Thank god Rings has finally gone, I still don't know what the plot of that episode is...and I vageuly know the ending involved a leaf...not sure why the leaf was used but yeah its not a good thing if I cant remember the episode plot and the ending...its just dull...easily my least fave dr who episode..sorry those who like it.

164 Sleep No More

Series 9 Episode 9

Doctor: 12th

Companion: Clara Oswald

First aired: 14th November 2015

Writer: Mark Gatiss

The last Moffat (and also Clara) episode to appear for a short while...! This episode is one that's avoided being any lower than it already is by having a bold concept and trying something different. Unfortunately, I didn't find it to be a successful experiment and the episode is one big mindfuck in the end. The found footage theme of the episode was an intriguing idea, and I think it was actually fine for a one-off experiment. Sadly, I find the characters quite annoying throughout, from the buzz phrases the crew use ("may the gods look favourably upon you" every 10 seconds grows frustrating) to the oddly forced Geordie accent of Nagata. Then there's the Chopra and 474 side plot which isn't even a little compelling (the latter is such a rubbish role for Bethany Black to be remembered for as the show's first openly transgender actor!). I do like the concept of the Morpheus pods but I think they deserved more focus than producing sleep dust monsters...! The actual storyline is a total mess, but then suddenly we're told that that's the point, it's meant to present more questions than it answers because Rassmussen wants to spread the Morpheus signal across the galaxy. It's bold, and there's a real attempt to be complex which I can appreciate, but I don't actually find it enjoyable at all because it makes so little sense - even if that's the point, it makes for a frustrating watch. I'm so glad the threatened sequel Gatiss teased never surfaced...! (touch wood x)

The idea of the sandman can work (just look at the netflix series) it just doesn't seem to work here, maybe if it was a longer episode giving more time to flesh out the story it could of worked better

Sleep No More really is a disaster from start to finish. Rarely is there anything not to enjoy in an episode of Doctor Who, but that episode really takes it. And when you consider who wrote it too, hardly surprising.

Also if you rewatch The Rings of Akhaten it's fairly straightforward a concept to understand why the leaf became an important part of the story's resolution.

163 Orphan 55

Series 12 Episode 3

Doctor: 13th

Companion: Yasmin Khan, Graham O'Brien, Ryan Sinclair

First aired: 12th January 2020

Writer: Ed Hime

I remember thinking this wasn't as bad as everyone else said back when I first watched it, but I'm not sure I'd rewatched it until recently, not more than once anyway. Regardless, it turns out my memory had failed me somewhat...! After a two-part series opener in Spyfall that felt like it had listened to a lot of the criticisms of series 11 and improved on them, with a polished quality to it, Orphan 55 came along immediately after and had a distinctly amateur feel to it. The concept was a good one - a leisure resort that was actually on a desolate planet ruined by its inhabitants, there's real potential there. The result was clunky, with an on-the-nose message about climate change that was effectively delivered in a lecture by the Doctor at the end. The subplot of Kane and Bella's fraught mother-daughter relationship felt underdeveloped, particularly when they both sacrificed themselves at the conclusion for no real reason. The worst part of the episode, and memorable for that exact reason, was the terrible acting from Vilma, who took every opportunity to remind us she was looking for her husband by shouting "BENNI" every ten seconds. Memeworthy for sure but it felt like a parody! That said, I think it was one of Ryan's better episodes and I think I'd have preferred to see Bella just as a love interest for Ryan without any association with Kane.

4 hours ago, Calum said:

Also if you rewatch The Rings of Akhaten it's fairly straightforward a concept to understand why the leaf became an important part of the story's resolution.

Oh I agree the leaf made sense, to me I just feel it was too soon in her tenure, like we only knew this Clara for 1 episode and suddenly we having an episode about her parents meeting because of a leaf, and therefore being the most important leaf in whole of creation 😅 i dont even know who clara is yet 😅

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by 777666jason

Images you can hear (cursed edition)

I can still hear the persistent BENNY screams at night x

In all seriousness, both are valid to being at the bottom section...I mean the recent one I still can't believe they made the message so crystal clear that the doctor needed to give a lecture to her companions...like thats never been done before. Also I couldnt take the love interest and Ryan seriously when they started sucking their thumbs...

Sleep No More hmm...i think there is a good story in there somewhere just idk the found footage thing didnt work out how they wanted and the writing was half baked. If it was giving a flux style story setting and allowed it to all be fleshed out then I could see it being good perhaps.