Doctor Who: 10 Reasons Why An Adventure In Space And Time Was The Best Drama Of 2013

6. The Bookend Structure

More specifically the words, 'You're in the way' It was a bit surprising, to say the least, when a drama about how the show was created in 1963 began in 1966. Suddenly there were original model Cybermen costumes sitting around smoking cigarettes and being bitchy when we were expecting to begin with a report by Bunny Weber or something. By starting at the end of William Hartnell's tragedy and then resetting us back to the beginning the script both subtly underscored the theme of time travel while at the same time focusing our attention on the end goal of where the script was heading. The intermittent cuts to the TARDIS console to demonstrate the passing of years was a brilliant conceit, and one that arguably only a show about time travel could have pulled off without seeming pretentious. On one hand it served functionally as a way of keeping the viewer informed as to where exactly we were in the timeline of events. But underneath that it also brought the viewers awareness back subconsciously to the fact that it was the programme itself that all of this revolved around. It was Verity's story, and it was Bill's story, and it was Sydney's story, but really it was the programme's story, which is to say that the story belonged to all of them. 'You're in the way'. When we first hear the words at the onset they're just a policeman attempting to clear a narrow road. But by the time we come back around to them they're the shorthand for everything William Hartnell was feeling. The world had passed him by. He was in the way. If only he could go back, like the TARDIS, like the structure of the piece. If only he could go back to the beginning and get it all right this time. That longing is what carries us through to the time shift.