Doctor Who: Looking back on An Adventure in Space and Time

One of the highlights of the fiftieth anniversary was the documentary drama An Adventure in Space and Time. Five years on, we look back at this very special drama on the making of Doctor Who.

Despite having only part of a series broadcast during 2013, the fiftieth anniversary year gave us plenty of very special Doctor Who programmes and stories to enjoy. For one thing, we had the minisode The Night of the Doctor. We also had the multi-Doctor special The Day of the Doctor, and the Eleventh Doctor’s regeneration just over a month later in The Time of the Doctor.

But perhaps one of the very best specials was a drama that wasn’t a part of Doctor Who itself. Rather, it was all about the making of it.

With An Adventure in Space and Time, Mark Gatiss wrote an absolutely beautiful piece of television that explored the very origins of our favorite series. From its initial conception to the first regeneration, we got to see so many key moments from the perspective of those behind the scenes at the time.

Remembering Hartnell

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But An Adventure in Space and Time was far more than just letting us know all the facts. Indeed, what made it so memorable was its focus on William Hartnell, and how important he was to Doctor Who, and indeed vice versa.

Gatiss’s script gave us a vision of Hartnell that was complex and interesting. He could be difficult to deal with, especially for new people working with him. But he could also be kind and have a playful side to him. He also cared deeply about his work, and truly believed in the series, even when he was suffering from very ill health.

A role like that required a truly great actor to capture it, and that’s exactly what we got with David Bradley. He made Hartnell so incredibly likable, despite the flaws that we saw. Or perhaps because of those very flaws that made him so human. It really is a magnificent performance.

Waris Hussein and Verity Lambert had key roles in the creation of Doctor Who, played by Sacha Dhawan and Jessica Raine in An Adventure in Space and Time.

(Image credit: An Adventure in Space and Time/BBC.

Image obtained from: official BBC website.)

Key creators

Of course, the rest of the cast is fantastic too, especially Jessica Raine as Verity Lambert. As the first producer of Doctor Who and someone who was crucial in shaping its direction, Lambert was another key figure in the drama, and Raine did an excellent job portraying her. Bryan Cox and Sacha Dhawan were also great as creator Sydney Newman and director Waris Hussein, respectively.

An Adventure in Space and Time is not just a great special for Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary. It’s also a magnificent piece of television in its own right. An absolutely beautiful and magical drama that’s also bittersweet and heartbreaking, An Adventure in Space and Time will always remain an essential piece of viewing for Whovians.

Are you a fan of An Adventure in Space and Time? What did you think of David Bradley’s performance? Was it your favorite special from the anniversary year? Let us know in the comments below.