Downtime has to be one of the better Wilderness Years productions that I've watched so far. It has an intriguing premise and a hint of a serviceable plot. However, I think it suffers from the same problem as many other Wilderness Years productions, that being a lack of exposition. This is admittedly better then some, but it's still quite confusing and I still have several questions towards the end. It seems to me that there is a decent plot here, but it's obscured by this lack of exposition. I don't think this confusion was intentional, but maybe it was and I'm just missing something.

In other areas, this has some really solid characters, helped out by some really solid acting (there is also some very shoddy acting - a brief bit of child acting at the end might be the worst line delivery I've ever heard). I really like that the Doctor Who actors are mostly all playing the characters they're known for. I wish Sarah Jane had a bit more screentime, as I felt she was very well written. The brief exploration of Kate and the Brigadier's relationship was also interesting and I would have happily watched more of it.

I also apprciated the use of more than one filming location. In particular, the University of East Anglia campus was a great choice and instantly recongisable (I've only visited it once, and really not for very long, but the bridges and strange accomodation blocks feel very distinct). The number of extras included in this production is also genuinely quite impressive. Overall, it seems like this may have had a slightly higher budget than many other Wilderness Years productions.

Overall, this is fine, but I can't quite bring myself to call it good, and there are a great many other things I'd rather watch, read or listen to.