The primary setting of the pilot episode of The Class was in the main character’s home, which communicated that this would be another comedy in the fashion of Friends. The characters were attired as one might expect thirty-somethings to dress if they were attending a party amongst their peers whom they are estranged. High key lighting lit the studio set suggesting that we were about to view a light-hearted comedy. The actors moved little, except during entry or exit from the set, because they were conversing amongst each other and discussing their lives.

The Class appears to be a series. As with any standard sitcom, each episode does provide a small portion of the full picture behind the show, but the episodes seen to be autonomous in nature. One does not necessarily have to watch the first episode to understand the occurrences in the second or third episodes. Though the show does have some of the makings of a serial, the author does not believe there are enough similarities to classify the show as either a serial or a mix of serial and series.

The production of The Class makes it appear, initially, as though it were a standard sitcom. The audience is not disappointed upon viewing the pilot episode. Most of the action of the episode is set in the main character’s living room, though there is some initial activity in the home’s of the accessory characters. The primary blocking technique utilized is shallow space blocking as most of the action takes place in a living room involving a large number of characters. The producers chose wisely to add a laugh track to the show as none of the jokes presented would have elicited even the slightest chuckle from an actual audience. To which demographic the show was directed towards is a mystery to this author.

Unfortunately for The Class, the show has little in the way of unique features. As previously mentioned, the show borrows most of its soul from other sitcoms directed towards affluent thiry-somethings. The premise of the show is unique in that the author has not seen a show based upon a third grade reunion before. The reunion concept, in general, was tried previously in such reality shows as High School Reunion. The author believes the writers could easily have formulated a more cogent idea as to what brings this particular group of characters together. A third grade reunion seems totally out of the realm of possibility. There are myriad programs that follow the same, or similar, scheme as The Class does. It is unbelievably difficult to differentiate this show from any of the others on television nowadays. The producers of the show must have been running out of ideas when they pitched this idea.

The author truly hopes that The Class does not last more than a few episodes. Each episode broadcast is another hit to the rich tapestry known as television. Sadly, the author knows it will take some time before the network cancels the show. The script is superbly poor; the author frequently did not know which actor told a joke until he heard the laugh track. Even after hearing the laugh track, it tended to be difficult to understand which uttering the authors determined was funny enough to bring forth laughter. When a sitcom is not funny, there is no hope for the series. Because there are a large number of characters, their interactions may provide for a number of episodes prior to the network cancelling the show. The other important reason why the show cannot survive against much of the other fine television shows is that the acting was exceptionally uninspired. Despite the lacking script, at least the actors could make the characters believable or likable to encourage viewers to watch the show again. There seemed to be little feeling expressed by the actors and that made the viewers not want to watch anymore. Believable characters will make viewers want to know what happens next to the show. The author believes that few people will be hanging on to their seats awaiting a new installment of The Class.