DOCTOR WHO: A TOWN CALLED MERCY - TV REVIEW

DOCTOR WHO SERIES 7: EPISODE 3 - A TOWN CALLED MERCY

Air Date: Saturday 15 September **

Channel: BBC One (UK), BBC America (US)

Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Andrew Brooke, Adrian Scarborough, Ben Browder

Reviewed by Helen Henderson

The Doctor is faced with the ramifications of his own past in this tale of Wild West mayhem.

After last weeks’ tepid outing for the Doctor, A Town Called Mercy finally brought drama that packed a powerful punch back to our screens this Saturday. Written by Toby Whithouse, responsible for previous episodes including The God Complex, Vampires of Venice and School Reunion, this fantastic morality tale not only presented a compelling storyline but also boasted great performances from all involved and a tale where the line between good and evil are considerably blurred. It was a fresh spin on both the Sci-Fi and Western genres, and added further pathos and dimension to the series by showing that the consequences of the Doctor’s travels and interventions are not always beneficial to all.

The episode opened intriguingly with a man desperately (but fruitlessly) scrambling away from an unknown assailant who towered above him, instructing him to make peace with his Gods, name dropping The Doctor as curiously the ‘only one left’ and then sending the unfortunate man to his maker. It was a fittingly ‘Western’ opening to the episode, made further so by touches such as the shows title logo being displayed as made of wood, and a suitably accented opening narration.