Doctor Who Reaction Series 7 - A Town called Merci
Added 2023-07-01 14:00:06 +0000 UTCCowboys? Really? I have the feeling this show is testing me :D :D
Comments
Having to play catch up with these reactions at the moment but yeah both this and the last episode is both 3/5 for me. Although while Dinosaurs ranked 114/140. This story is better at 88/140. I do like the moral storyline for the Doctor in these two stories, first with Solomon and then pulling the gun of Jax. But yeah, although enjoyable, the series does feel a bit lack lust at the moment.
Jade Ellis
2023-07-08 23:05:37 +0000 UTCI truely belive that. Must have been horrible. I´m glad for you that this situation is over now :) The idea of a What´s App group for residents is a great one. Never heard of anything like this before. But I can see it beeing really handy :) And brings the community closer together :)
Nicologik
2023-07-04 14:45:08 +0000 UTCThanks for the info about the writer. So that means I kind of have a 50/50 opinion about his episodes :D :D Well... there´s still room for improvement :) Thanks for not spoiling the fact about the Cowboy episode ahead of me :D I totally agree with you on your opinion about one off stories. They are ok, if they are strong and entertaining. :) Yeah, I get your point about the doctors jokes speaking several languages. I talked about the recurring actions, quirks or moral dilemmas. It´s getting old if it´s used to much, unfortunately. Thank you for the prequel. :) A very interesting insight, into the origins of the enemy of the episode :)
Nicologik
2023-07-04 14:42:14 +0000 UTC"See, this is what happens when you travel alone for too long.", Amy Pond, "A Town Called Mercy" FYI: IMDB lists Steven Moffat as a co-writer because he was the show runner at the time not because he was a primary writer of the episode. The writer of this episode was Toby Whithouse. Toby's previous Doctor Who writing credits were: "School Reunion", "The Vampires of Venice", and "The God Complex". He also wrote the "Greeks Bearing Gifts" episode for Torchwood - the one where Tosh had the device that could read minds. As I have mentioned before, I have no problems with one-off stories and I don't really need my series to have lots of episodes linked with a big story arc. But I do like my one-off stories to be strong stories. I like the way Doctor Who can have episodes with different story genres, so a "Western" one (or a "Pirate" one) is fine with me as long as it's fun. BTW the previous time we had a "Western"-style story in Doctor Who was way, way, way back in the black-and-white Classic Who years. And, yes, I did remember your comments about cowboy stories in your "The Curse of the Black Spot" reaction and was well aware that this episode was coming up. But we didn't spoil that fact for you! BTW, it was Matt's idea for the business with the toothpick. I am getting a little tired of the joke/info that the Doctor can speak cat and baby and horse and etc. The episode's exteriors were filmed in Spain which is a frequent European stand-in for American Wild West scenery. Actually, they also filmed those snow scenes at the start of "Asylum of the Daleks" on the same visit to Spain. I do think this episode had a stronger story premise than the previous two stories of this season and I enjoyed it more than the others. BTW the "A Town Called Mercy" episode had a prequel scene. Actually, I think it's one of the stronger prequels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp3XS8mLQic "I see Keep Out signs as suggestions more than actual orders.", The Doctor, "A Town Called Mercy" BTW The episode title is "A Town Called Mercy" not "Merci".
Andrew Vignaux
2023-07-04 09:39:06 +0000 UTCNo I wasn't always able to sleep and I felt like I was losing my sanity sometimes. But (therapy session over!) everything is much nicer now and our small street has a What's App group with a third of the 24 residents being members so we can discuss issues and share ideas. Which is great. Social media can have a positive side. I'm not a big fan of westerns but I don't mind them if they have an interesting story and characters.
