Remember when Doctor Who was just... ummmm... really naff?

Before diehard fans get all upset and start waving their sonic screwdrivers in a menacing fashion, it had charm and was entertaining. But it was pretty plastic.

The Doctor’s second coming through the renewed BBC series has changed that, with the latest incarnation oozing quality.

The sets are made of a little more than cardboard, the acting is good, and the scripts and storylines sassy – if you can’t appreciate the quality in The Doctor’s Wife then you’re frankly delusional. Or a dalek.

But that is getting off the point, in a rather abstract Doctor Matt Smith-kind of way.

So, is the Doctor Who Experience exhibition at London’s Olympia Colin Baker/ Sylvester McCoy quality or David Tennant/Matt Smith?

Well two junior Collies say this is an event worthy of the current vintage.

The Doctor Who Experience could have been nothing more than a cheap cash-in on the series’ popularity, channelling fans towards the inevitable cash cow of the gift shop. Yet it is far from that.

There is a good two-plus hours of entertainment here for the entry price of between £46 and £62 for a family of four (depending on the time and advance booking). And there is undoubtedly more if you’re a big Dr Who fan, like the chap who was visiting in full Matt-Smith regalia, right down to the Matt Smith bow-tie.

Bow-ties are – apparently as it is repeated enough in the series – cool.

The real highlight is going through your own adventure with the 11th Doctor, Smith.

The special effects are excellent and Smith’s script and performance are of the level he has brought to the show.

From dodging moving Daleks and 3D Weeping Angels, you move into a more conventional exhibition of memorabilia.

There are costumes depicting all 11 Doctors, many from other characters (and yes, current Doctor’s assistant Karen Gillan is really that thin and tall), the control rooms of a couple of Tardises (or is it Tardi?) and many of the monsters.

For the bigger kids there is also a K9, but we’ll gloss over that example of where the past was so plastic compared to the present.

There is, however as a further example of the change between the old series and the new, a couple of short video clips over in the 1980s Tardis of some Peter and Colin Baker scenes.

Not even the gift of time travel is able to explain away the standard of acting.

But overall in its lay-out and interest level, it beats similar collections I have been to, including a James Bond one close on 10 years ago.

For the price you’ll want to be a Doctor fan but it’s unlikely many will be disap-pointed, no matter what their age.

Unsurprisingly, this is the largest collection of original Doctor Who artefacts and props ever. The Doctor’s costumes date from 1963 through to the present incarnation. Through to November 20, the Doctor Who Experience will be open from 10.30am to 5.30pm (last entry at 3.30pm) and will close on Wednesdays. During October half term (Saturday, October 22 to Sunday, October 30) it will be open every day from 10.30am to 6pm (last entry at 4.30pm) There is an additional interactive wi-fi element to play with on your smartphone but it is, frankly, a bit lacking compared to the quality of the rest of the exhibition.