Season 7 “Doctor Who” Sci-Fi Western “A Town Called Mercy”

Doctor Who producer and writer Steven Moffatt has announced details of the upcoming season at Comic-Con. Episodes include Toby Whithouse’s “A Town Called Mercy” which will air as the third episode in the season.

“It takes us into a genre Doctor Who hasn’t attempted since the 60s – it’s a full-blooded western. We knew from the start we needed some serious location shooting for this one, and given the most iconic American setting imaginable, there was only one place to go – Spain,” explained Moffatt.

The story filmed in Almeria, home to Spaghetti Westerns of the past, includes a showdown between Doctor Who (Matt Smith) and a half-human, half-robot in a western town set in the Victorian era.

The only previous journey to the Old West was when the original Doctor Who, William Hartnell visited Tombstone in a four-part story from 1966 titled ”The Gunfighters.” Full details can be found in my book “Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns” (McFarland & Co.). Autographed copies are available on request.

The Misadventures of Clark & Jefferson

A trailer promoting the 2007-2008 comic book mini-series from Ape Entertainment The Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson.  Story by Jay Carvajal.  Art by Marc Borstel.

Listed in my book as a Science Fiction Western set in 1875 Arizona where Sheriff Clark and Deputy Jefferson encounter flesh eating aliens.

High Plains Invaders (2009)

The Science Fiction Western High Plains Invaders starring James Marsters was broadcast on ScyFy recently. It was an enjoyable if unremarkable television film with a good central performance from Marsters. I am used to seeing Marsters in contemporary sci-fi and horror so it was a pleasant surprise to see him effective as a Western outlaw type.