Netflix’s The Sandman is a loving tribute to the original comic published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint. Many of its characters remain consistent from page to screen, even if their genders are different in the show. In a world where comics and their Hollywood adaptations have never felt more separate, The Sandman’s attention to detail in regards to its source material feels revolutionary. In one instance, The Sandman tucks in a deep cut from John Constantine’s Hellblazer comics. This small yet vital mention adds another heartbreaking dimension to one of the series’ saddest moments. 

The Sandman adapts the comic written by Neil Gaiman, with art by Sam Kieth, Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, and more. The story chronicles the journey of Dream (Tom Sturridge), also known as Morpheus of the Endless. Dream is responsible for protecting a space known as The Dreaming, a place of infinite possibility and power channeled from the dreams of humanity. Dream is captured and imprisoned for a period of one hundred years on Earth. After this, The Dreaming falls into disrepair, with Dream’s objects of office—a helm, the ruby Dreamstone, and a pouch of sand—scattered across the Earth and in Hell. As Dream sets off to recover each object one by one, he comes across a powerful, irreverent magic user named Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) who is in possession of his sand pouch. 

Johanna Constantine is based off of the occult detective John Constantine. His appearances in the Sandman comics and in his Hellblazer solo series paint him as a deeply flawed yet charming master manipulator. Magicians are often portrayed as wise and noble in traditional English fantasy stories; however, Constantine is the dramatic opposite. He’s foul-mouthed, difficult to trust, and cursed with an uncanny ability to make terrible decisions impacting his loved ones. Johanna Constantine is canonically John’s ancestor from the 18th century in DC Comics. But Coleman’s portrayal in The Sandman is the most faithful adaptation of the character in live-action. 

This faithfulness to both Constantine’s character and Hellblazer comics is heartbreakingly clear in episode three of the Sandman TV series. In “Dream A Little Dream of Me,” a deep cut reference cements Constantine’s tragic love life. Johanna retrieves Dream’s sand pouch from the apartment of her ex-girlfriend, Rachel (Eleanor Fanyinka). While there, Johanna’s former flame reveals that she called up several of her exes in order to find Johanna. This list includes Oliver, a reference to the Constantine: the Hellblazer comics series by Ming Doyle, James Tynion IV, and Riley Rossmo. In this comic series, John Constantine dated a man of the same name. Oliver met a terrible fate after he made a deal with a demon to condemn his soul to Hell in exchange for the safety of his two daughters. It is a tragic end that is unfortunately common for many of Constantine’s lovers. 

Referencing this particular moment in Constantine’s publication history is significant. It underscores The Sandman’s commitment to its source material as well as the queerness of its characters. John Constantine is one of the most high profile bisexual characters in DC Comics. And the Constantine: the Hellblazer series (2015-2016) remains the most thorough exploration of his queer sexuality in comics. Taking an element of Constantine: the Hellblazer and putting it into The Sandman affirms the show’s depth of lore. And it also cements Oliver and John’s relationship as an indispensable part of his persona.

The Sandman placing this relationship within the context of Johanna and Rachel’s story makes it even more heartbreaking. The version of Rachel that Johanna had been speaking to was later revealed to be an illusion. The real Rachel lays wasting away in her bed, her body emaciated from holding onto Dream’s sand pouch. It’s a cruel reminder to Constantine that her magical prowess always has an adverse effect on the people around her. Johanna thought she was protecting Rachel by vanishing from her life. But she ended up inadvertently dooming Rachel anyway, just as John did with Oliver in Constantine: the Hellblazer. 

By reimagining John Constantine as Johanna in the show, The Sandman queers his original relationship with Rachel. But this happens while also providing a callback to the comics run that radically reimagined his character in the 21st century. This establishes Constantine’s bisexuality in the most Hellblazer way possible, as the phantasm of a former lover lays out the tragic timeline of Constantine’s past.

The Sandman’s Oliver seems to have escaped his sad comics fate; however, viewers never truly know what happened between him and Johanna. Regardless, The Sandman makes it clear that Oliver still remains a ghostly presence in this iteration of Constantine’s life, a fact that haunts both comics fans and now emergent fans of the show. 

