Rate "A Town Called Mercy"

Your thoughts, and votes, please on this much anticpated reworking of The Gunfighters.

I expected more about the sherrif's character.

I really liked that. It was a simple story, told well while setting up some interesting moral dilemmas for the Doctor et al without ladling on the exposition or the explanation. Can we have more Whithouse, please?

And an interesting thought about Kahler Jax. He's a scientist from a people who were losing a war. He experimented on his own people to turn them into weapons that were hybrids of themselves and machinery with one mechanical eye and a single very powerful weapon where there arm had been. He's pretty much Davros, isn't he?

My favourite of the series so far!

Starfighter Pilot wrote:My favourite of the series so far!

Agreed.

I'm not sure whether to give it 5 or 4.

Like Aspadistra, I thought there would be more about the sherriff and I was sorry he didn't make it to the end of the episode (even if he then died!)

I'm going to need to watch it again.

Which is a problem, because I don't really want to.

Shame to kill Ben Browder so early. I liked the Sheriff/Marshall/Whatever he was and it was nice to see Mr. Browder away from Farscape and Stargate. I suspect he's a man who loves scifi and plans to spend his lean years, or twilight years, attending conventions.

I think the writing was inconsistent. This was a tenth doctor story. When has 11 been angsty about his mercy? This was also Earlier Ponds, wasn't it?

I enjoyed the Doctor suddenly speaking Horse. I enjoyed Amy reminding him how things are supposed to go, I liked that the Doctor valued ordinary people over the fate of aliens...but something didn't work and I can't put my finger on what.

Oh, the 'eck with it...three.

They say creativity is the art of concealing your sources. This wasn't The Gunfighters, or Doctor Who meets "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly," this was Doctor Who's retelling of Westworld. Not that there's anything objectionable about that- Who did this frequently during the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era.

I wasn't expecting the moral dilemma angle, so that came as a nice surprise. The cinematography was outstanding. Has anyone else noticed that, compared to last season, this series features a number of exterior daytime scenes?

I'll give this a four.

It gets a 4 from me as well. Thus far, this has been a great series.

This wasn't Doctor Who with some Western elements sprinkled in, it felt like a real Western to me. Ben was great in a somewhat small but pivotal role, It was good to see him again. The alien doctor and gunslinger were well performed. I agree with Nick, there's a Davros/Daleks parallel here. The Gunslinger's HUD reading "terminate" might lead one to think Terminator, but he's no infiltration unit. Even dressed in full Western attire, it's clear he's not going to blend in very well. And "terminate" is not far at all from the pepperpot's catchphrase.

The episode looked and sounded fantastic, Murray's music basically captured exactly the vibe I was hoping for. It's not without its flaws, but I enjoyed it a lot.

After due thought and consideration, I've given this 4/5. Loved the first 20 minutes, but thought the second half failed to quite match it. Very well filmed and acted. Dinosaurs was a top end 4, this is a low end 4. Enjoying this series more than last year so far.

I was a bit disappointed - this didn't really do it for me, a 3 at best

I did like the doctor speaking horse though and the scenery was nice

I thought the story line was inconsistent and the electricity thing jarred with me, what happened when people visited from other towns? And what did "deliveries" do when they met the gunslinger? I know its supposed to be a remote town, however nowhere was that remote in the "wild west"

3 from me, purely because I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous two. It's a very high 3 though.

Jennyjenkins wrote:the electricity thing jarred with me

Wondering if there's a recurring theme to do with flickering lights this season............

Jennyjenkins wrote:...I know its supposed to be a remote town, however nowhere was that remote in the "wild west"

As someone who lives in the "wild west," I beg to differ. Remoteness is considered a virtue.

The Co=Ordinator wrote:Wondering if there's a recurring theme to do with flickering lights this season............

Definitely possible. The opening credits seem to be getting darker too.

The Co=Ordinator wrote:

Jennyjenkins wrote:the electricity thing jarred with me

Wondering if there's a recurring theme to do with flickering lights this season............

Hope not, very irritating and gives me a headache

Patrick wrote:

Jennyjenkins wrote:...I know its supposed to be a remote town, however nowhere was that remote in the "wild west"

As someone who lives in the "wild west," I beg to differ. Remoteness is considered a virtue.

I bow to your superior knowledge O fast living one, however wasn't one of the points about being confined inside the ring of stones and logs that "deliveries or something" couldn't get through - I need to rewatch, if I can bear it again

Jennyjenkins wrote:I bow to your superior knowledge O fast living one, however wasn't one of the points about being confined inside the ring of stones and logs that "deliveries or something" couldn't get through - I need to rewatch, if I can bear it again

They couldn't get supplies in during the three weeks The Gunslinger blocked the town, yep. Since he didn't seem the type to kill innocents, I assume he scared them off.

A middleing 4 here.

It had a lot too like and I loved the ending. It also had that guy out of Stargate in it.

I prefer to think of Mr. Browder as "the guy from Farscape."

Patrick wrote:I prefer to think of Mr. Browder as "the guy from Farscape."

I have the entirety of Stargate though (except for 'Universe') and have only seen a few episodes of Farscape -which I liked. I did like the scene in Stargate thats spoofed farscape though. That was funny.