Stephen Males
2023-07-03 10:27:39 +0000 UTCI agree with you about the Rory and Amy issue. I feel the very same about them. And I guess the story would have been better (for me) if it wasn´t for the Cowboy theme. But that´s a personal thing, I don´t want to blame the writers :)
Nicologik
2023-07-03 08:27:12 +0000 UTCThank you for your thoughts about the episode. I guess for me it was just the Cowboy theme that threw me off. I know it´s unfair, but I can´t help it. I´m looking forward to the next episodes though :) I´m glad you weren´t able to hear the child thumps in the video. It is really loud in my room. And it´s almost every day. my neighbours do not know that I´m making videos. I live in a really big house with 80 people, and the neighbours really do not know each other. That´s also the reason why I would never try and talk to them about the issue. I don´t know who they are or how they would react. i´m way to anxious. And I don´t want to fight with anyone. Since I´m planning to move at the end of the year anyways, I´ll try and ignore it as best as I can. Oh wow, I feel so sorry hearing that you had even worse neighbours. Were you even able to sleep? That´s awful.
Nicologik
2023-07-03 08:25:26 +0000 UTCI guess it´s also due to the fact that the last series for me was such a strong one, the best I´ve seen so far, with so many really great episodes. And getting those one off episodes now, in contrast makes them even worse, in my eyes, than they really are. But I´m really looking forward to the next episodes already :)
Nicologik
2023-07-03 08:19:57 +0000 UTCI´m looking forward to seeing those "better" episodes. And I´m not against one off episodes in general, they just have to be good. And granted, I think the Cowboy theme was to blame for me not liking this episode as much.
Nicologik
2023-07-03 08:18:18 +0000 UTCI agree about the Ponds. When I (occasionally) recall this episode I am not immediately sure whether they are actually in it.
Stephen Males
2023-07-02 17:09:58 +0000 UTCIt's not a memorable story (other than the location - although it was actually filmed in Spain); but it provides a satisfying tonal contrast to last week's story; and is all about moral dilemmas, rather than just presenting us with 45 minutes of laughs and action. My biggest issue (and this goes for series 7 so far) is that the Ponds have become virtually superfluous. The 'marriage is in trouble' angle was dropped before it had even properly started; and now, rather than being an intrinsic part of the storylines, they just follow the Doctor around, doing very little - this story would have been no different if they hadn't been in it. A pity, as Series 5 and 6 utilized them really well.
Ian Smith
2023-07-02 01:09:50 +0000 UTCI pretty much agree with Krispy K about this episode and this series. The episode is a bit filler-ish and doesn't take us anywhere. But it does have an interesting moral dilemma, if not an original one, and a pointed reference to the things people do in a war which they wouldn't do in peace time. And I did like Rory's reaction shots and his comment that his and Amy's friends had noticed them aging too rapidly! With regards to the series: again I'm in agreement that it is a really bumpy ride with a lot of fillers but that there will be some episodes to come that I absolutely love. I really hope you will too. I would rate this slightly higher than you of the iMDb people did, but only up to around 7.5 or 7.6 I think. One other point. I couldn't hear the child thumps on my pc, although I agree it can be infuriating to live below a source of intrusive noise*. Do your upstairs neighbours know that you make videos? I am assuming that they don't watch them! (I used to have people above me who threw parties until (or sometimes starting at) three in the morning)
Stephen Males
2023-07-01 17:10:54 +0000 UTCI'm sorry to hear from Nicole that the episodes you've seen so far have been weak (this season), but I'm glad you're not giving up on the series. Let's not forget that bad things don't last forever and neither do good things. The Doctor Who series will therefore bring you even more joy, but unfortunately pain, hopefully for a long time to come.
monguru (Rose Tyler fan)
2023-07-01 17:01:02 +0000 UTCMe personally I quite like this episode, I absolutely love when the Doctor gets angry and ruthless. I feel like this is a unique episode and much much better than the Pirate one. But yeah this definitely is one of those "filler/one off" episodes again. In MY opinion I think that the episodes do get better eventually but I know that there's a few episodes for sure in this series that a lot of people don't particularly like. Although at the same time there are some episodes in this series that I would consider some of my all time favourite episodes in the entire show so I'm excited to hear your opinion on them, even if you don't like them, when it comes around!
KrispyKrushems
2023-07-01 15:31:42 +0000 UTC
