Sleep No More (Doctor Who)

259 – "Sleep No More"
Doctor Who episode
The episode uses found footage, with Rassmussen (Reece Shearsmith) narrating
Cast
Doctor Peter Capaldi (Twelfth Doctor)
Companion Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald)
Others Reece Shearsmith – Rassmussen Elaine Tan – Nagata Neet Mohan – Chopra Bethany Black – 474 Paul Courtenay Hyu – Deep-Ando Paul Davis – King Sandman Tom Wilton – Sandman Matthew Doman – Sandman Zina Badran – Morpheus Presenter Natasha Patel – Hologram Singer Elizabeth Chong – Hologram Singer Nikkita Chadha – Hologram Singer Gracie Lai – Hologram Singer Nikki Wilson – Voice of the computer (uncredited)
Production
Directed by	Justin Molotnikov
Written by	Mark Gatiss
Script editor	David P Davis
Produced by	Nikki Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Brian Minchin
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Series	Series 9
Length	45 minutes
Originally broadcast	14 November 2015 (2015-11-14)
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "The Zygon Inversion" "Face the Raven"

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)	67%
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score)	6.1
The A.V. Club	B
Paste Magazine	8.0
SFX Magazine
TV Fanatic
IGN	8.4
New York Magazine
Radio Times

"Sleep No More" is the ninth episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 November 2015, and is the only stand-alone story of the ninth series. The episode is framed around the concept of found footage, and consists of recordings recovered from the wreckage of Le Verrier Space Station.

The episode opens in medias res as Gagan Rassmussen, lead researcher on the Le Verrier Space Station in orbit around Neptune sometime in the 38th century, addresses a camera to record a message. Rassmussen warns the viewer not to watch but explains how the video, assembled from various recordings made over the last few hours, will help put together events leading to this point. Rassmussen continues to narrate through the episode as events are played out.

Hours earlier, a rescue ship from Triton arrives at Le Verrier in response to a sudden absence of communications with the station, with four soldiers: Nagata, Chopra, Deep-Ando, and 474, a bio-engineered grunt of low intelligence. The station is found empty with no sign of the crew, however, they encounter Clara and the Doctor who use the Doctor's psychic paper to disguise themselves as engineer and stress assessors. The group are chased down by humanoid creatures made of a sand-like substance (later named "Sandmen" by Clara) that are impervious to the party's weapons. Deep-Ando is separated from the others as they take shelter. As the others try to contact him, Clara inadvertently is pulled into in a coffin-like pod from which the Doctor manages to free her. Nagata identifies the pod as a Morpheus sleep pod which is claimed to compress a whole month's worth of sleep into a five-minute period, allowing everyone to work around the clock. Chopra is the only one who refuses to use it, insisting the technology is unnatural. They find Morpheus' inventor, Rassmussen, hiding in another pod. Rassmussen explains that it works by sending an electronic signal to the brain, changing its chemistry. They were testing the next generation of Morpheus devices when the Sandmen appeared. The Doctor fears the pods are related to the Sandman creatures and theorizes that they are formed from the dust that collects in the corner of the eye, and have consumed the crew from the station. Meanwhile, Deep-Ando, who was separated from the group, is killed while trying to escape a Sandman.