An Adventure in Space and Time

In 1963 the BBC is trying to build a science fiction series for children. Producer Verity Lambert is the channel's first woman producer and its youngest; director Waris Hussein is Indian and an outsider there. William Hartnell, cast in the lead, is a character actor whose career is going down. Together the three make Doctor Who. Terry McDonough directed, from a script by Mark Gatiss. David Bradley plays Hartnell, Jessica Raine plays Lambert, Sacha Dhawan plays Hussein. It was made for the series' fiftieth anniversary and reconstructs the studio conditions of the time in detail: near-live recording, failing sets, budget limits. Its emotional centre is Hartnell's four years in the role and having to leave when his health failed. Bradley delivers that with very few tools. It works for viewers who do not know the series' history, because the real subject is television production itself. Who it is for: viewers who like television history and behind-the-scenes drama. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a Doctor Who adventure; this is a production story.