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November 14th, 2015 128 comments

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What Did You Think of Sleep No More ?

Now that the highly anticipated Ninth episode of series 9 has been aired what did you think? Was it everything you had hoped for or not what you expected.











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128 comments

  • A “Real Doctor Who” Fan

    November 15th, 2015 - 8:13pm

    As an avid viewer of Dr Who for more than 50 years I can honestly say Sleep No Bore, sorry More was the worst ever episode to be inflicted upon mankind. The plot had more holes in it than a Colander. The Dr was reduced to basically an ineffective rambling bystander & was just there to basically allow the episode to be called a Dr Who adventure.
    Mr Muppet, sorry Moffat appears to be deliberately killing off the show with these badly written, almost no plot, scripts. This last episode was so dire (monsters created from eye snot) even the BBC was so embarrassed by it they didn’t even put the titles & theme music to it.
    Steven Moffat “claims” to be a fan since childhood, but the drivel that Mr Capaldi has had to work with that has been inflicted upon him since he started by this man, has not allowed Mr Capaldi to develop the Doctor in this re-incarnation in a way this fine actor could.
    The Tennant season was bad enough but since then its been like watching a train crash in slow motion. If Moffat really was a fan then he should get some decent script writers & bring back the spirit of the show to what it was in the 60s, 70s & the early 80s. Even the car crash of a film, with McGann as the Doctor was better than what is being served up now.

    Reply
    • WFK DVD Collector 15

      November 15th, 2015 - 9:23pm

      I couldn’t agree more with you. It’s so nice to hear someone talk sense instead of people saying they liked it just because of the hype… I’m starting to wonder how long the show has left now it’s getting less then 4 million viewers a episode, and less and less people seem to like the show or even be familiar with it! When it comes to writing Doctor Who, simple stories are FAR better then ones that try and be clever. (I’ll take the Doctor stopping a Dalek invasion over Maisie Williams any day!)

    • DOCTOR WHO ONE

      November 16th, 2015 - 7:14am

      A “Real Doctor Who” Fan – It was indeed the worst Doctor Who episode this series, but I’ve largely enjoyed this series, especially the opening 2 parter, and very excited for the finale to finally [fingers crossed] see the return once and for all of Gallifrey and the Time Lords back to the universe they belong in with the Doctor.

      WFK DVD Collector 15 – Don’t forget that a lot of viewers now catch up later on BBC iPlayer, some of them no doubt have very young children who go to bed before 8pm, and I can’t say I blame them because it has been getting daft recently having Doctor Who on around 8pm which is too late for many, it should be on at sometime between 6pm to 8pm. Even Peter Capaldi himself has stated his not happy with the current broadcast times.

    • WFK DVD Collector 15

      November 16th, 2015 - 8:20am

      That’s a fair point DOCTOR WHO ONE. It would be interesting to see the views on iPlayer combined with the TV ones. 🙂

  • Stephen m

    November 15th, 2015 - 8:10pm

    I enjoyed the episode. I think this series had been really strong, and this was a good but not the best episode. The base under siege idea was done recently in under the lake, but it put me in mind of journey to the centre… with the monsters. The ‘something in your eye’but made me think of Amy with the angel in her eye. The ending was also quite sudden. I think the 2 part episodes have worked well this year, but it looks like we might come back to it at some point.

    Reply
  • Dem squiggles

    November 15th, 2015 - 7:31pm

    Sleep no more? More like watch no more

    Reply
  • MrHaloWho

    November 15th, 2015 - 7:18pm

    I hate all the cheap, easy resolutions to the stories: “the monsters are made of sleep dusts, the ghosts are holograms made by my glasses, the sewers are dead Daleks etc…

    Reply
  • the astronaut of death

    November 15th, 2015 - 6:15pm

    much better after a rewatch

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 7:04pm

      Agreed

  • Evans the coward

    November 15th, 2015 - 5:25pm

    Sleep no more, I hate it more than the twin dilemma and fear her

    Reply
  • Dalekparadigm2

    November 15th, 2015 - 2:31pm

    It would seem about 75% found this episode to be dull, boring and not at all up to scratch. I suppose in the end this episode WAS really an experiment. After thinking about the episode all night I realised that I lost the plotline of the story and didn’t actually get what actually happened. I kind of got it but I would have to say that Gatiss has just thrown some action together in a first person scenario. The Sandmen were pretty scary in my opinion though and the comedy was great once again. Gatiss’ writing has been great in the past but the last couple of stories he’s done have been at either end of the spectrum. Kids one (Robot of Sherwood -S8) and ‘scary’ one (Sleep No More -S9)