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In January, Netflix whet the appetites of Sandman fans with some exciting casting announcements for its developing Neil Gaiman adaptation. We got our Dream/Morpheus/Oneiros in Tom Sturridge; our Lucifer in Gwendoline Christie; our Roderick Burgess in Charles Dance. Yes, things got more exciting by the name. And now, we have a whole new batch of Sandman characters accounted for. Netflix has revealed the stars who’ll bring Death, Desire, Despair, and many more, to life!

First, Dream’s siblings. In the role of sensible sister Death: Killing Eve and The Good Place’s Kirby Howell-Baptiste. As the spiritually seductive Desire: Mason Alexander Park, known primarily for theater work to date. And as the emotionally fraught Despair: Donna Preston of The Hitman’s Bodyguard.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of this new casting. Netflix has also announced Doctor Who vet Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, the 18th century’s enterprising adventurer. Next, we have mother and son Ethel Cripps and John Dee, a.k.a. Doctor Destiny. In these roles, we find Nip/Tuck’s Joely Richardson and Harry Potter and Wonder Woman’s David Thewlis.

Netflix

These characters help us bridge the gap to the second Sandman story, “The Doll’s House.” Netflix’s production on this arc is underway with more stars yet. At the center of this story, we’ll see Kyo Ra as Rose Walker, a young woman braving new terra to find her lost brother; Razane Jammal as Rose’s friend, and young widow, Lyta Hall; and Sandra James Young, as Unity Kincaid, the mysterious (and longtime comatose) figure who funds Rose’s journey.

It’s exciting to see Netflix’s Sandman production packing its cast with fresh young stars. However, it’s also a good deal of fun to welcome seasoned vets like Stephen Fry and Patton Oswalt. Fry will play Gilbert, who looks out for Rose on her journeys; Oswalt will voice Matthew, Dream’s emissary raven.

As we also know from the previous announcement: Boyd Holbrook will play the Corinthian; Vivienne Acheampong will play Lucienne; and Sanjeev Bhaskar and Amid Chaudry will play Cain and Abel. Now that the (nearly) full cast has taken shape, we’re more excited than ever for this new take on The Sandman.

Featured Image: DC Comics

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I got into Doctor Who in late 2009. After watching a couple of random episodes, I devoured series one through four and the first three of the gap year specials until I could finally watch “live” with the BBC America airings of David Tennant’s two-part farewell, “The End of Time.” So, in 2010, when the first series of Matt Smith as the Doctor, helmed by showrunner Steven Moffat, began, that was my first experience with watching the series unfold naturally.

Seven years and 84 episodes later, the Moffat Era—that which introduced so many new fans to Doctor Who—has come to a close. In honor of this terrific chapter in the series’ history, we’re looking back at the whole regime and see what legacy Moffat will leave with the Whoniverse.

SEASON-LONG ARCS

The first thing people noticed about head writer Steven Moffat’s take on Doctor Who was his penchant for season-long story arcs. His predecessor Russell T. Davies certainly braved the occasional season-spanning stories, but they mostly focused on a buzzword or phrase that would eventually be explained, usually in the two-part finale. Moffat’s tack was to bring the seasonal narrative up front and center as frequently as possible.

Series five brought this into play in the form of a crack in time and space; this story plays a big part in “The Eleventh Hour,” then comes back in the next two episodes in little asides and mentions before being huge in “The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone.” Afterwards, the premise is reduced to mentions and hints again before finally impacting everything in the eighth and ninth episodes, “The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood,” and then wrapping up in the final two episodes, “The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang.” No Who fan at the time expected this kind of thorough plotting.

Series six attempted the same type of arc—that being the revelations about River Song’s identity and exactly who the Silence were. Series seven, the split season, introduced another season arc: the mystery surrounding Clara Oswald, which is the one arc that is answered completely within its allotted season due to Matt Smith’s leave—a choice that most people (myself included) found a bit awkward and forced.

