Doctor Who Review – 7.3 ‘A Town Called Mercy’

To follow our ‘A Town Called Mercy’ commentary, James brings you his review of the episode. Don’t forget to let us know what you thought too.

With three episodes of the series shown I’m pretty comfortable calling this. This will not be a season to remember.

 

‘A Town Called Mercy’ is the Back to the Future 3 of the series. Back to the Future was all nostalgic cool, goofy and fun that had something for everyone, like Dinosaurs. Back to the Future Part 2 took a darker tack, like Daleks. Back to the Future 3 was really, really Westerny. Like Mercy.

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Doctor Who Commentary – 7.3 ‘A Town Called Mercy’

Caleb, Sarah and new contributor Nat Slow don their stetsons and ignore the keep out sign as they explore ‘A Town Called Mercy’. Daleks, dinosaurs and now a cyborg gunslinger. As Doctor Who meets a western we discuss guns, tic-tac spaceships, moral complexities and The Doctor’s mercy.

Did The Doctor make the right decision with Kahler Jex? Would The Doctor have used the gun? Where did The Doctor learn to speak horse? And who gave Amy a gun!

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Don’t forget to keep an eye on the website for James’ review of A Town Called Mercy, coming soon! now live, check it out!

And once you’ve heard what we have to say, let us know what you think in the comments, or by email, Twitter or Facebook.

Doctor Who Commentary – 5.06 ‘The Vampires of Venice’

Caleb Woodbridge, P G Bell and Sarah Burrow face the Vampires of Venice in our latest Doctor Who commentary!


We discuss vital questions such as, what is the Doctor thinking with his matchmaking techniques? How much does this story fall prey to “time tourism” syndrome? Are alien fish creatures an acceptable substitute for real vampires? All this and much more!

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Doctor Who Commentary – 6.11 ‘The God Complex’

Caleb WoodbridgeSwithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow discuss ‘The God Complex’ , episode 11 of Doctor Who series six, penned by Being Human writer Toby Whithouse.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory face their nightmares in an infinite hotel, but has travelling with the Doctor finally become too dangerous? We discuss nightmares, blogger stereotypes, religion in Doctor Who, Rory’s lack of faith, the question of what the Doctor believes in, the departure of Amy and Rory Williams, and much more.

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Doctor Who Spoiler-free Review – 6.11 ‘The God Complex’

Caleb Woodbridge reviews ‘The God Complex’, episode 11 of Doctor Who, a weird and twisted tale of nightmares and infinite corridors by Being Human scribe Toby Whithouse.

After last week’s excellent The Girl Who Waited, this keeps up the high standard with a neat psychological tale. Although last week’s events aren’t referenced directly, it certainly has an impact on the Doctor’s relationship with Amy and Rory. The Doctor’s fallibility comes under more scrutiny as the TARDIS team face their worst nightmares…

The Minotaur makes for a great monster, and there’s a strong guest cast, including David Walliams doing a typically Walliamsian turn as Gibbis, one of the most cowardly creatures in the cosmos. Amara Karan is the other stand-our performance, playing Rita, who I think is Doctor Who‘s first Muslim character (at least since the 1965 historical story The Crusade, which says a lot). Questions of faith form an important part of the story – it’s the most theological Doctor Who has been since The Satan Pit back in Tennant’s first series.

The nightmare hotel is reminiscent of Whithouse’s portrayal of Purgatory in Being Human series 3, which also featured people’s individual fears. It’s interesting that in telefantasy, Purgatory has become a place where characters go to “Face their Issues” rather than be purged of their sins: the afterlife adapted for the therapy age. That’s not what’s going on here though – we’re still firmly in science-fiction territory.

There are lots of easter-eggs for fans of the show, including blink and you’ll miss them glimpses of old monsters (plus a member of the production team!) There’s a sly link back to a Tom Baker era story, and a vital scene that echoes a moment in The Curse of Fenric. 

It’s not as emotional as last week, but still a strong, moving and intelligent story. Check back on Saturday night for our podcast commentary on the show!