Okay, so recently the BBC announced a new Doctor Who spin-off called Class. I will restrain judgement until it actually airs, but fan reaction was somewhat indifferent. I have had an idea for a new show related to Doctor Who we could have on our telly (or more likely iPlayer)

Science with The Doctor. Some BBC panel will come up with a better, snazzier name but it’s the best I can think of.

Remember that pre-titles sequence in Before The Flood? Those five minutes of Capaldi wandering round the TARDIS explaining the Bootstrap Paradox? THAT. Give us more of that. Every week The Doctor teaches us various scientific theories and other interesting facts in the TARDIS with some cheeky digs at historical characters.

Think about it, Doctor Who teaching children science. How could this idea not work? As a college student in Early Years I will acknowledge that children can learn more from educational shows like Numberjacks, Horrible Histories and Blue Peter. They feel much more engaged and the shows are usually much more fun than their school lessons. Why shouldn’t Doctor Who be used to teach children?

Now, people who were Who fans in the 90s may remember this Sylvester McCoy classic, Search Out Space. (It’s on the Survival DVD extras for those wanting to watch it)

The Doctor and Ace (amongst some forgettable side characters) host a special edition of the children’s classic Search Out Science. It worked well, though was limited by the show’s format of pausing every 2 minutes to ask the audience a question. People tend to not include this as canon and it doesn’t need to be. Let it exist in an odd quasi-show state alongside Attack of the Graske and Dimensions in Time.

The show doesn’t need to be long, maybe 10-15 minutes, but it needs to be interesting. Whether you like that brief little segment in Before The Flood, it was interesting to see The Doctor explain the Bootstrap Paradox in a way that was genuinely funny, interesting and educational. I reckon Capaldi would lap it up, he really seemed to enjoy the scenes in the TARDIS with the audience.

Class won’t live up to the legacy of The Sarah Jane Adventures in the land of teen-fiction Doctor Who (it’s virtually impossible for it to), so why not try pitch something like Sydney Newman wanted for Doctor Who; a fun romp around the school curriculum with an alien.

SJA is for teens, Doctor Who is for families, Torchwood is for adults. Pitch something new at either the young children or the elderly. Where’s my OAP spin-off dammit?!