A Town Called Mercy
Story 228, Episode 787, Series 7 Episode 3
Doctor: The Eleventh Doctor
Companions: Amy Pond, Rory Williams
Doctor Who makes a long awaited return to the American west, with a surprisingly detailed moral dilemma.
The Review
Filmed beautifully on location in fake America (Spain), A Town Called Mercy perfectly captures the feel of a western, complete with a complex moral dilemma at its heart. The Gunslinger, whose creation is depicted in a short prequel, is a cyborg cowboy, a perfect villain for a Doctor Who western tale. The town in Nevada is called ‘Mercy’, which somehow is not the most on the nose name for a town in the show. As an American, I can confirm that the setting seems like a town that would be a stop in True Grit. Upon arriving, we learn the Gunslinger is going after its creators, one of whom is the ‘alien doctor’, a man named Jex. Jex is played like an ex-Nazi who has been living the quiet life in retirement, he seems like a nice man but the coldness of a man who would create these monsters like the Gunslinger to end a war.
The other key performance after Adrian Scarborough’s Jex is Ben Browder’s Isaac, the Marshall who gives his life for Jex because to him America is the land of second chances. Echoing the last story, the Doctor almost gives up Jex to die, but Amy convinces him not to. The Doctor tries an unlikely to succeed plan after the Gunslinger says he’ll kill the whole town, but Jex decides to commit suicide and end the crisis on his own terms. The Doctor’s willingness to considering killing Jex is surprising, but the last two stories have shown very difficult situations and how the Doctor reacts in them. As a successor of Matt Smith’s would say, sometimes it’s not a very flat team structure.
The Wild West leads to a story that I think should be much more remembered than it is. Sure, Amy and Rory don’t get much to do, but the setting is beautiful and the viewers struggle with the dilemma along with the Doctor.
9.5/10 I mean, the Gunslinger just looks cool
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