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7X03 A Town Called Mercy (Grading/Discussion) (SPOILERS!)

Grade "A Town Called Mercy"

  • Geronimo!

    Votes: 16 14.0%

  • Good

    Votes: 65 57.0%

  • Average

    Votes: 27 23.7%

  • Bad

    Votes: 5 4.4%

  • Horrible

    Votes: 1 0.9%
  • Total voters
    114
  • Poll closed .
You know, I bet Amy's presence as the Doctor's conscience would have worked better if the Pond's appearance were more scattered. The Doctor is clearly going out and having lots of adventures in between Pond visits, and it is starting to affect his character and his moral compass. Killing Mr. Filch (or whatever his name was) last week...parading Jex to his death this week.... I kind of wish we could be seeing some of these other Doctor adventures to get a better idea of just why this is happening.

I just get the impression that there is a lot we're supposed to infer from these episodes without having a whole lot of information to go on.

I'm getting vibes of the Time Lord Victorious "arc" we saw in the Tennant specials that ultimately led to his downfall.
 
RoJoHen said:
I'm getting vibes of the Time Lord Victorious "arc" we saw in the Tennant specials that ultimately led to his downfall.
Click to expand...

All leading up to Matt Smiths Doctor changing his behavior once the new companion comes in

Less Twirly Whirly Doctor and more Old Man with 1200 years of knowledge.


Saul said:
Bleeding cool noticed that the title sequence is gradually getting darker. Glad it's on purpose as it was starting look like someone was playing with the contrast too much. Another interesting point was the lights flickering as they do in Weeping Angel episodes....
Click to expand...



The lights have been flickering in each episode so far

Amys dressing mirror bulbs were flickering before she was taken by the Daleks, 2nd ep Rory and Brian are changing a light bulb at the start and Rory completes the task at the end and in this episode the bulbs are flickering again a few times.


We're looking at a Weeping Angel event of massive portions no doubt.
 
Doc changes the TARDIS lightbulb in Pond Life. I'm trying to remember if they flickered in the prequel to Asylum.

RoJoHen said:
I just get the impression that there is a lot we're supposed to infer from these episodes without having a whole lot of information to go on.
Click to expand...

I think you may be right. Under Moffat sometimes I feel the dramatic beats are sometimes erratic, sometimes they're missing when you'd expect them and sometimes they seem to pop up unannounced.
 
Mr. Adventure said:
RoJoHen said:
I just get the impression that there is a lot we're supposed to infer from these episodes without having a whole lot of information to go on.
Click to expand...

I think you may be right. Under Moffat sometimes I feel the dramatic beats are sometimes erratic, sometimes they're missing when you'd expect them and sometimes they seem to pop up unannounced.
Click to expand...

Agreed. There's this weird tendency to unexpectedly ellipses out huge chunks of time. Like, when Amy & Rory suddenly weren't traveling with the Doctor anymore at the beginning of "The Impossible Astronaut." Or the months long gap between "The Impossible Astronaut" & "Day of the Moon." Now, sometimes that can be used to good surprise effect, like the sudden revelation of Amy & Rory's divorce in "Asylum of the Daleks." But other times, it just feels weird.

Overall, I liked "A Town Called Mercy." I thought it was a nice little twist and an interesting moral dilemma. The production values were pretty good. The guest cast had much better American accents than we usually get from the show. I like Ben Browder & his powerful mustache. (I wish he had been in the episode more.) Not a whole lot for Rory to do, sadly. But I guess my biggest critique of the episode was its unnecessary tendency to keep underlining its main themes & conflicts (including an "Inside Look" on BBC America that basically just shows interviews with the actors describing the exact scene we were just watching).

Mostly, I just hope this will shut up all of the fans that were whining last week about how the show never does any "serious" episodes anymore.:rolleyes:

But in the end, to me, it's not really a Doctor Who western unless it endlessly repeats a stupid, cloying, insidiously catchy ditty.:p
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKSocNFdsbc[/yt]
 
tomalak301 said:
To everyone saying that the Ponds weren't important to the story, maybe I'm not remembering but didn't Amy serve as the Doctor's conscience making him remember his morality. I thought that was the most important scene in the episode and it featured Amy at least.
Click to expand...

Thing is Amy wasn't really needed for that. That scene could have featured any companion and it would be the same. Hey, it could have carried more resonance with a former companion seeing the Doctor become this dark and uncaring.
 
My bigger problem than Amy's role is why it's needed. The Doctor's moral compass being off just doesn't feel like it's come about organically and authentically (IMO). I don't feel they've earned those story beats and it doesn't help that they've already mined that territory better before.
 
Mr. Adventure said:
My bigger problem than Amy's role is why it's needed. The Doctor's moral compass being off just doesn't feel like it's come about organically and authentically (IMO). I don't feel they've earned those story beats and it doesn't help that they've already mined that territory better before.
Click to expand...

Yeah I admit it did feel a bit forced. But then, the Doctor has always been prone to occassional tempers or bad attitudes for no apparent reason. So I wasn't that thrown off by it.
 
The Wormhole said:
Thing is Amy wasn't really needed for that. That scene could have featured any companion and it would be the same. Hey, it could have carried more resonance with a former companion seeing the Doctor become this dark and uncaring.
Click to expand...


So true. I mean, if he can pop back and pick up a big game hunter, or queen Nefertiti for a quick trip, theres no reason a old companion couldn't tag along for 'one last adventure'. Jo would have been perfect for this.
 
Mr. Adventure said:
My bigger problem than Amy's role is why it's needed. The Doctor's moral compass being off just doesn't feel like it's come about organically and authentically (IMO). I don't feel they've earned those story beats and it doesn't help that they've already mined that territory better before.
Click to expand...

That's exactly my issue with it. "This is what happens when you travel alone for too long" would have had a much better impact if we had actually seen him travel alone for too long. As it is, the Doctor's character development is being handed to us in the form of dialogue and exposition.
 
I found the episode scattered and dull. No one stood out, the story felt particularly unoriginal, and I found myself pausing and going off to do other things more than once. I'd put the blame firmly at the feet of the plot here.
 
The Wormhole said:
tomalak301 said:
To everyone saying that the Ponds weren't important to the story, maybe I'm not remembering but didn't Amy serve as the Doctor's conscience making him remember his morality. I thought that was the most important scene in the episode and it featured Amy at least.
Click to expand...

Thing is Amy wasn't really needed for that. That scene could have featured any companion and it would be the same. Hey, it could have carried more resonance with a former companion seeing the Doctor become this dark and uncaring.
Click to expand...

That's a very good point. I think that's what they were trying to do with Amy. However, because we didn't experience that gap, it lost its impact. However, for any past companion where there has been a significant gap in screen time, that would be a great contrast.

Mr Awe
 
I have to agree on all the points made above. Having The Doctor's changing character conveyed through dialogue and exposition doesn't help. The best stories are not told to us but merely presented ... allowing us to draw our own conclusions. And using Amy as his moral compass might have worked better if she had had more to do prior to that conversation. I think they're definitely trying to lay the groundwork for the Ponds' exit and The Doctor's new arc but the foundation is not yet solid enough.
 
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