Class: Volume Three 3.1 - The Soers' Ditch by Carl Rowens (MINI-REVIEWS)
Reviewed by Ellie, Sean, Ted & Jamie
Clarification: This episode is covered by a series of mini-reviews of the story from all four reviewers. In some cases, these may contain what could be considered spoilers. You have been warned.
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| Fady Elsayed & Sophie Hopkins with some of the guest cast (Alexander, Shodeko, Abeysekera and Ramanee) |
The Soers' Ditch is an excellent starting point for the most recent Class audios. It brings together characters in both new, interesting dynamics, as well as further developing existing dynamics. The new alien cultures introduced are interesting, although limited to their tradition of the ‘hunt’. The Soers' Ditch does not hold back from exploring new depth of the characters - I found Charlie’s ruthlessness towards the Soers a great addition to his existing characterisation, as well as adding to how other characters see him. The budding relationship between April and Ram is also sweet and fills some of the development Class was lacking on TV. Similarly, the hint of insecurity of Charlie and Matteusz’ relationship made for nice emotional beats. Overall, a simple plot but great exploration of character dynamics.
Sean says:
The Soers' Ditch is a great story to bring us back to the world of Class after the long eighteen month wait for more. Following Ram and April, and Charlie and Matteusz as their double date spirals into chaos, it's quite the opening story. This story is a exciting story, with great performances from Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Jordan Renzo, as Carl Rowens explore each couple's relationship. It tackles how they've evolved up to this point in events and shows why they work together. More of April and Ram's relationship is always much appreciated! It's a fast and fantastic piece of writing. Gives you excitement as well as chills and is quite the starter!
Ted says:
Rowens' script cleverly moves away from the Coal Hill Academy and writes a detailed alien mythology, a perfect mixture of a thriller and a teen romance. Naturally, as this script focuses on the relationships within the main group, Rowens explores the romantic entanglements as both couples are past that initial 'honeymoon phase'. Hopkins and Elsayed had clever banter and their performances had great moments between them. This story surprisingly showed that April and Ram had better communication and understanding of each other than Charlie and Matteusz. It also explores Charlie and Matteusz getting to know each other more, bringing up stories of their childhood and their inner insecurities. Alongside writing and character work, the sound design was incredibly immersive and effective in setting up the world-building. The alien travellers (voiced by Amanda Shodeko, McKenzie Alexander, Sakuntala Ramanee, Ian Abeysekera) reminded me of the Gypsy society from Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Shodeko, Ramanee and Abeysekera were superb in their respective roles, however, it took me a while to warm up to Alexander's performance - I personally felt his voice wasn't right for this character in certain moments, but his acting was decent. Overall, this was a solid start to the new series and really captured the essence of the series.
Jamie says:
Class is certainly back in session, isn't it? What a delight it was to have the gang back again - and particularly to be able to hear the familiar couplings of Chatteusz and Apram interacting with each other once more (as they were understandably kept apart for the first two boxsets to delve into other relationships and interactions). The story gets going very quickly and introduces to the rather intriguing Soers. I do feel sad that the time limitations of the story didn't allow for a great deal of exploration of their culture beyond the 'flag capture', as I would have loved to have heard more of that... But it's rather well made-up for by the superb guest cast.
MacKenzie Alexander and Amanda Shodeko are able to swiftly and effectively convey so much emotion in their characters, and their motivations are wonderfully clear throughout. Renzo & Austin are able to have a lovely support moment in which it's clear that the groundwork for their relationship's evolution in the TV episodes is being laid. And there's this lovely interdependent nature to how Apram tackle the situation, performed well by Hopkins & Elsayed. My only notable critique is actually that of the opening hook, as it felt somewhat detached from the rest of the story. Beyond that, however, lies a bold and thrilling opening story - a rollercoaster that gives enough breaks to breathe in some lovely character moments before whirling you on further.
Ted says:
Rowens' script cleverly moves away from the Coal Hill Academy and writes a detailed alien mythology, a perfect mixture of a thriller and a teen romance. Naturally, as this script focuses on the relationships within the main group, Rowens explores the romantic entanglements as both couples are past that initial 'honeymoon phase'. Hopkins and Elsayed had clever banter and their performances had great moments between them. This story surprisingly showed that April and Ram had better communication and understanding of each other than Charlie and Matteusz. It also explores Charlie and Matteusz getting to know each other more, bringing up stories of their childhood and their inner insecurities. Alongside writing and character work, the sound design was incredibly immersive and effective in setting up the world-building. The alien travellers (voiced by Amanda Shodeko, McKenzie Alexander, Sakuntala Ramanee, Ian Abeysekera) reminded me of the Gypsy society from Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Shodeko, Ramanee and Abeysekera were superb in their respective roles, however, it took me a while to warm up to Alexander's performance - I personally felt his voice wasn't right for this character in certain moments, but his acting was decent. Overall, this was a solid start to the new series and really captured the essence of the series.
Jamie says:
Class is certainly back in session, isn't it? What a delight it was to have the gang back again - and particularly to be able to hear the familiar couplings of Chatteusz and Apram interacting with each other once more (as they were understandably kept apart for the first two boxsets to delve into other relationships and interactions). The story gets going very quickly and introduces to the rather intriguing Soers. I do feel sad that the time limitations of the story didn't allow for a great deal of exploration of their culture beyond the 'flag capture', as I would have loved to have heard more of that... But it's rather well made-up for by the superb guest cast.
MacKenzie Alexander and Amanda Shodeko are able to swiftly and effectively convey so much emotion in their characters, and their motivations are wonderfully clear throughout. Renzo & Austin are able to have a lovely support moment in which it's clear that the groundwork for their relationship's evolution in the TV episodes is being laid. And there's this lovely interdependent nature to how Apram tackle the situation, performed well by Hopkins & Elsayed. My only notable critique is actually that of the opening hook, as it felt somewhat detached from the rest of the story. Beyond that, however, lies a bold and thrilling opening story - a rollercoaster that gives enough breaks to breathe in some lovely character moments before whirling you on further.
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