Sleep No More (TV story)

Sleep No More
Doctor:	Twelfth Doctor
Companion(s):	Clara
Main enemy:	Sandmen, Rassmussen
Main setting:	The Le Verrier space station, 38th century
Key crew
Writer:	Mark Gatiss
Director:	Justin Molotnikov
Producer:	Nikki Wilson
Release details
Story number:	257
Premiere broadcast:	14 November 2015
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1x45 minute episode
Doctor Who television stories
← Previous	The Zygon Inversion
Next →	Face the Raven
Production order
← Previous	Heaven Sent
Next →	Hell Bent

Sleep No More was the ninth episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales.

It broke away from the traditional filming style of the series by featuring a unique and non-musical title sequence and depicting the events of the story through a found-footage style of direction, featuring all of its scenes in a manner that suggests they were being viewed through video recordings rather than in third-person.

It also was the first episode of Doctor Who to have its title given during the closing credits rather than the opening credits. The only other time that a television story did not feature a title during the opening titles was the 2005 Children in Need Special, which did not display any discernible title at all.

Synopsis

From footage in the Le Verrier space station, the Doctor and Clara are shown to be up against terrifying Sandmen in a situation which involves sleep and lots of death.

Plot

Professor Gagan Rassmussen breathlessly introduces a video he’s assembled from found footage, warning would-be viewers of the recording’s inherent (but unspecified) danger. 

Nagata and her team (Chopra, Deep-Ando, and Grunt 474) dock with the Le Verrier space station, armed and ready to execute a rescue mission.  The soldiers’ personal equipment apparently includes helmet-cams which — in addition to the station’s security system — document their unsuccessful search for Le Verrier’s personnel.

Instead, they encounter Clara and the Doctor, who present psychic paper to identify themselves as engineers stress-testing the station’s structural integrity. Together, the sextet search the corridors, commenting on 38th-century architecture, which blends Japanese and Indian elements. Clara assumes that the Doctor has brought her to a space restaurant, to which the Doctor replies that they never put the word "space" in front of something just because it's the future.

Nagata and her team hold the Doctor and Clara at gunpoint. The Doctor holds up his psychic paper, which makes Nagata believe that they are Engineering Stress Assessors. Nagata asks the Doctor what happened. Assuming that she means what happened from the beginning of time, the Doctor says "that's a long story".

Twenty-four hours ago, the station lost all communications. Nagata and her team are here to find out why the station lost power, assuming it to be a meteor strike or space pirates (which contradicts the Doctor's theory of not putting "space" before certain words). The Doctor correctly guesses Nagata and her team to be a rescue team of four. Nagata tells them to consider themselves under her command, but the Doctor finishes her sentence by singing "part of the furniture", before Nagata finishes her command.

The Doctor tastes his finger twice to reveal that he and Clara are in the thirty-eighth century on a Tuesday. He tells Clara that India and Japan were sort of merged after the great catastrophe, which Clara doesn't know about.

Grunt 474 says "Eyes. Watch. Eyes in sky.", which confuses Chopra. 474 says that she will protect Chopra because she thinks that he's pretty. Chopra pushes her away, which causes her to react aggressively - because she is programmed to respond to physical threat - and get Chopra into a choke hold. After Nagata tells her to let Chopra go, 474 does so and crouches by the wall.

Chopra complains that 474 could have killed him, but Nagata tells him that it's how grunts are grown. The Doctor tells a confused Clara that grunts are bred in hatcheries with cloned muscles, low intelligence and brute force, which makes for an instant army, much to Clara's disgust. The Doctor tells her that it's how they roll in the thirty-eighth century.

Suddenly, they hear something moaning nearby. The Doctor tells Clara to hold his hand. Two humanoid creatures appear, forcing the Doctor, Clara and the rescue team to run. Deep-Ando goes down a different route from the others, who manage to shut themselves in a laboratory, but not before one of the creatures manages to get its arm through the gap in the door. 474 pushes the door shut, which slices off the creature's arm, causing it to dissolve into dust. Nagata wonders what the creatures are and where they came from.

Meanwhile, Deep-Ando continues to search for his fellow teammates in the corridor.

