Beyond History's End | 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Review 12 of 12 | An Adventure in Space and Time written by Mark Gatiss

In 2003, Doctor Who’s fortieth birthday was commemorated by a sixty-minute documentary that aired on BBC One in which many who had been involved in the show’s initial twenty-six-year run each recounted their bit of its story. But that programme wasn’t the story of Doctor Who; not really. It was a behind-the-scenes retrospective with a prime-time sheen; broadly inclusive, but occasionally inaccurate and ultimately vapid, not a patch on even this year’s third-tier Ultimate Guide offering.
 
This year’s anniversary ‘making of’ piece, in contrast, truly is the story of Doctor Who - and it’s a story every bit as remarkable as any of the fictional adventures in space and time that the much-loved programme would give life to. Lovingly written by Mark Gatiss, erstwhile member of the League of Gentlemen and now a dogged veteran of both Doctor Who and Sherlock, An Adventure in Space and Time presents the true tale of the series’ formative years as a feature-length drama. Every relevant interview clip, every bit of DVD commentary colour, every arcane anecdote and dusty document that still exists has been distilled into a script that serves as a monument to those who first breathed life into the phenomenon. From its old, typecast and uncompromising lead actor to Britain’s first female producer and Indian director, Gatiss’s tale isn’t just one that should appeal to devotees of Doctor Who, but anyone who enjoys television.

 

An Adventure in Space and Time is so beautifully written and so glamorously presented that at times it’s hard to believe that it’s non-fiction, but having pored over hours of Doctor Who DVD bonus material, I of all people should know that it is. All that sets this “docudrama” apart from “real fiction” is Verity Lambert and Waris Hussein’s abject failure to get it on; just about every other twist and turn of the real-life narrative is almost frighteningly faithful to the laws of dramatic convention.

 
And the casting is so bloody good. What are the chances that David Bradley (Harry Potter, Benidorm, Prisoners’ Wives), perhaps today’s most prominent Bill Hartnell lookalike, would just happen to be able to capture the perfect measure of the man? Or that Jessica Raine (Hide), a dead ringer for “piss and vinegar” Verity, would be able to nail the late producer’s voice with such eerie precision? Even Brian Cox looks frighteningly like stills of the series’ infamously loud Canadian creator, Sydney Newman. He doesn’t look anything like he did presenting Wonders of the Solar System or, more recently, The Science of Doctor Who - he’s all short, stout and bespectacled; awash in fifties’ grease. 

The programme’s lingering impact though is almost all down to Bradley’s poignant performance, which quite appropriately stirs a fairly equal measure of sympathy and antipathy, and more than double the measure of both combined in respect. The happiness that Hartnell took in his role in the eyes of children, as well as his pride in, and almost naïve devotion to, the show despite his mounting, life-limiting health problems are remarkably moving when played out with such heart. If anything, the honesty of Gatiss’s script when it comes to the man’s flaws only highlight what a remarkable thing his devotion to Doctor Who and its young fans was. The writer is careful to paint the self-styled “Mr Hartnell” as the acerbic misery that most accounts agree that he was long before his health failed him, though the effects of his illness and isolation (following the departure of his “rock” of a producer and original co-stars) do seem to have exacerbated his pre-existent scornful sensibilities. 

In many ways, then, An Adventure in Space and Time is a more fitting tribute to Doctor Who than the high-impact, 3-D sensation The Day of the Doctor. Unlike Steven Moffat’s cinematic seventy-minuter, this Mark Gatiss-penned production doesn’t look to rewrite history - it immortalises it instead. Bravo. 

An Adventure in Space and Time is available to download from iTunes in 1080p HD for just £3.99, or alternatively as part of the £14.99 50th Anniversary Collection which also includes The Day of the Doctor as well as hours of documentary material unavailable elsewhere in the UK.

A standard-definition DVD release is also available, which includes quite exhaustive bonus material not available digitally. The cheapest online retailer for this is currently Base, where the DVD can be purchased for £11.99.

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