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

5. The Little Details That Didn't Have To Be Right. But Were.

Littered throughout the show there were little moments of absolute, fanboy-ish rightness, that absolutely did not have to be there. There is, for example, absolutely no reason for Nick Briggs to appear on screen as Roy Skelton. Except that it was incredibly awesome that he did. The current voice of the Daleks appearing as the original voice of the Daleks on screen, partially just because they needed him on set to do the voices anyway, but really because we would all recognize that they had done it, and know it for the gesture of respect that it was. In direct opposition to the 'kisses to the past' that threatened to completely derail the 1996 TV film, this is how you do that sort of thing. It in no way took anyone out of the story. It didn't undermine the dramatic integrity of the moment. You either noticed it or you didn't. It mattered because it didn't matter, if that makes sense. Similarly, Jemma Powell simply is Jacqueline Hill when she appears on screen here. They didn't need to get Jacqueline Hill's character so overwhelmingly right, but they did. The scene of Rex Tucker running down other candidates to play The Doctor is absolutely spot accurate, and it didn't need to be. Delia Derbyshire didn't really need to appear, but it's absolutely wonderful that she did because honestly she deserves every single ounce of credit and fame she gets here times ten.