The shortcomings of this finale is what I believe left the three Capaldi series without external, complex season arcs; sure, figuring out who Missy was became a major theme of series eight, but its carryout was reminiscent more of the Davies model of occasional mentions before the finale than of anything from Moffat’s toolbox. In the end, the Capaldi years’ season arcs tended to be much more about the Doctor’s relationship to his companions.

EVERY SERIES WAS DIFFERENT

One thing I will forever applaud Moffat for is being unafraid to totally change up his approach on a year-by-year basis. Series five was a puzzle box that needed to be solved; series six, while the most similar to five, was a mystery of a different sort.

Moffat couldn’t do a big huge myth arc series three times in a row, and the schedule for series seven wouldn’t really allow for that anyway. Seven was in fact defined by each episode standing on its own; the series even branded each episode as a separate movie, culminating in “The Day of the Doctor” in November 2013, which boasted a feature-length runtime and was actually shown in cinemas.

When Peter Capaldi took over, Moffat’s approach changed drastically. Series eight was about how Clara and this new version of her best friend get along. It wasn’t pretty between them for a good portion of the series, and her new relationship with Danny Pink certainly complicated matters. The Doctor and Clara lied to each other that whole year.

With Clara fully back on board, series nine—which was mainly cliffhanger-filled two-parters or thematically linked pairs—was all about Clara starting to believe she was as invincible as the Doctor, which inevitably led to her making the choice that killed her. As Moffat had initially intended series nine to be his swansong, he pulled out the stops with the best and most consistent storytelling of his era.

Series 10, it has to be said, was different in that it was a throwback to more of the RTD-style and pacing, and even the introduction of a single-season companion.

COMPANIONS OR PLOT POINTS?

While I am in general a proponent of the Moffat years, he definitely had some issues in the companion department. Not in the casting of the companions, or even the episode-to-episode banter and camaraderie between the companions and the Doctor, but in the use of them. Amelia Pond wasn’t just a young woman traveling with the Doctor; she was “The Girl Who Waited” and was the big cosmic puzzle piece to the whole series. Rory wasn’t just Rory, but “Rory the Roman,” who watched over Amy for 2,000 years. Clara wasn’t just Clara; she was “The Impossible Girl,” who doesn’t make sense to the Doctor.

Until Bill, none of the Moffat-era companions were able to just be people at first; Amy and Rory only got to just be people in their final five episodes, and while two out of Clara’s three seasons had her being more or less a real woman with a job and desires and things, she still started out as a mystery, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, it makes the Doctor choosing to spend time with them more based on their importance to the universe than to them being, you know, friends.

MANY DOCTORS, MUCH TIME LORDS

Not only did the Moffat era offer up two full-time Doctors, it also brought Time Lords back in a big, bold way. Russell T. Davies’ final story brought the Doctor’s home planet of Gallifrey back in a vain attempt to save itself from the Time War, forcing the Doctor to effectively destroy his homeworld twice. Learning that Gallifrey is in fact still around somewhere and the resultant search for it became a major part of the latter Moffat years.

With the 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor,” Moffat gave the us the first multi-Doctor story since 1985’s (terrible) “The Two Doctors.” The Eleventh Doctor teamed up with both the Tenth Doctor and the newly created War Doctor (the late, great John Hurt) in a story that brought together ALL of the Doctors to not-destroy Gallifrey in the Time War after all; the episode also gave the Eighth Doctor another moment on TV screens, and even produced a possible-maybe future version of the Doctor that looked like an old Tom Baker.

And as if that weren’t enough, Moffat’s tenure ended with a team-up between the current Doctor and the First one! That’s like seven fully-on-screen Doctors all told. An amazing feat.

While it wasn’t perfect all the time by any means, the Moffat years of Doctor Who were represented some of the most imaginative and singular episodes of the whole of the show’s history, and that’s quite the legacy to leave.

Images: BBC America

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor and the resident Whovian for Nerdist. Follow him on Twitter!

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