So last Saturday, Doctor Who done Western in A Town Called Mercy. But was it as good as we all thought it would be? Let's see in my review...
Overview
A very good episode which much more action and more edge-of-your-seat moments than Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. However, the episode was slightly spoilt with plot holes and some stolen parts from other Who episodes.
Continuity
This episode did have little references to continuity but not many and most were subtle things that you could quiet easily miss. Below is a list of the one's that I caught.
- The Doctor's death is subtly mentioned again
- To the Doctor, humanity are aliens (previously in Meanwhile in the TARDIS)
- The opening narration seems to be talking about the Doctor, when in fact it isn't (A Good Man Goes To War)
- The Doctor speaks many languages with him speaking 'horse' in this episode (Planet of the Dead, Waters of Mars and Closing Time, to name a few)
- Amy urges the Doctor to not choose killing as an option (The Beast Below)
Story Arc
Besides the subtle reference to the universe not knowing the Doctor's existence, no real reference to the 'Doctor Who?' arc at all.
Story
A more complicated story than the previous two episodes, but still action packed and it did make sense for the most part, with the only thing letting it down being a few plot holes I will detail later on in the review.
Problems
This episode had a few minor plot holes, but the major one being, when Jex and The Gunslinger were communicating at the end just before Jex blew himself up, did no one else wonder how they were talking? Unless Jex had installed the town with megaphones as well as lighting, this was quite a major plot hole as it was the resolution to the story!
The Gunslinger
The Gunslinger was a work of art and I loved everything about it from it's eye to it's gun, from it's hat to it's voice. I particularly liked how Toby Whithouse had managed to fit the back story to the Gunslinger in really well as well.
Who's the enemy?
What this episode done really well was make you wonder who was the enemy? The Gunslinger, Jex or The Doctor... In the pre-title sequence we were all introduced to the Gunslinger which looked like it might be this weeks enemy, but as the episode continued we all thought Jex, then when the Doctor pulled a gun to Jex, we all thought The Doctor! But at the end, we all knew that this episode managed to contribute three suspects to being the enemy, but the truth being there really wasn't an enemy at all!
Conclusion
Monsters - 5/5 - The Gunslinger and the Kahler were excellent enemies and they really shone in this episode.
Story - 4/5 - Great, but the big plot hole at the end let it down
Doctor - 4/5 - Great acting from Matt but the Doctor even thinking about a gun was very out of character and I'm not really liking him in the past couple of episodes, with killing someone now being seen as an option.
Companion - 3.5/5 - Amy and Rory were sort of background characters in this episode and didn't really contribute, especially Amy.
Arc - 4/5 - Although there was no real reference to 'Doctor Who?', I feel the Doctor becoming more aggressive contributes towards another Arc which might result in Amy and Rory's departure. Also, I think the Doctor knows more about the Pond's exit than he is letting on...
Continuity - 4/5 - There was good continuity in this episode but the 'copy-cat' parts let it down slightly.
A Town Called Mercy (overall) - 24.5/30 - Great
So that's it for my review on A Town Called Mercy. I hope you agreed with me on the most part and enjoyed reading the review.
Next Week - The Power of Three
Overall Mark Comments
15 - 19.5 - OK, nothing special
10 - 14.5 - Bad, very poor
5 - 9.5 - Shocking, turned off after 10 minutes
1.5 - 4.5 - Worst thing to be shown on TV ever
0 - 1 - Doctor Who is over
