Another one of those stories that is a mixed bag, there is so much going for and against it.

On the plus side, this is one of Hartnell's more humorous performances and his problem with his teeth, the confusion over other people's assumption he is Doc Holliday, plus his banter with Holliday himself makes for amusing entertainment. Holliday also makes it a great story and I love the way he always assumes a subservient role with Kate and later Dodo when in fact he's in control all along! I also love the way one of the Earp Brothers keeps stuttering and has to be slapped on the back to get his words out! Also love Kate in this story, but not just for the more obvious reasons! Plus I think this was the better out of the two Donald Cotton Scripts.

On the downside, there is for me, one major one problem. As has been discussed on previous threads on this story, it's the annoying singing that accompanies the story the whole way though. There's nothing wrong with the singing itself but I personally didn't feel it was necessary and I think the story could have survived as a whole without it. The Ballad Of The Last Saloon song is not a particular great one(especially when Steven tries to sing it!)

Two other things that were a disappointment for me was the killing of Charlie the Barman by Johnnie Ringo and the fact that The Doctor plays very little part in the story's resolution. Am also glad Patrick Troughton never got the role of Ringo, otherwise who knows if he'd got the part of the Second Doctor?!

I bloody love this story!

The drawback is that there are so many characters I can't work out who's who.

Best bits:

- It feels "big": the sets are all studios, but it doesn't feel enclosed (especially the "lynching" scene)

- Dodo gets summat to do

- Kate is fantastic

- The Doctor's "Mister Werp" joke never wears thin (I am smiling as I type)

- Johnny Ringo is a rotter

- The song is jaunty when it needs to be, and sinister when it needs to be. There's a cliffhanger where the song prophesies doom, which is superb!

It easily overcomes the generations of "received wisdom" that said it was crap, just because there's real fun and energy going on. I love it.

Couldn't agree more. It's a nice interesting story, with for its day, good production values. But your dead right. That bloody awfull song thats in every episode. I wish there was some way to remove it from the soundtrack.
Incidently one of the extras on the DVD is introduced by Mary Tamm Biimey she is looking good.!

I remember Mrs Chuff and I chuckling at Ms Tamm in that DVD extra. She looks terrified and very un-naturalistic.

Love the song! Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon is one of the best bits of the story for me. The "metatextual" aspect of an external aspect of the story commenting on the events on screen, and sometimes being sung by characters on screen, must be pretty unique for DW.

I would include this under the experimentation with genre that the show has (at its best) always done rather boldly. This serial is a double experiment, both with the Western genre and with that metatexual-whatever thingy. It's as audacious in its own way as Love and Monsters and equally bound to provoke extreme reactions.

That said, I think the song is used too much in the early episodes. But I think this story was Dodo's finest hour.

I first saw The Gunfighters, when it was released on video and I have to say I hated it now when that happens I hardly ever change my opinion of that story. The Gunfighters is one of those few exceptions that my opinion has changed and the more I've seen it the more I like it. Ok the characters are very cliched \and at times it's like watching one of those bad B movie Westerns from the 1930's.Perhaps at times it does all seem to be played tongue in cheek and I've even mellowed to the song so all in all The Gunfighters is a very enjoyable 4 episodes and IMO not deseving of it's poor reputation.

Poor old Dodo didn't get all that many hours, did she?! She does pretty well in The Savages (from memory of the CD) but, of course, that one is all but totally forgotten.

I sort of agree it was a bold step to have a sort of musical theme to this story but I really don't agree with musicals being done on shows like Doctor Who. Though I know there are several people out there who will disagree with me, Buffy did something similar and imvho failed miserably with it.

I'm not fond of musicals at the best of times and I think they should keep them where they belong, in stuff like High School Musical, Grease, Mary Poppins etc.

As for Dodo, I agree The Savages was more her best story. Not really keen on her in this one, though as I've already said, there are some funny moments between her and Doc Holliday.

True, The Savages was good also and I might well rate it higher if it weren't lost.

Technically The Gunfighters wasn't a 'musical' in the true sense because it didn't have sung dialogue. The ballad was always either strictly diegetic (when sung by Steven) or strictly nondiegetic (when sung by Lynda Baron).

Good point, I can accept that but still don't think singing should be part of the incidental theme of Doctor Who. I can accept a singer within the story(like Katherine Jenkins in A Xmas Carol) but within the narrative itself I just can't stand it!

An harmless little serial although as a history buff I'm more interested in what happened at the real Gunfight.

Funnily enough there was a documentary about it on PBS over the weekend

I can't remember seeing it when I was young (about 5). But I've re-watched it on You Tube....and I thought it was a nice refreshing change from the other historicals! Bit of fun and music thrown-in! The music was a bit annoying after so long though! I would give it 6/10 *

Have to agree about Mary Tamm, she has defiantly improved with age As for the song, I can't say I’m that bothered by it.

Not much of a fan of The Gunfighters overall. It didn't even feel like a Doctor Who production really. Steven and Dodo are not in it much, apart from signing and playing the piano in the Last Chance Saloon. Steven gets dragged along by the mob and is almost hung. Dodo seems to be in Doc Holliday for a good episode or so.The Doctor has a lot of off screen time also, not just at the resolution.
It is reasonably realistic setting, and the supporting cast is quite good. I just don't like it, it is just to simplistic. Some of the Hartnell historicals or experimentation with genre's have been done a litttle better. Still seen worse and it is okay, the Doctor getting set up as Doc Holliday, "yes, a holiday" when asked in the Dentists
On the song, a tad annoying, although I didn't mind the ones when some ond died, and it was a rhyme about them!

