The Gunfighters (TV story)

The Gunfighters was the eighth story of season 3 of Doctor Who. Its final episode, "The O. K. Corral", was the last individually-titled episode until The Five Doctors, the ninety-minute 20th Anniversary special.

This story saw Doctor Who's take on the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. William Hartnell would later claim that the wild west setting was his idea. The director, Rex Tucker, was originally chosen to direct An Unearthly Child but filming interfered with a holiday he had booked. This was Tucker's only Who credit.

The Gunfighters was the only serial to have a song written especially for it until The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, decades later. The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon was sung of screen by Lynda Baron who would later appear in Enlightenment.

The poor ratings received by The Gunfighters strengthened Donald Cotton's argument that historical stories should be axed.

Synopsis
Arriving in the town of Tombstone, the Doctor finds himself involved with gunmen, out to kill Doc Holliday...

A Holiday for the Doctor (1)
Having eaten one of Cyril's sweets, the Doctor has toothache. The TARDIS lands and Steven and Dodo are overjoyed to be in the "wild west". They meet the local marshal, Wyatt Earp, who introduces them to the sheriff, Bat Masterson.

Meanwhile, the Clantons (Ike, Phineas and Billy) meet Seth Harper in the O.K. Corral. They hunting Doc Holliday with the intention to kill him. The singer, Kate Fisher, leaves and goes to warn Doc who has just started a new business venture as a dentist. The Doctor visits him and has his tooth removed.

Steven and Dodo visit the O.K. Corral and the Clantons and Seth overhear them mentioning "the Doc", an individual they take to be Holliday. Steven and Dodo book rooms for themselves and the Doctor, leaving his key with Charlie, the bartender. Seth goes to Holliday's dentistry and meets the Doctor, telling him to go to the O.K. Corral. Seeing it as a chance to escape his hunters, Holliday gives the Doctor some of his possessions, notably a gun with his name engraved upon it.

Seth returns to the bar and, fearing he'll shoot them in the back in the event of a gunfight, they force Steven and Dodo to perform a song. Dodo plays the piano while Steven sings The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon. The Clantons and Seth ready themselves to shoot Holliday as he come through the door. Outside, the Doctor approaches the O.K. Corral.

Cast

 * The Doctor - William Hartnell
 * Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
 * Dodo Chaplet - Jackie Lane
 * Ike Clanton - William Hurndell
 * Phineas Clanton - Maurice Good
 * Billy Clanton - David Cole
 * Kate Fisher - Sheena Marshe
 * Seth Harper - Shane Rimmer
 * Charlie - David Graham
 * Wyatt Earp - John Alderson
 * Doc Holliday - Anthony Jacobs
 * Bat Masterson - Richard Beale
 * Pa Clanton - Reed De Rouen
 * Johnny Ringo - Laurence Payne
 * Warren Earp - Martyn Huntley
 * Virgil Earp - Victor Carin

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Tom O'Sullivan
 * Ballad Music - Tristram Cary
 * Costumes - Daphne Dare
 * Designer - Barry Newbury
 * Film Cameraman - Ken Westbury
 * Film Editor - Les Newman
 * Lyrics - Donald Cotton, Rex Tucker
 * Make-Up - Sonia Markham
 * Producer - Innes Lloyd
 * Production Assistant - Tristan de Vere Cole, Angela Gordon
 * Script Editor - Gerry Davis
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - George Summers
 * Studio Sound - Colin Dixon
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer

