An Adventure in Space and Time

Produced for the 50th anniversary of the Doctor Who series, this BBC TV movie dramatizes the creation of the show in 1963. David Bradley stars as William Hartnell, the prickly, aging veteran actor who reluctantly takes on the title role in what he sees as just a kid's show, and Jessica Raine is Verity Lambert, a former production assistant now given the assignment of creating a prime-time family series. Lambert became the first female producer at BBC and her director, Waris Hussein (Sacha Dhawan), was of Indian descent; their stories comprise a small but important part of this portrait of an institution in transition. Together, the pair overcome budgetary limitations with creative special effects as An Adventure in Space and Time recreates iconic events from the first four years of the series, including the initial appearance of the Daleks. Sweet, sentimental, and nostalgic, this is a loving re-creation and paean to the original series' art design, along with key moments and early characters. Still, this is no simple exercise in insider fandom, but rather an entertaining, informative, and rather moving introduction to the birth of the Doctor Who phenomenon that also offers keen observations into the inner workings of the BBC half a century ago. Presented in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, extras include a “making-of” featurette, deleted scenes, and a bonus disc with the first Doctor Who four-episode serial, “An Unearthly Child," starring Hartnett as the Doctor and directed by Hussein. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)