The Gunfighters (Doctor Who)

Last updated

025 –The Gunfighters
Doctor Who serial
Gunfighters.jpg
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo meet Wyatt Earp
Cast
Others
Production
Directed by Rex Tucker
Written by Donald Cotton
Script editor Gerry Davis
Produced by Innes Lloyd
Executive producer(s)None
Music by Tristram Cary
Production codeZ
Series Season 3
Running time4 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast30 April 1966 (1966-04-30)
Last broadcast21 May 1966 (1966-05-21)
Chronology
← Preceded by
The Celestial Toymaker 		Followed by →
The Savages
List of episodes (1963–1989)

The Gunfighters is the eighth serial of the third season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who , which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 April to 21 May 1966.

Contents

The serial is set in and around the town of Tombstone, Arizona, in the Wild West. In the serial, the time traveller the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane) get themselves involved with the events leading up to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Plot

In the frontier town of Tombstone, Arizona, the troublesome Clanton brothers, Ike, Phineas and Billy, are in search of Doc Holliday to settle an old score over the death of another brother called Reuben. They meet their hired hand Seth Harper at the Last Chance Saloon. He knows what Holliday looks like and describes his coat and demeanour. This is overheard by bar singer Kate, who lets her paramour Holliday know he is in danger.

The TARDIS arrives in a nearby stable, with the First Doctor in agony from toothache. He and his companions Steven and Dodo, dressed as cowboys, encounter local marshal Wyatt Earp, who offers them his protection and warns them to keep his counsel. The Doctor finds the dentist – Holliday himself - while Dodo and Steven book rooms at the hotel. There they are mocked by the Clantons, who suspect the Doctor they refer to is Holliday himself. Seth Harper is sent to the dentist's surgery and invites the Doctor, tooth removed, to the hotel in five minutes to meet his friends. Holliday is initially happy to let him be shot in his place, allowing the real Doc to disappear, but Kate intervenes to ensure the Doctor survives. This buys some time until Holliday relents and hides in an upstairs chamber of the hotel, firing his gun at appropriate moments to con the Clantons into thinking the Doctor is indeed Holliday. Soon afterward Wyatt Earp and Sheriff Bat Masterson arrive and break up the fracas, taking the Doctor into custody for his own protection. Steven now becomes embroiled in a plot to smuggle the Doctor a gun to help free him from the jailhouse, but the Doctor refuses to be armed. Steven is then confronted by a rabble wound up by the Clantons, who are intent on lynching him as an associate of Holliday. Earp and Masterson defuse the situation and take Phin Clanton into custody to ensure the co-operation of his brothers. The Doctor and Steven are freed and told to leave town as soon as possible.

Dodo has fallen in with Kate and Doc, who both plan to leave town and take her with them. When Seth Harper stumbles across their escape plans, Holliday kills him, and the trio depart. Harper's role as aide to the Clantons is soon replaced by a new arrival, Johnny Ringo, who shoots the barman Charlie. The Doctor and Steven return to the Last Chance Saloon in search of Dodo and encounter Ringo.

Wyatt Earp's brothers Warren and Virgil arrive at Tombstone to help him enforce the law. The Doctor tells them that Ringo is in town. The other Clanton brothers visit the jail to free Phin and kill Warren Earp.

Steven heads out of town to look for Dodo with Ringo in town in search of Holliday. Steven and Kate are taken by Ringo to the Clanton ranch, where the Clantons recamp and tell their father, Pa Clanton, that they have killed an Earp. Wyatt Earp swears vengeance and starts to build a posse of lawmen to deal with the Clantons once and for all. Doc Holliday returns to Tombstone with Dodo, and offers his services to his old friend Earp too. Attempts by the Doctor to defuse the situation amount to little: there will be a gunfight at the O.K. Corral. On the one side are the three Clanton brothers and Johnny Ringo; on the other, the two Earps and Doc Holliday. At the end of the gunfight Ringo and the three Clantons are shot dead. Shortly after, the Doctor, Steven and Dodo slip away in the TARDIS.

