Doctor Who: Ranking All The Series 9 Cliff-Hangers

By Baz Greenland /

7. The Sand Men Win: Sleep No More

The cliff-hanger Rassmussen's signal is activated across the solar system, turning people into Sandmen. Does it work? Yes and no, The ingenuity of the whole episode is that the idea of Sandmen growing out of the sleep in your eye is a giant red herring; the real threat is the signal programmed into the recording that Rassmussen has created, making the story more exciting so that people will watch to the very end. Unfortunately there are a number of elements to the episode that don't really make sense, resulting in a 'huh?' moment. A cliff-hanger is only as good as the reaction it creates; confusion and bewilderment sadly do not make for a towering success, Mark Gatiss has suggested that he might write a sequel to the story; the cliff-hanger is certainly set. It just depends if people want more from the story. Overall Rating 5/10. Would have been higher if it all actually made sense, particularly as the Doctor technically loses in this one. Assuming he was there. Because it was a story. Or was it? Does anyone know the answer?