likewise combined action and mystery;
the more recent series added romance but in the original this was considered unseemly and
inappropriate for a younger/family audience (though the teachers do speculate when
following Susan that she might be meeting a boy, as “she is 15” and “that would be normal”),
and the old-aged Dr treated his ‘helper’ or assistant as his daughter. The increased hybridity
perhaps reflects the US co-production of Class. There are stereotyped gender considerations
too: romance primarily for females, action for males.
NICS Not really a term, more key things to consider for pinning down a genre: Narrative,
Iconography, Characters, Setting
multi-strand
narrative
Instead of a simpler, single plotline narrative, series like Class create a multi-strand narrative,
following not just a conflict for a single episode but multiple characters and their story arcs,
and an ongoing series story arc. While the original Dr Who focused on a smaller core cast of
4 and had shorter episodes, it too has aspects of the multi-strand narrative. In Class ep 3 we

6. have these key narratives: April’s backstory (dad conflict); Corakinus backstory (unwanted
link to April creating leadership pressure); new headteacher (villain? Narrative enigma!);
flower invasion.
April is centrally framed here (screenshot below), and she is at the heart of this episode (pun
intended) – the name of which reflects her centrality.
cliffhanger
ending
Dr Who is a classic example of the use of a cliffhanger, a specific use of narrative enigma
intended to motivate the audience to return to find out what would happen.
Proppian
archetypes
In the Class episode (3) the hero role can be assigned to a combination of Charlie, April, Miss
Quill; princess/prize April; villain Corakinus (BUT with Miss Quill playing an anti-hero?); donor
Miss Quill; false hero Ram; dispatcher Huw (April’s dad); helper Tanya.
The 1963 Dr Who is more ambiguous than it might seem – the Dr appears as a mysterious
figure, and actually quite sinister (before we get further exposition in subsequent episodes.
Sarah screams at him not to do it (launch the Tardis) – which knocks out the 2 teachers. In
this 1st
episode the Proppian roles aren’t necessarily clearly defined.
stereotypes,
countertypes,
Campbell’s
monmyth or
hero’s journey,
binary
opposition,
tropes, hetero-
normative
[Queerty feature] Class
uses a mix of stereotypes
and counterypes –
including, crucially, within a
single character. April is
initially a well-behaved
middle-class girl engaging
in respectable study
(classical music, violin, not
rock guitar!) with some
normative feminine
signifiers (eg long hair).
She appears to be capable of stereotyped teen tantrums too. But we also see her assert
herself over a jock and emerge as a physical action hero – her character evolves even over
this single episode. Think about her hidden part (Corakinus’ heart) can represent a fantasy
wish fulfilment for viewers – unleashing a wild side!!!! We also get crass tropes like the sexy
female schoolteacher, though she combines
normative sexualised femininity (male gaze – note
the binary opposition with the new headteacher)
with a lack of maternity (uncaring for her supposed
child or even students). While the episode has a
hetero-normative edge with the Ram/April plotline,
there is overall a much more liberal take on
sexuality with Charlie’s sexuality NOT presented
as weird or particularly worthy of comment by
others.
The contrasting impacts on the heart sharers are
actually highly normative: April is confused by the
aggression and physical strength; Coranikus is
confused by lust and romantic yearning (also
arguably edging in some hetero-normative representation too, with some humour used – “I
don’t suppose we could have a moment of cuddling” he asks. Note the female Shadowkin is
very sarcastic and assertive with her king). Again, consider how April’s fiery out-of-character

7. outburst can actually represent some wish-fulfillment for parts of the audience, but also how
this masculine aggression and outspokenness contrasts with her usual studious quietness.
This picture (just before mum walks in) sums up a key contrast from the 1963-2016 series!
Gender & the
teen in Dr Who
Don’t overlook the subtleties here; yes, compared to Class it is grossly archaic BUT it does to
some degree reflect a time of social change with traditional gender roles, so firmly reinforced
throughout the 1950s in TV and especially advertising, being challenged. THE hero is the Dr,
BUT Susan is quite a confident, assertive figure. She struggles to stand up to ‘grandfather’
BUT does scold him! She does firmly stand up to the physically domineering Ian.
To put this in context (that its not simply old-fashioned, patriarc hy) In 1963 the 1953
Hollywood movie which helped to create the identity of the teenager, The Wild One, was
STILL banned (by the BBFC, not the BBC!), as it would be until 1967. The British
establishment loathed the rise of the teen in the USA and looked down on media which would
encourage AMERICANISATION of British culture.
single parent
family
In 1963 any representation of a single parent
family would be controversial for undermining the
‘right’ model of a nuclear family (married mother,
father, child/ren). Susan is presented as an
orphan which gets round this – BUT the 2
teachers instinctively act like parents, further
‘solving’ this ‘problem’!!! Arguably her
‘unconventional’ family upbringing accounts for
her strangeness – she is not normal in terms of her classmates/age (though the Dr treats her
as irresponsible, and she is taken by pop music and fashion).
Class is unusual in representing most
of its characters as from single parent
families. Despite this being a better
reflection of radically changed
demographics [wider social contexts]
from 1963-2016 it still stands out as
quite unusual – reflective of its
younger (not older adult/parents)
target audience today. Charlie is a
burden on Quill; April’s dad is abusive;
Ram’s dad struggles to fill the absent
mother role. Its not a simplistic
representation but it would be
unimaginable, and would certainly
have attracted hostile press criticism,
in 1963.
B&W,
ABC1C2DE
By the 1950s cinema was routinely in colour, but it wasn’t until 1969 that UK TV was
broadcast in colour (1966 in the USA). In 1963 TV sets were still expensive for many working-
class families – which is why the 1963 Dr Who audience demographics have figures for
ABC1C2 but not DE!!! Indeed, many UK working-class families would still have (by then

