Perchance to Dream

"Perchance to Dream" is a phrase from the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy spoken by Shakespeare's Hamlet. The words have been used as a title for:

Perchance to Dream (Batman: The Animated Series)

"Perchance to Dream" is the 26th episode of Batman: The Animated Series. It was written by noted horror author Joe R. Lansdale and originally aired on October 19, 1992. In this episode, Bruce Wayne awakes in a seemingly idyllic dream world in which his parents are still alive and he never became Batman. The title is taken from the famous soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Plot

The episode opens with Batman pursuing a group of criminals into a warehouse. After overcoming several of them, he is blinded by a flash of light and a dark shape descends upon him, knocking him unconscious. He then awakens in bed as Bruce Wayne, with no memory of the outcome of the battle or how he came to be home.

It quickly becomes clear that something is very wrong: there is no Batcave beneath Wayne Manor, and Alfred professes to have no knowledge of Bruce's alter ego or of Robin. Furthermore, Bruce's parents are still alive and he is engaged to Selina Kyle. Though Bruce remembers his adventures as Batman, he can find no evidence that they were anything more than a dream, and he soon begins to doubt his own sanity.

Dream

Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur usually involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, as well as a subject of philosophical and religious interest, throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology.

Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep—when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable.

The length of a dream can vary; they may last for a few seconds, or approximately 20–30 minutes. People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase. The average person has three to five dreams per night, and some may have up to seven; however, most dreams are immediately or quickly forgotten. Dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full eight-hour night sleep, most dreams occur in the typical two hours of REM.

From Hell

From Hell is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1996 and collected in 1999, speculating upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic message sent from the killer in 1888. The collected edition is 572 pages long. The 2000 and later editions are the most common prints. The comic was loosely adapted into a film of the same title, released in 2001.

About the book

From Hell was originally serialized as one of several features in Taboo, an anthology comic book published by Steve Bissette's Spiderbaby Grafix. After running in Taboo #2–7 (1989–1992), Moore and Campbell moved the project to its own series, published first by Tundra Publishing, then by Kitchen Sink Press. The series was published in ten volumes between 1991 and 1996, and an appendix, From Hell: The Dance of the Gull-catchers, was published in 1998. The entire series was collected in a trade paperback and published by Eddie Campbell Comics in 1999; trade paperback and hardcover versions are now published by Top Shelf Productions in the USA and Knockabout Comics in the UK.

Two Steps from Hell

Two Steps from Hell is an American production music company based in Los Angeles, California, founded by Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix in 2006. The company focuses predominantly on movie and trailer music, and has supplied tracks to films such as Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and X-Men.

History

Two Steps from Hell was founded in 2006 when Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix joined forces to write original music for movie trailers. Bergersen moved from Trondheim, Norway to the United States in 2003, along with Phoenix, who began composing in 1997, before moving to Los Angeles. The two formed the company in early 2006, and have composed music for over 1,000 major motion picture trailers.

Founding and initial success (2006-10)

Two Steps from Hell mainly produces trailer music, although recently it has also been used for television shows and selected video games.

Despite the company finding success for its music, the tracks were never officially released to the public until the May 2010 release of the commercial album Invincible. In addition to approaching Gold record status, Invincible became the first of several such albums to chart in the iTunes Top 100 Soundtracks. As of July 2014, Two Steps from Hell has published 8 public albums in addition to 20 demonstration albums, with almost 1,000 unique tracks in total.