The Sandman: Podcast from TV Podcast Industries

Chris, John and Derek are all here to chat about the bonus episodes of The Sandman, Chapter 11 "Dream of A Thousand Cats and Calliope" in our final Sandman Podcast. The Sandman Chapter 11 "Dream of A Thousand Cats and Calliope" Details Directed by Hisko Hulsing (segment "Dream of a Thousand Cats") Louise Hooper (segment "Calliope") Teleplay for both episodes written by Catherine Smyth-McMullen Staff Writers Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Vanessa Benton Dream of a Thousand Cats Synopsis. At night, a Siamese cat holds a gathering of other cats at the local graveyard to tell her hope for cats, her experiences and the story about her encounter with Morpheus in the Dreaming. A long time ago, she met a tomcat with whom she gave birth to a litter of mixed-breed kittens. This displeased her owners, who took the kittens and threw them into a river, traumatising the Siamese cat. In desperation, the cat dreamed to get answers for this cruel act and revelation of what to do as she meets Morpheus, in the form of a black cat, and begging him for a solution. Morpheus presented her with a parallel universe in which cats were the dominant species over humans until the humans fought back by dreaming, re-creating reality and turning their masters into the cats that mankind sees them as today. Upon finishing her story, the Siamese cat urges the other cats to perform the same enlightenment so that they may reclaim their status as the rulers of the earth. Calliope Synopsis. Struggling author Richard Madoc visits Erasmus Fry, an elderly former writer who has imprisoned a Greek muse named Calliope in his house. Fry transfers ownership of Calliope to Madoc, in exchange for a trichino bezoar. Back at Madoc’s home he discovers that violence is more efficient to receive the Muse’s inspiration. Despite his promises to release her after the publication of his sequel to his best-selling debut novel, he abuses her more than once, until it becomes obvious he never intends to let her go. Calliope sends a desperate plea to the Fates who are unable to act before turning to Morpheus, her former husband, whom she has not seen since the tragic death of their son Orpheus. Upon receiving her plea and learning what has happened to her, Morpheus becomes enraged and confronts Madoc. When he refuses to release Calliope, Morpheus punishes Madoc with an uncontrollable stream of ideas. Madoc soon frees Calliope, who asks Morpheus to lift his curse from Madoc. Morpheus does so, but Madoc finds himself unable to remember Calliope, Morpheus, or any of his ideas. Calliope vows to make sure that what happened to her doesn't happen to her sister Muses. She and Morpheus share a tender goodbye as she expresses the hope that sometime in the future, she can visit him in his realm and they'll be able to grieve their son properly. The Sandman Chapter 11 Cast

We reach the end of the season as we discuss The Sandman Chapter 10 "Lost Hearts" in spoiler filled detail. We will be back covering the 11th special episode on our Sandman next podcast. The Sandman Chapter 10 "Lost Hearts" Details Episode Directed by Louise Hooper Teleplay for this episode written by Jay Franklin Staff Writers Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Vanessa Benton The Corinthian warns Rose that Morpheus plans to kill her to protect the boundaries between the Dreaming and the waking world and manages to persuade her and Jed to stay in his Hotel room as he heads down for his keynote speech at the Cereal Convention. But as the Corinthian places the collectors into his collective dream he is interrupted by Morpheus, but the Corinthian shows Morpheus that Rose's increasing power and the weakening of the boundaries of the Dreaming enables him to defend himself against his creator. In the meantime Rose and Jed have fallen asleep which allows Morpheus to inform Rose of the great danger she poses to the waking world, prompting her to temporarily restore the Dreaming and allowing Morpheus to unmake the Corinthian. Morpheus punishes the convention attendees with clarity about their crimes, allowing Rose and Jed to leave the Hotel unharmed. Until she falls asleep again. That night, Rose confronts Morpheus in the Dreaming and is ready to sacrifice herself to save her friends and brother, but they are joined by Unity Kincade and Lucienne. They inform Morpheus it was Unity who should have been this era’s Vortex and Unity convinces Rose to transfer the Vortex into her, allowing her to sacrifice her life for Rose’s. Morpheus realises that Unity’s golden eyed man who impregnated her while she was with sleeping sickness was Desire, who planned to pass the Vortex to her descendant in an attempt to have Morpheus spill family blood. Morpheus confronts Desire, warning them and Despair against further scheming. Back in the dream realm Morpheus remakes Gault as a good dream and endeavours to act as a more benevolent ruler of the Dreaming, leaving Lucienne to take care of his affairs while he creates. In the waking world, Lyta with her newborn son, moves with Rose, Jed, and Hal back to New Jersey. In Hell, after being reproached by Lord Azazel and the Dukes of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar ponders a new plan that will really anger God and wreak revenge upon Lord Morpheus. The Sandman Chapter 10 Cast Tom Sturridge as Morpheus The Lord of DreamsVanesu Samunyai - Rose WalkerBoyd Holbrook - The CorinthianAnn Ogbomo as Goult

