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.

Johnny Ringo (The Gunfighters Episode 3)

The one where it's curtains for Charlie the barman...

I was very keen on finding out whether director Rex Tucker allowed the Clantons to actually put the noose around Steven's neck, because it's a pretty grim visual for a teatime children's programme. But yes, stuttery Phineas Clanton tightens the rope around Steven's neck, which I think is taking Wild West realism a little too far for the target audience. Mind you, I'm also well aware that rough and ready depictions of the Wild West were rife on British TV screens in 1966, thanks to countless imported US Western series such as Rawhide, Wagon Train and Bonanza, so maybe I'm being too much of a 21st century snowflake? Kids in '66 could take allusions to hanging in their stride!

A quick word for Rex Tucker here. He directs The Gunfighters with lots of style and panache, indicative of an experienced man who'd been directing and producing TV since 1950. He uses high shots quite often, notably looking down on the Last Chance Saloon from the top of the stairs, but also when Holliday, Kate and Dodo arrive at the Wagon Hotel. Perhaps the most striking use of the high shot in Johnny Ringo is for the death of Charlie the barman, who lies spreadeagled across his bar, liquor sploshing from a bottle onto the floor.

Don't Shoot the Pianist (The Gunfighters Episode 2)

The one where the Doctor gets put in jail for his own protection...

The Clanton clan are gunning for Doc Holliday for his part in the murder of their brother Reuben. The trouble is, the real Doc Holliday (who's masquerading as Tombstone's resident dentist) has framed the Doctor so that the Clantons think he's who they're after. The Doctor looks the part, and is equipped with Holliday's own pistol and gun belt. How is the Doctor going to talk himself out of this one?

The fact is, he doesn't. There's plenty of delightful dialogue which William Hartnell absolutely revels in as the Doctor tries to bumble his way out of trouble, but in the end, he has to resort to the only language the Clantons understand - violence! Although the Doctor accidentally sets off his gun, it puts the Clantons on the back spur, and thanks to Kate's help, he manages to put the brothers into line.

A Holiday for the Doctor (The Gunfighters Episode 1)

The one where the Doctor has a tooth extracted without anaesthetic...

Waitaminute-what-whut!? This episode of Doctor Who opens with a song! Is it a musical? What's going on? This is highly irregular. But hang on, what's this... It's set in the Wild West! There's cowboys and horses and guns, the works! Wow, what a stunning opening to the episode - completely different, utterly refreshing and totally putting the viewer on the back foot. How many viewers back in 1966 had to check their Radio Times to make sure they had the right programme?

And look at that set! An entire Western saloon town, complete with stoops and shops, a livery store and a dusty old track down the middle. It's no surprise to see the designer for this serial was Barry Newbery, one of Doctor Who's finest ever creatives. This might be squashed into Studio 4 at Television Centre, but to be honest it looks pretty expansive. You can tell that it isn't when you see actors taking their time to cross the street, because there's nowhere else to go, but Newbery has come up with a stunning set here, which has so much detail and depth that it looks real and lived in. And director Rex Tucker affords us some lovely high shots and low shots too.