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    November 15th, 2015 - 1:42pm

    To be honest my expectations of Season 9 were pretty low after watching Season 8 which was utter drivel. Season 9 has even more drivel & has been absolutely dire so far. I actually went out for a meal & then watched this episode on catch-up when I usually watch it live. Sadly, the sheer amount of effort & energy, time & money, in fact the whole production of the current show is currently being wasted.

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 3:37pm

      Interesting opinion…although I think 90% of fans would completely disagree.

      I personally think Series 8 was OK…Series 9 has been the strongest in New Who and strongest in Who history since mid 70s. Everyone I talk to largely agrees with me. The critics reviews do to as do the polls on this site.(I take little notice if forum posts as it’s littlered with Trolls who dileberately post negative stuff to get their attention seeking fix).

      I didnt like this episode…but thata fine…no big deal…looking forward to seeing next weeks.

    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 7:07pm

      Actually to clarify: I love Doctor Who but like Star Trek (Which I also love) I’m not afraid to be critical when it goes wrong. The current Seasons 8-9 are like watching Doctor Who which isn’t Doctor Who if you get what I mean? Some parts of the show feel like I’m watching Doctor Who then veer off at a tangent as though it’s another show altogether? I have found that with the last 3 Bond films: I’m supposedly watching James Bond in action, but none of the last 3 films are ‘actually’ a Bond film. Certain ‘Bond’ elements are there but they are certainly not Bond films. Same reason I feel that elements of ‘Doctor Who’ are there but it isn’t Doctor Who. I’ve never followed the sheep but just because ‘Critics’ do & ‘90%’ of fans do as well doesn’t mean they are right. As long as the ratings remain high & merchandise make’s cash the show will go on. That doesn’t mean of course that it’s a ‘good show’ but as long as the masses enjoy it that’s fine & dandy. It just means I’m one of the few that disagrees.

    • MaxP

      November 15th, 2015 - 11:40pm

      Anonymous 2, once again you sing the praises of a show in rapid decline. I’ve never seen such denial and ignorance. Most of this season has been better than a lot of the last few years, but on the whole the show is quite poor, feeling like it’s written mainly for children. And when fans complain here they’re not just being attention seekers they’re just despairing as they want a decent show and aren’t getting it.

    • the ergon

      November 16th, 2015 - 2:26pm

      Its because people are so passionate abouy the show they like most like to air there grievances, and because we do get the occasional clunker makes them frustrated, thinking were going to get the perfect run of episodes which hasn,t occured to date and we,ll always keep watching in the vain hope theres improvement the following week. Thats how devoted we are. So far this season the highlights were the opening 2 parter and the first part of the zygon story. I don,t know what to expect from the solo monologue episode and being the penultimate episode sounds experimental. I always revisit stories i initally didn,t like or hated to see if there are any missed redeemable qualities as part of a reanalysis.

  • 47

    November 15th, 2015 - 12:58pm

    It wasn’t a great episode, I wont ‘throw’ it ‘under the bus’ because I appreciated the structural concept of the episode, if not the story. I watched it half bored to sleep and half intrigued….. The supporting cast of characters didn’t help either. Whilst the episode didn’t do much for me, at least it attempted something bold and different, a re-interpretation of a classic ‘base under siege’ type show. What really annoyed me about The women who lived (et al), was the dreadful comedy, the classless smutty “joke” and then the flatulence gag at the expense of The Doctor, you wouldn’t have done it to Pertwee, so why Capaldi, it just diminishes the lead character and show…….at least this episode took itself seriously, even though it wasn’t my cup of tea, no need to ‘throw it under the bus’, as it only, just wasn’t “my cup of tea.”

    Reply
  • the ergon

    November 15th, 2015 - 12:38pm

    A convoluted mess with the usual running down dark bland corridors. The sandmen were a ‘marvel’ in more ways than one. Clara annoying the doctor by naming the monster was quite amusing though given the dancing singing projections she didn,t need much inspiration. Since the doctor named ‘The boneless’ maybe this incarnation feels he should and nobody else, to name them. In that case he,d have had a field day with’clark’ from the sea devils and ‘Walters’ from The ice warriors.