As we reach the penultimate episode of the Dolls House arc, we discuss The Sandman Chapter 9 Collectors in spoiler filled details. The Sandman Chapter 9 "Collectors" Details Episode Directed by Coralie Fargeat Teleplay for this episode written by Vanessa Benton Staff Writers Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Vanessa Benton Lyta's pregnancy and sex life with her dead husband are causing tremors in the Dreaming. With fault lines forming across the realm, including in Morpheus’ palace, Lucienne and Matthew deduce that it is the result of Rose's increasing power, which threatens to weaken and break down the barriers between the Dreaming and the waking world. But Morpheus is unsure of the theory. Meanwhile, Lyta continues to meet Hector in her dreams, and finds that her pregnancy is advancing at a rapid rate. Back at Hal’s bed and breakfast Rose receives a call from the Corinthian who tells her that he has Jed safe and sound and she can collect him from the Royal Hotel in Georgia where he is to give the keynote speech at the "Cereal Convention”, with a distinct absence of cereal. Jed also notices a lack of cereal, his favourite food, as he explores the convention centre, despite instructions from Corinthian to stay in his room. Jed continues to explore the Hotel and strikes up a conversation with one of the collectors, Fun Land. Rose travels to the hotel to meet them, accompanied by her kindly upstairs neighbour Gilbert. As Gilbert’s literary discussions send Rose off to the land of nod where she arrives into Lyta’s dream separately from Morpheus who has also arrived to discern what is happening. He realises that Rose as the Vortex has allowed Hector's spirit to inhabit the Dreaming, in lieu of him passing on to the afterlife. Despite the protests from Lyta and anger from Rose, Morpheus banishes Hector from the Dreaming and informs Lyta that her unborn child will one day belong to him because it was conceived in the Dreaming. Rose and Gilbert arrive at the hotel and search for Jed. While searching, the Corinthian and Gilbert recognise each other, causing Gilbert to flee to the Dreaming, where he is revealed to be a personified Fiddler’s Green, one of the other rogue Dreaming residents. Gilbert relays the Corinthian and Rose's location to Morpheus. Alone, Rose continues her search for her brother, and crashes into a distraught and terrified Jed, being helped by FunLand, as he flees from witnessing exactly who the Cornthian really is. But Fun Land isn’t willing to give up his new prize and hunts Jed and Rose until The Corinthian swiftly dispatches him and has the siblings all to himself The Sandman Chapter 9 Cast Tom Sturridge as Morpheus The Lord of DreamsVanesu Samunyai - Rose WalkerBoyd Holbrook - The Corinthian

