Isn’t it nice to know that for a program nearly at it’s 52nd Anniversary, the willingness, indeed the need, to experiment with storytelling continues to flick(e)r within Doctor Who. The “found footage” of Blair-Witching style of story hadn’t ever been done in Doctor Who, so that by itself, along with it being, to date, the only stand-alone story in Series 9 makes Sleep No More distinctive.
The question then becomes whether, as an exercise in style, Sleep No More, works for the individual viewer. Here at the Tour we can see why your mileage will vary. There’s never been a story with so much direct address to the camera itself, and thinking about why we see what we see, and when we’re allowed to it–directly addressed towards the end of Sleep No More–could necessitate a second viewing. Tour Honchos concluded that while we liked the story, we wouldn’t want a repeat, not of the Sandmen which we did like, but of the storytelling device.
We were, in our own demented way, reminded of stories such as Delta and the Bannermen or Warrior’s Gate or Love & Monsters or Blink which were demonstrated storytelling departures in their respective times. At this time though, images (a paltry set by almost any measure) and caps for Sleep No More are now online.