4 episodes
Aired between 30th April 1966 and 21st May 1966
Written by Donald Cotton
Produced by Innes Lloyd
Directed by Rex Tucker
Synopsis
The TARDIS arrives in Tombstone, Arizona during the 1800's. The Doctor is in pain from the sweet he ate, and needs a tooth out. When he finds out he's in the Wild West, he's a little bit apprehensive, but Steven and Dodo are really excited and rush off to change into cowboy outfits.
Over at the Last Chance Saloon, Seth Harper meets three brothers of the Clanton family: Finneas, Billy and Ike. They're in town looking for Doc Holliday to kill him in revenge for Holliday shooting their brother. Seth's adamant that Holiday is a gambler and a drinker, so if they hang out in the saloon, then he'll show up eventually.
Back at the TARDIS, Steven and Dodo are messing about outside with their guns and concocting silly cliche wild west names. It's not long before they encounter Wyatt Earp who warns them to not go looking for trouble.
Kate Fisher, a Saloon girl at the Last Chance nips out of the saloon to warn Doc Holliday that the Clantons are here. Doc is just setting up his own business as a dentist and refuses to get out of town.
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo acquaint themselves with Wyatt and his deputy, Bat Masterson and pose as travelling entertainers: Doctor Calligeri, Steven Regret, and Dodo Dupont. The group decide that that they can get rooms in the Last Chance Saloon, whilst the Doctor visits Holliday's dentist store. The Doctor isn't amused at the primitive conditions of the dentist, and when he catches Holliday and Kate canoodling in the back room, he tries to use it as an excuse to leave. Doc is very happy to have a customer however and pressures the Doctor into going through with it, despite the absence of anesthetic.
Dodo and Steven go to the Last Chance and sign in as entertainers. Charlie the barman is over the moon and invites them to take jobs there as the last pianist was shot. The pair kindly refuse and head upstairs, agreeing to leave a key at the bar for the Doctor. As they leave, the Clantons hear them mention the Doctor's name, and assume they are friends of "Doc" Holliday. They come up with a plan to get Steven and Dodo back downstairs whilst Seth checks out the dentist.
With the procedure complete, Doc Holliday takes the tooth away, whilst the Doctor stays and grumbles. Whilst Doc is away, Seth comes in and asks him if he's Doc, which the bemused Doctor replies yes. Seth then asks "Holliday?" which the Doctor gets the wrong end of the stick and replies "well, yes, I suppose I am." Pleased with himself, Seth invites the Doctor over to the saloon, as there are some old friends who really want to meet him.
Doc Holliday overhears all this, and decides to use the Doctor, loaning him his gun and sending him packing to the saloon.
Back at the Last Chance, Steven and Dodo are brought downstairs and forced to play and sing at gunpoint, whilst the Clantons prepare to gun "Holliday" down as soon as he enters.
Unknown to the real Holliday, Kate decides to return to the Saloon and distracts the Clantons by forcing Dodo off the piano and making Steven play it whilst she sings. Dodo storms off to her room in a huff.
Eventually, the Doctor turns up and the Clantons do mistake him for Holliday, making it all the more real by the fact that he's carrying a gun with Holliday's name engraved on it.
None of them see Doc Holliday sneak in the back way and go upstairs. On his way up, he shoots a gun out of the Clanton's hand, making it look like the Doctor was the one who fired. Kate takes the gun and holds the Clantons up, telling the Doctor to cover them with the guns. Wyatt and Masterson turn up and see that the Doctor's holding the Clanton's to ransom. He has no choice but to arrest the Doctor, leaving Steven alone to deal with the mean outlaws.
Kate meanwhile sneaks upstairs and joins Holliday who is holding Dodo hostage. Holliday's plan is to simply wait for the Clanton's to leave.
Earp takes the Doctor to jail, and locks him up, suggesting that whilst ever the Clanton's think he's Holliday, it's best to stay in jail. Earp sets off out to warn the real Holliday to get out of town.
Back in the saloon, poor Steven tries to convince the menacing Clanton's that the Doctor isn't Doc Holliday. They manipulate him into suggesting a prison break and say they'll support him, obviously lying. Steven leaves to implement the plan, but the outlaws send Finneas to follow him, in case he tries to make a break for it.
Upstairs, Holliday's drinking habit gets the better of him, and he's forced to sneak back to the dentist to pick up his bottle of whiskey. Whilst there, he meets Earp, who tells him to leave as he'll be telling the Clanton's the truth about the Doctor in the morning. Holliday reluctantly agrees and returns to Kate and Dodo, making them come with him.