We discuss The Sandman Chapter 8 Playing House as Rose continues her search for Jen in the waking world and the dreaming. The Sandman Chapter 8 "Playing House" Details Episode Directed by Andrés Baiz Teleplay for this episode written by Alexander Newman-Wise Staff Writers Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Vanessa Benton In Dreams palace, and despite Rose’s potential threat to the Dreaming and Lucienne's protests, Morpheus agrees to help Rose locate Jed in her dreams and tells her to continue her search in the waking world with help from his raven Matthew. During the day, Rose and the other guests at the bed and breakfast post signs around Cape Kennedy to get information about Jed’s location. As Rose and Hal distribute the leaflets they attract the attention of none other than the Corinthian, who has learnt about Rose’s location from Unity Kincaid after posing as a journalist interested in her experience with the sleepy sickness. But recognising Matthew with Rose, he sets in motion a new plan to find Jed and draw Rose to him. Meanwhile, Lyta is continuing to see her dead husband Hector in her dreams and is reunited with him in the Dreaming. Hector attempts to convince Lyta to stay in the Dreaming and have a baby with him. When Lyta wakes up, she is visibly pregnant. That night, Morpheus and Rose travel through the dreams of the guests, eventually crossing into Jed's dreams, which Gault has manipulated to provide an emotional escape from his abusive foster father. Morpheus rebukes and punishes Gault for stepping outside her duties, though Gault maintains that she disobeyed because she believed it was in Jed's best interest. Gault believes that Nightmares can change and even they can dream, but Morpheus does not relent in his position and banishes Gault to the Darkness. Shouting for Rose after waking up from his dream, Jed is unexpectedly rescued from his Uncle’s house by the Corinthian, little does he know that his foster parents lie murdered by his saviour, who has plans to ensnare his sister. The Sandman Chapter 8 Cast Tom Sturridge as Morpheus The Lord of DreamsVanesu Samunyai - Rose WalkerBoyd Holbrook - The CorinthianAnn Ogbomo as GoultPatton Oswalt - Matthew The RavenVivienne Acheampong - LucienneStephen Fry - Gilbert

A new arc begins and we discuss The Sandman Chapter 7 "The Doll's House" in spoiler filled detail as we meet Rose Walker the dream vortex. The Sandman Chapter 7 "The Doll's House" Details Episode Directed by Andrés Baiz Teleplay for this episode written by Heather Bellson Staff Writers Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Vanessa Benton In 2015, Rose Walker and her brother Jed are separated when their parents divorce. Six years later, following the death of both parents, Rose attempts to locate Jed and claim legal guardianship, but Jed is instead placed in the foster home system. At the same time Rose is flown to England, accompanied by her friend and neighbour Lyta Hall, to meet Unity Kincaid, a wealthy recovered victim of sleep sickness, who is interested in her ancestry. Unity reveals that she is Rose's biological great-grandmother, and offers to fund Rose's search for Jed. Rose and Lyta travel to Florida to continue their search for Jed, where they are watched by Matthew the raven who reports his findings back to Lucienne. Unknown to Rose, she is also of huge interest to Morpheus, The Corinthian and Desire. She is a dream Vortex, a being who naturally attracts and manipulates dreams. Desire conspires with her twin sister Despair to use Rose against Morpheus in another one of her plots against her sibling. Meanwhile the Corinthian is hunting Rose for his own ends as together, he believes, Rose and he can put Morpheus out of business for good. But the Corinthian is also being hunted by three “Collectors” who want him to be the guest of honour for a “collectors” convention. Aware of Rose's nature, and following a census of the Dreaming by Lucienne, Morpheus plans to use her to track three errant residents of the Dreaming, Gault, The Corinthian and Fiddlers Green who are still at large. However, while Morpheus and Lucienne are able to track Rose, they are unable to locate her brother Jed in either the Dreaming or the waking world. Lucienne and Morpheus deduce that the rogue dream Gault has severed Jed's consciousness from the Dreaming. As they discuss what should be done Rose approaches Lucienne and Morpheus in the Dreaming for assistance in finding her brother. The Sandman Chapter 7 Cast Tom Sturridge as Morpheus The Lord of DreamsVanesu Samunyai - Rose WalkerBoyd Holbrook - The CorinthianMason Alexander Park as DesirePatton Oswalt - Matthew The RavenVivienne Acheampong...

