Modern Series Episode 95:
A Town Called Mercy
The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in Mercy, a frontier town in the Old
West which boasts electricity a decade too early. Mercy is being
terrorised by a murderous cyborg in his search for Kahler-Jex, an alien
surgeon who took refuge there after his spaceship crashed in the nearby
desert. The townsfolk -- led by their marshal, Isaac -- are determined
to safeguard Kahler-Jex, but supplies and morale are beginning to run
low. As the Doctor uncovers the sordid history between Kahler-Jex and
the cyborg, he begins to realise that, sometimes, the line between
victim and monster is very blurry indeed.
Movies set in the American Wild West were popular from the earliest days
of the cinema, and never more so than during the Forties and Fifties, in
the hands of filmmakers like John Ford and Howard Hawks. The Sixties
then saw the rise of low-budget “Spaghetti Western”,
typically made by Italian directors in Spain and Italy. Perhaps the most
acclaimed Spaghetti Westerns were three movies directed by Sergio Leone
and starring Clint Eastwood as the “Man With No Name” --
Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful Of Dollars, 1964),
Per qualche dollaro in più (For A Few Dollars More,
1965) and Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (The Good, The Bad
And The Ugly, 1966). Leone shot the trilogy in the Tabernas Desert,
located in the Spanish province of Almería. Wild West-style towns
and forts were built for Leone's productions, and they were subsequently
maintained as theme parks called Oasys (or “Mini Hollywood”)
and Fort Bravo (or “Texas Hollywood”).
By Season Thirty-Three, filming outside the United Kingdom had virtually
become an annual tradition for Doctor Who, dating back to 2007.
Most recently, cast and crew had visited Utah and Arizona for the Season
Thirty-Two premiere, The Impossible
Astronaut / Day Of The Moon. For the programme's next
overseas excursion, it was decided that the Doctor Who team would
travel to Almería, which suggested the inclusion of a story with a
Western setting. To develop the adventure, executive producer Steven
Moffat turned to Toby Whithouse, who had last contributed Season
Thirty-Two's The God Complex. While he
had no prior experience writing Westerns, Whithouse was fan of Leone's
work; he also admired Deadwood, a mature take on the Western
setting which had premiered on the HBO channel in 2004. For his
Doctor Who story, Whithouse sought to balance the classic tropes
of the genre with the moral complexity of modern Westerns.
The Gunslinger was initially a robot, but a cyborg offered
greater emotional depth
In the autumn of 2011, Whithouse began writing a script which became
known as “The Gunslinger”. The eponymous character was
initially a robot, but quickly became a cyborg -- called Kahler-Tec,
then modified slightly to Kahler-Tek -- because Whithouse felt that this
offered greater emotional depth. His first impulse was to depict both
Kahler-Tec and Kahler-Jex as recent arrivals on Earth, but Moffat
suggested that it would be more effective if Kahler-Jex had been
residing in the fictional town of Mercy for an extended period of time,
because it would give the residents a stronger motivation to defend
him.
At an early stage, Whithouse considered killing off Kahler-Tec partway
through the story, which would then focus on Kahler-Jex's villainy. This
approach was soon inverted, with Kahler-Jex shot to death by Isaac's
crazed father George, a character who would ultimately be dropped from
the narrative. The drama of the final act was then generated by the
cyborg's intention to punish the town that had deprived him of his
revenge. This version of “The Gunslinger” culminated in the
Doctor confronting Kahler-Tec with the projected image of a woman named
Kahler-San, who wore the same pendant as the cyborg. Although Kahler-Tec
saw through the deception, it was enough to convince him to abandon his
assault on the people of Mercy.
While he was happy with the beginning of “The Gunslinger”,
Moffat felt that Whithouse's script started to run out of steam
following the death of Kahler-Jex. It was agreed that preserving both
Kahler-Jex and Kahler-Tek through to the climax would give Whithouse
more space to explore the moral grey areas of his scenario. Moffat was
also eager to embrace the notion of the Doctor becoming a less
sympathetic figure when he was deprived of regular travelling
companions; as such, it would be the Time Lord, rather than Rory, who
would argue for Kahler-Jex to be turned over to the Gunslinger.
Furthermore, this prompted the Doctor's uncomfortable assumption of the
marshal's duties. For this element, Whithouse drew upon Harper Lee's
1960 novel To Kill A Mockingbird and its 1962 film adaptation. In
particular, the Doctor's confrontation with the townsfolk outside the
jail was inspired by a scene in which upright Southern lawyer Atticus
Finch confronted a lynch mob which had come to kill his black
client.
