Doctor Who Series 9 Reviews - Sleep No More (E9)

*EMERGENCY BROADCAST I REPEAT EMERGENCY BROADCAST* Warning: the events that follow in this review are not based on pre-existing true life events like a majority of found footage-based stories – a a concept which has grown in number in the film industry thanks largely to the reported smash-hit known as Paranormal Activity. Because of this, the concept has been noted as being overdone by the respective industries, and as evident by the success rate it was deemed fitting that long-running science fiction serial Doctor Who would give it a go itself in an attempt to frighten its family-oriented audience, with beloved horror fan Mark Gatiss returning the hit show for his eighth episode (excluding critically-adored docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time) adding his touches to the trope in a story he exclaims "has been wanting to do since [Doctor Who] returned". The question remained about its quality, so read this review with trepidation. *BROADCAST ENDS*

24 hours after a distress signal was sent off from a ship in the orbit of Neptune, a team of soldiers arrive to examine the scene and to rescue any survivors of the reported incident, and of course bump into the TARDIS duo (Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman). Relatively quickly, the combined efforts of both crews leads to a mystery surrounding a set of Morpheus machines (which help the occupant sleep in small amounts of time and feel replenished), its inventor Rassmussen (played by Gatiss' fellow League of Extraordinary Gentleman Reece Shearsmith) and array of creatures which appear to be the offspring of Spider-Man villain Sandman and the creatures from the popular Amnesia games. But as to what has caused both the creations of this new species of dustmen and what has occurred to the occupants of the ship is anyone's guess, as the Doctor finds out...

The obvious thing to mention first is of course the found footage gimmick which this episode follows, which in this case is based around the dust particles in multiple characters' eyes and the dust in the rooms themselves; with occasional moments of Shearsmith talking directly to the audience as though he were reading a Creepypasta. As far as gimmicks go, this iteration of this particular one is at least smarter than usual 'character holding a camera everywhere' ordeal that Hollywood insists on following, while avoiding the documentary-esque approach that shows such Community have been praised for (seeing as that isn't the idea that Gatiss had in mind). However, it does feel like just that: a gimmick. If told in any other way, it would be a very bog-standard episode which very few would remember; thanks largely to having a similar feel to 2013 episodes Hide and Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS – episodes which don't tend to be highly regarded in the fan community outside of the Tumblr-friendly moments. 

I say this because it does have those standard conventions that nearly every spaceship-in-peril story has (including this season's Under the Lake/Before the Flood two-parter): a crew of forgettable soldiers with a no-nonsense captain (here played by Elaine Tan); a set of monsters kept mostly ominous from we the audience; and of course the Doctor quickly taking control because he's the Doctor and we need to let him. Outside of that, nothing new, with even very forced elements like the "at least it couldn't get any worse" line that should NEVER BE SAID IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS. And when the episode gets on the verge of something smart like the Sandman conceit it quickly backs away to familiar ground like a child exploring an area. Granted, things do at least take the scary turn by the end with Shearsmith but by that point it does make the rest of the episode feel like a long journey to a fear-mongering ploy.

It would also help if we had a set of interesting new characters, as only Shearsmith is given some form of background and personality outside of the given ranks of the rescue crew. Then again, he is an actor who puts his all into his work – especially his collaborations with scribe Gatiss – so perhaps his inability to push himself further could be remarked...but that would just be cruel. But the likes of Tan, Neet Mohan, Paul Courtenay Hyu and transgender comedian Bethany Black (who could have been administered rather well) are all left in the dust to said Sandmen. They try what they can with little to work off, and as such are affected by it. Even the TARDIS crew are affected by it though, with Jenna Coleman back in the no-usage chair after a few episodes where she stretched her legs and was given something to do while Capaldi is reverted to his serious Doctor version with occasional bursts of comedy which thankfully doesn't reach levels of Matt Smith madness. 

Surprisingly enough, I don't hate Sleep No More. In actuality, it is a bit enjoyable for an episode that lacks much creativity and is too afraid to venture to something new. Yes, the characters are mostly bland and the villainous Sandmen don't actually do anything, but it doesn't stop it from being an easy viewing with at least a small number of ideas that do work. And with talk of a potential sequel already, it does feel like a good move – although I don’t want to rate it on whether or not the sequel would sort it out (otherwise The Amazing Spider-Man 2 would live up to the name). 5/10.