We discuss one of the best adaptations on TV so far with The Sandman Chapter 6 "The Sound of Her Wings" in our spoiler filled podcast. Two beautiful executed episodes with a brilliant cast. We could watch this one forever. The Sandman Chapter 6 "The Sound of Her Wings" Details Episode Directed by Mairzee Almas Teleplay for this episode written by Lauren Bello Staff Writers Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Vanessa Benton After recovering his helm, pouch of sand and ruby, Morpheus feels aimless and unmotivated like there is something missing from his duties. But his big sister, Death, comes to meet him and asks her brother to accompany her as she escorts the deceased to the afterlife.She explains that there was a time in her history that she too felt that she was just going through the motions as the inevitable end for everyone. As she goes about her work she shows Morpheus the possibility of finding purpose and fulfilment in his duties as ruler of the Dreaming, as she has since realised that she is the last connection that all beings have before they leave the world. All they crave is a friendly smile and a kind ear.Morpheus is reminded of a bet he once made with his sister after overhearing a young man called Hob Gadling declare that he will never die as he believes that life only ends when you give up. In the White Horse Tavern in the year 1389 Death agrees to spare Gadling and grant him his wish for as long as he wants with the agreement that he will meet dream at the same spot every 100 years and tell him of his experiences.Each time they meet, Hob Gadling describes his life and maintains that no matter the turns his life takes, he still does not wish for death. Through the wonderful or awful centuries or whether his mysterious meetings with Dream are being investigated by Johanna Constantine, Hob reiterates that his life is his life and he never wants it to end.In 1889 their conversation leads to Hob hypothesizing that Morpheus continues to meet with him because he is lonely and needs a friend, which greatly offends Morpheus. As the next century passes, Morpheus fails to show for their next meeting due to his capture by Burgess. When their age-old drinking hole is sold, Hob chooses a new tavern a block away, hoping that Morpheus will choose to find him.In the present, with his Sister’s words of encouragement in his ears and craving connection again Morpheus seeks out Hob Gadling who joyfully greets his Endless drinking companion as the two friends catch up on missed time. The Sandman Chapter 6 Cast Tom Sturridge as Morpheus The Lord of DreamsKirby Howell-Baptiste as DeathFerdinand Kingsley as Robert "Hob" GadlingJenna Coleman as Lady Johanna Constantine

We discuss The Sandman Chapter 5 "24/7" in our spoiler filled podcast. This is a tough episode of the show as John Dee tries to fulfil her fantasies. The Sandman Chapter 5 "24/7" Details Episode Directed by Jamie Childs Teleplay for this episode written by Ameni Rozsa Staff Writers Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Vanessa Benton With Dream's ruby in hand and Morpheus caught off guard and unconscious, John Dee stops off at a diner to watch the people around him, encountering the polite employees and hungry patrons. But all is not what it seems, as John settles into his booth and his hot black coffee, he uses the ruby to remove any lies from the group and put his theory about truth and lies to a terrifying test. John Dee begins with server Bette and removes her kind demeanor towards her customers, he then turns his attention and that of the Ruby towards power couple, husband and wife Garry and Kate, to just be honest with each other as they squabble over spinach salad and double decker burgers. As Bette's love interest, Marsh, is also exposed to the scrutiny of John’s Ruby as he forces a matter-of-fact confession that the only reason he comes to her home is not to be with her but to be with her 21 year old son Bernard. As John turns his vision of absolute truth on to Judy who has recently broken up with her girlfriend, and on Mark, a hopeful employee of Vanguard Pharmaceuticals, the unconnected group spirals out of control with one another. Judy kisses Bette as Kate gets down with hopefully employee Mark and her husband Garry hooks up with Marsh. As John Dee takes pride in the honesty he has brought to the diner, he has also brought about jealousy and anger overtakes these innocent people when Mark accidentally murders Garry, driving them to murder each other or take their own lives. The Lord of Dreams arrives too late but tries to explain to John that what he thinks are lies are another form of dreams and hopes. But John refuses to listen to him and Morpheus transports him to his Realm to retrieve the Ruby, but where John has other plans as he uses the ruby's power to defeat Morpheus. Crushing the ruby in his hand, John exults in his victory, before Morpheus reveals himself and tells him that by destroying the ruby, its power was released and reforged back into its true master, Morpheus. Taking pity on John, Morpheus returns him to the institution, seemingly in a state of long-term sleep. With the wider world also recovering from John’s intervention, Morpheus's sibling Desire plots against him. The Sandman Chapter 5 Cast Tom Sturridge as Morpheus The Lord of DreamsEmma Duncan as Bette Monroe

