A Town Called Mercy

[Karma168]

And I don't mind America getting some of the episodes because 90% of the time by "in the UK" they mean either London or, in the earlier couple of series, inexplicably Cardiff.

It's just because the studio is based in Wales so it's easy to wheel the tardis into the centre of Cardiff and say 'we're in Cardiff' rather than spend hours swapping street signs and what not to make it look like another city.

And London because that's where all the government agencies are located so makes sense when you're dealing with these people.

 

[Susan Arendt]

I find it fascinating how divisive this episode has turned out to be.

On a completely different note, I'm curious - do you guys feel like they're setting Amy up to be in some sort of spinoff? The recent episodes seem intent on proving how capable she is without the Doctor.

 

[Albino Boo]

I find it fascinating how divisive this episode has turned out to be.

On a completely different note, I'm curious - do you guys feel like they're setting Amy up to be in some sort of spinoff? The recent episodes seem intent on proving how capable she is without the Doctor.

I wouldn't be surprised if they did a spinoff. Since the early death of Elisabeth Sladen they have gap for a show aimed at younger children. Amy, Rory and Rory's Dad have a family unit setup which could be adapted into framework for a new show.


PS tonights episode is much better.

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

So, I just found this episode online, and I must say that it's interesting seeing the Eleventh Doctor as the Doctor who gets tired of being the good guy. I mean, sure, Eccleson and Tenant weren't good guys either, but the idea that Smith is just one step away from pulling the trigger on a complete stranger, when before you had to go and kill his daughter for the same reaction, is interesting to me. It's been building up for the past few seasons, with all the "Doctor means scary murderer guy in our language" stuff, but so far, Smith has appeared to me to be just a senile old man, full of quirks and absent-mindedness.

In short, I want this Doctor to turn evil, just for a little bit. I've heard that Amy and Rory won't survive 'till the end of the season, and if the replacement is a Dalek, then I think it's possible that Smith could do some dark things for a while before realizing just how much the universe needs him to be good.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I'm glad you quoted me, I didn't realize I had made a mistake. It should read "first two seasons" The time-crack and the Silence were weak. And yes, (most) of those were good episodes, but the SEASONS were just... eh

Granted, Matt Smith's run on the show has been better than tennant's, both by ratio of quality and simply because Smith is the better Doctor, but I just don't understand why so many of you are hating these episodes. These are some of the BEST episodes Moffat-Who has had.

I just hope the series continues this way, without the pulled punches of the last series.

Ah, I see. Yes, I agree with you on the Silence being a lame group (less so the crack in time - I thought that was actually rather clever).

And I haven't seen that much hate. The first two this season were both quite good (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was particularly good). The cowboy episode was just a bit... meh. Other than Ben Browder, whom I adore.

 

[Flight]

Wow, Susan. You are so impressively wrong.

I'm sorry, but I must respectfully disagree. Generally, opinions are neither inherently "right" nor "wrong". A review, however professional, is still the writer's opinion. While I personally enjoyed the episode, I still had some mixed feelings about it (particularly the pacing).

 

[Crazy Zaul]

It wasn't bad as such but apart from maybe the 1st episode this whole season has kinda felt like filler episodes while were just waiting for the companion change to happen.

In short, I want this Doctor to turn evil, just for a little bit..

I would good for them to Superman 3 the doctor somehow.

 

[elvor0]

Whilst this may have been a pretty terrible episode, the fact that they are trying to steer The Doctor into a more morally ambiguous direction with Smith's version of him makes me wonder if there are any plans for bringing The Valeyard back. After getting blood on his hands on the Asylum and no longer being able to scare off the Daleks by just saying "Do you know who I am?", I think that The Doctor will get a little darker during this incarnation. Then on the 12th we'll see all of that take it's form by he becoming The Valeyard. Not making a series about him, mind you, but making him a new foe by making him the evil side of The Doctor manifested or something of that sort.

I like the sounds of that actually, be interesting to see them explore the origins of the Valeyard from those episodes. I suspect we may even see Matt Smith leave on the 12th episode of this season or after next season, I like him, but even Tennent only had 3 series. I'd actually really like to see James Mcavoy as the next one. He's certainly got the acting chops for it, and I've heard he was considered for the 11th, but I don't know if he's too well known, as far as I'm aware most of them have been lesser known actors.

Heck maybe even Benedict Cumberbatch could do it, I loved him in Sherlock and I reckon he could do the quirky side too. Also you could then pretend that Dr Who and Sherlock Holmes are the same person and that's something he does as a sort of "Adventure Holiday" without any of his tech.

 

[NeonWraith]

I've been saying this for quite a few episodes in recent series, and I'm going to say it again. This episode would have really benefited from having a 60 minute runtime as opposed to a 45-50 minute runtime. It needed the extra minutes to properly flesh out some scenes and plot points.
This issue is becoming alarmingly common since the start of the 11th Doctor's run and given that this series will have no two-parters, this issue will only become more frequent.

