The Origin Story: An Adventure In Space And Time
A beautiful and moving dramatisation of the creation of Doctor Who, this 'special' delivered and then some. Mark Gatiss' script perfectly captures the sense of a renaissance in British TV drama in the early 60s, not just in the content of the show itself but in the revolutionaries that made it happen. Because this wasn't just a story about the early years of the show. It's about the first great steps of the first female BBC producer Verity Lambert, breaking down barriers and proving her peers wrong. The first Indian director, showing he could be as great as those that came before. At the end of his career, an actor called William Hartnell finally getting the success he deserved. But it isn't just on script and story alone that this drama succeeded. It's in the astounding performances of all involved. Brian Cox is wonderful brash and engaging as the larger than life Sydney Newman, who created the concept of the show and fought against his superiors to keep it on air in its early days. Jeff Rawle as Mervyn Pinfield is wonderful disarming as the old school BBC man who immediately seeks to control Verity and is soon won over by her competence and success. Sacha Dawan adds depth what is a significant role in director Waris Hussein; I loved that he has to be won over like everyone else when confronted with a script filled with time travel and cave men...but he soon becomes a valuable ally to Verity (they continued to work together beyond Doctor Who. And Jessica Raine herself is wonderful...not too eager in her approach to succeed in a man's world...there is a great sense that she is equally passionate about her work and yet doubts her abilities. In the early part of this drama, it is Jessica who leads the show and she does it with great style. If you liked her in recent Doctor Who episode 'Hide', then you'll still be surprised at how incredible she is here. And I would easily call Jessica the star if it wasn't for the sensational performance by David Bradley as William Hartnell himself. It's a very nuanced and tragic performance; whereas everyone else involved in the show goes on to great things (Waris, Verity), Doctor Who truly was the last hurrah for William Hartnell; an actor, as the drama showed us, known for commanding military roles but never getting that break out moment that all actors seek. The transformation from grumpy old man who doesn't connect with granddaughter to a man adored by children (in a lovely park scene with the equally great Leslie Manville and his wife Heather) shows the light that came back into his life so late in his career. The passion he feels, his dedication to the small details and believing in the show only makes Hartnell's illness all the more tragic. If you found Tennant's 'I don't want to go' heart breaking in 'The End Of Time'...well it's nothing to the performance here. The fact that the gruelling schedule forces him from the role...a role he adored...makes the drama heart breaking. None more so during that scene late in 'An Adventure In Space And Time' where an increasingly exhausted Hartnell stands alone on the set of the Tardis; Verity, Waris and the original companions gone from the show. I certainly watched with a lump in my throat, many people I know cried. It was a powerful scene played so beautifully by Bradley. Not that this drama was all dark and depressing. Far from it. There are many iconic moments recreated that will be a smile to anyone's face. The re-inaction of the very first scene in the Tardis in 'An Unearthly Child'. The Daleks outside Westminster in 'The Dalek Invasion Of Earth'. Hartnell stumbling over her pronunciation of Ian Chesterton in 'The Web Planet'. A bubbly (but slightly miscast) Reece Shearsmith as Patrick Troughton, on hand to replace Hartnell as Doctor number 2... As awesome as the main event was, it was 'An Adventure In Space And Time' that provided the great emotional impact in November. A landmark piece of television that celebrated the 50th anniversary in style!