John and Derek join together for two fascinating journeys in The Sandman Chapter 4 "A Hope In Hell" Podcast our spoiler filled podcast about the fourth episode of the show. The Sandman Chapter 4 "A Hope In Hell" Details Episode Directed by Jamie Childs Teleplay for this episode written by Austin Guzman Staff Writers Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Vanessa Benton To retrieve his helm, Morpheus descends into Hell with his raven companion Matthew where they meet Lucifer Morningstar, the realm's ruler. Using his recovered pouch of Sand Morpheus finds the demon Choronzon with his helm, but in order to get it back, the demon challenges Morpheus to a game of wits. Morpheus chooses to represent himself in the challenge, but the demon chooses Lucifer as his champion. Morpheus eventually wins the challenge by invoking hope, a concept which Lucifer recognizes as unbeatable, and is able to regain the helm.Before he leaves, Lucifer promises to one day kill Morpheus. Meanwhile the recently liberated John Dee is offered assistance by a good Samaritan and retrieves the ruby, but not before Morpheus discovers its whereabouts and the fact that John has altered the item to attune to his own wishes and nobody else's. Leaving Morpheus unconscious and without his ruby. John Dee retrieves the Ruby and passes on the protection amulet to his terrified rescuer Rosemary, deciding that she needs the protection more than he does now. The Sandman Chapter 4 Cast Tom Sturridge - Morpheus The Lord of DreamsGwendoline Christie - Lucifer MorningstarDavid Thewlis - John DeePatton Oswalt - Matthew The RavenSarah Niles as RosemaryDeborah Oyelade as NadaErnest Kingsley Junior as Morpheus/Lord Kai'ckul The Sandman Creators * Based on the comics written by Neil Gaiman * Art by Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg.

We meet Joanna Constantine in The Sandman Chapter 3 Dream A Little Dream and we are chatting all about it in spoiler filled detail. The Sandman Chapter 3 "Dream A Little Of Me" Details Episode Directed by Jamie Childs Teleplay for this episode written by Jim Campolongo Morpheus tracks down Joanna Constantine to London where she is not only dubious about the existence of the Sandman, but must hurry to perform an exorcism on Royalty at the behest of Ric the Vic. As she begins her exorcism under the guise of marrying the Princess Royal to an average footballer she realises that she was right about the demon but wrong about the host as the demon Ageleith bursts out of his host Kevin the Footballer. She sends him back to Hell to the dismay of Morpheus who was looking for information on the demon who had purchased his Helm, but it is not a wasted journey to London as he requires the return of his pouch from Constantine. However, Constantine reveals that she left it with her ex-girlfriend, flat mate, lover….it’s complicated…after leaving her, without telling her…as I say it’s complicated! Both of them, along with an unwanted Raven named Matthew, head to Rachel’s apartment where they discover that she has been consumed by the world of dreams from the pouch of sand that is not meant for humans. Constantine is determined to cure her girlfriend, but Rachel is wasted away lying in her bed and it is only the pouch that is keeping her alive Morpheus tells Constantine. His reluctance to help end Rachel’s misery infuriates Constantine who questions the point of the Lord of Dreams. Seeing Constantine's guilt, coupled to the stings of her baiting and a lesson in humanity, Morpheus agrees to give Rachel a peaceful rest. With his pouch back Morpheus departs for Hell where Matthew, his Raven may be of some use. Meanwhile, Ethel Cripps, whose life has been prolonged by the Amulet of Protection, travels to an institution in Buffalo, New York, to warn her son John, that Morpheus is after them and his ruby. John’s dark obsession with Morpheus's ruby puts him at odds with his mother, who doesn’t reveal the location of the ruby but eventually passes the Amulet to John for his safety. On doing so she ages rapidly and dies. Longing to get his hands on the ruby, John then escapes the hospital using the Amulet to kill all who threaten his wellbeing. As he takes his first few tentative steps of freedom in the outside world he bumps into an unexpected nightmare! The Sandman Chapter 3 Cast * Tom Sturridge - Morpheus The Lord of Dreams* Vivienne Acheampong - Lucienne* Jenna Coleman as Joanna Constantine* Boyd Holbrook - The Corinthian* Joely Richardson - Ethel Cripps*

