**Spoilers** Series 7, Episode 3 - "A Town Called Mercy"

pixelburp

Given the last Sci-Fi / Western mashup I can think of was Cowboys & Aliens, I hope this weeks episode doesn't follow suit in being pretty awful. Speaking as a Farscape fan, I'm looking forward to seeing Ben Browder back on the telly

Interestingly, this isn't the first time Dr. Who has gone to the Wild West: waaayyyy back during the very first season in 1963 - when the show was ostensibly meant to educate about times past - the Doctor visited the old west. Or should I say, visited a tiny set full of cliché & bad accents.

Teaser Clip for y'all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSehZtiGgwQ

Doctor DooM

pixelburp wrote: »

Given the last Sci-Fi / Western mashup I can think of was Cowboys & Aliens, I hope this weeks episode doesn't follow suit in being pretty awful. Speaking as a Farscape fan, I'm looking forward to seeing Ben Browder back on the telly

I heard some series called Firefly and some film called Serentity were all right

also, it's not Doctor Who doing a western unless there's a song.

pixelburp

Doctor DooM wrote: »

I heard some series called Firefly and some film called Serentity were all right

also, it's not Doctor Who doing a western unless there's a song.

Hate to break it to you, but Firefly was 10 years ago now :eek:

ríomhaire

Why does the cyborg remind me so much of Red Dwarf?

Doctor DooM

ríomhaire wrote: »

Why does the cyborg remind me so much of Red Dwarf?

Because he closely resembles Kryten, me too.

Wasn't there a decent red dwarf episode set in the Wild Wesht too?

Raphael

Also, in case it saves anyone else looking it up like I had to, we're on at 7:35 this week.

ríomhaire

Doctor DooM wrote: »

Because he closely resembles Kryten, me too.

Wasn't there a decent red dwarf episode set in the Wild Wesht too?

Did they fight the four horsemen of the apocalypse as cowboys or evil versions of themselves as cowboys or just evil cowboys or something? I very vaguely remember such an episode.

Edit: Bloody parents want to watch the match! At least it's recording for later. Caught the first ten to fifteen minutes before I got kicked out of the living room. Loved it.

Wing126

Anyone else hope that The Master is coming back? First mention of him since Matt Smith took over in that ep.

coffee_cake

that was awesome as hell
answered questions from last week anyway
amy still a mother - check
doctor getting a bit evil cos he's on his own more - check

McLoughlin

Dinosaurs On A Spaceship remind me of Red Dwarf especially with Mark Williams and this episodes also reminds me of Red Dwarf. Maybe its the upcoming Red Dwarf that playing on my mind.

Das Kitty

Wasn't wild about this one. Thought it lacked a bit of coherence and the Jex -- Doctor parallels were trowelled on. (Oh he's an alien doctor too, I wonder what else is the same?)

The acting elevated it again, but it sorta felt like a waste of such an amazing location.

I dunno, I'll have to watch it again. My least favourite on first viewing of the last series turned into my favourite (The God Complex) so you never know.

MitchKoobski

Doctor DooM wrote: »

Because he closely resembles Kryten, me too.

Wasn't there a decent red dwarf episode set in the Wild Wesht too?

Gunmen of the Apocalypse! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunmen_of_the_Apocalypse

pixelburp

Yeah, the audience were somewhat beaten over the head with the parallels between Jex & the Doctor, but because of it I'm beginning to think there's definitely some form of arc going on here - maybe it's not a plot arc ala River Song or the Crack, but it's a thematic one at least. The Doctor is hardening more and more & I suspect it'll come to a head as part of the Ponds climax on the show. Hell the mere fact he's pulling guns on people is a bit beyond the pale by now :eek:

A good episode anyway; I suppose the story could have happened in any time or place - so in that sense the locations were a bit incidental - but still, they looked absolutely smashing and there's no substitute for a genuine location (albeit in Spain )

BuffyBot

A reasonably good story with a great location which really added to it all. Smith is definitely that bit more manic/darker but something about the way he flips between them is getting almost too predictable at this stage. Supporting cast so-so. Browder was wasted really, anyone could have phoned his part in.

