The Gunfighters [3.8]

With the Doctor suffering from toothache, he needs to get to a dentist pronto. Even though the TARDIS lands in the barbaric ‘Wild West’, he quickly heads to Doc Holiday’s dentist’s salon to get patched up. One case of mistaken identity later, and the Doctor is being held at gunpoint by the murderous Clanton Brothers.

The crew have stumbled into the middle of a savage feud which leads inexorably to a historic shoot-out at the OK Corral. Featuring bars, brothels, fake American accents, lots of drinking and shooting (but only a single scene with a horse) this is an all-singing, all-dancing Dr Who Western.

The Majesty

There’s a lot to enjoy about this unusual little story. It’s the closest that Dr. Who ever gets to being a musical, which is a brilliant idea. I’m still holding out for a new adventure in a full-blown musical format, but in the meantime, this is the best I get! Sadly there is only one song, which gets a little repetitive, but kudos for trying. The scene where Steven and Dodo are forced at gunpoint to sing and play the piano is quite comical (though not particularly believable!)

The whole idea of the Doctor getting toothache is grand. Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp are great characters, as is the Doctor referring to the latter as Mr. Werp.

The Misery

The repetitive nature of the single song grinds slowly on. You can’t get the tune out of your head, but it doesn’t get any better the more you listen to it. And the lyrics are truly pathetic: “So the Earps and the Clantons are aiming to meet / at the OK Corral near Calamity Street / It’s the OK Corral, boys, of gunfighting fame / where the Earps and the Clantons they played out the game. / They played out the game and we never more shall / hear a story the like of the OK Corral”

Also, Westerns are supposed to be shot against wide open landscapes. A fully studio-bound story with very fake American accents never allows you to forget you are watching TV.

Magical Moments

• “How do we look?” gushes Dodo, spilling out of the TARDIS in a sterotypical Wild West smock, followed by Steven in full cowboy attire. “Absolutely absurd!” snarls the Doctor. Once again, I couldn’t agree more.
• Steven plays with his gun like a boy with a toy. Suddenly Wyatt Earp steps out of the shadows and shoots it out of his hand. “Who might you be?” splutters the Doctor. “You wanna find out – try moving fast,” rasps Earp. Brilliant entrance!
• The Doctor introduces himself as Dr Caligari – a nice little nod to German expressionist cinema of the 1920s!
• The scene where the Doctor gets his tooth treated by Doc Holliday is very comical.
• The Doctor appears to shoot a man and then coolly holds up six thugs at gunpoint. You’d never get a scene like that with Jodie Whittaker! He’s still his usual self, though. “My dear sir, I’ve no intention of ‘trying’ anything, but people keep giving me guns!”
• Ringo gets a great introductory scene with Charlie the unfortunate barman, shooting him dead just for recognising him. It’s a simple and powerful sequence which sets Ringo up immediately as a cold-hearted psychopath.
• Ringo gets equally good last words. “Thought youd’ve been quicker than that, Mr. Ringo!” taunts Doc Holiday. “I will... next time” replies Ringo, and dies.
• “Oh my dear Dodo”, laments the Doctor, “You know, you’re fast becoming a prey to every clíche-ridden convention in the American west.” Too right!

Representation

Is it any better for British actors to badly portray clichéd Americans than any other stereotype – Arabic, Chinese, African? Probably not!

In Summary

Reading ‘The Gunfighters’ as a teen, I hated it. Utterly boring, it was the worst Dr Who novelisation I had ever read. When I watched the story, as an adult, I rather enjoyed it. The comic-strip characters, the fun setting, even the rather curious motif of the song (though why-oh-why did they only have one tune!) all added to a great, light-hearted adventure. It’s not perfect but it’s unique, and that's enough for me.

Overall: 3.8