Ben Browder (Isaac) was the star of the science-fiction
series Farscape and Stargate SG-1
“The Gunslinger” was paired with Dinosaurs On A Spaceship to form the first
production block for Season Thirty-Three, under director Saul Metzstein.
To play Isaac, he secured the services of American actor Ben Browder,
best known as the star of two recent science-fiction series: the cult
favourite Farscape, and the latter seasons of Stargate
SG-1. Although born in Tennessee and raised in North Carolina,
Browder had attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London,
and was married to British actress Francesca Buller. As such, he was
well aware of Doctor Who, and was thrilled to have the chance to
appear in the show.
Shortly before the start of recording in 2012, the story's title became
“Mercy”. This better reflected the tone of Whithouse's
script, while avoiding comparisons with the 1982 novel The
Gunslinger, the first volume in Stephen King's popular Dark
Tower series. Then, on March 6th, the majority of the cast and crew
required for the Spanish location shoot flew out of Heathrow to Madrid,
and from there proceeded south to Almería.
Filming for “Mercy” began on March 7th, which was the only
day spent at Oasys. Its Fort Apache area provided the exterior of the
marshal's office, while scenes inside Kahler-Jex's spaceship were also
recorded. Metzstein's team shifted to Fort Bravo on March 8th; work
there continued until the 14th, with the exception of a day off on
Sunday the 11th. Each day was chiefly preoccupied with material along
the rest of Mercy's main street and in the surrounding wilderness. Other
venues represented at Fort Bravo included the saloon on the 9th and
12th, and the church on the 14th. The final day in Spain was March 15th,
when additional shots in Mercy's outskirts were completed at a ravine
between Oasys and Fort Bravo. This left only the sequences in the
marshal's office, which were recorded back at Doctor Who's usual
studio home in Upper Boat between March 19th and 21st.
In editing, the story's title became the more expansive A Town Called
Mercy, echoing Western films such as A Man Called Horse and
A Man Called Sledge, both released in 1970. Otherwise, the major
change made to the episode was the elimination of a hauntingly beautiful
melody which accompanied the appearance of Kahler-Tek. Kahler-Jex would
have revealed that he had played this music during the torturous
operation which created a cyborg in order to drown out the subject's
screams, and it had now been co-opted by Kahler-Tek. As with the other
four episodes which formed the first part of Season Thirty-Three, A
Town Called Mercy was given a uniquely stylised version of the
Doctor Who logo; it appeared to be made of wood, and was shot
through with bullet holes.
During 2011, efforts had been made to broaden the footprint of Doctor
Who by trailing select episodes with specially-filmed prequels,
released online a week or so before the corresponding story was
broadcast. For 2012, it was decided to experiment with alternative
approaches to this kind of additional content. On August 3rd, Neill
Gorton of Millennium FX directed a prequel for A Town Called
Mercy at Roath Lock Studios, Doctor Who's new facilities in
Cardiff. Entitled The Making Of The Gunslinger, the piece ran one
hundred and six seconds, and depicted the transformation of Kahler-Tek
into a cyborg under the supervision of Kahler-Jex. However, rather than
being released for free online, the BBC instead partnered with Apple's
iTunes service, which would offer the prequel for sale.
A Town Called Mercy was broadcast on September 15th. Doctor
Who's regular lead-in, Total Wipeout, was moved earlier in
the Saturday schedule to accommodate the tenth-season premiere of
Strictly Come Dancing. The next day, The Making Of The
Gunslinger became available on iTunes. This approach followed the
pattern already established two weeks earlier by the prequel for the
season premiere, Asylum Of The
Daleks.
- Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #33, Spring 2013,
“A Town Called Mercy” by Andrew Pixley, Panini UK Ltd.
- Doctor Who: The Complete History #71, 2015, “Story 228:
A Town Called Mercy”, edited by John Ainsworth, Hachette Partworks
Ltd.