They arrive on a strange planet, and decide to explore. As they leave, a strange man is seen approaching the TARDIS on the scanner.

Production

The working title for this story was The Gunslingers. [1] This was the last serial of the classic series to have individual episode titles. From The Savages onward, each serial had an overall title divided into numbered parts or episodes. The caption at the end of "The OK Corral" reads "Next Episode: Dr. Who and the Savages". [2]

Cast notes

Dalek voice actor David Graham played Charlie the barman. [3] He later played Kerensky in City of Death (1979). [4] Doc Holliday was played by Anthony Jacobs, whose son Matthew visited the set during production of the serial. Thirty years later, Matthew Jacobs wrote the script for the 1996 Doctor Who television movie.

Laurence Payne later played Morix in The Leisure Hive (1980) [5] and Dastari in The Two Doctors (1985). Lynda Baron would later appear in the serial Enlightenment (1983), in the role of Captain Wrack, and as Val in the 2011 episode "Closing Time".

Richard Beale, who played Bat Masterson, had previously provided the voice of a disembodied Refusian in The Ark (1966). [6]

The role of Johnny Ringo was offered to and turned down by Patrick Troughton, who would later play the Second Doctor from 1966 to 1969. [7]

Music

This story is notable for being the first Doctor Who episode to contain musical narration, in the form of the "Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon". It was sung by Lynda Baron and written by Tristram Cary. [3] The ballad itself is included as an extra on the CD soundtrack release. The notion of commissioning original songs for Doctor Who would resume when the series was revived in 2005, beginning with "Song for Ten" in "The Christmas Invasion".

Broadcast and reception

EpisodeTitleRun timeOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)  [8] 		Archive  [9]
1"A Holiday for the Doctor"23:4830 April 1966 (1966-04-30)6.516mm t/r
2"Don't Shoot the Pianist"23:477 May 1966 (1966-05-07)6.616mm t/r
3"Johnny Ringo"24:4214 May 1966 (1966-05-14)6.216mm t/r
4"The O.K. Corral"23:5321 May 1966 (1966-05-21)5.716mm t/r

A common myth is that this story has the lowest ratings of any Doctor Who story. [3] This myth likely stems from a misunderstanding of the difference between audience share and Audience Appreciation scores. The former indicates the size of the viewing audience, and the latter is based on a survey gauging the viewers' opinions of the programme. In fact the audience size for the serial ranged from 6.5 million viewers for the first episode, to 5.7 million for the last. However, the Audience Appreciation scores for the last three episodes equalled or went below the lowest scores for Doctor Who, with the very last episode, "The O.K. Corral", having a score of 30%, the lowest ever to date. [10]

That said, the story did post ratings that were disappointing by a number of different measures. The Gunfighters represented a significant decrease over the previous serial, The Celestial Toymaker , which had ranged from 7.8 to 9.4 million viewers. Each episode of The Gunfighters was also significantly lower than for the first 18 weeks of Season 3, wherein the lowest-rated week—at 7.9 million viewers—belonged to the episode "The Feast of Steven" from The Daleks' Master Plan . Each episode of the serial was also beaten by the serials which were respectively broadcast in similar April–May slots in 1965 ( The Space Museum ) and in 1964 ( The Keys of Marinus ).

While not the lowest-rated Doctor Who story of all time, or even the lowest-rated Hartnell story, The Gunfighters did open a sustained period of significantly lower ratings for the programme that lasted almost the entirety of the remainder of the First Doctor's era. Beginning with "The O.K. Corral" — the very same episode that received the lowest Audience Appreciation figures of any Doctor Who episode — no Hartnell episode topped 6 million viewers until Episode 2 of his final story, The Tenth Planet .

