Dream-Eaters (TV story)

Dream-Eaters was the ninth episode of K9. It was written by Jim Noble, and directed by Daniel Nettheim.

Synopsis
An ancient stone obelisk is unearthed by the Department, unleashing an alien force that makes everyone sleep and dream. Starkey, Darius and Jorjie face their worst nightmares. Gryffen tries to communicate with the alien and stop the nightmares from destroying life on Earth. The Bodach feed on brain waves. What better entry than human nightmares?

Plot
Starkey is chased by a Jixen in a mysterious, misty place of plants and a strange stone obelisk. He finds Jorjie and then Darius, who is terrified. He points to a strange creature behind them, then wakes, but is still in the nightmare when he is attacked by a Jixen. He runs to K9, who identifies an alien threat. K9 is not talking of the Bodach, but himself. K9 fires and Starkey wakes up. K9 tells him it is the afternoon.

Starkey wakes Gryffen, who was talking in his sleep. Gryffen had a bad dream. Darius is dreaming he is in Mariah, surrounded by clowns, pleading with her to let him out. She says she is taking him to the circus. K9 spots Darius sleeping and begging to be let out of the car. At Jorjie's house, she is woken by her dog whistle. She has been contacted by K9, who remotely recalibrated the whistle.

Jorjie admits she had a nightmare. When she calls the gang clowns, Darius grows fearful. Gryffen tries to phone her mother, but she doesn't answer. No one does. Gryffen shows the gang a view of an empty street. Everyone is asleep. Starkey faints when he hallucinates that Gryffen has turned into a strange alien. K9 wakes him. Gryffen's psychrotron detects London is being bombarded by psychic energy. Everyone is being made to sleep and dream, save K9. As a robot, he does not sleep. Gryffen suggests wearing tin-foil hats to shield them.

On her way to the mansion, Jorjie sees people asleep on the street. She arrives but an alien is behind her. The alien keeps trying to get into the mansion, demanding the Eye of Oblivion. Starkey recognises the alien from his dream. It is a Bodach, come to feast. When Darius threatens to go out, the Bodach leaves. Gryffen looks up the Bodach. They feed on nightmares. Starkey recognises the stone obelisk in the book as the one in his dream, but he didn't see the eye, just the eye socket. Gryffen gets out a package holding Department Artefact 781 (the Eye of Oblivion). This is what is putting everyone to sleep.

K9 confirms the Eye's disturbance brought the Bodach to Earth and it wants it back. It takes control of everyone who has been walking in their sleep. Gryffen enters a hypnotic state to enter the dreamscape. The team finds the sleepwalkers at the door and K9 asleep. Starkey tries to use an alarm clock to wake K9 but fails. Darius starts to feel drowsy. K9 enters the dreamworld with Gryffen.

The Professor says that if the Eye is put in the obelisk, everyone on Earth will fall asleep. K9 suddenly leaves. Starkey and Jorjie try to keep the main door closed while Darius, now asleep and under the Bodach's control, opens the back door for it. Darius takes the Eye. Gryffen wakes up and notices it gone. Gryffen alerts Jorjie and Starkey to the Bodach, whose sleeping army surrounds them. Darius gives the Eye to the Bodach. K9 flies past and takes off its mask. It is June, in the same trance as the rest of the Bodach's army.

Gryffen says the Bodach have no physical form. They control others through their sleep. June is their avatar. She attacks K9 with the Eye. The army falls asleep when she departs. K9 goes to destroy the obelisk, the Bodach's link to Earth, but June puts the Eye in. K9 tries to ram the obelisk, but it is protected by a force field that knocks out his weapons.

Jorjie puts on the helmet and enters the dreamworld. She shows June a fake love tattoo for Darius. June grows angry and wakes. K9 tells June to remove the Eye and leave, then destroys the obelisk.