    Reply
  • When The Doctor Was Me

    November 15th, 2015 - 12:12pm

    In one word… Dreadful

    Not a fan at all. Bored me enough to want to change the channel! Best thing about this episode was the next time trailer!

    Reply
    • Obsie

      November 15th, 2015 - 3:00pm

      Fully understand, tedious and somewhat pointless episode. Best thing about it was there was no “to be continued” tag. Anymore of it being dragged out would have tested my patience to the full.

    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 3:32pm

      There is going to be a sequel in series 10 though…book a date with X Facter chaps

    • Obsie

      November 15th, 2015 - 6:47pm

      Strange choice for a sequel as they are renowned for being awful. So going by this one it’s going to increase its awful factor even more. Rash, foolish idea that should be shelved now before it ever sees the light of day and only aggravates people more.

  • starshipalaska

    November 15th, 2015 - 11:48am

    On the whole, it kept up the strong standard of series nine. I loved the imagination behind the Sandmen and their origins, but there were two main problems:
    1.) The lack of decent credibility, with lots of unanswered or poorly-answered practical questions.
    2.) The found footage would have been way better if for the whole 45 minutes, we just followed the soldiers, meeting the Doctor and Clara, encountering Sandmen, etc right through the end as one continuous scene. The repeated cuts to Rasmussen ‘holding the viewers hand’ as the Guardian puts it, just undercut any tension that might have been built up with the darkened corridors and ambiguous background noises. I don’t know, maybe I’m asking for it to be a bit too similar to the Blair Witch Project, given the audience??

    Reply
  • Exterminator

    November 15th, 2015 - 11:16am

    Finally, an episode not set on earth. The writers keep forgetting that the Tardis can travel in space as well as time. They were promising something scary and I’m sorry it just wasn’t.

    The rescue soldiers were almost as bad as the unit ones last week not following orders. In the future, the armed services have really gone downhill.

    The story for me would’ve made more sense if using the sleep pod things to stay awake for a long period of time, turns you into a sandman monster. All the sandman on the space station could’ve been the crew who have now got the munchies and started eating the rescue crew. That’s why they were called by the Reece Shearsmith character who they leave alone because he created them. Also they could then leave the station in the rescue ship.

    They should’ve dumped the found footage thing, it really doesn’t work.

    It was needlessly confusing and complicated and could’ve been so much better. Yet again another disappointment, but I bet everyone at the Dr Who Festival will be telling the Moffat/gatiss duo it was fantastic. Sorry but it wasn’t.

    Reply
  • Aidan Gula

    November 15th, 2015 - 11:16am

    I don’t know why people are so down on this episode. It was an experimental one because of the found footage. I honestly think Mark Gatiss’ episodes are always really strong because I like his alternative way of writing. My episode ratings:
    TMA – 10/10
    TWF – 10/10
    UTL – 8/10
    BTF – 7/10
    TGWD – 6/10
    TWWL – 10/10
    TZI – 7/10
    TZI – 8/10
    SNM – 9/10
    Series 9 Average: 8.33/10

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 5:35pm

      I really like your positiveness, and mostly thanks to 2nd viewings, I have really liked Capadi’s 2nd series, and might rate it higher than most since about 1981.

      Interestingly, my opinions might oppose yours slightly insofar as I think Under the Lake and the Zygon 2-parter are the best things we have seen for years (possibly since Caves). Girl Who Died I really like on 2nd viewing and felt the follow up was less good.

      Point being:- x2 very positive series 9 viewers/fans despite having nearly opposite story orders,

  • Zygon63

    November 15th, 2015 - 10:53am

    I’m really not sure about this story… Either one of the worst ever or one of the best – I don’t think I’ll know until I have watched it again. Maybe I’ll understand it more the second time round!

