Doctor Who 50th: An Adventure in Time and Space begins to take shape
One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…
Who knew the importance of a simple quote in a 1918 newspaper advertisement for the San Antonio Light in signaling the beginning of one of the most eagerly awaited anniversaries in recent memory? What began as a description for the newspapers pictorial coverage of World War I can now, without question, be used almost 100 years later to refer to this unassuming photo posted on Twitter yesterday by Mark Gatiss.
As shooting begins for the upcoming BBC drama on the creation of Doctor Who, which will be one of the many focal points of the 50th celebration, Mark Gatiss revealed at the recent Radio Times Covers Party that the considerable talents of David Bradley, who played Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch in the Harry Potter films have been secured to play William Hartnell, the First Doctor. More recently, Doctor Who fans will recognize Bradley as the ruthless trader and collector Solomon in the “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” episode. In other casting news, Call the Midwife‘s Jessica Raine (Jenny Lee) will play founding producer Verity Lambert with Sacha Dhawan as Waris Hussein, who directed the first ever Doctor Who adventure, “An Unearthly Child”.
Gatiss, as you can see from the photo above, has written the special with current series showrunner, Steven Moffat, set to produce. Have to say, Bradley is a brilliant choice to play Hartnell and someone that seems genuinely excited to be a part of the upcoming special. “Mark has written such a wonderful script not only about the birth of a cultural phenomenon, but a moment in television’s history. William Hartnell was one of the finest character actors of our time and as a fan I want to make sure that I do him justice. I’m so looking forward to getting started.”
With shooting just beginning on the special, there’s no transmission date as of yet but I’m guessing you can bank on something close to 23 November 2013 both in the UK and the States. Now, let’s hope that while both Gatiss and Moffat are together, they talk Sherlock 3!
