for everyone else disappointed in the media and tv this week for yet again killing off a mentally ill black character for shock value, and feel like they want to try and new show with actual good writing of race, religion, and sexuality, I suggest you try out Class, the new doctor who spin-off available in its entirety on BBC iplayer, which features:
- no straight white males in the main cast
- equal gender divide in the main cast
- a non-white sikh boy who talks about his religion and how he faces prejudice because of it, whilst also being the popular jock character who’s actually really smart, and a physically disabled amputee
- who also has the best familial relationship on the show with his dad
- a non-sexualised teenage black girl who is canonically the smartest person in the main cast and gets to be angry and nerdy and young and be a human instead of a walking stereotype
- a gay couple as the first romance on the show, one of whom being a polish immigrated man living with his boyfriend after his family kicked him out, who speaks with a heavy accent and talks about how he adapted to moving to another country
- a girl who suffered parental abuse and came out of it as kind but also wanting not to be seen as fragile, who acts as a young carer to her disabled mom
- a diverse cast which doesn’t feel like it’s a diverse cast so it can make a point of it, but because that’s what the average London class looks like now and the writer understand teens and has always written inclusively (Patrick Ness, whose YA books I recommend above all others, his writing is amazing)
- slight ableism in the disabled mom being magically cured by alien technology, as is Ram’s amputated leg, but he struggles with his prosthetic more
- the two alien members of the main cast are forcibly together, as Charlie has a piece of technology in Miss Quill’s head which means she has to obey and protect him, or she will die. they actively have debates as to whether this is punishment for her ‘war crimes’ or slavery, and I feel this will be a major plot point and absolutely shown as fundamentally wrong in the show, but just a minor warning that personal control does happen in the early episodes
all in all, this show has started really strongly and only got better, the most recent episode easily being the best by far, and I think it’s only going to go from strength to strength, so please please give it a chance and support it!
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