Been meaning to start a thread on this for years and never have for some reason. Big fan of both the original (what I've seen/remember of it...) and the rebooted series.
Just watched the episode this morning. IMO they seem to be going to the well too often for some things. I think Amy and Rory are played out and its a good thing he's moving on. I do hope that Matt Smith holds onto the job for a while longer. We are in season seven and have gone through three doctors in the new series. That means that in the time that Tom Baker was the doctor, they have run through three. It may not seem a problem, but to me any hokey plan to give him more regenerations will ruin the concept. I can maybe see if they increase it by one using the Valyard. Not sure what to think of the idea they are pondering a female doctor. [Reply]
ASYLUM was one of the best DW episodes in a long time. It really did feel like a "mini-movie". I hope the rest of the episodes this season (4 more or 13 more, depending on how you look at it I guess...) are as good! [Reply]
I thought it was a bit odd of an episode for Doctor Who. Not bad, just different. I need to watch it again some time though - I was distracted. [Reply]
'Dinosaurs On A Spaceship' And In A Docback!! READER REACTION To DOCTOR WHO S07E02 Begins With A Spoiler Free Review From Merrick, An 'Asylum Of The Daleks' Recap, And More!!
Originally Posted by KcMizzou:
I finally started watching Dr Who. Started with "series" one of the new show. (Netflix instant) I'm 8 episodes in. Some of the effects and alien costumes are pretty cheesy, but I expected that. I like the humor and occasionally it's pretty touching. (Just finished the 'Fathers Day' Episode) Also, Rose is hot. I like it, and will continue to watch.
Some of the humorous bits and the silly aliens remind my of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
The first few seasons and the show in general are very uneven in the highs and lows. Prior to the latest doctor a few of the lows were at times very rough. Though when it works its quite good. You have probably made is past one of my favorite early episodes by now "Girl in the Fireplace". [Reply]
Doctor Who series 7 heads to the old west for Toby Whithouse's A Town Called Mercy. Our spoiler-free thoughts are here...
7.3 A Town Called Mercy
Amongst the best episodes of the last series of Doctor Who was surely Toby Whithouse's The God Complex, a richly rewarding piece of work that was willing to steer the Doctor towards much darker places. The Being Human creator has form with Doctor Who, of course, having also previously penned School Reunion and The Vampires Of Venice. But with A Town Called Mercy, he's put together something of a rarity: a Doctor Who western.
And this is a slightly darker beast, too. After the comparable lightness of Dinosaurs On A Spaceship, A Town Called Mercy pushes the Doctor to more uncomfortable emotional places than we've seen this series thus far. The cracks and strain on the Doctor are starting to show. There are no spoilers here, of course, but it is worth pointing out that, where series 7 has demonstrated the comedy skills of Matt Smith extremely well, here we get to see his strengths when things go more serious. Smith is, once again, terrific.
As for the episode itself, Whithouse certainly knows his westerns. He throws in a few more ingredients, too, with a sense of The Terminator in places, and a tip of the hat or two to the mighty Westworld in others (you might have already spotted that in the trailer, though). The early part of the episode, where he's having fun with the genre and exploring it, is arguably when A Town Called Mercy is at its strongest, and the initially fish-out-of-water Doctor does have the occasional feel of Back To The Future Part III about it. That's a very good thing.
A Town Called Mercy does a few other things, too. It tells a sci-fi/western crossover tale far better than something like the recent Cowboys & Aliens movie. It brings Amy Pond a little further forward than we've seen her the past week or two. It also exists pretty much as a standalone piece, even though there's the odd hint of an undercurrent developing. We'll be talking a little more about that once the episode has aired.
We'll be talking about the terrific production values, too. We'll never tire of saluting these, as Doctor Who has taken on three different genres this series so far, and each of them has looked outstanding. That's no small feat, and A Town Called Mercy looks the best of the lot so far.
Director Saul Metzstein has the relative luxury of a location shoot here, but then he really makes the most of it. The wild west landscapes (it was actually shot in Spain, but you'd never know) look sumptuous, and A Town Called Mercy is the most cinematic of the three episodes we've seen this series to date. The glint of sun, barren landscapes, and a town that's got its fair share of scars are all very much present and correct.
All said, though, there's still a small sense that there was a slightly better episode that could have been made out of the mix of ingredients here. A Town Called Mercy isn't on a par with the aforementioned The God Complex, although that's arguably a bit of an unfair comparison. Yet whilst appreciating that this is a very different story, it seems, ultimately, a little conventional when everything is brought together.
That's not to say A Town Called Mercy is a bad piece of television: far from it, as it happens. And perhaps we're a little too much the target audience for it: we love sci-fi, and we love westerns. As it stands, though, A Town Called Mercy is a pretty good episode, with some excellent moments, all draped in utterly glorious visuals. [Reply]
My cable company is starting to piss me off. It didn't record on Saturday. I've tried to record it twice since and its gotten the Dalek episode instead. Looks like the next showing is Saturday before the new episode. [Reply]
Originally Posted by whoman69:
My cable company is starting to piss me off. It didn't record on Saturday. I've tried to record it twice since and its gotten the Dalek episode instead. Looks like the next showing is Saturday before the new episode.
From The Pressure Cooker: Matt Smith Is Ready For Change
Actor gets set to say goodbye to his longtime companions
by MICHAEL HINMAN, posted Sep-11-2012
Source: Airlock Alpha
Matt Smith is ready to embrace some change as 'Doctor Who' continues to evolve.
BBC
Now well into this third season playing the iconic title role in "Doctor Who," Matt Smith admits that his character has changed in many ways, and just a small part of it is simply from aging.
For the first time, his Doctor will have to say good-bye to his primary companions and welcome someone new at his side. But then again, audiences are used to change by now, and Smith is starting to understand it better as well.
"The show will leave you behind if you don't change with it," Smith told Airlock Alpha and The Point Radio/Cox Media during San Diego Comic-Con in July. "The show is about change. Doctors come and go. Companions come and go. That's how it's been, and that's how it will continue to be."
Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill have now become the longest serving full-time companions in modern "Doctor Who" history as they work their way into the third season. Billie Piper's Rose Tyler was the only other long-running companion who worked alongside the Doctor for the first two seasons of the revived series, while Freema Agyeman and Catherine Tate had only single seasons with David Tennant.
When Smith and Gillan first took over following the departure of Tennant, Smith said he didn't even realize how intense things were around the franchise.
"It's always a gut-wrenching thing, having been through that experience," Smith said. It was a "very highly pressurized experience. And people didn't know if it was going to work."
Yet, Smith and Gillan were able to "hold hands creatively," and found ways to develop a strong bond in front of the camera. And at the same time, Gillan's and Darvill's character (along with Alex Kingston's River Song) have helped The Doctor evolve as well, even in that stressful environment of trying to continue the 49-year-old torch.
"You have got to battle through those moments," Smith said. "I Just had to stay true to my instincts the whole time."
"Doctor Who" has just begun its seventh season, the third involving Smith, Gillan and Darvill. It airs Saturdays on BBC and BBC America. [Reply]