Doctor Who #930: Dream-Eaters

"We cannot see a single upright citizens in public."
TECHNICAL SPECS: First aired Mar.8 2010.

IN THIS ONE... Everyone in Nondon falls asleep, the work of entities that consume dreams.

REVIEW: While Dream-Eaters could have been a terrifying nightmare episode, or an in-depth look at what makes the characters tick, it's actually a comedy. And on those terms, it's actually pretty amusing. We know it doesn't take itself too seriously when Darius has scary dreams about being trapped in his car with clowns, of when Professor Gryffen's solution is tin foil hats (of COURSE), with Jorgie opting for foil dreadlocks. The mythical creature known as the Bodach further creates zombies from Nondon's sleeping citizens, yawning instead of moaning, a motley bunch that include a man with a night mask, a woman with a cucumber facial, and an older gent with big teddy bear. In the end, Jorjie enters the dream world and uses the dream image of a Darius tattoo and a pinch to awaken her mother. You gotta admit, that's all pretty fun.

The design work on the Bodach should also be commended, something that almost references The Stones of Blood's Cailleach costume. Like that "creature", it's really one of the characters in disguise - a mind-controlled June - because the Bodach have no physical form. Druidic sources could be inferred, though the whole dreaming element rather gives the entity and its totem more of a South Seas/Aborigine kind of feel. The show IS produced in Australia, after all. The Bodach helmet and the way it can be used to access the dreaming does put me in mind of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, which infrequently featured a similar helmet, but it's probably accidental.

As usual, plot holes abound. K9 can enter the Dreaming despite being immune to psychic phenomena. The tin foil hats work, but the Professor doesn't take his off to enter the dreaming on purpose. And there's really no justification for the idol or totem showing up in a junkyard outside the city, nor why it was left there by the Department ungarded after they removed one of its eyes and sent it to the Prof for analysis. But hey, on the bright side, DRAKE DOESN'T APPEAR! YAY!!!!

WHO REFERENCE WATCH: None, but some cute references to 2001: A Space Odyssey and to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

REWATCHABILITY: Medium - The show rarely takes itself seriously, but the result is usually lazy writing and production. In this case, it means an amusing spin on old tropes, so it's rather likeable.

Comments

Lentilite said…
This is not, strictly speaking, on topic - but have you seen this t-shirt?
https://www.riptapparel.com/graveyard/d-d-11th-edition/
When I saw it I definitely thought of this blog. :)
Siskoid said…
It does seem to amalgam a couple of running concerns. ;-)