Doctor Who: 5 Unfairly Forgotten NuWho Stories
3. A Town Called Mercy
One of the defining aspects of New Who is the emphasis it places on the Doctor's morality. Whilst the classic series Doctors also had a strong moral compass, it was never as much of an issue as it is now, nor was it overly consistent. The Third Doctor, in particular, was partial to violence while his successor agonised over destroying the Daleks. Despite this, it wasn't until the seventh series that the topic was given a thorough shakedown.
Toby Whithouse's 'A Town Called Mercy' beautifully integrated the topic of the Doctor's morality into an enjoyable story. While on the surface it may look like clichéd, gimmicky "Doctor Who does a Western" fare, the Doctor's sense of right and wrong was given its first real challenge since the show returned. The Doctor tries to show mercy to someone who doesn't deserve it, but people are dying as a result and the Doctor doesn't know what to do. Whithouse's superb writing, in a line from Kahler-Jex, makes the dilemma clear:
"It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn't it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine or the physician who dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I am both bewilders you."
Why it's forgotten: Plonked unceremoniously in the middle of the first half of Series 7, this episode probably suffered from being a heavily Doctor-centric episode in what had been promised as a long goodbye for the Ponds. Other than a brief warning that the Doctor would become violent without companions to help him, Amy and Rory don't get a lot to do in this story, so it feels like an excursion rather than part of the Pond's imminent downfall.