by Sherry Lipp
Doctor Who “A Town Called Mercy” kind of felt like Doctor Who meets Star Trekmeets Cowboys and Aliens. The Doctor (Matt Smith), Amy (Karen Gillan), and Rory (Arthur Darvill), are headed to Mexico watch a so-called Day of the Dead holiday festival but end up 200 miles north in the remote Western town of Mercy. Like last week’s episode, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship,” this episode had a sense of fun, however I found it to be a much more satisfying episode than the previous one. Overall it was a much better story, told in a light-hearted way while weaving in serious elements like The Doctor’s conflicted past and atonement.
I always like it on the show when The Doctor gets kind of fed up with things and takes charge. It’s like The Doctor gives everyone else a chance to figure things out and if they don’t, he lets his true wisdom and power show. However, The Doctor is not always entirely clear on his vision of right and wrong. Sometimes his vision is clouded by his memories of his past.
This episode took place in the American Wild West, but incidentally was shot in the Spanish town of Almeria. The town was the setting for over 100 films including Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jone and the The Last Crusade, and Cleopatra. The Wild West town was the setting for several spaghetti westerns including A Fistful of Dollars and The Good The Bad and the Ugly. I thought it was cool to see such an authentic-looking film setting. It’s a nice piece of history for the show to use actual sets built for westerns so long ago. Overall, I liked this episode, though I am still waiting for a plot thread that will continue throughout the season.
,” which showed Amy and Rory’s dual lives between reality and their adventures with The Doctor.
(Photos: BBC)