Oldest profession (phrase) called “the oldest profession in the world", a profession which is carried on in Piccadilly, Regent street, and other parts of London with great energy every night … In the same year the "Pall Mall Gazette" reported a speech in which "Mrs. Ormiston Chant … implored us to stand shoulder to shoulder and destroy what Kipling has called 'the oldest profession in the world'". The phrase was frequently used as a euphemism when delicacy forbade direct reference to prostitution. Kipling was not the first to employ the phrase "the most ancient profession" in an opprobrious sense. The Irish poet Henry
A Town Called Mercy episode was dedicated to figuring out what to do with Jex rather than discovering more about him. Berriman also had two "nitpicks" that arose with the plot; the Gunslinger could just walk into the town and take Jex away, or the Doctor could take Jex away in the TARDIS. Dave Golder of the magazine labelled "A Town Called Mercy" as a "disappointing" science fiction Western episode, writing, "There are some great things about this episode ... But in a show that usually has a lot of fun reinventing TV tropes, too much of "A Town Called Mercy" feels a bit