Just when you thought you would have to wait for a million years (okay, at least two) for further adventures of Dream and the Endless, comes a bonus episode of The Sandman, the fantasy show based on Neil Gaiman’s comic book series. The two-in-one episode is based on two of Gaiman’s stand-alone stories and have a glancing connection to The Sandman.
The Sandman: Dream of a Thousand Cats/ Calliope
The Dream of a Thousand Cats tells of a cute little kitten (Rosie Day) being invited by an alley cat (David Gyasi) to listen to the Prophet (Sandra Oh), a Siamese, who, upon being ill-treated by her well-meaning humans, enlists the help of the Cat of Dreams (Tom Sturridge). Directed by Hisko Hulsing (the genius behind Undone), the decision to make The Dream of a Thousand Cats animated is a brilliant one. The animation is gorgeous and dreamy. The parallel universe where cats rule is eerily beautiful. Some of the actors on The Sandman audiobook, including James McAvoy, Michael Sheen and David Tenant, have also given voice for ‘The Dream of a Thousand Cats’.
Calliope directed by Louise Hooper is live-action and tells of Richard Madoc (Arthur Darvill), who after a successful debut novel, suffers from a terrible case of a writer’s block. The only way out seems to be by imprisoning the muse, Calliope (Melissanthi Mahut). This rather terrible idea is thanks to a renowned writer, Erasmus Fry (Derek Jacobi). It is a devil’s bargain for sure and Calliope’s former lover, Dream (Sturridge) extracts a heavy price from Madoc for his temerity to imprison a goddess.
Incidentally, Darvill gives voice to William Shakespeare in the audio-book, who if you remember is also in search of inspiration, and willing to make a Faustian bargain till Dream helps him. The Sandman is a story about stories and Calliope talking about the birth of stories, segues into that premise. There is also mention of the bezoar stone, which tripped up a Harry dreaming of Cho Chang in potions class.
Calliope talks of her son that she had with Dream, Orpheus, who we will meet in Season 2, since Gaiman has categorically said there are no more bonus episodes dropping… sigh.
The Sandman is currently streaming on Netflix
