Catfish

"I thought everyone would treat me differently now I have a boyfriend."

Writer: Kate Thorman

Format: Audio

Released: April 2020

Series: Class Vol 3.02

Featuring: April, Ram, Charlie, Matteusz, Tanya

Synopsis

When a new student transfers to Coal Hill Academy, everyone goes out of their way to make him feel welcome, and Tanya is especially surprised by how much they have in common. Will she sacrifice best friends for her very first boyfriend?

Verdict

Catfish was a great story to continue the third volume of audio adventures for Class from Big Finish! This was a strong start to life as Tanya for Joanna McGibbon in the recasted role and she really did do an admirable job. I thought she sounded authentic in the role and the character exploration that took place in the story really allowed her to settle in and be accepted very quickly. Tanya is a bit of a strange character with her position as almost an outsider to the main group and that was very much the theme of the story as her new boyfriend Paul was always hanging out with her friends whilst she was back home studying or doing coursework. I think Tanya's position as only being allowed to hang out with the likes of April, Ram and Charlie if it has an educational purpose is a shame and parenting to the controlling extreme and it was obviously having an adverse effect for her social life. She learned through Paul that her friends were often hanging out without her for a little day trip to Brighton here or a quick lunch there. Tanya never got the invite because her friends were now in the position that they just assumed she wouldn't be able to come and that wouldn't go down nicely for her. It was very much understandable why that upset Tanya and considering Paul was quite a new boyfriend, they seemed to get into little spats on the phone or tell each other not to be upset rather easily. I have been in my relationship for over five years now and I wouldn't dream of telling Gemma 'don't get upset' as that's just not my right. Tanya was justified and I definitely understood her feelings throughout this story. For much of the adventure, there didn't seem to be any kind of threat which was almost a little refreshing but it was always clear that Paul would be involved in some way. The simplicity of Tanya mentioning that she wouldn't come to school one day to prove a point of not being noticed if she was missing sparked her Ecuadorian boyfriend into revealing his true colours as an alien displaced in war that couldn't live alone. So after a little initiation and experience, he'd decided he wanted Tanya's life after hearing of all the complaints she had despite him seeing that she was clearly loved. I liked that realisation for Tanya and it was also the catalyst for April, Ram, Charlie and Matteusz to realise that they'd been guilty of not always involving Tanya when they really ought to have done so. The threat of Paul actually killing Tanya was quelled quite quickly and the humour that came from both Tanyas being present was good. I thought April took good initiative in deducing which was the real version. Tanya thinking she was in an alternate dimension was amusing, although I think talking to herself went a bit too much and wasn't incorporating the audio format well enough. It didn't take anything away from the story though. I liked the simplicity of the ending and it incorporating the continuity of Class with the tears in space and Paul taking the random plunge through for another new start. He'd tried to kill Tanya so couldn't fit in with the misfits here, but he'd showed Tanya she was loved and that was a nice touch. Overall, a strong audio to continue the series!

Rating: 8/10