The Doctor Who Review - Sleep No More

Last updated on 15 October 2024

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WARNING! SPOILER ALERT!

Welcome back to the ninth Doctor Who Review, where I recap the week’s episode and give some thoughts and opinions on it. Please do not read if you have not seen this week’s episode. There are major spoilers ahead. You have been warned. 

Title: Sleep No More
Writer: Mark Gatiss

Sigh. Here we go again. Not the best introduction to a series on my favourite show, is it? But that was my thoughts as we entered yet another space-based episode. Once again, I’ll reiterate that yes, it’s Doctor Who, and yes space is kind of the point, but, like I’ve said before, I’m sick of space stations. Give me planets. Give me alien races. Give me earth back-in-the-day with alien races. But space stations? Again? Come one.

But here we are, nonetheless, and at the very beginning we’re introduced to Rassmussen, who is speaking directly to the screen and warns us not to watch. So we continue watching, obviously. We’re introduced to a crew in the 38th century, who have just boarded a station that is orbiting Neptune, as a rescue mission. There they meet the Doctor and Clara, who are wondering why the entire crew on the station has disappeared. Suddenly there are creepy monsters chasing them, and they end up in a control room. There discover these strange sleeping chambers, or Morpheus pods, one of which Clara gets momentarily sucked into. Out of an occupied pod pops the creator of the Morpheus pods (Rassmussen), which allow a person to have, essentially, power naps so powerful they can go for months without sleeping, and therefore be more productive/get work done/etc etc etc.

The Doctor puts the monsters and the pods together, and realises that the monsters are made from sleep dust. Which is what? “The stuff in the corner of your eye. The stuff you wipe away every morning when you wake up. … When we sleep the mucus crust builds up in our eyes, blood cells, skin cells — that’s what dust largely is — human skin.” Ah, ew! But something’s not right. When he hacks into their helmet cameras with his sonic sunglasses (can we just have the screw driver back please?), he then realises that they don’t actually have head cameras, and so where is the footage on the screens coming from? The dust.

The Sandmen, as Clara calls them, are actually members of the previous crew, and now Clara has dust in her eyes and is turning into one of them. When the Doctor, Clara and the last remaining rescue crew members escape from Rassmussen and his Sandmen, the creator appears on the screen and tells us that the Morpheus process is just an “electrical signal that affects the sleep centres of the brain, changes them. An electronic signal that’s contained in this recording.”

What. It’s all rather confusing, and there are many questions, like is Clara actually going to be okay? Or is this going to pop back up in a later episode? Rassmussen made it all into this elaborate, drama-filled story, so is that all it is? A story?

This episode was boom boom boom. Having all the shots taken in forehead camera mode, or CCTV sort of shooting, it was a very different episode to watch, seeing what was going on only from one of the character’s direct perspective, or a ‘camera’ on the wall. Once it started, it never really paused or slowed down. There wasn’t even the usual introduction song and crazy TARDIS flying everywhere.

What I did love about this episode is that it was a stand-alone! Yay! Next week’s episode will be completely different, and, having seen the shorts for it already, it looks like it actually might be one I will enjoy. Fingers crossed. Touch wood, etc etc. It actually reminded me of the Season 5 episode, Amy’s Choice, when they are visited by the Dream Lord. A similar, sleep-orientated episode, but I have to say, Amy’s Choice was a lot better…although who’s comparing…right?

Yikes. Next week’s episode is called Face the Raven, and The Doctor, Clara and friend Rigsy find themselves in a secret alien world. Better. Sounds much better already.

Did you like Sleep No More?

Original image from BBC