The Doctor picks up a sample of the sand from the creature's arm and he finds out that they're actually mucus. Clara sees some large white cabinets with the word "Morpheus" on them.

Deep-Ando comes across a bulkhead door and tries to get in, but the computer tells him that he has to "do the song" since it was reprogrammed after the Christmas Party and finds the song very amusing. Deep-Ando doesn't know what the song is, but the computer assumes that he's being silly. A group of the creatures that attacked the group begin to advance on Deep-Ando, who eventually sings the Morpheus jingle and is let in. Just when he thinks he's safe, however, he turns away from the window and sees the gaping maw of one of the creatures.

Rasmussen informs us that Deep-Ando was the first member of the rescue team to die as they heard the scream, but they had their own problems.

to be added.

Cast

• The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
• Clara - Jenna Coleman
• Rassmussen - Reece Shearsmith
• Nagata - Elaine Tan
• Chopra - Neet Mohan
• 474 - Bethany Black
• Deep-Ando - Paul Courtenay Hyu
• King Sandman - Paul Davis
• Sandmen - Tom Wilton, Matthew Doman
• Morpheus Presenter - Zina Badran
• Hologram Singers - Natasha Patel, Elizabeth Chong, Nikkita Chadha, Gracie Lai

Uncredited cast

• Voice of the Computer - Nikki Wilson

Crew

Executive Producers   Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin

General production staff Line Producer - Tracie Simpson Production Manager - Steffan Morris Location Managers - Iwan Roberts, Nick Clark Unit Manager - Iestyn Hampson-Jones Production Co-ordinator - Adam Knopf Assistant Production Co-ordinator - Sandra Cosfeld Production Assistant - Sion Crowle Production Accountant - Simon Wheeler Script department Script Editor - David P Davis Script Executive - Lindsey Alford Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Dan Mumford 2nd Assistant Director - James DeHaviland 3rd Assistant Director - Danielle Richards Assistant Directors - Chris Thomas, Gareth Jones Script Supervisor - Steve Walker Camera Operator - Mark McQuoid Focus Pullers - Jonathan Vidgen, Steve Rees Grip - John Robinson Camera Assistants - Cai Thompson, Matthew Lepper, Scott Waller Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Best Boy - Andrew Gardiner Electricians - Bob Milton, Gareth Sheldon, Gawain Nash, Rob Fernandes	Art department Supervising Art Director - Dafydd Shurmer Production Buyer - Linda Morgan Set Decorator - Adrian Anscombe Props Buyer - May Johnson Concept Artist - Stephen Cooper Graphic Artist - Matthew Clark Standby Props - Liam Collins Standby Carpenter - Paul Jones Standby Art Director - Julia Challis Props Storeman - Jamie Southcott Props Driver - Gareth Fox Props Makers - Alan Hardy, Jamie Thomas Construction Manager - Terry Horle Construction Chargehand - Dean Tucker Practical Electrician - Christian Davies Scenic Artist - Clive Clarke Costume department Costume Supervisor - Simon Marks Assistant Costume Designer - Georgie Sayer Costume Assistants - Andie Mear, Ian Fowler, Jenny Tindle	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Supervisor - Sara Angharad Make-up Artists - Megan Bowes, James Spinks Movement Stunt Co-ordinators - Crispin Layfield, Dani Biernat Choreographer - Ailsa Berk Casting Casting Associate - Alice Purser General post-production staff Post-production Supervisor - Samantha Price Post-production Co-ordinator - Hannah Jones Assistant Editors - Becky Trotman, Robbie Gibbon On-line Editors - Geraint Pari Huws, Christine Kelly Special and visual effects VFX Editor - Dan Rawlings Colourist - Gareth Spensley Sound Dubbing Mixer - Mark Ferda Dialogue Editor - Darran Clement Foley Editor - Jamie Talbutt

Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.