Fun fact: The BBC has endured horrifying real money budget cuts recently, as the renegotiated licence fee wasn't as generous to them as before (whether you agree with that or not is a seperate issue), and filming Dr. Who is EXPENSIVE, which is why they've been partnering with US networks to get funding, even if it does mean having to agree to film some of it in America. This particular truth is also responsible for the last series of Torchwood being so bloody awful.

I wouldn't expect it to get better, either, as last I looked into it the upper BBC management are desperate to get rid of Moffat, having openly described him as 'a problem' on at least one occasion.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

Wow, Susan. You are so impressively wrong.

I'm sorry, but I must respectfully disagree. Generally, opinions are neither inherently "right" nor "wrong". A review, however professional, is still the writer's opinion. While I personally enjoyed the episode, I still had some mixed feelings about it (particularly the pacing).

"[on the doctor holding a gun] it didn't fit the man" Unless she is making a statement about the proportional aesthetics of Matt Smith holding the revolver, this is wrong. It does not fit TENNANT. But guns do fit the Doctor. He isn't batman. He's killed plenty of people, and not in that wretched passive "oh they didn't die onscreen therefore i'm not responsible" way either. And for the last two seasons, moffat's writers have been going BACK to that, trying to undo the damage Davies did to the show. And one show prior, he straight killed a man and laughed about it. Should Solomon get away clean? Of course not. Did the doctor need to lock the missles to him instead of throwing the ball into space and letting them track to it? no. And you can't say the device needed the ship's power to be tracked, because that is in no way stated, and would have stopped the missile lock in the first place upon being disconnected.

Opinions can be right or wrong. TASTE is what cannot be incorrect. Just like how I think the Davies era was TERRIBLE Dr. Who (in spite of, or sometimes including amazingly well done episodes), I still love it.

I'm glad you quoted me, I didn't realize I had made a mistake. It should read "first two seasons" The time-crack and the Silence were weak. And yes, (most) of those were good episodes, but the SEASONS were just... eh

Granted, Matt Smith's run on the show has been better than tennant's, both by ratio of quality and simply because Smith is the better Doctor, but I just don't understand why so many of you are hating these episodes. These are some of the BEST episodes Moffat-Who has had.

I just hope the series continues this way, without the pulled punches of the last series.

Ah, I see. Yes, I agree with you on the Silence being a lame group (less so the crack in time - I thought that was actually rather clever).

And I haven't seen that much hate. The first two this season were both quite good (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was particularly good). The cowboy episode was just a bit... meh. Other than Ben Browder, whom I adore.

See, my problem with the time-crack was that it compounded the New Who problem of the companions being the Most Important Being in the Universe. Everything they do is the subject of millenia-old prophecy, which even the Doctor has heard of and either holds in high regard or has dismissed entirely as a children's fable. Why can't they do something amazing WITHOUT god coming in and arranging the cosmos? Wouldn't that make their actions more impressive? And even if it didn't, doesn't it just seem statistically unlikely that the doctor constantly meets Persons of Prophecy?

Which leads to the other problem I have with New Who: saving the damn universe.
STOP IT. Or, more clearly, stop writing towards the end of the universe. Look at old Dr. Who. How many times did EVERYTHING LEAD TO THIS? But now every episode of every season is PART OF A GRAND SCHEME that will lead to the discovery and foiling thereof of a plot to destroy/enslave/repaint the universe.
Just have a wacky old alien fly around space having hijinks and adventures. If you need overarching plot, why not just save A PLANET? The threat doesn't feel real anymore. hell, you could even make a joke out of it. "good job, doctor!" "good job, is that all? I was so clever I just saved the planet sheerly through cleverness" "yeah, well, planet's all well and good, but we've helped save the Universe now, planets are chump change"

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

last series of Torchwood being so bloody awful

Torchwood wasn't watchable in the first place, I can only imagine how bad "bloody awful" is compared to the rest.

 

[Evil Smurf]

That was awful. The doctor does not hold a gun, he disarms with the sonic screwdriver and says something witty. Learn2Write Dr. Who Steven Moffet.

Bring me Dinosaurs on a spaceship over this anyday.

 

[Dr.Susse]

Maybe I'm just a sucker for westerns but I enjoyed this one. The series seems to be taking a more blatantly funny approach going off this and the episode before. More outright jokes than the humour through witty dialogue or insane techno babble.

