Originally posted on 22/09/2021

Howdy there, pardners.

Dreamland is possibly the single worst Doctor Who animation around, and this is from someone who thinks the new Web of Fear animation isn't that bad. This is downright unfinished and completely squanders its opportunity as a fully 3D animated Doctor Who story, coming across more like a Big Finish audio given an extremely cheap makeover.

America, 1958. The Doctor makes a new friend, Cassie, who reveals that anyone approaching the Top Secret Dreamland Army base goes missing. The Doctor discovers an alien army hatching beneath the New Mexico desert while inside Dreamland, survivors of an extraterrestrial war possess a weapon powerful enough to destroy Earth...

The visuals are horrific and sometimes bordering on unintentionally hilarious, it looks completely unfinished, and the editing is non-existent. The voice actors are given little to no direction whatsoever and somehow they made David Warner of all people sound like complete arse with some terrible modulation. The music is just recycled from better episodes, and certain subplots go nowhere. The Alliance of Shades are completely wasted but does make at least one returning appearance in the fourth series of the Sarah Jane Adventures, so hope was not entirely lost. I just expect far better from Phil Ford…

Overall, if you want a good animated original Doctor Who story, either watch Scream of the Shalka or The Infinite Quest. Don't bother wasting your time with this one.

Of course, there's a way out. There always is. Apart from in Star Wars, of course.