Steven visits the jail, passing the Doctor a pistol through the window bars and saying he's got a plan. The Doctor doesn't agree and tells Steven to go back to the TARDIS and wait there until morning, when Dodo and the Doctor will join him. He then tells Masterson immediately of the intended prison break and hands the gun over.
Phinneas catches Steven going to the TARDIS and brings him back to the Clantons. The outlaws incite a lynch mob to go and hang who they believe is Holliday, and if Wyatt Earp doesn't release him, then they'll hang Steven instead. Seth Harper stays in the saloon.
As Doc, Kate and Dodo come downstairs to leave, they meet Seth, who overhears them calling him Doc. He realises the mistake, but it's too late as Doc Holliday guns the man down,
The Doctor is visibly disturbed that Steven might be hanged and insists on going outside to clear up the misunderstanding. Wyatt and Masterson refuse, and disperse the mob by keeping them occupied until Wyatt can circle round the back and knock Phinneas out with the butt of his gun. Begrudgingly the townsfolk disperse, leaving only the Clanton's to deal with. They're not happy with the situation, and even less so when Wyatt insists on arresting the unconscious Phinneas for inciting a riot. They're only sated when Charlie the Barman runs over and tells them what happened with Seth Harper, and the fact that Holliday cut out of town with Kate and Dodo in tow.
The Clantons return with Charlie the Barman back to the Saloon, where they meet with their Pa, who says they're all incompetent to do the job, and he's looking to hire Johnny Ringo for $500. They leave to go find him.
With the mistake cleared up, the Doctor is free to go. He insists that he, Steven and Dodo will be gone by sun up and they return to the Saloon.
Whilst they're in their rooms, Johnny Ringo turns up at the Last Chance and tells Charlie the Barman that he's after Holliday too. Charlie the Barman blabs about the Clanton's plan and irritates Ringo, who ends up killing him.
The following morning, Dodo confronts Doc Holliday in a saloon they stayed in overnight. She holds him at gunpoint and demands that he takes her back to Tombstone. Doc agrees, as he's no intention of leaving Wyatt Earp in the lurch to deal with the Clantons. He orders Kate to stay in the town and he'll come back for her.
At the Last Chance, the Doctor and Steven come downstairs to find Charlie dead on the bar, and Johnny Ringo sat at a table. They soon discover who he is, but unfortunately, in the process, they reveal that they're looking for Doc Holliday (to find Dodo).
Johnny suggests Steven rides with him to find them, but warns Steven that he wont hesitate to shoot him if he gets in the way. Steven reluctantly agrees and goes off with Ringo.
Back at the jail, Wyatt is met by his younger brother, Warren. He says that his other two brothers are too busy to answer Wyatts previous call for help against the Clantons. When the Doctor arrives and informs them of Ringo, Wyatt and Masterson go out to find the gunfighter, hoping to convince him not to side with the Clanton's. They leave Warren in charge of their prisoner, Phinneas.
Steven and Ringo arrive in a nearby town by sundown and split up to begin searching for Holliday. Ringo soon comes across Kate, who lies and says Holliday cheated on her with Dodo and they left for New Mexico. Ringo takes her hostage and gets Steven to ride back to Tombstone.
At the jailhouse, Ike and Billy Clanton bust their brother, Phinneas out of jail, shooting Warren in the process.
Having not found Ringo, Earp and Masterson join the Doctor in the saloon and take care of Charlie's body. They deputise the Doctor to help them deal with the Clantons, even though he is adamant he will not use violence. Shortly afterwards, Virgil Earp turns up and says he's managed to make it after all. The lawmen are now more confident and go back to the jail, finding Warren mortally wounded. He tells them that it was the Clantons before he dies, which sends Wyatt into a rage. Masterson says they can't go out and kill the Clantons because it's against the law, but Wyatt doesn't care. He sends Virgil out to the Clanton's house to call them out to the OK corral at sun up for a showdown.
The Clantons meanwhile return to their home and tell their Pa what they've done. They find Ringo there, who has taken Steven and Kate as hostages. Pa Clanton is furious, as killing Warren has really started a war.
Virgil turns up to call them out, and Ringo hides, not wanting to show the lawmen their full hand. Virgil is allowed to leave, and Ringo returns, coming up with a plan to keep the lawmen occupied whilst he shoots them in the back. The Clanton's don't like the cowardly plan, but aren't about to argue with Ringo.
Back in the jail, the Doctor tries to make Wyatt see sense, but he's not interested. Virgil returns and says he knows Ringo was there because he saw his horse. He also tells them that Steven and Kate were hostage. Things look pretty bad until Doc Holliday returns with Dodo and vows to help the Earps.
The Doctor returns his gun to Holliday and they begin to make their plans.
