A truly wonderful tribute to the beginnings and origins of Doctor Who told in a way that only one could expect it to be told. There is drama,there is humor and of course there are tears in fact if the last 5 minutes of this amazing tribute don't have you reaching for the box of tissues then..well I'll leave it up to you to watch. My final thoughts do hint on the final moments of the movie in which so many people have totally missed the point of why such a scene was filmed or why such a cameo (you'll have to watch to see who) was included,this really irked me after reading all the negative feedback about the scene so here I am only to say that when that scene does arrive think of these little points as the scene plays out... Doctor Who has been on air for more than 50 years and it will no doubt still be on air in another 50 years. It is watched in over 120 countries around the world It is the BBC's biggest revenue earner not to mention its star is one of the highest paid actors in Britian. If you are a Doctor Who fan of if you have never ever seen Doctor Who watch this incredible heart warming tribute to its origins..after that there is another 50 plus years of catching up to do.

Okay, I watched this quite a while ago and the reason is that I am becoming a fan of Doctor Who, old and new. William Hartnell's Doctor is actually one of the few that takes a bit of time to get used to. If you haven't seen them then... He isn't as likable of a character as his later incarnations. Why am I bringing this up? Well if this movie can get me teary eyed about Hartnell leaving then I congratulate them for succeeding as well as they did.It's 1963 and Sydney Newman, being a well respected show-runner has a new vision in mind for a kids show to pass the time, nothing really special. About a centuries old alien that takes his granddaughter and her 2 Earth teachers on adventures on any point in the universe at any time, at first it doesn't go right with the original pilot having an almost unlikeable title character so after re-shooting the Kennedy Assassination occurs, so they decide to do what they can to make sure it lasts past them in cavemen times trying to search for fire again. So their next story, much to the dismay of Newman is about intergalactic exterminating aliens, They're called Daleks. You wouldn't know them. The rest seems to be history.Before I start giving this praise across the board on other things. The casting is brilliant. Everyone looks like the people they're playing and David Bradley does an A+ performance as William Hartnell, getting down the mannerisms and the way he talked to a tee. If anyone didn't do a good job, it was the guy they got to play Patrick Troughton. They look nothing alike, I don't think he even acted like him, either his persona of The Doctor or otherwise (I've seen interviews with him). But the best thing about this movie is by far how they portrayed Hartnell, not only in acting but in writing. You feel the fact that while Hartnell was a grumpy old man, he towards the end loved doing the show and to see him want to go on but has to face up to the fact that he can't, it's done perfectly. Actually, maybe not perfectly but I'll get to that.Probably the worst thing about it is that it drops some hints towards the new show and the fact that yes, Doctor Who is the most replaceable TV character of all time. Repeatedly Hartnell says he's irreplaceable even dropping it in conversation, It just sounds very stilted and it's almost like "Yes, we get it!". Oh and I also didn't like the Matt Smith cameo. I get it was the whole "look how far this show has come" but he's just thrown in there. Maybe something better would be that he looks at all the Doctors from 3 onwards to 11, I don't know - I just think it dated an otherwise timeless television movie.So, I would recommend it to anyone who's a fan of either show, people wanting to see a phenomenally well done underdog story or people wanting to see a well done true story movie, even if sometimes it took liberties with that happened. Either way, most of my complaints were me nitpicking because there is a lot that this does right.

If I had to sum this up in one word, I would: 'Beautiful"."One day, I shall come back..." I live in Australia, and this special was screened on ABC1 at 8:50PM on Sunday November 24, immediately after an encore screening of "The Day of the Doctor". I only got to see the first fifteen minutes or so before being told to go to bed, however I was recording it. When I watched most of it the next night, it changed everything.It was only a few days ago that I watched the special in full for the first time. (It was the third time I'd sen it, however the first in one full sitting). I was home alone, so nobody got to see me crying.That's what happened. The cast and crew of "An Adventure In Space And Time" have created a drama filled with action, emotion and, importantly, history. I congratulate writer Mark Gatiss for his success with the wonderful script. I feel he captures the essence of all seen in the programme as they were in 1963 perfectly. Of course it is an ultimate dream, I Definitely would do something like this, and he has made a work of equisite art of it. Mr Gatiss, your love letter to "Doctor Who" is truly 'fantastic!'.The actors cast as roles are evidently well-thought of. I particularly liked Jesscia Raine's portrayal of producer Verity Lambert, David Bradley's performance as the original Who, William Hartnell; and also Sacha Dhawan's living performance as first director Waris Hussein. All capture what it must have been like during the pioneering days of the series. The portrayal of William Hartell by David Bradley is what made me cry. Hartnell had his hearts broken at least twice, and to see the man who began it all so sad, it nearly broke mine. I also liked the cameo roles from two original companions: actors William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, as the Guard and the Mother, Joyce respectively. Also, the surprise of seeing Matt Smith opposite the First Doctor is a highlight, showcasing that, although no one knew it at the time, the show would reach a golden 50-year landmark. Who'd have thought? These roles added to the spirit, the magnificence on how "Doctor Who" has touched the lives of millions of people.In all, this docudrama fittingly celebrates the Fiftieth Anniversary of the world's longest-running Sci-Fi series. It's emotional, historical, educational, and inspiring. It made me cry, and I haven't done that since David Tennant left in "The End of Time: Part Two".The cast and crew definitely should go ahead and recreate classic/missing Doctor Who stories. Why not? They've got the cast, the production values, the spirit.Congratulations to all involved in the making of this special. It was definitely a highlight of 2013, the year of all time. A fitting way to celebrate the best television show on the planet, or indeed the universe.11/10

Earlier this year, on the gentle prodding of IMDb user Theo Robertson, I decided that I would go back and watch Doctor Who from the beginning. This was interested to me since I can just about remember the image of Davison as the Doctor but really the actual moments I remember are from the era of McCoy and Baker (an era that brought the show to an end for many years); so watching the originals was interesting to me if for no other reason than I had never seen them. The timing was good because I was glad to have made that connection before all the 50th anniversary stuff kicked off.All through the fuss and hype, I did feel like we were celebrating where the show was right now, not its roots and as a result I was really glad of this film for focusing on the origins of the show. As Theo will probably tell you better than I, the facts are dusted up in the sake of a good story and the film moves better for it. I disagree with Theo where he says this film presented it as some sort of great cultural moment – I thought the film did a good job of showing how throwaway it was, how little interest there was and how it is more or less a matter of good fortune that the characters caught the public imagination and made an impression that has endured for decades. The story is presented in an affectionate manner, particularly towards Hartnell, who is probably given a bit too much nostalgic cheer for what he deserves, but he is given his dues and is very well played by Bradley.The tone of the show is affectionate and humorous; we are not spared the fluffed lines and the set malfunctions and yet these are given over to part of the charm. The supporting cast play up their outsider status in a pleasing way, although as Theo says, I'm not sure if Cox was told that his role was to inject energy and color into the film, but his performance is so overblown as to be pure caricature. Still though, it all works really well and with so much hype and fanfare for the current show, it was so nice to have something looking back with such gentle affection – I didn't even mind the appearance of Matt Smith as I thought that was a nice moment and more a nod to the origins than it was to the present.