 

[Thyunda]

This season feels like a replacement Sarah Jane Adventures more than anything else. Which...isn't a good thing. In any way. The episodes seem to consist of ham-handed moral lessons, usually delivered at the end of the episode, the Doctor running around doing silly stuff, Amy reining him in, and Rory doing the serious stuff. This would be good and all - I mean it's great to see Rory and Amy developing as companions to the point where they react as unsurprised and as confidently as the Doctor...but if the exchange is the Doctor becoming a total bell-end I am just not comfortable with it. Matt Smith early on played the mix between eccentric and dangerous excellently - his flailing movements made it so easy for him to go from cheerful and curious to angry and dangerous almost seamlessly...and now what? Now he's pretending to be a cowboy and being a simpering moralist. This just isn't right. I'm hoping beyond hope that these are all fillers leading up to a spectacular conclusion.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

See, my problem with the time-crack was that it compounded the New Who problem of the companions being the Most Important Being in the Universe. Everything they do is the subject of millenia-old prophecy, which even the Doctor has heard of and either holds in high regard or has dismissed entirely as a children's fable. Why can't they do something amazing WITHOUT god coming in and arranging the cosmos? Wouldn't that make their actions more impressive? And even if it didn't, doesn't it just seem statistically unlikely that the doctor constantly meets Persons of Prophecy?

Huh. Um, I think the causality went the other direction - that person becomes the Person of Prophecy because the Doctor meet that person.

IE, Amelia Pond would have had a normal, boring life if the Doctor hadn't landed there while regenerating. His landing there set into motion the chain of events that led to the Tardis exploding, which led to the crack in her wall, etc.

So it isn't coincidence that the Doctor keeps running into important people - he makes them important by running in to them.

At least that was the impression I was getting.

Which leads to the other problem I have with New Who: saving the damn universe.
STOP IT. Or, more clearly, stop writing towards the end of the universe. Look at old Dr. Who. How many times did EVERYTHING LEAD TO THIS? But now every episode of every season is PART OF A GRAND SCHEME that will lead to the discovery and foiling thereof of a plot to destroy/enslave/repaint the universe.

Key to Time.

Entropy (The Leisure Hive through Logopolis).

The Black Guardian (Mawdryn Undead through Enlightenment).

The Curse of Fenric.

All Multi-episode classic Who arcs where everything leads to the end of the universe and the Doctor stops it. And these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Key to Time particularly is considered one of the best seasons of Doctor Who ever. It isn't all that surprising that the "Newvian" authors keep attempting to recreate that feeling.

On the other hand, I do see your point. Classic Who generally made sure that after any "the Doctor saves the Universe" arc, there was a season of "the Doctor travels around and saves a few planets without an overarching plot" to help keep things from getting repetitive.

Actually, I mentioned the Curse of Fenric because it was one of my LEAST favorite arcs in all of Classic Who. It stretched the "Doctor saves the universe" arc over three seasons, and everything that happened during those seasons was somehow connected to it. And it was terrible. I do, on occasion, fear that New Who is going to walk down that road.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

Huh. Um, I think the causality went the other direction - that person becomes the Person of Prophecy because the Doctor meet that person.

IE, Amelia Pond would have had a normal, boring life if the Doctor hadn't landed there while regenerating. His landing there set into motion the chain of events that led to the Tardis exploding, which led to the crack in her wall, etc.

So it isn't coincidence that the Doctor keeps running into important people - he makes them important by running in to them.

At least that was the impression I was getting.

Therein lies the problem with looking at causality in a show about time travel. He met her because IT WAS DESTINY and destiny happen BECAUSE HE MADE HER SPECIAL. Point is, they ALL become mythical figures

Key to Time.

Entropy (The Leisure Hive through Logopolis).

The Black Guardian (Mawdryn Undead through Enlightenment).

The Curse of Fenric.

All Multi-episode classic Who arcs where everything leads to the end of the universe and the Doctor stops it. And these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Key to Time particularly is considered one of the best seasons of Doctor Who ever. It isn't all that surprising that the "Newvian" authors keep attempting to recreate that feeling.

On the other hand, I do see your point. Classic Who generally made sure that after any "the Doctor saves the Universe" arc, there was a season of "the Doctor travels around and saves a few planets without an overarching plot" to help keep things from getting repetitive.

Actually, I mentioned the Curse of Fenric because it was one of my LEAST favorite arcs in all of Classic Who. It stretched the "Doctor saves the universe" arc over three seasons, and everything that happened during those seasons was somehow connected to it. And it was terrible. I do, on occasion, fear that New Who is going to walk down that road.

I never said it didn't HAPPEN, my point was that it happened RARELY. Unlike the last seven seasons, where it happened for almost all of them. What we have now are "the universe will need saving one episode in, and EVERYTHING IS SO IMPORTANT OMGWTFBBQ and we finish saving it by episode 13


Blarg. I haven't hated a show I like so much since Naruto

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Therein lies the problem with looking at causality in a show about time travel. He met her because IT WAS DESTINY and destiny happen BECAUSE HE MADE HER SPECIAL. Point is, they ALL become mythical figures

That did tend to happen to some of the Classic Doctors' companions as well.

