Review of An Adventure in Space and Time

This reverential depiction of the origins of "Dr. Who" on the BBC and the tenure of William Hartnell as the eponymous character are mandatory stuff not to be missed. David Bradley is splendidly cast as the irascible Hartnell, and we get to see the trials and tribulations that tyro producer Verity Lambert (Jessica Raine) endured on the set and off the set at the hands of her mentor Sydney Newman (Brian Cox) and her snobbish fellow co-workers. The men were suspicious of a woman invading their hallowed realm as the first female producer. The Daleks are on hand and just as murderous as ever. One scene on London Bridge has a director scolding a man in the Dalek chassis because he never hit his marks. The perils of shooting in a small studio are presented with considerable humor. The lights overheat in the cramped studio and the sprinkler system erupts and drenches everybody. Initially, Newman railed against robots or bug-eyed monsters in "Dr. Who" so imagine his surprise when he read about the Daleks. Matt Smith has a cameo. This glimpse into the past will bring up young Dr. Who fans up to snuff on the history of the program, while others will enjoy the reenactment for its old sake. The scene when Verity gets a production designer to create Tardis is cool. The origin of the landmark Dr. Who theme is revealed, too.