A Town Called Mercy was the sixth serial of Season 48 of Doctor Who. It was written by Toby Whithouse, directed by Nick Hurran and starred Peter Capaldi as the Thirteenth Doctor, Gemma Chan as Kelsey Haule & Tom Ellis as Richard McIntyre.
Synopsis[]
Missing Mexico by 200 miles, the Doctor ends up in Mercy, Nevada, where something's not quite right... The locals are hostile to strangers, and a border of stone and wood surrounds the town. As the Doctor soon finds out, a gunslinger is behind this, and not just an ordinary one.
Plot[]
To be added.
Cast[]
- The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
- Kelsey Haule - Gemma Chan
- Richard McIntyre - Tom Ellis
- The Gunslinger - Andrew Brooke
- Kahler-Jex - Adrian Scarborough
- Kahler-Mas - Dominic Kemp
- Sadie - Joanne McQuinn
- The Preacher - Byrd Wilkins
- Abraham - Garrick Hagon
- Isaac - Ben Browder
- Dockery - Sean Benedict
- Walter - Rob Cavazos
Crew[]
To be added.
Worldbuilding[]
- The Doctor mentions the Master and the Daleks when telling Kelsey why he is willing to let the Gunslinger take revenge on Kahler-Jex.
- The Doctor mentions Henry VIII when he describes an incident where Richard left his mobile phone charger in Henry's suites on a previous adventure.
- The Doctor rides a horse named Susan.
- The Sheriff of Mercy was not in town during this time.
Numbers[]
- 81 is mentioned.
Locations[]
- The Doctor attempts to take Kelsey and Richard to Mexico to see the Day of the Dead festival.
Technology[]
- Kahler-Jex's ship used an Abraxas Security Systems program.
Influences[]
- While Toby Whithouse had never written a western before, he was a fan of the genre, in particualr The Dollars Trilogy and Deadwood. He sought to balance the classic tropes of the genre with the moral complexity of modern Westerns.
- The Doctor's role as the reluctant defender of Kahler-Jex was inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird, in particular the scene with the mob at the jailhouse.
Notes[]
To be added.
Continuity[]
- The Doctor, in his first incarnation, has previously visited the American Old West, specifically Tombstone, Arizona in October 1881. He was deputised at that time as well, as seen in TV: The Gunfighters [+].
- When the Doctor throws Kahler-Jex to the Gunslinger, he tells Amy that today he honours all victims, Jex's victims, the Master's victims, shown in TV: Terror of the Autons etc., and the Daleks' victims, seen in TV: The Daleks etc., all of whom died because of his mercy.
Home video releases[]
DVD[]
- This story along with the other stories in Season 48 were released as Doctor Who: The Complete Forty-Eighth Season in 2012.
- This story along with the other stories in Season 48, Part 2 were released as Doctor Who: Season 48, Part 2 in 2012.
Blu-ray[]
- This story along with the other stories in Season 48 were later released as Doctor Who: The Complete Forty-Eighth Season on Blu-ray in 2012.
- This story along with the other stories in Season 48, Part 2 were released as Doctor Who: Season 48, Part 2 on Blu-ray in 2012.