Later that night, Bat Masterson approaches the Doctor and asks him to go to the Clanton house, and insist the boys will get a fair trial if they give themselves up. Begrudgingly, the Doctor agrees, but arrives at the home after the Clanton's and Ringo have set off, meeting only Pa Clanton, Steven and Kate.
The Doctor tries to appeal to Pa Clanton, but the man is confident his sons will win.
The Clantons and Ringo get to the corral, and set up. The Earps and Holliday turn up too. Wyatt and Virgil advance, whilst Holliday hangs back to see what Ringo is up to. The shootout begins, and Ringo's plan is working, luring the lawmen into the trap whilst he circles behind them.
Just as Ringo is about to shoot Holliday in the back, Dodo runs out and warns the gunman, but in turn gets captured by Ringo.
Ringo demands Holliday throws his gun away, which he does. Johnny thinks he's won, but Dodo manages to escape, throwing Ringo to the ground in the process. This gives Holliday enough time to pull out a tiny derringer pistol and shoot Ringo dead.
Soon the tide turns and the Clanton's are all killed. The gunfight is over.
Some time later, the Doctor, Steven and Dodo return to the TARDIS with Doc and Kate. Doc tells them that he's a wanted man now, and Wyatt is no longer a Sheriff because of his involvement in the fighting. Kate and Doc plan to leave town, quick, and give the TARDIS crew a wanted poster with his face on it as a souvenir.
With Kate and Doc gone, the group enter the TARDIS and set off again, dematerilising where the Doctor believes is the far future, somewhere in an age of absolute prosperity.
As they leave the TARDIS, a savage looking caveman is picked up on the scanner.
Trivia
- Lynda Barron, who played a pirate later on in Doctor Who (see Enlightenment), but is perhaps best known as her role of Nurse Gladys Emmanuel from Open All Hours, sang the narrating song in this story.
- This was the last Doctor Who story until 2005, to have individual chapter names. From hereon in, only The proper story titles will be used on screen. Now I've got here, it feels kind of like the end of an era :'(
- Patrick Troughton was originally cast as Johnny Ringo, but he was too busy in the end
- Anthony Jacobs played Doc Holiday. His son, Matthew, visited the set whilst it was being filmed, and would eventually go on to write the 1995 TV movie for the Eight Doctor.
- Across the decades, fans have hated on this story, and the audience appreciation figures at the time seemed to back those arguments up. Innes Lloyd took the opportunity to drag Doctor Who away from the historical / futuristic format, and so this was the last historical that didn't have some kind of alien involvement in it. Indeed, until the mid 80's, any historical episodes would shy away from important historical figures altogether.
What worked
- The plot, although it's a bit convoluted, is not half bad
- On the odd occasion, some of the jokes work
What didn't work
- The accents
- Riverside studio is too small to do a western, although they do good with the size the have, it's still pretty cramped. This is seen more than ever when the outlaws begin firing at the start of the battle, and they're probably ten feet away at the most, but don't hit anything!
- A lot of the acting makes it look like a stage play
- For the first episode, the narrating song is a fresh and unusual treat. From episode 2 onwards, it gets really, really, really annoying!
Overall Feelings
This is one of the very few times that Doctor Who tries to represent American history. A whole lot of it is wrong, but that doesn't matter because we've moved well beyond Lucarotti's scripts now, with the intention to educate. This story is here purely to entertain. In fact, it was intended to be in a similar vein to the Roman's.
In part, the comedy works, and if like the Romans, the parts were played straight, without resorting to awful american accents, then the production team might have gotten away with it. The fact is they didn't. The sets, while good, are cramped, and the acting is more like a stage play, and quite wooden in parts.
This was an ambitious move by the new producer, and you only have to look at Steven and Dodo when they change into "western clothes" to clearly see that it sends up some of the Hollywood cliche's. This was a state of the times in 1966, when tougher, grittier westerns were coming out, such as the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Perhaps it's unfair to liken the Gunfighters to these, but even up to the more "cheesy" westerns, this story just can't compete.
Despite this, as soon as Charlie the Barman dies (whom I curiously enough quite liked for his awful accent), things pick up quite quick and we make a Myth Makers style transition from comedy to all out death. Ultimately, the set and the budget lets an otherwise half decent story down. Well, that and that irritating narrative song.
Rating
5 out of 10
Lots of potential, nice sets if a little too small. The music is innovative but waaay too overused
Rewatchability Factor
3 out of 10
Can't stand to watch this too often. Why? Yes, pard'ner, you guessed it. The music is THAT irritating!
Watch this if you liked...
- A Town Called Mercy (Doctor Who Series 7)
Consulting the Matrix
Should Doctor Who have focused on more American history? If so, what period would you have liked to see?
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