Doctor Who Review: Sleep No More – The Good, The Bad And The Crumbly

By Mary Ogle /

3. World Building

To his credit Mark Gatiss does manage to swiftly build a sense of a complicated, multi-layered society and it€™s a shame we are not allowed to know more of it. The conceit that India and Japan have merged after a cataclysmic disaster is an interesting one as are the polytheist undertones. Combine that with a culture of drones and workaholics and you€™ve created a fabulous framework to set a story in. I want to go down to that moon and wander around in that environment as I have a feeling it€™s more interesting than what€™s happening on the space station. Peter Capaldi skips up to the edge of pretension as he grimly recites lines of Shakespeare and the breaking of the fourth wall becomes tedious. Still he continues to exude an aura of otherness that is a joy to watch as he flits about trying to figure out what is going on. He takes charge effortlessly and keeps the story from getting too bogged down in its myriad of details. While the other characters fall flat Capaldi€™s Doctor is lovingly written and never drops the ball. He is the strength of the episode.