References

• The Morpheus pods play a hologram of four female singers performing the song "Mr. Sandman", and is used as a key on the security system.
• The Doctor recites the lyrics "Part of the furniture?" from the song "Consider Yourself" from the musical Oliver!
• The Doctor argues with Clara's naming of the Sandmen, saying that he does the naming. He complains that "it's the Silurians all over again."
• The Doctor quotes from Macbeth, and mentions Shakespeare.
• The sleep deprivation pods are named Morpheus after the Greek god of dreams.
• The presenter says there will be no more Rip Van Winkles, referring to the syndrome of too long sleep, and there will be a new generation of Wide-Awakes.
• The Doctor can tell the century and the week-day by wetting his finger and touching his ear.
• The Le Verrier space station is in orbit around Neptune.
• The Doctor mentions "the Great Catastrophe".
• Grunts are artificially grown human soldiers.
• The rescue crew are all from Triton.
• Rassmussen said he would transmit his video to the whole Solar system.

Story notes

File:Sleep no more title card.jpg

The Doctor Who title logo used for the episode.

• This is the first televised episode of Doctor Who to carry no opening titles. The episode title and writer credit were instead placed at the start of the closing credits. The Big Finish audio story LIVE 34 previously utilised a similar format of presentation, with no titles or credits whatsoever. However, when Rassmussen's initial video footage ends, the series title appears in the form of a code. All characters' names as well as the space station's name all appear in the code.
  • It is also the first televised episode no to have the Doctor and the companion in the in the title.
• The story is notable for using the found footage format, and for using elements of first person monologue told by Professor Rassmussen.
• It is also notable for being the first episode in the series to cast an openly transgender actress, Bethany Black.
• The Radio Times programme listing was accompanied by a small colour head-and-shoulders shot of a helmeted Nagata, with the accompanying caption "Doctor Who / 8.15 p.m. / Found footage shows what fate befell the rescue mission led by Nagata (Elaine Tan)".
• Writer Mark Gatiss had visited the countries Japan and India prior to writing this episode, which in turn inspired the use of them in this episode.
• This is the first TV story written by Mark Gatiss to be set in the future rather than the past or present.
• The Doctor mentions "The Great Catastrophe". After the airing of this episode, writer Mark Gatiss confirmed it was a reference to Frontios.
• The space station in this story is named after French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier.
• This is the only episode in series 9, that couldn't be considered a part of two-parter or three-parter.

Ratings

• BBC One Overnight: 4.0 million
• BBC America Overnight: to be added
• Final UK ratings: 5.61 million

Filming location

to be added

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

to be added

Continuity

• The Doctor uses his psychic paper. (TV: The End of the World et al.)
• The Doctor suggests the station has very powerful anti-gravity shielding. The Doctor encountered such shields before. (TV: Horror of Fang Rock)
• The Doctor suggests the station is in night-time setting. The Drum used day- and night-time setting. (TV: Under the Lake/Before the Flood)
• The Doctor uses his sonic sunglasses. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice, et al.)
• The Doctor again confuses "what happened" as meaning from the beginning of everything. (TV: The Girl Who Died)
• The audience is given a warning prior to the beginning of the story, (TV: The Bells of Saint John) albeit not to watch the episode, rather than avoid a mysterious Wi-Fi icon.
• Nagata suspects the space station could be attacked by space pirates. (TV: The Space Pirates)
• The Doctor again uses his finger to tell time. (TV: Under the Lake)
• The Doctor says, "When I say run, run," which the Second and Fifth Doctors often said. (TV: The Power of the Daleks, The Tomb of the Cybermen, Castrovalva, Warriors of the Deep)
• The Doctor once before almost mentioned the Great Catastrophe, but never got to say it all. (TV: Frontios)
• The Doctor references his preference for being the one to name the monsters. (TV: Flatline) He also invokes the naming of the Silurians. (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians)
• Despite her earlier actions regarding them, Clara has been entrusted with a TARDIS key. (TV: Dark Water)
• The Doctor has heard "Mr. Sandman" performed before. (TV: Delta and the Bannermen)
• This is not the first time the Doctor's adventure becomes the subject of a recording that, if played, would infect and kill its audience. (AUDIO: Dead Air)
• The Doctor bemoans Clara's naming of the creatures, saying it was like the Silurians all over again. (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians), referencing the controversy concerning their name.

Home video releases

DVD releases

to be added

Blu-ray releases

to be added

External links

• Transcript of Sleep No More at Chrissie's Transcripts Site