    Reply
  • Tim M

    November 15th, 2015 - 10:29am

    I actually really enjoyed that episode. It couldn’t have been that bad…as it took my mind off my current tooth ache! The acting throughout wasn’t bad, the lighting and sets were used to brilliant effect, and the sandmen made for quite creepy monsters. I know there seems to be a lot of negative around this particular story, but I really liked it. 9/10. But then, what do I know…I tend to really like the stories that everyone else hates, such as ‘The Space Museum’, ‘Paradise Towers’, ‘Love and Monsters’ etc.

    Reply
  • Sid Rat

    November 15th, 2015 - 9:51am

    Didn’t enjoy this episode. Our little boy is a big DW fan and went off to play with his Star Wars figures part way through (for the first time this series), he said “it was boring” when asked. And I agree. I watched it of course but this is a particularly weak link in what has so far been a really good series. Looking forward to next week. Such a shame Clara will be leaving though as it is rally her that gives a little credibility to the 12th Doctor.

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    November 15th, 2015 - 9:11am

    I was never a fan of Mark Gatiss DW stories, thinking his were some of the weakest and then when he wrote Night Terrors and Cold War I was made eat my words. Since then he has written Crimson Horror, Robot of Sherwood and this one…..he is due to write a strong episode again soon 😉

    Reply
    • Big D

      November 15th, 2015 - 12:51pm

      I think I must be the only one who liked Crimson Horror. It felt like an old Hammer film which I enjoy. However I do agree with the rest of what you say. Largely I do tend to prefer the MG stories over those from SM.

  • Anonymous

    November 15th, 2015 - 9:08am

    I admire the ambition to tell a DW story in a very different way but this didn’t quite work for me….I was left very confused. Hey ho….so this wasn’t great….but so far there have been 6 stunning episodes, 2 good episodes and…well this one. Still the best series to date in my opinion.

    Reply
  • The TARDIS

    November 15th, 2015 - 8:15am

    I’m certainly enjoyed watching this first time around, but I’m wondering what will happen with repeat viewings. Either the gimmick of “found footage” will wear off, or I will see past it more and gain a greater appreciation.
    What I will say for definite however is that it felt unresolved. The ending certainly requires a sequel, and I’m sure that I (and many others) will be able to enjoy “Sleep No More” once it has been tied up properly.
    It wasn’t at all scary though. I’m coming to accept that maybe I’ve grown past being able to find Doctor Who scary any more

    Reply
    • The TARDIS

      November 15th, 2015 - 11:51am

      I’m? Thank you, autocorrect. Thank you.

  • DOCTOR WHO ONE

    November 15th, 2015 - 6:57am

    To quote Comic Book Guy from Matt Groening’s ‘The Simpson’s’ :

    Worst – Episode – Ever !!.

    Reply
    • The Doctor Returns

      November 15th, 2015 - 10:57am

      Totally agree!

  • chooky1441

    November 15th, 2015 - 4:36am

    Ok i understand that it was all set up to be a story but what was the point of doing it? Like if it was to demonstrate how the machines worked in the brain why would someone want to make a story that scared people into not using them….

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 11:17pm

      That found footage thing with the perspectives changing every second was is confusing. I had to watch it twice to realise that there WAS NOT just some guy with a camera for the whole episode. And what was the point of repeatedly killing Rasmussen if he kept freakin’ ressurecting, only to actually be one of those sandmen (which doesn’t make sense anyway). In conclusion, said in the true words of the doctor himself “none of this makes any sense”

    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 11:18pm

      Although I have to admit I was a bit wary of sleeping. Again do the sleep dust monsters come from when you sleep or when you don’t sleep

  • Obsie

    November 15th, 2015 - 3:50am

    Sorry but for me it just didn’t work at all.

    Reply
  • scott

    November 15th, 2015 - 2:44am

    Sleep no more, dust bunny”s come to life, please. Im a big doctor who fan, have been for a long time, this is a big turn in the writing of this show, and this season is one of the worst. The only thing that is saving this show is claira, no Im not obsessed with her but she does bring life to the show, sorry peter.

    Reply
    • Steph

      November 15th, 2015 - 3:42am

      I agree. The writing was terrible and there was no excitement at all. Sorry to break it to you, but I read on bbc that Clara’s leaving this season. The shows just going to get worse.

    • Steph

      November 15th, 2015 - 3:45am

      There was also no character development, no witty comments between Clara and the doctor (which is very important and expected in this show), no interesting background music(which really helps), the monster was so confusing. Nothing I have grown to expect over my years of watching doctor who was there!

