A Town Called Mercy

228 – "A Town Called Mercy"
Doctor Who episode
The cybernetic Gunslinger (Andrew Brooke) points his weapon at the Doctor (Matt Smith). Writer Toby Whithouse wanted the Gunslinger to be sympathetic and the design to be reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster.
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor)
Companions Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams)
Others Ben Browder – Isaac Adrian Scarborough – Kahler-Jex Dominic Kemp – Kahler-Mas Rob Cavazos – Walter Joanne McQuinn – Sadie Andrew Brooke – The Gunslinger Garrick Hagon – Abraham Byrd Wilkins – The Preacher Sean Benedict – Dockery
Production
Directed by	Saul Metzstein
Written by	Toby Whithouse
Produced by	Marcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Caroline Skinner
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Series	Series 7
Length	45 minutes
Originally broadcast	15 September 2012 (2012-09-15)
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" "The Power of Three"

"A Town Called Mercy" is the third episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, transmitted on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2012. It was written by Toby Whithouse and directed by Saul Metzstein.

The episode featured alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) visiting the Wild West, where they encounter a town which is cut off from the rest of the frontier until they hand over Kahler-Jex, an alien doctor, to a cyborg called the Gunslinger. However, the Gunslinger is a product of experiments by Jex to win a civil war on his planet, and the Doctor is unsure of what is the right thing to do.

Showrunner Steven Moffat pitched the Wild West theme to Whithouse when thinking of ways to give each episode a distinct theme. Whithouse further developed the theme, including classic Western tropes and a sympathetic villain. "A Town Called Mercy" and the previous episode "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" were the first to enter production for the seventh series. Much of the episode was filmed in March 2012 in the desert area of Almería, Spain, in Mini Hollywood and Fort Bravo, locations used for many Western-set films. Reviewers noted that the episode addressed a moral debate. "A Town Called Mercy" was watched by 8.42 million viewers in the UK. Critical reception was generally positive to mixed, with some critical of the Doctor's actions and pacing.