Didn't like the Doctor/Doctor parallels which really were trowelled on, and the ending for the story didn't thrill me. Entertaining, with excellent production values but some of the aspects weren't quite what I would have hoped for.

BlitzKrieg

Strangely felt like a script that could have easily been in the ninth or early ten's storylines.

ríomhaire

Loved the episode, especially the slower pace to it. More talking, less running about while everything explodes. The parallels between the Doctor and Jex (politics of peace-time on war-time actions line especially) were lain on a bit thick but I like the exploration of the Doctor's angry side. He's not Batman. He doesn't apprehend the villains and hand them over to the commissioner Gordon; he kills them. He usually just does it in a way that seems like a clever trick and gets him out of facing moral responsibility for it. In Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and this we're seeing a much more direct approach and a much more direct facing of his morals. I hope this introspection keeps on. Ten's raging always seemed more like angsting to me rather than really facing his demons.

Sonics2k

I quite enjoyed that episode, it wasn't one of the stand-out mindblowing episodes like 'A good man goes to War' or so, but still quite a bit of fun.

It's showing how much more vicious the Doctor can be when he's on his own for a long time, and using Rory and Amy less and less.

My ears really went wild when I heard him refer to the Master, I have a real hope they'll find a way of having him return.

fonzie01

Sorry to divert off the main subject , but did anyone else think that Karen Gillan looked particularly hot in this episode!!?

ixoy

My favourite of the season so far probably. It firstly directly addressed the issue of the Doctor's violence which was glossed over last week: It's clearly a theme for this season and I wasn't meant to accept it in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship".

Matt Smith continues to impress with his ability to do such a broad range between the comic and the dark. What he wants to be is the light-hearted alien who knows a horse is called Susan but under pinning it is the guilt and rage. I'm looking forward to see it come to the fore. I don't think it will be a happy moment.

pixelburp

The iTunes prequel has appeared, for those interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp3XS8mLQic

kylith

McLoughlin wrote: »

Dinosaurs On A Spaceship remind me of Red Dwarf especially with Mark Williams and this episodes also reminds me of Red Dwarf. Maybe its the upcoming Red Dwarf that playing on my mind.

There was also the bit in Asylum of the Daleks near the start where they meet the guy from the Alaska. They go to the ship and find the crew dead and the guy says he was only gone for two hours. That reminded me of the RD episode Kryten where the Boys from the Dwarf point out that the crew of the Nova 5 are dead and Kryten says "My God, I was only away two minutes!"

The mauve alert from The Empty Child has its roots in Red Dwarf too.

Holly: Purple alert! Purple alert!
Lister: What's a 'Purple Alert'?
Holly: Well, it's sort of like, not as bad as a red alert, but a bit worse than a blue alert. Kind of like a mauve alert, don't want to say 'mauve alert.'

amen

Nice episode. Not sure if anyone else picked it up but the doctor is now 1200 years old. Last time we got an age was the last series when he was 1100.

So although its been 10 months since he visited the ponds he has aged 100 years.

Has he been on his own for the entire 100 years?

Is it part of his hardening ?

Das Kitty

amen wrote: »

Nice episode. Not sure if anyone else picked it up but the doctor is now 1200 years old. Last time we got an age was the last series when he was 1100.

So although its been 10 months since he visited the ponds he has aged 100 years.

Has he been on his own for the entire 100 years?

Is it part of his hardening ?

Personally I think he's leaving it longer and longer between visits because he knows it can't last forever. And the longer he leaves it the darker he gets.

BTW, did anyone notice the opening credits are getting darker and darker each week too?

Wing126

I think it's to do with how there's been some sort of flickering or broken light in each episode. The pond's lights are going out so to say. That's what some people have been saying and I like the idea of it.

Edit: Thought about something as I posted it. I'd say it's relating to the Weeping Angels aswell.