Contemporary viewers were unimpressed by the story; the BBC's Audience Research Report on the final episode noted several negative reactions, including: "has deteriorated from pure science-fiction into third-rate story telling", "The story was hackneyed, ridiculous and dull", "A weak and puerile plot", and "The script, even for a children's programme, was absolute rubbish". [3]

Reviewing the serial in 2009, Mark Braxton of Radio Times gave The Gunfighters a mixed review, explaining that it could divide opinion. While he praised the set design, he criticised "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon", Steven's and Dodo's costumes, and the "American" accents. Overall, he felt that the narrative could use something else, like a science fiction element or a philosophical discussion from the Doctor. [11] DVD Talk's John Sinnott gave the serial two-and-a-half out of five stars, describing it as "decent" with "a lot going for it" but marred by Purves's overacting, the accents, and especially "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon". [12] More positively, IGN reviewer Arnold T Blumburg rated the serial 7 out of 10, praising Hartnell and the production values, as well as the high energy and enthusiasm. While he also derided the ballad, he wrote that "the accents really aren't all that bad". [13] Neela Debnath of The Independent stated that younger viewers would enjoy it as an adventure, while older audiences would appreciate the satire. [14] Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping described the serial as "a comic masterpiece, winning one over with its sheer charm". [3]

Commercial releases

In print

The Gunfighters
Doctor Who The Gunfighters.jpg
Author Donald Cotton
Cover artist Andrew Skilleter
Series Doctor Who book:
Target novelisations
Release number
101
Publisher Target Books
Publication date
9 January 1986
ISBN 0-426-20195-7

A novelisation of this serial, written by Donald Cotton, was published by Target Books in July 1985. It is narrated in the first person by Doc Holliday (a framing scene introduces him on his deathbed) and makes a major change in the character of Johnny Ringo by depicting him as a student of the classics. An unabridged reading of the novelisation, spoken by Shane Rimmer, was released in February 2013.

Home media

The Gunfighters was released on VHS in a box-set containing the final three complete Hartnell-era serials to be released in this format (the others being The Sensorites and The Time Meddler ) in November 2002. The serial was released on CD in 2007, including linking narration, the entire "Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon", and a bonus interview with Peter Purves. [15] It was released on DVD on 20 June 2011, along with The Awakening , in a box-set titled Earth Story. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunfight at the O.K. Corral</span> 1881 shootout in Tombstone, Arizona, United States

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral pitted lawmen against members of a loosely organized group of cattle rustlers and horse thieves called the Cowboys on October 26, 1881. While lasting less than a minute, the gunfight has been the subject of books and films into the 21st century. Taking place in the town of Tombstone in Arizona Territory, the battle has become one archetype of the American Old West. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud between five outlaws and four representatives of the law, including three brothers. The trigger for the event was the local marshal's decision to enforce a city ordinance that prohibited the carrying of weapons into town. To enforce that ordinance, the lawmen would have to disarm the Cowboys.

<i>My Darling Clementine</i> 1946 film by John Ford

My Darling Clementine is a 1946 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp during the period leading up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature, Linda Darnell, Walter Brennan, Tim Holt, Cathy Downs and Ward Bond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doc Holliday</span> Gambler, gunfighter, and dentist in the American West (1851–1887)

John HenryHolliday, better known as Doc Holliday, was an American dentist, gambler, and gunfighter who was a close friend and associate of lawman Wyatt Earp. Holliday is best known for his role in the events surrounding and his participation in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. He developed a reputation as having killed more than a dozen men in various altercations, but modern researchers have concluded that, contrary to popular myth-making, Holliday killed only one to three men. Holliday's colorful life and character have been depicted in many books and portrayed by well-known actors in numerous movies and television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgil Earp</span> American Old West figure (1843–1905)

Virgil Walter Earp was an American lawman. He was both deputy U.S. Marshal and City Marshal of Tombstone, Arizona, when he led his younger brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. They killed brothers Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. All four lawmen were charged with murder by Ike Clanton, who had run from the gunfight. During a month-long preliminary hearing, Judge Wells Spicer exonerated the men, concluding they had been performing their duty.

