The creation of Doctor Who back in the 1960's is explored in a docudrama written by Mark Gatiss entitled An Adventure in Space and Time.
Main Cast-
William Hartnell/The Doctor - David Bradley
William Russell/Ian Chesterton - Jamie Glover
Jacqueline Hill/Barbara Wright - Jemma Powell
Carole Ann Ford/Susan Foreman - Claudia Grant
Sydney Newman - Brian Cox
Verity Lambert - Jessica Raine
Waris Hussein - Sacha Dhawan
Patrick Troughton/The Second Doctor - Reece Shearsmith
Synopsis-
Sydney Newman, recently hired away from ITV by the BBC has created a new science fiction series entitled Doctor Who, which was designed to fill a gap in the BBC schedule. Sydney assigns production duties to Verity Lambert, an up and coming television producer who has found it challenging cracking the glass ceiling because she is a woman.
Verity and her first director, Waris Hussein, are able to convince William Hartnell to take on the role of the Doctor, and the introduction of the Daleks in the second story proves to be a huge success. William Hartnell and the cast bask in the glow of celebrity, but the early cast members leave and William Hartnell's health issues eventually force the BBC to replace him with Partrick Trougton.
Review-
An Adventure in Space and Time covers territory that's well known to long time fans of Doctor Who. Since the story of the creation of the series is well known, it is thus up to the actors to keep the viewers interest.
David Bradley (Harry Potter and the Doctor Who episode Dinosaurs on a Spaceship) is dead-on as William Hartnell/The First Doctor. His performance is, to put it simply, brilliant. One almost wishes that Bradley had been allowed to play the First Doctor for real in Day of the Doctor. It would have been awesome.
Jessica Raine (from the Doctor Who episode "Hide" and Call the Midwife), Sacha Dhawan and Brian Cox also have large roles as Verity Lambert, Waris Hussein and Sydney Lambert, respectively. Jessica and Sacha are trying to make a name for themselves in British television in an era that was dominated by white men. As a female producer and an Indian-born director, Doctor Who offers Verity and Waris a chance to break the glass ceiling and allow themselves a chance to make it in British television.
Hartnell, in contrast, is presented as an actor in a rut. Dissatisfied with the roles he has been offered, he takes some convincing to take on the iconic role of the Doctor.
As Waris and Verity leave the program to take on other projects, the movie begins to explore Hartnell's illness and the eventual, but brilliant, idea to replace Hartnell with Troughton.
The movie also doesn't really delve too much into the various companions, particularly the later companions like Steven, Vicki, Ben and Polly. While a bit disappointing, it's difficult to fit everything into a ninety minute film.
One can feel Hartnell's pain about losing the role of a lifetime, because while he was at first hesitant about taking on the role he had grown to love playing the Doctor. There's also a quite touching scene at the end where Bradley (as Hartnell) views his what his legacy has wrought, which includes a cameo appearance by Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor standing alongside Bradley's Hartnell Doctor.
The original Ian Chesterton, William Russell also appears early on as a parking lot attendant named Harry who demands to see Sydney Newman's parking pass. Carole Ann Ford (Susan) also puts in an appearance as well.
Overall, this is a brilliant piece of work, and it's a wonderful way to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary. The Day of the Doctor has its work cut out for it, as Adventure in Space and Time (along with Night of the Doctor) have set some high standards for excellence. If you haven't yet had a chance to see this, I suggest making the time to do so.
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