8. cheaper) B&W TV sets well into the 1980s.
TV production
v film
production;
1963 camera
technology
The key difference is speed: TV series have traditionally been filmed at a MUCH quicker rate
than films. Budgets were historically much lower (this is changing now with series like Game
of Thrones) for TV. This is why Alfred Hitchcock caused such shock by filming his classic
movie Psycho with a TV crew (he had his own TV show & did this because the studio gave
the horror a low budget; he also filmed it in B&W because he knew the censors would let
more blood pass).
The cameras of the day were physically large, better suited to studio sets. Given the need for
speed, you’ll notice longer takes as well as deep field of focus being the norm (look for some
clumsy use of focus push/pull in the car interior between the 2 teachers). You’ll also spot the
boom mic occasionally in shot – shots couldn’t be immediately checked on set as they can
today and there was no time/budget for reshoots. We do get some shot reverse-shot
sequences but with limited shot variety the two shot, used very carefully today, is very much
the norm, with zoom and reverse zoom used to create a sense of variety, effectively replacing
shot reverse-shot.
This also impacts the storytelling – the use of flashbacks is very simplistic, and consistently
uses point-of-view shots, often CU/MCU, with a cross-fade to denote the flashback.
Again, note how zoom (and/or tracking forward [camera moving closer]) creates reframing –
the scene outside the Tardis with the Dr + 2 teachers is a good example, with occasional CUs
of the Dr thrown in to mix it up + also signify his greater importance within the narrative.
Dr Who
soundtrack
The BBC department that created the eerie theme tune and incidental, non-diegetic music
and sound FX would later become world famous and seen as pioneers of ambient dance
music! Sound FX are critical in sci-fi, from the lightsabre and spaceship sounds in the Star
Wars movies to the wheezing sounds of the Tardis as it transports. The BBC technicians
invented synthesizer technology that would influence music like the ‘Krautrock’ music genre
in the 1970s. The sound when Barbara 1st
rushes into the Tardis is a great example of the
use of incidental sound – an electrical whine remains throughout the scene.
Do note they also used a lot of more traditional brass (long drawn out notes to create a tense
feeling in the audience by unconsciously encouraging them to hold their breath!) with higher-
pitched piano notes interspersed (as these are also faster, they help to unsettle the viewer’s
heartbeat, again physiological boosting psychological change).
VFX/CGI & the
Dr Who
abstract
layering
The Dr Who FX of course look clunky today – obvious stage sets notably; we only see the
silhouette of a creature in this episode but the various aliens would be portrayed through use
of suits or models, not CGI.
The Tardis transportation montage sequence is the best example of the differences; other
than use scale models (as the 1977 Star Wars film did) their main option was layering. In later
series this lengthy sequence of what could now be termed ‘trippy’ abstract layering (its not
dissimilar to the 1968 sci-fi 2001 A Space Odyssey) would be cut out, but at this point it was
needed for exposition purposes, to explain to the audience that the Tardis was moving
(through time and relative dimensions in space!).
A simple Class example for contrast is the ‘helicopter shot’ of Coranikus’ home planet,
tracking into his lair, at the opening of the ep4 CSP. As with so many films (especially
superhero and action) today, this is entirely CGI rendered; no sets are used. A similar
example is also seen in the recap, with the shot of the trapped souls in Charles’ box, across
another CGI planetscape. The flickering flames and black smoke rising from the characters
on Coranikus’ planet are another obvious example of CGI/VFX, clearly not diegetic SFX –
though the aliens are actors in suits! A simple wave effect is used to enhance the
verisimilitude of extreme heat. Their eyes again use CGI rather than coloured contact lenses,
colouring the eye whites a shimmering red (a subtler effect is added to April’s eyes as she

9. channels Coranikus’ strength when pushing her father away). Even the falling pink petals in
the 1st shot post-titles are CGI; trying to capture the natural flight of this to fall at a specific
destination would be very difficult to achieve!
The title sequences of course also highlight the changed technology; Class uses a keyframed
zoom effect which is similar to the iconic White Stripes video for 7 Nation Army, possibly an
intertextuality.

10. channels Coranikus’ strength when pushing her father away). Even the falling pink petals in
the 1st shot post-titles are CGI; trying to capture the natural flight of this to fall at a specific
destination would be very difficult to achieve!
The title sequences of course also highlight the changed technology; Class uses a keyframed
zoom effect which is similar to the iconic White Stripes video for 7 Nation Army, possibly an
intertextuality.