The following review is based on actual events. It is important to remember, however, that you can’t rewrite history, not one line. Except perhaps when you embark on an adventure in space and time…
Celebrating both the origins of Doctor Who and the amazing people around it, Mark Gatiss promised something special with An Adventure in Space and Time, a “love letter” to the show and he has certainly delivered in this moving and excellently produced tribute in this 50th anniversary year.
Beginning not quite at the beginning, 1965 to be exact, we soon travel back to way before that solitary policeman walked those famous streets in Totters Lane, back to when the show was merely a thought in the mind of Canadian Sydney Newman, before Bill Hartnell, Bunny Webber or even Anthony Coburn, much less the TARDIS, back to the very beginning. A time when Newman and his cohorts were looking for the perfect show to link the audience between Grandstand and Jukebox Jury and concocted Dr. Who, his granddaughter Susan and his ship, travelling on a wonderful adventure in space and time.
Gatiss’ wonderful script is all he said it was, a true love letter to Doctor Who fans and the show itself and even those familiar with the story can’t help but be taken along with the suspense, such is the mark of great writing and a man who is truly in love with this show. What fan wouldn’t feel a stirring in the loins at the recreation of the sets for The Web Planet or The Dalek Invasion of Earth or the sumptuousness of the story of the hour, Marco Polo? To hear that classic theme from Ron Grainer or the creation of the TARDIS itself?
Faced with cancellation almost from day one, lack of budgets, multiple personalities and an increasingly unwell Hartnell, the shows early days are rocky ones, there is both triumph and tragedy here as the show goes on to be an immense success against all odds and Hartnell becomes increasing attached to the role he must eventually leave. The drama is littered with dialogue from the show and, as you would expect from Gatiss, gentle humour throughout such as the smoking Cyberman and a few Billy fluffs into the bargain… our fornicator is completely checked, we can assure you!
The cameos from the likes of William Russell and Carole Ann Ford are magical and the finale featuring Matt Smith is both poignant and one of the images that will be taken from this 50th anniversary season. Yet it is the main cast who truly shine, most notably David Bradley and Jessica Raine as William Hartnell and Verity Lambert.
Bradley is both magnificent and touching as Hartnell, a virtuoso performance that cuts to the very depths of the man, infusing his story with sadness and yet a genuine warmth. His journey through his time on the show from disdain to love perfectly mirrors that of Doctor Who itself, from being treated as something of a joke to being a national success. Raine is spellbinding as Doctor Who‘s first producer. Striking a friendship with Waris Hussein, both being outsiders at the Beeb through their gender and race, both Lambert and Hussein face prejudice at every turn from the establishment and overcome all odds to bring together Doctor Who, the show that went on to become a national institution. Truly piss and vinegar stuff.
An Adventure is Space and Time is just that, an adventure, it is not a historic record nor a documentary. Mark Gatiss is not a historian, he is a dramatist and the very real live people and events are his characters and his drama. Many will no doubt take issue with the changing of history and a point can be made that with such a populist drama the fiction can become fact within the popular consciousness. Yet the film should be taken in the spirit it was intended - a tribute for a wide audience at a time when all eyes are focused on this show.
An Adventure in Space and Time is one of the most wonderful pieces of Doctor Who related television ever produced, fully deserving of its five standing ovations at the BFI and a strong contender for a multitude of BAFTA awards. It is a drama of heart and passion and it’s mere existence shows just how the image of the show has improved in the eyes of the BBC and wider public. Poignant, funny, loving and with a few tears along the way, it is truly an adventure to behold. Simply enchanting.
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This fantastic one-off drama travels back in time to 1963 to see how the beloved Doctor Who was first brought to the screen. Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles. Wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry's glass ceiling. Both of them were to find unlikely hope and unexpected challenges in the form of a Saturday tea-time drama, time travel and monsters! Allied with a team of brilliant people, they went on to create the longest-running science fiction series ever, now celebrating its 50th anniversary. An Adventure in Space and Time is written by Mark Gatiss, executive produced by Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat and Caroline Skinner and directed by Terry McDonough (the director of Breaking Bad). David Bradley (Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Broadchurch) plays the lead role of William Hartnell while Jessica Raine (Call the Midwife, The Woman in Black) co-stars as the first ever producer of Doctor Who, Verity Lambert. The stellar cast is joined by Sacha Dhawan (Waris Hussein), Lesley Manville (Heather Hartnell), and Brian Cox (Sydney Newman). A must see drama for all doctor who and drama fans alike. DVD extra features include: • Leaflet featuring programme images and an exclusive foreword by writer and executive producer Mark Gatiss • William Hartnell: The Original • The Making of An Adventure - narrated by Carole Ann Ford • Reconstructions:? - Scenes from An Unearthly Child and the pilot ?- Regenerations ? - Farewell to Susan ?- Festive Greeting - The Title Sequences - Deleted Scenes ?- The Radiophonic Workshop? - Verity's Leaving Party" The disc also contains English subtitles for the hard of hearing, audio description and audio navigation. The main feature contains a 5.1 soundtrack.
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