We continue our journey with the Dreaming as we chat about The Sandman Chapter 2 Imperfect Hosts. We will be covering each episode one at a time in spoiler filled detail. The Sandman Chapter 2 "Imperfect Hosts" Details Episode Directed by Jamie Childs Teleplay for this episode written by Allan Heinberg After his 100 years of imprisonment Morpheus finally returns to his realm. But his realm is in disarray, his dreams and nightmares have gone, and only his loyal servant Lucienne remains. To rebuild he must recover the power of his helm, pouch and ruby to restore his kingdom. Morpheus must contact The Fates, the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone, to gather the information he needs to find his tools, but his imprisonment has left him weak and he doesn’t even have the power to do that. Morpheus must make a sacrifice of one of his creations to contact them and he heads to the Houses of Mysteries and Secrets, where Cain and Abel reside in order to sacrifice the life of Gregory the Gargoyle. As Dream leaves to contact the Fates, Cain murders Abel…again! Meanwhile The Corinthian pays a visit to Ethel Cripps, the last known holder of all of Morpheus’ tools. He attempts to convince her to use the tools to destroy the Lord of Dreams to keep himself in the waking world. But Ethel explains that she no longer has any of the tools. Corinthian decides to force an unhelpful Ethel to reveal her knowledge by taking her eyes, but unknown to Corinthian she has a trick up her sleeve, using the Amulet of Protection to escape his threats. Following her narrow escape and knowing Dream is loose in the world, Ethel makes an urgent visit to her son, John Dee, in his secure hospital to let him know they have been discovered. With the small amount of power gained from Gregory, Morpheus travels to meet the Fates and gathers some clues to the whereabouts of his tools. He once again leaves his realm, ignoring Lucienne’s request to take a Raven protector with him, to find Joanna Constantine and his pouch of sand. The Sandman Chapter 2 Cast * Tom Sturridge - Morpheus The Lord of Dreams* Vivienne Acheampong - Lucienne* Boyd Holbrook - The Corinthian* Joely Richardson - Ethel Cripps* David Thewlis - John Dee* Sanjeev Bhaskar - Cain* Asim Chaudhry - Abel* Nina Wadia - Fate Mother* Souad Faress - Fate Crone*

We are discussing a brand new series with our chat about Neil Gaiman's The Sandman Chapter 1 "Sleep of the Just" on Netflix. We will be discussing each episode of the series in spoiler filled detail. The Sandman Chapter 1 "Sleep Of The Just" Details Episode Directed by Mike Barker Teleplay for this episode written by Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg In 1916 in the Realm of Dreams, Morpheus, the king of dreams and nightmares, learns of the escaped nightmare “The Corinthian” and travels to Berlin to confront him and stop his murdering spree. Meanwhile in Wych Cross England, Roderick Burgess makes a pact with Dr John Hathaway to capture one of the Endless, Death, to compel her to return their lost sons. But the incantation doesn’t work as expected and they trap another of the Endless, Morpheus. Dragged from his confrontation with the Corinthian and trapped, Dream silently vows vengeance on Roderick Burgess. With guidance from The Corinthian, who wants to keep Dream trapped, Roderick uses the power of Morpheus’s powerful Helm, Ruby and pouch of sand to make his dreams come true. Over decades Roderick bargains and rages with Morpheus to bring back his son. Failing that to give him power, wealth and immortality. But Morpheus remains silent. Roderick’s younger son, Alex Burgess, will do anything to impress his father, including killing the Raven guardian of Morpheus, Jessemy. This is unforgivable but still Morpheus remains silent. As the years pass, the frustration in the Burgess family overflows and Alex accidently kills his father. But in the aftermath Alex finds a new love, Paul and they spend many more years trying to convince Morpheus to leave without hurting them. But Morpheus remains silent. After a century in captivity and without a word spoken, Paul breaks the incantation which bound Morpheus and, before finally returning to his realm, he punishes Alex, forcing him into eternal sleep. When Morpheus arrives back to the land of dreams he is met by his librarian, Lucienne, who reveals that the realm has changed without the King of Dreams. Most of the dreams and nightmares have left and the land is in disrepair. But Dream built this place before and he is resolved to build it once again. The Sandman Chapter 1 Cast * Tom Sturridge - Morpheus The Lord of Dreams* Vivienne Acheampong - Lucienne* Boyd Holbrook - The Corinthian* Charles Dance - Roderick Burgess* Benjamin Evan Ainsworth - Alex Burgess*