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Original Transmission
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Date |
15th Sep 2012 |
Time |
7.35pm |
Duration |
44'18" |
· BBC1/HD |
8.4m |
Appreciation |
85% |
Cast
The Doctor |
Matt Smith (bio) |
Amy Pond |
Karen Gillan (bio) |
Rory Williams |
Arthur Darvill (bio) |
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
Written by |
Toby Whithouse (bio) |
Directed by |
Saul Metzstein (bio) |
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Produced by |
Marcus Wilson (bio) |
Stunt Coordinator |
Gordon Seed |
Stunt Performer |
Will Willoughby |
First Assistant Director |
Nick Brown |
Second Assistant Director |
James DeHaviland |
Third Assistant Director |
Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch |
Assistant Director |
Danielle Richards |
Location Manager |
Iwan Roberts |
Unit Manager |
Geraint Williams |
Production Manager |
Phillipa Cole |
Production Manager (Spain) |
Pere Agullo |
Production Coordinator |
Claire Hildred |
Asst Production Coordinator |
Gabriella Ricci |
Production Secretary |
Sandra Cosfeld |
Production Assistants |
Rachel Vipond |
Samantha Price |
Asst Production Accountant |
Rhys Evans |
Script Supervisor |
Lindsay Grant |
Camera Operator |
Joe Russell |
Focus Pullers |
Steve Rees |
James Scott |
Grip |
Gary Norman |
Camera Assistants |
Meg de Koning |
Sam Smithard |
Cai Thompson |
Assistant Grip |
Owen Charnley |
Sound Maintenance Engineers |
Jeff Welch |
Chris Goding |
Gaffer |
Mark Hutchings |
Best Boy |
Stephen Slocombe |
Electricians |
Bob Milton |
Gareth Sheldon |
Alan Tippetts |
Supervising Art Director |
Paul Spriggs |
Set Decorator |
Adrian Anscombe |
Production Buyer |
Charlie Lynam |
Art Director |
Amy Pickwoad |
Assistant Art Director |
Richard Hardy |
Art Department Coordinator |
Donna Shakesheff |
Prop Master |
Paul Smith |
Prop Chargehand |
Bernie Davies |
Set Dresser |
Jayne Davies |
Prop Hand |
Austin J Curtis |
Standby Props |
Phill Shellard |
Helen Atherton |
Dressing Props |
Mike Elkins |
Ian Griffin |
Tom Belton |
Graphic Artist |
Christina Tom |
Graphic Designer |
Chris J Lees |
Petty Cash Buyer |
Helen O'Leary |
Standby Carpenter |
Will Pope |
Standby Rigger |
Bryan Griffiths |
Props Makers |
Penny Howarth |
Alan Hardy |
Jamie Thomas |
Props Driver |
Gareth Fox |
Construction Manager |
Terry Horle |
Construction Chargehand |
Dean Tucker |
Assistant Costume Designer |
Fraser Purfit |
Costume Supervisor |
Carly Griffith |
Costume Assistants |
Katarina Cappellazzi |
Gemma Evans |
Make-Up Artists |
Sara Angharad |
Vivienne Simpson |
Allison Sing |
Casting Associate |
Alice Purser |
Assistant Editor |
Becky Trotman |
VFX Editor |
Joel Skinner |
Dubbing Mixer |
Tim Ricketts |
ADR Editor |
Matthew Cox |
Dialogue Editor |
Darran Clement |
Sound Effects Editor |
Paul Jefferies |
Foley Editor |
Jamie Talbutt |
Graphics |
Peter Anderson Studio |
Online Editor |
Matt Mullins |
Colourist |
Gareth Spensley |
With Thanks to |
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales |
Conducted and Orchestrated by |
Ben Foster |
Mixed by |
Jake Jackson |
Recorded by |
Gerry O'Riordan |
Original Theme Music |
Ron Grainer |
Casting Director |
Andy Pryor CDG |
Production Executive |
Julie Scott |
Post Production Supervisor |
Nerys Davies |
Production Accountant |
Jeff Dunn |
Sound Recordist |
Deian Llŷr Humphreys |
Costume Designer |
Howard Burden |
Make-Up Designer |
Barbara Southcott |
Music |
Murray Gold |
Visual Effects |
Space Digital |
Special Effects |
Real SFX |
Prosthetics |
Millennium FX |
Editor |
Tim Porter |
Production Designer |
Michael Pickwoad |
Director Of Photography |
Stephan Pehrsson |
Script Producer |
Denise Paul |
Line Producer |
Diana Barton |
Executive Producers |
Steven Moffat (bio) |
Caroline Skinner |
Working Titles
The Gunslinger |
Mercy |
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