The Gunfighters

The Gunfighters is a product of its time. Westerns were all the rage in the US and this serial isn't too far off in quality from a lot of the popular output of the era. It may not be Gunsmoke but the story is good enough for a genre experiment. The plot is a little drawn out for a mistaken identity / escape story but at 4 episodes it's less bloated than some of the other 1st Doctor stories. The thing that kills the episode for me is the recurring Last Chance Saloon song that is woven throughout the serial. It's not terrible on its own but as frequently as it plays it becomes nearly unbearable and makes finishing the story a chore. As much as I dislike the episode it's still unique enough that it's worth watching once although I wouldn't recommend more than that or fault anyone for giving up partway through.

The Gunfighters is a 4 part story beginning with A Holiday For The Doctor.

This story is a mostly comedic escapade for the TARDIS crew in the wild west. The comedy works well at times but not very well most of the time. The drama too only works well at times, often not being successfully executed.

It is set around the lead up to the gunfight at the OK Corral in the wild west town of Tombstone 1881. William Hartnell is very good in this story and Peter Purves is also mostly strong but most other performances are pretty poor and overall the story is unsuccessful in its writing (Donald Cotton's script becomes mostly silly) and disappointing in its on screen production values (the accents and linking 'ballad' are mostly cringeworthy). On the plus side there are scenes particularly in parts 1 and 2 which are fun in many ways but a lot of the guest character's acting can feel like an embarrassment in the show's history at times, particularly in the pretty poor third episode, with silly scenes and dodgy accents.

An interesting attempt to do something different is let down by producer Innes Lloyd and script editor Gerry Davis dislike of historical stories and by being not very well executed. It is a reasonably entertaining romp early on at least.

My Ratings: Episodes 1 & 2 - 6/10, Episode 3 - 4/10, Episode 4 - 5/10

Overall: 5.25/10

The Gunfighters has been an oft-maligned story for years. The premise is bizarre: Doctor Who as a Musical Western Comedy Drama with the events leading up to the Gun Fight at the OK Corral.

I was surprised to find it was very well-done. Well, there are a few dubious accents, most were as plausible as accents you'd see on American television at the time. The first two episodes were played more for comedy and there were very well done with some hilarious moments. The final episode in particular is more dramatic and despite being a bit over-the-top by today's standards, it'd stand up against most Westerns being made in America at the time.

While Steven has a couple off, this is one of William Hartnell's best performances as the Doctor. He's obviously enjoying the story which makes it even that more pleasurable to watch. Dodo is also far better than usual in this. The guest cast is also generally strong, with special plaudits going to Anthony Jacobs as Doc Holiday. He makes every scene he's in so much better.

For a soundstage Western, everything looks superb. The direction is great as all the key scenes look authentic. Most importantly, the gun fight is very well staged.

Even the maligned musical number works, as it gives the story some Western atmosphere. Of course, it's a bit of an ear worm and it's odd that there's only one song across all four episodes, a fact the series mocks at the start of Episode 2 in a very self-aware story.

Overall, one of my favorite of the historicals.