The O.K. Corral (The Gunfighters Episode 4)

The one where the Earps and the Clantons have a showdown in Tombstone...

This episode, aside from being set in 1881, is quite historic, because it's the last one to have an individual episode title in the Classic Series run. Episodic titles would return in 2005, but for now, The O.K. Corral (complete with dots) was the last time Doctor Who had a different title every week. I must say I'll miss the weekly titles, they added much more colour to the stories, especially when Terry Nation was writing them. Between November 1963 and May 1966, you never knew when one story ended and the next began; it was like one long continuing adventure. For the next 23 years, a casual viewer tuning in and seeing it's Episode 5 might decide to skip Doctor Who and switch over to Buck Rogers instead.

So Wyatt Earp makes the Doctor his Deputy (again) but soon decides to turn from lawman to outlaw when he finds his young brother Warren (such a handsome chap!) dying on the jailhouse floor. Wyatt and brother Virgil decide to "step outside the law" in order to exact their revenge on the Clantons for the death of their sibling.

I mentioned in my review of episode 3 that the casting for The Gunfighters wasn't exactly historically accurate, as the age gaps between the real figures and the actors are often considerable. But there's also the matter of incidental accuracy. For instance, at the real Gunfight at the OK Corral (and by the way, OK stands for Old Kindersley), the Earps were joined by brother Morgan, who is mentioned here in passing when the dying Warren asks that Morgan isn't told that Phineas Clanton took his gun. So where is Morgan within Donald Cotton's fiction?

Death must have been an everyday occurrence in Tombstone judging by the detached reaction to finding Charlie's body. He's left atop the Last Chance bar, covered in a shroud. There's usually a money-grabbing funeral director in these Westerns, sizing up the corpses for coffins (see Carry On Cowboy and Doctor Who's own A Town Called Mercy), but in Tombstone, there's no such person, sadly. Which is a shame, because they could be about to clean up!

We see Virgil visit the Clantons' house (beautifully dressed by Barry Newbery) to challenge them to a gunfight, and we see Johnny Ringo agree to team up with the Clantons to kill the Earps (I thought I was watching Carry On Cowboy again when Ringo said: "I'll take 'em from behind while you face 'em!", and Billy replied: "Never figured you for a backshooter, Ringo!"). We also see the somewhat outnumbered Earps (where is Morgan when you need him?) team up with Doc Holliday to wipe out the Clantons, and the stage is set for an historic showdown at the local livestock pen.

Before that there's an all-too-brief scene between the Doctor and Dodo, quietly sitting at a table in the saloon with a glass of milk each. The Doctor ponders what to do about law enforcement in Tombstone if Wyatt Earp gets killed, but surely he's read his history books? Does he not know that Wyatt Earp survived the gunfight and lived to the ripe old age of 80, dying of cystitis in 1929? Interestingly, one of Earp's pallbearers was none other than silent Western film star Tom Mix, who the Doctor name-checks in A Holiday for the Doctor!

The gunfight itself is directed stylishly by Rex Tucker. It lasts rather longer than the real-life 30-second scuffle (and the people taking part differ wildly from true events), but it's a highly realistic shoot-out, even down to the fact the opposing sides were a only a matter of feet apart when the bullets started flying. Cotton throws some traditional jeopardy into the mix by having Dodo run into the fray and get used as a human shield by Johnny Ringo, but Doc Holliday is a better sharpshooter than them all, and manages to kill Johnny Ringo (rather too easily, to be fair), Billy Clanton and Ike Clanton (I got some satisfaction out of William Hurndell's demise, to be honest). Virgil is the one who does for stuttery Phineas.

The fact The Gunfighters is nothing close to being historically accurate is a shame, but at least Cotton's version makes for great telly. In truth, Johnny Ringo didn't die at Tombstone in 1881, but was found shot through the head under a tree in West Turkey Creek Valley in 1882. In truth, Ike Clanton didn't die at Tombstone in 1881 either, but was shot dead by lawmen in Springerville in 1887. And once again, in truth, Phineas Clanton didn't die at Tombstone at all, but died of pneumonia in Webster Springs in 1906. Young Billy Clanton was the only character in this Doctor Who story who did die during the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

The story ends quite suddenly (as it does for the Clantons), and before we know it everyone's back inside the TARDIS, having changed clothes and already materialised in a new location. It's a bit of an abrupt end to proceedings after spending so much time with the Earps, but we do get to say farewell to Doc and Kate, who walk off into the dusty sunset together.

The Gunfighters is one of those stories that fans tend to either love or loathe. It's never had the best reputation, and in the early days of organised fandom it was believed to be the least watched serial ever (it isn't, by a considerable margin). But I find it fun and energetic, refreshing in its presentation and themes. The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon does go on a bit, but it's a delightful little mechanism for assessing and summarising events on screen, and it's nicely written by Tristram Cary. There's some poor acting on offer in the serial (notably William Hurndell and David Cole), but the characters are full of life (until the end!), and Barry Newbery's sets are stunning. Rex Tucker directs with style, and Donald Cotton constructs a straightforward and exciting plot.

And William Hartnell is simply wonderful in it! As a four-week side-step in trying to do things differently, it's a success, and I love it for that.

First broadcast: May 21st 1966

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Rex Tucker directs the shoot-out with energy and style.
The Bad: Donald Cotton takes an awful lot of liberties with history, and for no obvious reason.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (story average: 7.8 out of 10)

NEXT TIME: Dr. Who and the Savages...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: A Holiday for the Doctor (episode 1); Don't Shoot the Pianist (episode 2); Johnny Ringo (episode 3)

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-gunfighters.html

The Gunfighters is available on DVD as part of the Earth Story box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Earth-Gunfighters-Awakening/dp/B004T9DSTI