    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 11:23pm

      Honestly I only kept watching series 8 cuz Clara was still there. Of course I have definitely come to adore Capaldi but i wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves soon cuz despite being the ultimate fanboy, doctor who hasn’t done him any justice to showcase his acting (except for that big speech in the zygon inversion). Additionally, he’s an insane actor but series 8 just showed him as a grump and last Christmas onwards series has just dumped all this “Clara worshipping” (as my friend calls it) on him. Honestly the writers can’t construct a sentence without the name Clara in it. The amount of foreshadowing has shown us she’s gonna die. And unfortunately that’s next week. I’ll forever remember the impossible girl tho. So Steven come at me with all you got.

  • anon

    November 15th, 2015 - 2:15am

    On my sky box i have:
    The Magician’s Apprentice.
    The Witch’s Familiar.
    Under the Lake.
    Before the Flood.
    The Girl Who Died.
    The Woman Who Lived.
    The Zygon Invasion.
    The Zygon Inversion.

    After ten minutes of watching Sleep No More, i went to the planner, selected Dr Who and pressed the yellow button to delete it.

    Found footage-style + Dr Who = really rubbish episode.

    Reply
  • CG

    November 15th, 2015 - 12:39am

    I actually quite enjoyed the episode. It definitely wasn’t the best of the series, by far, but in my opinion it was still better than The Woman Who Lived. I thought the story line was really good but was made a little boring and disjointed by all the narrated commentary. I felt that the resolution was ok but could have been expanded on much more. I also think that the issue the Doctor brought up about the Morpheus “machine” that hacked your sight (or let your “sleep” see) wasn’t resolved at all.
    Also, I was pleased to see that the TARDIS’s Pull to Open sign lit up, making the new flight control TARDIS very accurate!

    Reply
  • Doctor stu

    November 15th, 2015 - 12:05am

    it didn’t have to be a found footage episode it could have just been a normal episode and if you cut out the bits where the narrator kept popping up there’d probably be enough time left to fit in a good resolution to the end of the episode. The ending really annoyed me because it just feel really lazy as there was no resolution. I thought the power of 3’s ending was bad but this just took the mick

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 11:25pm

      They couldn’t even give us an above average exit, and the whole “Rasmussen is made of eye boogers” thing was too unnecessary and just even more confusing than the episode itself.

  • Olga

    November 14th, 2015 - 11:56pm

    It wasn’t that bad but it wasn’t good either. The concept was great but the performance not so much. If it hadn’t been with Peter Capaldi, I would have said that it was quite bad and a bit boring but his acting saved the episode. Why the episodes from the 9th series have to be that dark?
    The next one looks promising but also pretty depressing.

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 11:27pm

      Yeah. I hate to be a river song but I have a huge spoiler. Everyone probably knows about this now cuz the producers are really bad at keeping secrets, but next weeks episode, that’s where we see Clara kerplunk for good. And it is quite obvious that that’s ashildr’s voice at the end of the next time trailer.

  • Doctor Stu

    November 14th, 2015 - 11:50pm

    It was ok until the end I didn’t understand the end at all the end was extremely poor

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      November 15th, 2015 - 1:58am

      The whole thing was a staged horror movie. However, the “actors” were real people who had no idea it wasn’t real and genuinely died, and the real aliens intend to use the movie as an invasion mechanism.

      In short, people that use the found footage style are evil alien invaders trying to melt your brain, which anyone could have told you anyway.

  • Coen

    November 14th, 2015 - 11:33pm

    Well I don’t know. I really like the idea about monsters made out of sleep dust and the fact that they can’t see. And the way Morpheus works is really interesting. But… it felt like this was some kind of beta version of the episode we’re supposed to see.

    The camera footage idea is also very interesting, certainly becaus the way it was used (‘And this, is you, Clara, watching me.’), but this, too, felt like it could have been so much more. I like it in horror movies, but in this episode, it kind of annoyed me, though.

    The thing I think I am most dissapointed by, is patient zero. He hasn’t slept for five years, so I was expecting some kind of ‘ultimate sandman’, only to find out he was exactly the same.

    Next episode looks pretty good, though. I hope that one pleases me more. This one had good ideas, but could have been better.

    Reply

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