REVIEW: Doctor Who: ‘Sleep No More’

‘Sleep No More’ – the Doctor and Clara; credit: forbes.com

Hey, kids! It is time for your weekly story… well, so to speak. It is time for this week’s staff opinions slideshow. In this installment, we are discussing Episode 9 of Series 9 of Doctor Who, ‘Sleep No More.’

In this episode, we are introduced to the Whoniverse’s latest monsters, the Sandmen. To sum them up: they are made from human eye crust, they can’t see, and they want to eat you. Super scary, or just super gross? (Not the blind part, though… that’s not scary or gross.)

‘Sleep No More’ was written by Doctor Who veteran Mark Gatiss. His friend and The League of Gentlemen colleague Reece Shearsmith (who is something of a Doctor Who veteran, himself) guest stars as Professor Gagan Rassmussen. Other notable guest stars include Elaine Tan as Jagganth Dalkl-Nagata, Paul Courtenay Hyu as Haruka Deep-Ando, Neet Mohan as Osamu Alml-Chopra, and Bethany Black as 474.

Our staff is rather divided on their opinions of ‘Sleep No More.’ There are also quite a bit of mixed feelings. It appears safe to say that, on average, this is our least liked episode of this season of Doctor Who, so far. Now go forth and read about it.

Next: A Bad Dream

‘Sleep No More’ – the Doctor and Clara; credit: nerdist.com

David Hill – Co-Editor

‘Sleep No More’ was supposed to be something different for Doctor Who – a truly terrifying masterpiece that would leave us shaken. Instead, it feels as though the Whoniverse was sandbagged into expecting far more than the episode delivered.

Perhaps it was due to the villains of the episode. These Sandmen, or whatever they are being called, just seemed utterly ridiculous. Monsters created from the stuff that collects at the corners of the eyes when one is asleep somehow becoming sentient and devouring other life forms? Who would dream that up and why would they put it to paper?

The worst part is that this was an episode with a great deal of potential. The Blair Witch Project feel to the episode fit the overall tone perfectly. Having Rassmussen be able to outsmart the Doctor, and get his video out to the masses, was a brilliant stroke. The creatures that he created, however, just fell short. Perhaps Mark Gatiss fell asleep during this stage of creating the story.

Or, perhaps the inspiration came to him during a bout of insomnia. While waiting for his own Sandman to come, and bring him a dream while he was oh so alone writing this episode, he devised this premise. Not sleeping? Well, that’ll kill you in ways you never would have imagined.

Despite having a great deal of promise, ‘Sleep No More’ just fell flat. These Sandmen could have been much better villains. Ah well, it’s time to go to bed and dream of something better. After all, there’s something in the corner of my eye.

Next: Scary Experimentation

‘Sleep No More’ – Rassmussen; credit: forbes.com

James Aggas – Staff Writer

This was an interesting little episode. While it’s not my favourite of Series 9, it is definitely one of Gatiss’s stronger scripts and fits in well with the current series’ grim overall tone.

It was nice to see Doctor Who experiment and try something new (well, for the show, at least) like a “found footage” episode. Even better is how it made the footage itself part of the narrative in two key ways: This was done first with the Doctor working out where the footage was coming from when he found out there weren’t any helmet cams; then there was the twist ending, where the footage was just a ruse to allow the Sandmen to spread.

How the first twist was handled, I rather liked, as it was a really fresh spin on a genre that has been done to death in horror movies. It’s the kind of twist that actually screams Doctor Who – bringing something new to something plenty of adults at least have seen before.

The ending I’m not so sure about. I’ve joked plenty of times about how Doctor Who should be about “traumatising kids,” but even I think that the ending we got may have been a little too dark. The trick with Doctor Who is that it should be a “safe scare.” It should make you afraid of monsters and darkness in the universe, but at the same time, also give kids the reassurance that the Doctor could be there to save them. The Doctor missing something like the Sandmen’s plan and allowing them to spread across the universe just might be pushing it for the kind of show that Doctor Who is.

Overall though, while ‘Sleep No More’ isn’t my favourite episode of the series, I certainly don’t think that it’s a bad one. In my opinion, it’s a good indicator of how strong Series 9 has been if an episode like this is one of its weaker stories.

Next: Creepy Done Well

‘Sleep No More’ – Clara and the Doctor; credit: flickfilosopher.com

Joel Getter – Staff Writer

Following a two-parter which was a political allegory, we get a proper standalone horror story. I love found footage films such as Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, so I was curious to see if this would be a true “behind the sofa” episode. Mark Gatiss has always managed to turn up the creepy factor in his scripts, so could he deliver on a true genre episode? Personally, I’m giving it a “yes.” This was an experiment that I think works overall with maybe a few flaws.

One of the things that I have loved about this season of Doctor Who is its courage to take risks and try something a little different. The two factors of a) the removal of the traditional opening credits and b) the lack of incidental music quickly establish the feel of this episode. There are lots of creepy touches, such as the minimal lighting and the use of “Mr. Sandman.”

