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November 21st, 2013 103 comments

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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…

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Nicholas Briggs…

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Carol Ann Ford…

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Jean Marsh and Anneke wills…

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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!

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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


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103 comments

  • cyberman2

    November 22nd, 2013 - 8:53pm

    i just watched this and it was FREAKING AMAZING. i was holding back tears at the end then matt appeared and long story short I’m going to need a lot of towels to dry the house

    Reply
    • cyberman2

      November 22nd, 2013 - 9:00pm

      ok well I’m going to need a lot of help to dry my house A LOT

  • Nigel Harry

    November 22nd, 2013 - 8:34pm

    I cheered and laughed – stifled my emotions but a tear or two still came!
    Watched first episode when I was eight years old and the magic never dies!!!
    Fantastic and fitting tribute to a great series!!
    Matt Smith cameo – marvellous idea!
    Should remind everyone exactly why the BBC is our national treasure!!!
    WELL DONE!!!!

    Reply
  • 1969DOCTOR

    November 22nd, 2013 - 7:29pm

    Brilliant Drama, watched it this afternoon. How about Mark Gatiss doing the same with the rest of the Doctors.

    Reply
  • Not Forgotten

    November 22nd, 2013 - 7:15pm

    This programme was a very fitting tribute to William Hartnell who left an enduring legacy for the following actors who played the Doctor to build on and develop. William Hartnells superb protrayal as the first doctor made Doctor Who a success which of course has allowed us all the chance to continue to enjoy fifty years later. Thank you William Hartnell.

    Reply
  • UnitedGamers2013

    November 22nd, 2013 - 6:40pm

    Simply amazing television, I actually cried when matt smith came on and when hartnell was learning his lines. I’m going to watch it tomorrow before the 50th. #savetheday

    Reply
  • Mick Reed

    November 22nd, 2013 - 6:35pm

    I thought this drama was brilliant and the BBC at it,s best. Special congratulations to David Bradley as Bill Hartnell who i thought gave a very impressive and moving take on the actor who played the first Doctor so long ago. First rate, i loved it.

    Reply
  • Mick Reed

    November 22nd, 2013 - 6:27pm

    I thought An Adventure In Space and Time was fantastic viewing and the B.B.C. at it,s very best. High praise to David Bradley as Bill Hartnell, Brian Cox and Jessica Raine for their outstanding performances. Nice to see William Russell and Carole Ann Ford in cameos.

    Reply
    • im no longer not going to be here

      November 22nd, 2013 - 6:40pm

      who was joyce (corole ann ford)

  • RORY DOCTOR RIVER POND

    November 22nd, 2013 - 6:21pm

    Amazing

    Reply
  • WFK DVD Collector 13

    November 22nd, 2013 - 6:03pm

    This 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!

    Reply
    • Aspire

      November 22nd, 2013 - 8:20pm

      I thought id make it through but the scene near the end when he was standing over his fireplace started me crying.

  • whoniversal

    November 22nd, 2013 - 5:58pm

    WOW! 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!

    Reply
  • Jacob

    November 22nd, 2013 - 5:55pm

    The Matt Smith cameo was so moving, such a great addittion to the 50th celebrations. Can’t wait for tomorrow!!!!!!
    #SaveTheDay

    Reply
  • LG

    November 22nd, 2013 - 5:27pm

    I actually cried, and so did my English teacher!

    Reply
  • Rob Dawn

    November 22nd, 2013 - 4:54pm

    got to admit the Matt SMith appearance brought a lump to my throat. nut a great TV show

    Reply
  • The Doctor

    November 22nd, 2013 - 4:51pm

    It was a belter but, to be honest it made me have a tear or two at the end.

    Reply
    • The Doctor

      November 22nd, 2013 - 5:01pm

      It’s the first bit of TV that made me shed a tear since Rose’s departure.

  • 100000BC

    November 22nd, 2013 - 4:09pm

    Who’s for An Adventure in Space And Time II in 2016? Then AAISAT III in 2020?

    Reply
  • Doctordredd67

    November 22nd, 2013 - 4:05pm

    Absolutely 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 🙂

    Reply
  • Patrick wise

    November 22nd, 2013 - 3:37pm

    I 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.

    Reply
  • Tardis’nt

    November 22nd, 2013 - 3:22pm

    i actually loved this programme!

    Reply
  • Will

    November 22nd, 2013 - 2:25pm

    For the first time in years, I actually clapped at the TV.

    Reply
  • martin bennett

    November 22nd, 2013 - 1:41pm

    when 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

    Reply
  • paul cox

    November 22nd, 2013 - 1:41pm

    settled 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!

    Reply
  • Big D

    November 22nd, 2013 - 12:48pm

    My 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.

    Reply
  • Graham lawton

    November 22nd, 2013 - 12:42pm

    really enjoyed it lots for the fans

    Reply
  • The Moffat Paradox

    November 22nd, 2013 - 12:41pm

    Well done again Mark Gattis.Engrossing and touching at the same time.

    Reply
  • Ian Birkie

    November 22nd, 2013 - 12:38pm

    Simply Brilliant, honestly made my cry at the end.

    Reply
    • The Doctor

      November 22nd, 2013 - 4:51pm

      Same

  • Lesley

    November 22nd, 2013 - 12:27pm

    Really 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.

    Reply
  • Danny Brown

    November 22nd, 2013 - 12:19pm

    I haven’t seen it yet. I’ll probaly watch it later today

    Reply
    • Danny Brown

      November 23rd, 2013 - 4:12pm

      Seen it now! It was Great!

  • Connor Kelly

    November 22nd, 2013 - 12:09pm

    Never realised how tough things were for Hartnell and the show. Absolutely brilliant!

    Reply
  • JJ

    November 22nd, 2013 - 11:55am

    GREAT! 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.

    Reply
  • Edward Armstrong

    November 22nd, 2013 - 11:49am

    Amazing 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

    Reply

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