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.

finally, a doctor who story that dares to ask the question "what if the brigadier went to norwich?"

i ended up watching this on a rainy day wouldnt watch this on a sunny day

I came into this with extremely low expectations off the back of Wartime, but this second effort from Reeltime Productions is a great leap forward in terms of quality. More importantly it *feels* like Doctor Who and builds on characters we love with care. If you think about how uselessly Sarah-Jane, the Brigadier and Victoria Waterfield were used in Dimensions in Time - you can't even compare what they managed to achieve here.

Marc Platt and Christopher Barry lend a professional touch to the production. It’s exciting to see what the classic series would have looked like in 1995. Very different from the revival the world would discover the following year. The only thing that really dates Downtime (given that 90s clothes are back in fashion) is the alien fascination with "personal computers" and the "internet". Hilarious.

As a fan of The Abominable Snowman and The Web of Fear it is rewarding to see this long overdue sequel. The Yetis could look better, but sensibly most of the action is kept to the humans (possessed or otherwise) and the invisible Great Intelligence. The plot serves the characters well and the drama builds nicely. I'm not a huge fan of the "mysterious" black and white scenes, but they make sense. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart works a charm and getting a sense of how this down and out Brigadier is fairing is exciting. It feels both true to the character and like their pushing the envelope.

We are so lucky that fans worked so hard for us to have this gem, even if it is a bit rough around the edges.