Story notes

 * This story had the working titles; The Gun-Fighters and The Gunslingers.
 * Thunderbirds voice artistes David 'Brains' Graham and Shane 'Scott Tracy' Rimmer appear as Charlie the barman and Seth Harper respectively. Graham had also provided Dalek voices for a number of earlier Doctor Who stories.
 * The caption at the end of the final episode reads Next Episode: Dr. Who and the Savages. The Gunfighters was the last story to have individual episode titles.
 * Patrick Troughton was one of the actors considered for the role of Johnny Ringo.
 * The serial features an original song, "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon", the last time an original song would be commissioned for the series until the rap song featured in DW: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. "Ballad" is performed off-screen by Lynda Baron, who years later would appear in the serial Enlightenment.
 * Episode 1 carries the title "A Holiday for the Doctor", the first and only episode of the original series to incorporate the "correct" name of The Doctor (as opposed to an episode of The Chase called "The Death of Doctor Who" and the 1970 serial Doctor Who and the Silurians, both of which used the technically incorrect "Doctor Who"). The only other televised episodes (to date) to include the name "The Doctor" in an episode title were the 2005 episode The Doctor Dances, the 2008 episode The Doctor's Daughter, and the 2010 episode Vincent and the Doctor, as well as the 2011 episode The Doctor's Wife.
 * This was the first full and only serial to take place completely within the United States. It would be 30 years until another US-set story was filmed as the 1996 TV movie, and the next regular episode to be set within the US wouldn't air until Dalek in 2005.
 * Contains an example of The "Doctor Who?" running joke - When introducing himself and his companions to Bat Masterson, the Doctor creates aliases for the group, and says of himself, "And lastly, sir, your humble servant, Doctor, er, Caligari." Masterson, confused, asks, "Doctor who?" to which the Doctor responds, "Yes, quite right."
 * Both Dodo and Steven can play the Piano.

Ratings

 * A Holiday For The Doctor (30/04/1966 17:50) - 6.5 million viewers
 * Don't Shoot The Pianist (07/05/1966 17:50) - 6.6 million viewers
 * Johnny Ringo (14/05/1966 17:55) - 6.2 million viewers
 * The O.K. Corral (21/05/1966 17:50) - 5.7 million viewers

Myths

 * The Gunfighters was the lowest-rated Doctor Who story ever. (There were a number of stories with lower ratings, including The Savages, The War Machines and The Smugglers.)
 * A similar rumor holds that The Gunfighters is consistently the lowest-ranked story among fans. (While it may have at one point held this dishonor, the last few polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine place the story 20 points or more above the bottom)
 * Sheena Marshe, who played Kate Fisher, was director Rex Tucker's daughter. (She was unrelated to him; his daughter Jane Tucker, later to find fame as one third of the Rod, Jane and Freddy group of children's entertainers, did however appear as a walk-on in the story.)

Filming locations

 * Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
 * BBC Television Centre (TC4), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

 * The Clanton gang have unconvincing American accents.

Continuity

 * Directly follows DW: The Celestial Toymaker.
 * The Doctor returns to the 'Wild West' 1880s in NSA: Peacemaker.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after DW: The Celestial Toymaker
 * This story occurs before ST: 64 Carlysle Street

Home video and audio releases

 * Video Release - Released as "Doctor Who: The Gunfighters"
 * UK Release: November 2002 / US Release: October 2003
 * PAL - BBC Video BBCV7277
 * NTSC - Warner Video
 * Released as part of The First Doctor Collection in the UK (BBCV 7268)
 * Released as part of The End of the Universe Collection in the US


 * Editing for VHS release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.
 * There is a small error in the restoration, as the OK Corral gunfight was VidFIREd despite it being shot on film.


 * To be released on DVD in 2011 as part of a boxset called Earthstory which also includes The Awakening, as confirmed by Doctor Who Magazine 430 (13th January 2011). Extras include a commentary, the Tomorrow's Times feature on the First Doctor and a documentary (called End of the Line?).

Novelisation and its audiobook

 * Main article: The Gunfighters (novelisation)

Novelised as The Gunfighters in 1986 by Donald Cotton. Cotton's book contains many differences from the televised story, including a startling moment where the Doctor initially takes Doc Holliday's place in the gunfight, and actually triggers it by accidentially discharging his firearm and apparently killing two men.