<i>Tombstone</i> (film) 1993 film by George P. Cosmatos

Tombstone is a 1993 American Western film directed by George P. Cosmatos, written by Kevin Jarre, and starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, with Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, and Dana Delany in supporting roles, as well as narration by Robert Mitchum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Ringo</span> US criminal and gunfighter (1850–1882)

John Peters Ringo was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County War in Texas during which he committed his first murder. He was arrested and charged with murder. He was affiliated with Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, Ike Clanton, and Frank Stilwell during 1881–1882. He got into a confrontation in Tombstone with Doc Holliday and was suspected by Wyatt Earp of having taken part in the attempted murder of Virgil Earp and the ambush and death of Morgan Earp. Ringo was found dead with a bullet wound to his temple which was ruled a suicide. Modern writers have advanced various theories attributing his death to Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Frank Leslie or Michael O'Rourke.

<i>Gunfight at the O.K. Corral</i> (film) 1957 film by John Sturges

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is a 1957 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp and Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday, and loosely based on the actual event in 1881. The film was directed by John Sturges from a screenplay written by novelist Leon Uris. It was a remake of the 1939 film Frontier Marshall starring Randolph Scott and of John Ford's 1946 film My Darling Clementine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Claiborne</span> American outlaw (1860–1882)

Billy Claiborne was an American outlaw, cowboy, drover, miner, and gunfighter in the American Old West. He killed James Hickey in a confrontation in a saloon, but it was ruled self-defense. He was present at the beginning of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, but was unarmed and ran from the shootout. Only a year later, while drunk, he confronted gunfighter "Buckskin" Frank Leslie and was killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ike Clanton</span> Rancher and member of the Cochise County Cowboys, Arizona Territory (1847–1887)

Joseph Isaac Clanton was a member of a loose association of outlaws known as The Cowboys who clashed with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp as well as Doc Holliday. On October 26, 1881, Clanton was present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory but was unarmed and ran from the gunfight, in which his 19-year-old brother Billy was killed.

<i>Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die</i> 1942 film

Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die is a 1942 American Western film about the Gunfight at the OK Corral. It is directed by William McGann and stars Richard Dix as Wyatt Earp, Kent Taylor as Doc Holliday and Edgar Buchanan as Curly Bill Brocious. The supporting cast features Rex Bell as Virgil Earp and Victor Jory as Ike Clanton.

Donald Henry Cotton was a British writer for radio and television during the black and white era. He also wrote numerous musical revues for the stage. His work often had a comedic bent.

Mary Katherine Horony Cummings, popularly known as Big Nose Kate, was a Hungarian-born American outlaw, gambler, prostitute and longtime companion and common-law wife of Old West gambler and gunfighter Doc Holliday. "Tough, stubborn and fearless", she was educated, but chose to work as a prostitute due to the independence it provided her. She is the only woman with whom Holliday is known to have had a relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earp Vendetta Ride</span> Search by Wyatt Earp for outlaw cowboys

The Earp Vendetta Ride was a deadly search by a federal posse led by Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp for a loose confederation of outlaw "Cowboys" they believed had ambushed his brothers Virgil and Morgan Earp, maiming the former and killing the latter. The two Earp brothers had been attacked in retaliation for the deaths of three Cowboys in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. From March 20 to April 15, 1882, the federal posse searched southeast Cochise County, Arizona Territory for the men they believed were responsible for the attacks on Virgil and Morgan. Several suspects had been identified and were charged, but were soon released by the court, owing in some cases to legal technicalities and in others to the strength of alibis provided by the Cowboy gang. Wyatt subsequently pursued the suspects with a federal warrant.

