An Adventure in Space and Time (TV story): Difference between revisions

{{Infobox Story SMW

|image          = HartnellLambertLaugh.jpg

|setting        = [[England]], [[1963 (production)|1963]]-[[1966 (production)|1966]]

|main character  = [[William Hartnell]], [[Verity Lambert]]

== Plot ==

When boisterous Canadian TV producer [[Sydney Newman]] joins the BBC, he finds himself needing to fill a timeslot on Saturday afternoon. He decides to commission a science-fiction serial with an educational element. To produce the serial, he breaks with convention and hires a woman named [[Verity Lambert]], who had previously worked with him as an assistant. He also hires [[Waris Hussein]], the BBC's first director of Indian descent to helm the first few episodes.

She approaches [[William Hartnell]], an esteemed character actor who, of late, has become frustrated with being typecast as military or gangster figures. Although sceptical at first, Hartnell agrees to take on the role.

[[The Pilot Episode|Initial production]] of the [[An Unearthly Child (episode)|original episode]] is beset with problems, from the TARDIS doors malfunctioning to fire sprinklers going off in the middle of a scene. Even more concerning is the fact Hartnell is dissatisfied with how his character is written. Newman rejects the episode and considers firing Lambert and Hussein, but then opts to let them remount it after making improvements to the character of the Doctor. Lambert, however, refuses his order to replace the [[Doctor Who theme|theme music]].

The revised version of the episode goes over much better, and work begins on new scripts but Newman is initially upset at one of them featuring an alien menace known as the [[Dalek]]s as it violates his No. 1 rule that there be no "BEMs" (bug-eyed monsters) in ''Doctor Who''. The first broadcast is ultimately overshadowed by the assassination of John F. Kennedy. To make matters worse, one of the BBC Executives tells Newman that no new ''Doctor Who'' episodes are to be made. But Lambert convinces Newman to put the Dalek story into production and to arrange a rebroadcast of the first episode the following week.

As Hartnell finds himself at the centre of an ever-changing parade of co-stars, Newman takes notice of the actor's failing health. Hartnell goes to Newman and asks that he be given a reduced workload, however Newman tells him that he has reluctantly decided that he should be replaced with the producers figuring out [[regeneration|a way]] to keep the character of the Doctor going, but with a new actor: [[Patrick Troughton]]. Hartnell returns home and bursts into tears, devastated at leaving the role he has grown to love.

== Cast ==

* [[Patrick Troughton]] - [[Reece Shearsmith]]

* [[Harry (An Adventure in Space and Time)|Harry — security guard]] - [[William Russell]]

=== Uncredited cast ===

== Worldbuilding ==

* Verity Lambert and others watch [[Valentina Tereshkova]] launch into [[space]], the first woman to do so.

* Sydney Newman rejects "[[Cyberman|tin robots]]," "[[Dalek|mutations]]," "[[energy weapon|death rays]]" and "[[Morpho (species)|brains in a glass jar]]," all of which would soon feature prominently in the programme. His distaste for B.E.M.s, though — Bug-Eyed Monsters — is very much historically accurate, and on par with his comments on early concept drafts for ''Doctor Who''.

* The [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]] is announced on [[TV]]. [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] is announced to have replaced Kennedy as [[President of the United States|President]] following the broadcast of ''[[An Unearthly Child (episode)|An Unearthly Child]]''.

* William Hartnell is shown the ''[[Doctor Who Annual 1966 (An Adventure in Space and Time)|Doctor Who Annual 1966]]'' while in his ''[[The Reign of Terror (TV story)|The Reign of Terror]]'' costume; he is delighted by this, having never experienced anything like this level of fame before.

* The finale of the film includes footage of the real William Hartnell from [[TV]]: ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)|The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]''. This same footage was used to open the 20th-Anniversary special, [[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', in which another actor, [[Richard Hurndall]], stood in for Hartnell. The official YouTube channel of ''Doctor Who'' posted a video of Bradley doing the speech as Hartnell.

* The recreation of the prop used for the [[First Doctor|First]], [[Second Doctor|Second]] and [[Third Doctor]]'s [[TARDIS control console|TARDIS console]] would go on to make several appearances in ''Doctor Who''. It appeared as a console in a [[Clara's TARDIS|TARDIS]] stolen by the [[Twelfth Doctor]] in ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'', as the console in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|First Doctor's TARDIS]] in ''[[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]]'', as the console in a [[Fugitive Doctor|mysterious incarnation of the Doctor]]'s [[Fugitive Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] in ''[[Fugitive of the Judoon (TV story)|Fugitive of the Judoon]]'', and as the console in [[TARDIS 1 (The Timeless Children)|two]] [[TARDIS 2 (The Timeless Children)|TARDISes]] stolen by the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] in ''[[The Timeless Children (TV story)|The Timeless Children]]'', the first of which is seen again in ''[[Revolution of the Daleks (TV story)|Revolution of the Daleks]]''.

=== Cast notes ===

* It was [[Innes Lloyd]] rather than Sydney Newman who discussed with Hartnell about him leaving ''Doctor Who'' which took place during the production of ''[[The Smugglers (TV story)|The Smugglers]]''. Lloyd also does not appear in the film.

* [[Douglas Camfield]] is shown as being a production assistant on ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'' but Camfield had no involvement in that story and, by that point, was a fully established director, having already directed twenty-one ''Doctor Who'' episodes.

=== Production errors ===

* When [[Rex Tucker]] is considering [[Hugh David]] for the role of the Doctor, a picture of an actor smiling can be seen at the centre of the desk as Lambert is walking towards it. But as the camera changes angles, that picture is now under the one of David.

* In the wide shot of [[Westminster Bridge]] for the ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)|Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'' filming, modern-day [[traffic light]]s can be seen.

=== Blu-ray releases ===

Although released as part of the [[50th Anniversary Collector's Edition]] box set, the special did not receive its own individual Blu-ray release in the UK. In the US, the special was released on [[27 May (releases)|May 27]] [[2014 (releases)|2014]] as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, and also includes ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' and its special features on DVD as bonus content.

== External links ==