Sarah Jane, Lela, Romana, Nyssa, and Turoulogh (sp?) all ended up as mythical figures as well (and that's just looking at the 4th and 5th Doctor's runs). Adric did too, technically, even if no one realizes it.

Tegan is one of the only companions to just... walk away. It's one of the things that made her special. Sarah Jane did something similar, but then she became a crime-fighting spin-off. Twice.

I never said it didn't HAPPEN, my point was that it happened RARELY. Unlike the last seven seasons, where it happened for almost all of them. What we have now are "the universe will need saving one episode in, and EVERYTHING IS SO IMPORTANT OMGWTFBBQ and we finish saving it by episode 13

I think you may be blowing things a tad out of proportion. Let's take a look.

Season 1 - Daleks trying to take over Earth. Technically only saves Earth.
Season 2 - Cybermen trying to take over Earth. Again, technically only Earth.
Season 3 - The Master trying to take over Earth. Again, just Earth.
Season 4 - The Daleks steal Earth and a bunch of other planets. Earth and a bunch of other planets, although a full-fledged Dalek fleet would have been a universal problem as well.
Season 5 - Crack in Time, Universe Exploding. Yup, saves the Universe.
Season 6 - The Silence/Devil's Run. Really just saves himself and screws over the Silence, which sort of saves Earth, except there wasn't much indication that the Silence was doing all that many bad things to Earth.

... so the only season where he saves the universe is season 5. You could argue that the Daleks represent a threat to the whole universe, but really I don't think that counts or "the Victory of the Daleks" is the Doctor failing to save the Universe. And anyway, Asylum of the Daleks firmly establishes the Daleks as back and... not doing much, really. Just sort of sitting around. So again, that means that seasons 1, 2, and 4 did not constitute universe savings - just Earth.

Now, last season they made a whole "great question" lead up that makes it sound like this season is going the Universe saving route again. But so far they haven't touched it.

Anyway, looking at the above, I'm sort of wondering why you think that the new series is constantly dealing with the Doctor saving the entire universe. He only did that once with the crack in time.

Edit: Speaking of which - When exactly the fuck are we going to get an answer about why the Tardis randomly blew up and cracked time? The end of season 5 suggested that that was a fairly major plot point, but season 6 promptly forgets about it and moves on. I'd much rather know why the Tardis blew up than learn the Doctor's real name.

I mean, it's just "Petridadrovlatunonden" or something equally blather-tastic. We know from the final episode of Key to Time that the Doctor's real name can be foreshortened to "Pete" - and that a fellow Timelord calls him that. We also know that many Time Lords use short names (ie the Master, the Rani) and that full galifreyan names are long as crap (Romanadaveratnalunda) so the obvious assumption has always been that the Doctor's name is just to unwieldy and difficult to pronounce to make it worth anyone's while.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

Season 1 - Daleks trying to take over Earth. Technically only saves Earth.
Season 2 - Cybermen trying to take over Earth. Again, technically only Earth.
Season 3 - The Master trying to take over Earth. Again, just Earth.
Season 4 - The Daleks steal Earth and a bunch of other planets. Earth and a bunch of other planets, although a full-fledged Dalek fleet would have been a universal problem as well.
Season 5 - Crack in Time, Universe Exploding. Yup, saves the Universe.
Season 6 - The Silence/Devil's Run. Really just saves himself and screws over the Silence, which sort of saves Earth, except there wasn't much indication that the Silence was doing all that many bad things to Earth.

Season 3 - The Master uses a Paradox Machine to conquer earth in order to destroy/conquer the rest of the glaxay. Technically only saves the galaxy, then
Season 4 - The Daleks steal Earth and a bunch of other planets in order to power a "Reality Bomb" that will obliterate ALL EXISTENCE (including the Daleks). Saves the Universe
Season 6 - Silence/Devil's Run is not the end of the season. The Doctor fights the Silence because of causality and has to be shot: Has to convince River to finally just kill him, or else the universe will implode. Saves the universe.

So yeah... 4 of the six seasons. And all of those CONSECUTIVE.

As for his name, that thing about pete, did it come from an episode or one of the other Dr. Who media? If it came from an episode, it MIGHT hold up, but if it came from a book/comic/etc they will ignore it entirely.

 

[StBishop]

When I heard the horses name I imagined you grinning at the idea of the horse sharing your name.

I liked it enough. I've seen less than 100 episodes of Doctor Who, ranging from VHS tapes from the 90s to watching the ones being played on TV now, so my frame of reference is limited and inconsistent. I just like to watch the interactions more than anything else, similar to Bioware games.