A Town Called Mercy

Frightened people. Give me a Dalek any day.

The Eleventh Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor gets a Stetson (and a gun!) and finds himself the reluctant marshal of a Western town under siege by a relentless cyborg.

Review

The first half of Series 7 continues with its series of stories based in Hollywood genres with A Town Called Mercy being inspired by Western movies. Written by Toby Whithouse and directed by Saul Metzstein, it provides an exploration of how the Doctor has been impacted by the Time War and probes at questions around the Doctor’s morality.

Anachronistic electricity, ‘Keep Out’ signs, aggressive stares. Has someone been peeking at my Christmas list?

The Eleventh Doctor

Series 7 is definitely one of the weaker series since the revival; however, A Town Called Mercy is definitely at the highlights of the series. That’s helped in part by the story being shot on location, which makes it feel much more like a high-budget story and more cinematic as a result. Saul Metzstein’s direction revels in making Spain feel like the Wild West, whilst Murray Gold’s score feels completely in keeping with Western movies. Toby Whithouse ensures that all the Western tropes are in there, from the Doctor and his companions being treated with hostility and suspicion from their arrival, to a face-off between the Doctor and the Gunslinger. Some of these are subverted and given a Doctor Who twist, which does help this feel like a story in its own right rather than a series of homages thrown together.

An alien coming to Earth to atone for past sins is something that the show is not original, and it is something that the show would revisit in Day of the Doctor, the show’s fiftieth anniversary special. Here, Jex has assisted the Marshal, Isaac, with cures for diseases and technology that should not exist. Whilst his intentions may seem beneficial to humanity, it forms a balancing act of whether the good he has done outweighs the crimes he has committed.

The story doesn’t shy away from the fact that there are lots of similarities between Jex and the Doctor. Both are alien scientists and survivors of war, however, Jex is a war criminal, whilst the Doctor, certainly at this point in canon, we know to be the one who killed both the Time Lords and the Daleks. The Gunslinger is the last of cyborgs created by Jex and his colleagues, one of whom we see killed in the surprisingly effective cold open, in order to win the war. Now that the war is over, all the cyborgs but the Gunslinger were decomissioned, leaving him out for revenge on those who have created him. It’s not exactly a new story, but Whithouse ensures that it is engagingly told. From a practical standpoint, the Gunslinger prosthetics and costume are up there with some of the best that the show has ever done. The resolution arguably is a bit trite, with Jex killing himself to stop leading the Gunslinger across the universe, but

Perhaps that is why Jex is able to get under the Doctor’s skin so easily. The mainstay of the second act is the scene between the two, in which Jex decries that he was able to do what was necessary to save his people, something the Doctor’s morality would prevent him from ever doing. The fact that Jex drives the Doctor to push him over the boundary of Mercy, and point a gun at him. Any time that the Doctor picks up a gun feels shocking, and this story is no exception, especially as he looks angry enough to kill the alien scientist. This is an episode that juxtaposes the two sides of the Doctor’s character, encapsulated by his enthusiasm at meeting a Kahler, who he states can make rocket ships out of Tupperware and moss, whilst his cold fury when he learns what Jex has done to countless people in order to win the war. It is an important reminder of just how damaged the Doctor is by his experiences through the Time War. Of course, the Doctor’s moral compass does win out – he refuses to take a walk and turn a blind eye to the townsfolk turning Jex over to the Gunslinger after Isaac’s death.

Today, I honour the victims first! His, the Master’s, the Daleks’, all the people who died because of my mercy!

See, this is what happens when you travel alone for too long.

The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond

It is Amy who has to act as the counterweight to the Doctor’s willingness to hand Jex over to his death, whilst Rory is the one who supports the Doctor. Amy points out that this is not the way they do things, unless she has missed a memo – a line that made me laugh in what is quite a dark scene. This is something that drives a bit of a wedge between our lead trio, who it is revealed are continuing not to travel regularly together. Amy has a lot to do in this episode. She is left behind with Jex whilst the Doctor, Rory and Isaac go out to retrieve the TARDIS, and he uses her as a bargaining tool to try and escape Mercy when Jex realises that the Doctor has discovered the truth about him. There is lots for Gillan to do here, but definitely less for Arthur Darvill’s Rory.

Verdict: A Town Called Mercy is a solid enough episode, with good performances from Smith, Gillan and Adrian Scarborough. 8/10

Cast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams), Andrew Brooke (The Gunslinger), Adrian Scarborough (Kahler-Jex), Dominic Kemp (Kahler-Mas), Joanne McQuinn (Sadie), Byrd Wilkins (The Preacher), Garrick Hagon (Abraham), Ben Browder (Isaac), Sean Benedict (Dockery) and Robert Cavazos (Waiter).

Writer: Toby Whithouse

Director: Saul Metzstein

Producer: Marcus Wilson

Composer: Murray Gold

Original UK Broadcast Date: 15 September 2012

Behind the Scenes

• Working titles for this story included Mercy and The Gunslinger.
• This story marks the first of only two mentions of the Master in the Eleventh Doctor’s era. The second comes in The Time of the Doctor.
• This story was filmed in Spain. Filming overseas was much cheaper than constructing sets in Wales.

Cast List

• Adrian Scarborough also played Rupert Von Thal in the Big Finish audio play The Boy That Time Forgot.
• Garrick Hagon played Ky in The Mutants and the Jester in The Axis of Infinity.

Best Moment

It has to be the confrontation between the Doctor and Jex.

Best Quote

It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn’t it; the mad scientist who made that killing machine or the physician who has dedicated his life to serve this town. The fact that I’m both…bewilders you.

Oh, I know exactly what you are. And I see this reformation for what it really is. You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment. Don’t get me wrong, good choice. Civilised hours, lots of adulation, nice weather. But, BUT, justice doesn’t work like that. You don’t get to decide when and how your debt is paid.

Kahler Jex and the Eleventh Doctor

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