All I can say, now that this thread has been revived, is I hope the fake American accents in A Town Called Mercy are better than the ones in this. They could scarcely be worse.

Ha , from the next time trailer I think I can confirm they are better. We'll see in about 40 minutes time I suppose

Yeah, much better this time.

Some of the ones in Gunfighters weren't even trying.

One thing both stories have in common is they are both incredibly cliched. The man who sizes people for their coffins prior to a shootout, the saloon doors, duels at High Noon, even the unwelcoming saloon customers. One day someone will depart from western cliches but I doubt it!

For people to depart from the cliches I think there would have to be a renaissance of the genre (and other French things) so they could develop new classic western scenes that could spawn new cliches!

Never mind that WHAT on earth was Peter Purves wearing


talk about a gay cowboy!!!!!!

I thought this was a real duff when I first viewed it during its initial transmission and it almost put me off Doctor Who altogether.

And yes, I do remember that song too, damned irritating at the time!!

It was generally acknowledged as well that this story did put off other doctor who fans because it was reported that viewing figures were plummeting and drastic action was needed to get them back.

It did pick up quite a bit when Patrick Troughton took over the role; and it is a shame that so many of his episodes were lost owing to the tapes being wiped.

Okay have to admit when I first watched this story a few years ago I didn’t really know what to make of it but that was because I was watching stories randomly and it just seemed odd. Still don't get how it is paired with the Awakening in its boxset.

But I can honestly say as I’ve been watching through the stories in order that The Gunfighters fits with the experimental nature of this season ( 12 part Dalek stories, Doctor lite episode, Celestial toymakers , invisible aliens) and the love of building complex worlds and characters ( Masterplan various locations, Ancient Greece, Pre-reformation France)


I agree with all of your comments Daveyboy except about the Ballad. Whilst it probably is played too much in the first episode it does give the story a kind of ‘story round the campfire feel’ especialy when you get the specific verses foreshadow the bloodshed at the OK Corral
Steven’s singing is meant to be comedic and is under duress so I can forgive that.
Bill Hartnell is funny. You are right. The scene where Steven gives him a gun and he delights in trying to twirl it and his banter with Mr ‘Werp’ . Oh and the scene where he is invited to the saloon by the Clantons and seems really thrilled up until he hears their name. Very good.

I’ve seen people moan on these forums that in the historical stories of this era the Tardis characters seem on the periphery of major events but I have come to the conclusion that it is actually the right thing, the correct thing that they are because the story is more effective when the Doctor isn’t controlling the outcome. It allows us to be reflective on how we behave.


Agree with all your comments Chuff
I do love it although it feels like I shouldn't. It's guilty pleasure kind of way (much like Delta and the Bannermen). The story deftly mixes the comedy with the darker themes such as Steven's lynching, the various murders and shoot-outs

I love the scene where Johnny Ringo arrives in the saloon and the menace slowly builds with Charlie not realising his big mouth hero worship will bring out the totally ruthless gunman in Johnny.

Also the leads are very good. Someone on these forums said that Steven doesn’t really pair with another companion during his stay but I do enjoy his and Dodo’s relationship in this one. Saying that Peter Purves did say he didn’t enjoy making this story at the time, due to the song, but it doesn’t show.I think they work well together generally in Celestial Toymaker and ‘playing’ at being theatre performers here . There’s a lovely moment early on where Dodo is so excited at being in the Wild West she does a little polka with Steven and when she sees his costume says she thinks he looks fab. Dodo seems like a fun, flighty character here and when she is with Doc Holliday she seems at her most independent and strong.

I think TG is very well produced and does (considering its all studio) look very impressive. The characters are slightly overblown but the casting of the actors who play Doc Holliday, Kate, Wyatt Earp, Charlie, Johnny Ringo is very good. The Clantons have dodgy accents but I’ll ignore that!


Well the historicals always give me the impetus to look up the real characters on the internet and Donald Cotton took a few dramatic liberties for a good story !

Jane Tucker of Rainbow and Rod, Jane and Freddy fame appears as an extra in a scene in Episode 2

She was the daughter of director Rex Tucker

Like Marty in back to the future 3.

Glad you enjoyed, LOT.

First saw this story on bootleg in the Mid 80's, and it came with a reputation. Doctor Who Monthly had called it the worst Who story and it's lowest rated. The former is subjective, the latter I think is inaccurate. (Think The Smugglers was the lowest rated Sixties story? Not 100% sure...) As I hadn't seen much Hartnell at this point, my expectations were not high.....

Loved it. Entertaining, often very funny, Purves was a revelation (hadn't seen him before) and had no problem with Dodo here at all. And then there was William H, the supposedly stern Doctor I'd heard of, who is clearly having a whale of a time and is just brilliant in this! Love him walking down the street waving his gun about, oblivious to the danger.The use of the Ballad was an interesting device, though had no idea Captain Wrack was singing it!

Agree that this was a symbol of the experimentation that existed throughout the Hartnell era; a big reason why it's one of my absolute favourites and why I rate it higher than the Troughton era, which is praise indeed as that's a favourite too; just feel it could get a bit too 'samey' at times, and thought it was a shame the 'historicals' disappeared after The Highlanders.

Yeah, cracking good fun!

eta The ratings were decent, peaking at 6.6m for episode 2, the gloriously titled 'Don't Shoot The Pianist'! The last story to have individual titles....