A Town Called Mercy

Plot

A prequel titled The Making of the Gunslinger, released exclusively on iTunes, depicts the formation of the Gunslinger from a normal humanoid body, with voice-over by Kahler-Jex explaining the process. The Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory arrive at the frontier town of Mercy, where no one can leave or enter due to the Gunslinger, who demands the town turn over the doctor. That doctor is Kahler-Jex, an alien scientist who crashed to Earth years earlier; the townspeople rescued him, and in return he provided primitive electricity and helped stop a cholera outbreak.

The Doctor sneaks out to the TARDIS but finds Jex's crashed ship and learns Jex was one of several scientists who performed inhumane experiments to create cyborgs on their war-torn homeworld. The Gunslinger arrives, confirming he is one of those experiments, and has killed all the other scientists except Jex. Though programmed not to harm innocents, the Gunslinger warns he will take drastic measures if Jex is not surrendered. The Doctor angrily drags Jex to face the Gunslinger; Amy argues the Doctor has changed for the worse from months of traveling alone.

Jex pleads he has atoned, but the cyborg prepares to kill him. Isaac pushes Jex aside and takes the lethal shot, dying and giving the Doctor his marshal badge, asking him to protect Mercy. The Gunslinger departs, warning he will return at noon. Jex expresses remorse for the deaths his work caused.

The townsfolk demand the Doctor turn Jex over, but he argues Isaac's death would be for nothing and devises a plan using knowledge of Jex's society. The next day, residents wear facial markings like Jex's to confuse the Gunslinger, allowing Jex to flee to his ship. Instead of taking off, Jex tells the Doctor he is ready to face justice in the afterlife and causes the ship to self-destruct.

Production

The idea for this episode came from showrunner Steven Moffat, who suggested a Wild West story to writer Toby Whithouse, specifically one where a robot terrorizes a town. Moffat was eager to see Matt Smith in a Western, describing him as one of the last people you would expect to fill Clint Eastwood’s boots. Whithouse had already written three Doctor Who episodes: "School Reunion," "The Vampires of Venice," and "The God Complex." Moffat had planned for the first five episodes of the series to each have a big, movie-style theme.

The Wild West hadn’t appeared in Doctor Who since the 1966 serial "The Gunfighters." The other writers advised Whithouse not to watch that serial, calling it far from the show’s best work. Whithouse felt he had to include classic Western elements, like the Doctor riding a horse and a standoff. He found the toughest part to write was the moment the Doctor is forced to pick up a gun, since the Doctor is a pacifist and needed a strong emotional reason to do so.

For the villain, Whithouse wanted a cyborg with depth and sympathy, not just a mindless machine. He aimed for a look inspired by Frankenstein’s monster and later praised the final design. Applying the makeup to actor Andrew Brooke took about three and a half hours, and the costume limited him to acting with only his left eye. Matt Smith complimented guest stars Ben Browder, saying he made a convincing cowboy with a great drawl, and Adrian Scarborough, who he felt stole the entire episode. Browder was offered the part and happily accepted; he knew the show because his children watched it, and he also wanted to act in a Western. Whithouse was delighted with Browder’s performance, saying it was exactly how he had pictured the character.

Themes

James F. McGrath of the religious website Patheos found that A Town Called Mercy had strong religious themes and moral messages, writing that it is about mercy, forgiveness, war crimes, vengeance, and justice. He interpreted Amy's comment about the Doctor's behavior due to being alone too long to mean that loosening ties to other human beings can change how one treats matters of mercy and justice. McGrath also noted a take-home religious message in the scene where the town gathers in the church during the face-off, emphasizing the importance of valuing human life.

Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph wrote that the Western concept was effectively window-dressing for a powerful morality tale exploring issues of morality, ethics, conscience, and justice. The A.V. Club reviewer Keith Phipps noted the common Western theme of the struggle between order and chaos, represented by the question of whether lawless revenge or civilized justice should win. Ian Berriman of SFX interpreted the border around Mercy as a metaphor for the Doctor nearly crossing the line and breaking his own moral code, likening the debate to that in Genesis of the Daleks and Resurrection of the Daleks.

Reviewers noted that the episode presented characters with shades of grey rather than black-and-white villains typical of the show.

Broadcast and reception

A Town Called Mercy aired on BBC One and BBC One HD in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2012, with a simultaneous broadcast on BBC America in the United States. Its overnight ratings hit 6.6 million live viewers, the highest live viewership for any episode of the seventh series up to that point. It ranked as the third most-watched programme of the day and became the most popular show on BBC iPlayer the following day, later securing third place on the iPlayer chart for September with 1.4 million requests. When consolidated figures were calculated, the total rose to 8.42 million, surpassing Asylum of the Daleks to become the series' highest-rated episode. It also earned an Appreciation Index score of 85, classified as excellent.

Critics generally responded well. Matt Risley of IGN gave it 8.5 out of 10, describing it as a weighty, progressive, sumptuous, and entertaining adventure, and praising the mood and the Doctor's moral uncertainty. Dan Martin of The Guardian called it a complex morality dilemma with sharp dialogue, highlighting Karen Gillan as the real star of the episode. Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club awarded a B+, noting the episode's sustained focus on morality.

Gavin Fuller of The Telegraph gave four out of five stars, calling it an absorbing, thoughtful, adult piece of drama and praising Matt Smith's toned-down performance and his conversations with the character Jex. He also commended the well-crafted scene between the Doctor and Amy, but felt the episode wasted the talents of Gillan and Arthur Darvill due to their limited roles. Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy also gave four stars, commending the Western atmosphere and the handling of the Doctor's darker side, and noting that Ben Browder brought an American authenticity a British actor might not have. Like Fuller, he considered Amy and Rory's sidelined role one of the few downsides.