November 21st, 2013
103 comments
We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
What did You Think of An Adventure In Space And Time ?
What did You Think of An Adventure In Space And Time ?
This special one-off drama travels back in time to 1963 to see how 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 stars David Bradley (William Hartnell); Jessica Raine (Verity Lambert); Sacha Dhawan (Waris Hussein) and Brian Cox (Sydney Newman). It is written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Terry McDonough.
William Russell…
Nicholas Briggs…
Carol Ann Ford…
Jean Marsh and Anneke wills…
An Adventure in Space and Time (DVD)
Available to order now from www.bbcshop.com or www.amazon.co.uk
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.
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”
Available to order now from www.bbcshop.com or www.amazon.co.uk
The Doctor Who Site
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Merchandise
Flickr
YouTube
WFK DVD Collector 13
November 22nd, 2013 - 6:03pmThis was just fantastic. It was just perfect TV.
From the beginning I said ‘ok don’t cry!’ And I was ok until Bill looked over and saw Matt Smith standing there! It broke my heart. He didn’t say anything, but you can just hear Matt saying to him ‘hey, every thing works out fine’. Thank you so much Mark Gatiss and everyone involved in making it!
Can’t wait to see what their going to do for the 100th anniversary!
whoniversal
November 22nd, 2013 - 5:58pmWOW! A fantastic piece of TV.
Hat’s off to the set designers and builders who captured the original scenes, sets and equipment to perfection.
It was great to switch over to BEEB4 to watch the very episodes that were so brilliantly portrayed by this fantastic cast.
WHO else kept switching betwen recordings of the play and the originals to compare the accuracy?
Do I need to get a life?
Fantastic; well done; thank you; more please!
Jacob
November 22nd, 2013 - 5:55pmThe Matt Smith cameo was so moving, such a great addittion to the 50th celebrations. Can’t wait for tomorrow!!!!!!
#SaveTheDay
LG
November 22nd, 2013 - 5:27pmI actually cried, and so did my English teacher!
The Doctor
November 22nd, 2013 - 5:01pmIt’s the first bit of TV that made me shed a tear since Rose’s departure.
Rob Dawn
November 22nd, 2013 - 4:54pmgot to admit the Matt SMith appearance brought a lump to my throat. nut a great TV show
The Doctor
November 22nd, 2013 - 4:51pmSame
The Doctor
November 22nd, 2013 - 4:51pmIt was a belter but, to be honest it made me have a tear or two at the end.
100000BC
November 22nd, 2013 - 4:09pmWho’s for An Adventure in Space And Time II in 2016? Then AAISAT III in 2020?
Doctordredd67
November 22nd, 2013 - 4:05pmAbsolutely brilliant viewing. We all sat up as a family to watch the story unfold. Great casting , great acting from everyone involved. We were glued to our seats. A very moving experience for us all. First class BBC Drama 🙂
Patrick wise
November 22nd, 2013 - 3:37pmI really enjoyed this and found it extremely moving…especially the inclusion of the 11th doctor at the end. Brilliantly written and the casting was wonderful. Deserving of many an award.
Tardis’nt
November 22nd, 2013 - 3:22pmi actually loved this programme!
Will
November 22nd, 2013 - 2:25pmFor the first time in years, I actually clapped at the TV.
martin bennett
November 22nd, 2013 - 1:41pmwhen we do british drama we do it well and this was outstanding .great performance by all the cast david bradley was fantastic as the doctor william hartnell he should be given a television award of some sort i have been looking forward to this show for a long time and it was well worth the wait nice touch by adding matt smith at the end very moving and a bit sad best show i have seen on the bbc for sometime congratulations to all who put this drama together
paul cox
November 22nd, 2013 - 1:41pmsettled down to watch it on iplayer last night and i was definitely not disappointed, it is suprising that the powers that be could have cancelled the series from episode 4!
MG has done a great job showing how the greatest sci fi show in history came about.
Job well done!
Big D
November 22nd, 2013 - 12:48pmMy congratulations go out to MG, DB and the whole team for a terrifc, poignant, insightful drama. I thought the casting was spot on (except for maybe RS playing Troughton) and the way it was performed / directed absolutely top notch. My ONLY criticism was that I would have liked it to have been a bit longer for continued exploration of the characters. Very Well Done.
Graham lawton
November 22nd, 2013 - 12:42pmreally enjoyed it lots for the fans
The Moffat Paradox
November 22nd, 2013 - 12:41pmWell done again Mark Gattis.Engrossing and touching at the same time.
Ian Birkie
November 22nd, 2013 - 12:38pmSimply Brilliant, honestly made my cry at the end.
Lesley
November 22nd, 2013 - 12:27pmReally good viewing. So good to see the origins. Very touching to see him with the children and sad to see him deteriorate. Excellent choice of actors with Im sorry to say Reece Shearsmith. I like him a lot and know his connections to Mark but he played Patrick Troughton a little too League of Gentlemen for me, still, it was a fleeting appearance so can overlook it. Will watch it again for sure.
Danny Brown
November 22nd, 2013 - 12:19pmI haven’t seen it yet. I’ll probaly watch it later today
Connor Kelly
November 22nd, 2013 - 12:09pmNever realised how tough things were for Hartnell and the show. Absolutely brilliant!
JJ
November 22nd, 2013 - 11:55amGREAT! Brilliant writing from Mark Gatiss, he was on form! Now I just can’t wait until March 2055, when we get the docudrama of Russell T Davies bringing Doctor Who BACK! Wonder who’ll play Russell?
An Adventure In Space And Time deserves multiple awards. Well, I can definitely say it was better than the terrible series 7 part 2.
Edward Armstrong
November 22nd, 2013 - 11:49amAmazing British Drama. From the start to the very end I was glued to the programme. This is what I’m happy to pay my licence for. 1st class acting, awesome story and stunning editing.
Everyone who was part of this drama should be very pleased.
Thank you so much
The 13th Doctor
November 22nd, 2013 - 7:55amForgot to say how it also excellentely portrayed the way it succedeeded against all the odds thanks to those with faith, god bless them!
the astroanut of death
November 22nd, 2013 - 7:23amthat was truly amazing it made almost cry. I loved the cameo of matt smith and all the actor and actresses it was fantastic
I hope this gets awards
The 14th Doctor
November 22nd, 2013 - 7:20amIt was amazing. So happy yet so sad as well. I especially love how William Hartnell was the only one who bothered to learn which controls were which etc. Shows how devoted he was.
the astroanut of death
November 22nd, 2013 - 7:17amit was good
DOCTOR WHO ONE
November 22nd, 2013 - 7:04amNot quite what I was expecting, as I was expecting it to be a fantastic tale of Doctor Who’s origins, but instead, it seemed to be more centered the entire time around William Hartnell himself, played brilliantly off course by David Bradley.
I won’t lie, but, even at the age of 25, I almost shed a tear down one side of my face, when it got to the part about William crying at home when he said “I don’t want to go”, it was really heart breaking that moment, but fantastic to see Matt Smith. Maybe the real William stood inside the Tardis and imagined a young man, not yet born, playing his character 50 years later in the here and now of 2013.
After the story, I went out into my families garden, looked up at the moon, and said thank you to William Hartnell, Verity Lambert, Sydney Newman and all those who are not alive today, and those off course who still are, for creating the best series . . . . in the universe 😀
lepter
November 22nd, 2013 - 1:51amfantastic….full of love for the show. well done mark gattis. Take the helm good man.