<i>Hour of the Gun</i> 1967 film by John Sturges

Hour of the Gun is a 1967 Western film depicting Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday during their 1881 battles against Ike Clanton and his brothers in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the gunfight's aftermath in and around Tombstone, Arizona, starring James Garner as Earp, Jason Robards as Holliday, and Robert Ryan as Clanton. The film was directed by John Sturges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom McLaury</span> American outlaw (1853–1881)

Tom McLaury was an American outlaw. He and his brother Frank owned a ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona, Arizona Territory during the 1880s. He was a member of a gang of outlaws and cattle rustlers called the Cowboys that had ongoing conflicts with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp. The McLaury brothers repeatedly threatened the Earps because they interfered with the Cowboys' illegal activities. On October 26, 1881, Tom and Frank were both killed in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. The Tombstone shootout was his only gunfight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Clanton</span> Outlaw of the old American West (1862–1881)

William Harrison Clanton was an outlaw Cowboy in Cochise County, Arizona Territory. He, along with his father Newman Clanton and brother Ike Clanton, worked a ranch near the boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory and stole livestock from Mexico and later U.S. ranchers.

<i>Doc</i> (film) 1971 film

Doc is a 1971 American Western film, which tells the story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and of one of its protagonists, Doc Holliday. It stars Stacy Keach, Faye Dunaway, and Harris Yulin. It was directed by Frank Perry. It was the first film of his to not be written by Eleanor Perry; Pete Hamill wrote the original screenplay. The film was shot in Almeria in southern Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochise County Cowboys</span> Informal confederation of rustlers and robbers in Old West Arizona

The Cochise County Cowboys is the modern name for a loosely associated group of outlaws living in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona in the late 19th century. The term "cowboy", as opposed to "cowhand," had only begun to come into wider usage during the 1870s. In that place and time, "cowboy" was synonymous with "cattle rustler". Such thieves frequently rode across the border into Mexico and stole cattle from Mexican ranches that they then drove back across the border to sell in the United States. Some modern writers consider them to be an early form of organized crime in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O.K. Corral hearing and aftermath</span> Results following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona

The O.K. Corral hearing and aftermath was the direct result of the 30-second Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, on October 26, 1881. During that confrontation, Deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone Town Marshal Virgil Earp, Assistant Town Marshal Morgan Earp, and temporary deputy marshals Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday shot and killed Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury. Billy's brother Ike, who had repeatedly threatened to kill the Earps for some time, had been present at the gunfight but was unarmed and fled. As permitted by territory law, he filed murder charges against the Earps and Doc Holliday on October 30.

References

  1. ↑ Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark; Walker, Stephen James (1994). Doctor Who The Handbook - The First Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 126. ISBN   0-426-20430-1.
  2. ↑ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1998). "The Gunfighters: Things to watch out for...". Doctor Who: The Television Companion. London: BBC Worldwide. p. 89. ISBN   0-563-40588-0 . Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Gunfighters - Details". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - City of Death - Details". www.bbc.co.uk.
  5. ↑ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - the Leisure Hive - Details".
  6. ↑ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - the Ark - Details".
  7. ↑ "BBC Two – An Adventure in Space and Time – Rex Tucker". Bbc.co.uk. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Shaun Lyon; et al. (31 March 2007). "The Gunfighters". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 31 March 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  10. ↑ Burk, Graeme; Smith?, Robert (1 October 2013). Who's 50: The 50 Doctor Who Stories to Watch Before You Die–An Unofficial Companion. ECW Press. ISBN   9781770411661.
  11. ↑ Braxton, Mark (21 March 2009). "Doctor Who: The Gunfighters". Radio Times . Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  12. ↑ Sinnott, John (21 June 2011). "Doctor Who: The Gunfighters – Episode 25". DVD Talk . Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  13. ↑ Blumburg, Arnold T (12 July 2011). "Doctor Who–The Gunfighters DVD Review". IGN . Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  14. ↑ Debnath, Neela (21 March 2012). "Review of Doctor Who 'The Gunfighters' (Series 3)". The Independent . Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  15. ↑ Doctor Who: The Gunfighters (TV Soundtrack) (TV soundtrack). BBC Audiobooks. ASIN   1405676914.
  16. ↑ "Doctor Who: Earth Story DVD review". 28 June 2011.

Target novelisation

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