Although this season of Doctor Who has moved in new directions, there are still plenty of throwbacks for the long-time fans. While the Sandmen won’t go down as the scariest creatures ever, they did remind me of the classic monsters of old school Who. I have also loved the winks to the past, this time with references to both Frontios and the Silurians.

Credit should also be given to Reece Shearsmith for his portrayal of the deranged Professor Rassmussen. Shearsmith played the role two parts creepy horror villain and one part Professor Zaroff from ‘The Underwater Menace.’ I was hoping that at one point he might scream “NOTHING IN THE WORLD CAN STOP ME NOW!” but we can’t have everything we want.

Despite the great atmosphere, this episode can get a bit confusing, concluding with more questions than answers. Even the Doctor points out that the whole setup doesn’t quite make sense. Plus the Doctor doesn’t really win at the end of this one. The final scene of Rassmussen degenerating into dust while he dooms the rest of humanity was hands down the most chilling scene this season. Overall, I found the episode to be a great homage to found footage horror. Well-played Mark Gatiss for actually making the crusty stuff around our eyes scary.

Next: A Failed Experiment

‘Sleep No More’ – Code; credit: forbes.com

Kory Plockmeyer – Staff Writer

I was on vacation last week and so I was almost completely out of the loop with Doctor Who up until late in the week. Because of that, I had paid very little attention to any of the news, reports, or rumors about ‘Sleep No More.’ To make matters worse, we were having some difficulties with our TV, and so we missed the first couple of minutes.

This may have had something to do with why this episode fell completely flat for me. I was not prepared for the different style in which the episode was shot and I just never really felt like it took off. In particular, I never really believed that the threat was as universal as we were presented.

From a technical perspective, I would say that the episode was well-done and I can respect that. At the same time, it seems that the “found footage” style is a genre that viewers either love or hate. Personally, I hate it. I’m torn. On the one hand, I want the show to continue to try to expand its technical repertoire and its storytelling mechanisms. At the same time, it seems like a pretty high risk to completely change the format. What about the viewer who, like me this week, was completely unprepared for the change? What about the person who tunes in for the first time?

When I was a restaurant manager my boss’ highest value was consistency – he wanted to make sure that the customer who ate at our restaurant would receive the same type of experience the next time. I couldn’t help but think of that as I watched this week’s episode. There needs to be room for experimentation, but that can’t be at the expense of the consistent approach of the show.

I suspect that the experimental nature of this week’s episode contributed to its greatest default: namely, the loss of character development. This season has been phenomenal for the ways in which we have been able to dive into the characterization of the Doctor, Clara, and other key figures, while still meeting well-rounded one-off companions (e.g., ‘Under the Lake’ and ‘Before the Flood’). This week, however, felt lacking in character development of any kind. While the “found footage” format was executed effectively, it felt as though we sacrificed substance for form.

Next: A Nonsensical Letdown

‘Sleep No More’ – Sandman; credit: bbcamerica.com

Leah Tedesco – Assistant Editor/Staff Writer

I was so very excited leading up to my viewing of Episode 9 of Series 9 of Doctor Who, ‘Sleep No More.’ With Reece Shearsmith and Bethany Black as guest stars, it sounded like the promise of something fantastic. But, alas, this was the first episode of this series that I did not enjoy. In fact, I feel that it is one of the worst episodes since the revival of the show.

I usually rewatch episodes as I write up my reviews, but really did not want to do so for this one. I forced myself, however, because, to better understand it, I needed to make the effort. Like the Doctor said, the story did not make any sense. My reluctance was not actually due to my low opinion of the episode, but because the shaky cam gave me motion sickness. I also had this happen to me while watching The Blair Witch Project. Funny how these both use found footage as a storytelling device.

What The Blair Witch Project and ‘Sleep No More’ also hold in common for me is that, despite their best intentions, I did not find them to be scary. Frankly, I’ve never been truly afraid of anything on Doctor Who, but this is forgivable considering that it is a family show and the scares are probably not meant for the adult viewers.

‘Sleep No More’ appears to draw inspiration from other Doctor Who stories, as well as content outside of the Whoniverse. Some things that come to mind for me are ‘42,’ ‘Last Christmas,’ ‘Under the Lake‘/’Before the Flood,’ and Ringu or The Ring. The last two are also examples that use the found footage device, this time with the added similarity of the recording supernaturally affecting the viewer.

The “sleep dust” monsters known as Sandmen, while inventive, do not quite fit into a program such as Doctor Who. And the same dust operating as cameras connected to the computer system of the space station? I’m not buying it. No satisfactory explanation was provided as to how these things came to be. By the end of the episode, it was unclear whether they evolved from our eye gunk, or are altered versions of our own bodies. Even this excerpt from Rassmussen’s address did not clear up any of this confusion:

"There are no spores, no infection. The Morpheus process remains the same. An electronic signal that affects the sleep centres of the brain. Changes them. An electronic signal that’s contained in this recording."

The Sandmen make as much sense in science fiction as do the drawings and scribbles in ‘Fear Her’ and the dragons in ‘Kill the Moon’ — which is to say, not much. These are all interesting concepts, but would work better in a fantasy franchise.