Doctor Who Season 7 Episode 3

There were elements of this episode that I liked. A cyborg bounty hunter was cool. The Old West setting? Very nice. The wishy-washy nature of the alien experimenting doctor? Err, no. And what the hell is up with the barrier around the town? Really? Argh, no.



While I can suspend my belief about a lot of things, the whole conflict could have ended early if the Doctor hadn't gotten himself distracted by the bright white alien egg ship. Yeah, this episode is definitely NOT going to be I'll watch again.

I cannot believe all the gushing over this episode. It was sloppily written, poorly executed and generally just mediocre. The gunslinger is never fleshed out,. and the reasons he doesnt come into town and take care of his issues are never explained. He goes from a remorseless killer to being so concerned about hurting innocents as to make him completely non threatening. So why were the townsfolk afraid of him? He obviously would never hurt any of them, and was able to communicate that fact at any time. Someone just thought it would be fun to have a killer cyborg gunslinger wandering in a Dr. Who episode and this is what we got. The Doctor really does very little in this episode, and Amy is wasted. All in all, a sign of some serious decline in the standards of this show.

It's 46 years since the Doctor visited the wild west in the 1966 serial "The Gunfighters" though the show itself has moved on a millions light years.

I must admit I started watching this episode with the feeling I was not going to like it, as I'm not really into cowboys, but this one is good. In fact it is more than good.

The setting is perfect; not a quarry in sight, no dodgy ply-wood scenery and rich colour rather than the washed out look one sometimes gets.

Karen is never better than when she has a strong part to play. rather than playing the compliant companion when she tends to go all powty-wowty. What other companion could you imagine pulling a gun on the Doctor, well maybe Donna Noble, and then put everyone in their place when the gun starts firing.

The main plot finds the Doctor faced with a dilemma; does he give up a war criminal to save the people of the town, or should he take into account the good he has done for those townsfolk. Others take the easy way out of his hands.

A great episode aided by the fact that this series is unhindered by any need for a story-arc. The departure of the Ponds (sorry, Williams), the arrival of a new companion at Xmas with all the speculation which is rife after the first episode and the fact that next year is the 50th anniversary make this the most awaited and exciting series ever. For the mement it has not let us down.

Okay first off i think this episode has been the strongest of this season so far. It was proper standalone, it had some humor and it had some of the gravitas that made the Doctor, well the Oncoming storm. But lets talk about the western aspects of the episode that i just Loved. 1. Ben Browder. Gosh I love anything he's in. and this episode reminded me why. 2. The music. Had a Firefly plus spagetthi western vibe with a hint of doctor who zanyiness but all around old americana that just helped sell the episode. 3. the scenery. from the old west town to the gunslinger it was just fabulously romanticized western. Add all that flavor to lines like "I would like tea, give me the strong stuff-leave the bag in" ( some people don't like toby whitehouse scripts, but i always do)makes this for an adventure worthy of the doctor who name.