Cast

 * Professor Alistair Gryffen - Robert Moloney
 * Starkey - Keegan Joyce
 * Jorjie Turner - Philippa Coulthard
 * Darius Pike - Daniel Webber
 * Voice of K9 - John Leeson
 * June Turner - Robyn Moore
 * Jixen - Jarrod Grodecki
 * Harbinger - Tim Lamacraft
 * Mr Floppy Fun Pants - Paul Tams
 * Milkman - John Walkin
 * Department Inspector 1 - Noel Sheridan
 * Department Inspector 2 - Micheal Coglan
 * Bus Driver - Andrew Mudie
 * Man Child Sleeper - Robert Crampton
 * Old Man Sleeper - Bill Ferguson
 * Tall Man Sleeper - Gregory Pickup
 * Woman sleeper - Deborah Thompson
 * Mob Sleepers - Chandra Narayan, Anthony Manuel, Naresh Morajka, Raymond Smith, Brian Hays, Natalie Mitchell, Supriya Bose, Katya Melendez,Bill Watson, Eagle Kad, Kent Hamblett, Ann Bond, Stacey Christensen, Justin Sweetser, Sallie Petersen
 * Clowns - Joaquin Povea-Gonzalez, Deamien Bryant, Jarrod Grodecki, Manuel Sabie

''Robert Moloney, Keegan Joyce, Philippa Coulthard, Daniel Webber and John Leeson are all credited in the opening of the episode and not the closing credits. With the exception of Leeson's credit, they are credited only by their name and not with their respective character's name attached. Additionally, on the DisneyXD broadcast, the Support Cast credits were omitted.''

Crew

 * Writer - Jim Noble
 * Director - Daniel Nettheim
 * Producers - Penny Wall, Richard Stewart, Simon Barnes
 * Executive producers - Jim Howell, Grant Bradley, Steve Robbins
 * Associate producers - Bob Baker, Paul Tams
 * Supervising producer - Dale Bradley
 * Co-Executive producer - Mark Blythe
 * With special thanks - Sam Tromans
 * Line producer - Pam Collis
 * VFX Director - David Napier
 * Series Production Designer - Jon Dowding
 * Episodic Designer - Adam Head
 * New K9 Design by - Paul Tams, Alex Kubalsky
 * Series Director of Photography - Ben Nott
 * Episodic Director of Photography - Tony O'Loughlan
 * Music by - Christopher Elves
 * K9 theme music by - Michael Lira
 * Editor - Patrick Stewart
 * Casting - Faith Martin and associates
 * Episodic casting - Lisa Maloney
 * Drama/Dialogue coach - Peter Kent
 * Story Producer - Greg Walters
 * Script Adaption - Michaeley O'Brien
 * Production Accountant - Pru Donovan
 * 1st Assistant Director - Peter McLennan
 * Script Supervisor - Sue Ketchington
 * Costume Designer - Joanne Thompson
 * Makeup Designer - Sharon Robbins
 * Puppeteer - David Pawsey
 * Location Manager - Charles Boyle
 * Sound Recordist - Ian Grant
 * B Camera Operator - Dan Maxwell
 * Gaffer - Steve Monk
 * Key Grip - Billy Harmer
 * Special thanks to - Space Furniture, Shredox, J. Barbour & Sons Ltd, Heath Williams at Firefly Lighting, Videopro
 * Safety Supervisor/Stunt Coordinator - Danny Baldwin
 * Transport Manager - Alister Ward
 * Unit Manager - Graeme Suhr
 * Post Production Facility - Cutting Edge Australia
 * Head of Post Production - John Lee
 * Sound Design - Warren Pearson

Worldbuilding

 * In the dream world, K9 encounters an electric sheep.

Story notes

 * K9 encountering an electric sheep in the dream world is a reference to the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which was later adapted into the film Blade Runner.

Ratings
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Myths
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Filming locations
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Production errors
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Continuity

 * Gryffen's nightmare is him reliving losing his wife and children. (TV: The Fall of the House of Gryffen)
 * In Darius' nightmare, alongside a human clown, three robotic clowns are seen. (TV: Robot Gladiators)
 * The Jixen feature in Starkey's nightmare. (TV: Regeneration, Liberation)

Home video releases
This episode is featured in the following DVD sets:
 * Series One complete box set, released in Australia on 29 September 2010.
 * A "vanilla" DVD called Alien Avatar, containing The Fall of the House of Gryffen, Jaws of Orthrus, Dream-Eaters, Curse of Anubis, Oroborus and Alien Avatar, released in Australia on 1 December 2010.
 * K9: Series 1: Volume 1, containing episodes 1–12, released in the UK on 31 January 2011 and in the US on 30 March 2011. ,
 * K9: Ultimate Collectors Edition, containing the full first series, was released in the UK on 11 June 2012.