As Doctor Who adventures go, ‘The Gunfighters’ has it all: history, comedy… and the series’ very first musical number! Here are five reasons to watch this underrated and divisive William Hartnell adventure from 1966…
1) The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon
Move aside, ‘The Goblin Song.’ Out of the way ‘There’s Always a Twist at the End.’ Doctor Who adventures have featured songs from the very beginning. Admittedly, they have varied in popularity, and they have been few and far between, but ‘The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon’ from ‘The Gunfighters’ is nothing if not memorable. It has its lovers, and it has its haters.
Whatever your opinion on this musical number, it does add a new dimension to this particular Doctor Who story. Sung by Lynda Baron, ‘The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon’ narrates the story as it goes along. In fact, there’s barely a scene that goes by which isn’t topped or tailed by one of its verses.
Admittedly, it does get a bit samey after hearing it for the third / ninth / 19th time, but it’s an original idea. And, of course, there is the hilarious moment where the Doctor’s companion Steven is forced to sing it at gun point, as his other companion Dodo rather skilfully plays the piano.
2) William Hartnell
This has to be one of William Hartnell’s greatest Doctor Who adventures, in terms of his performance. Sure, it’s no ‘Daleks’ Master Plan‘ or even ‘The Massacre,’ but what really shines through in this particular story is his obvious enjoyment of playing the part. He’s clearly in his element and loving every second of responding to the somewhat comical scenes which are playing out around him.
In ‘The Gunfighters,’ William Hartnell is at his doddering, eccentric best, even if his apparent naivete does stretch credulity, at times. There’s a particularly funny moment where the Doctor introduces himself as Doctor Caligari, and Masterson says “Doctor who?” Hartnell replies with an amusing, “Yes, quite right!”
It’s unclear whether this was in the original script, or whether this is something which was worked out during rehearsals, but it’s a great moment. Surely the best Doctor Who adventures are the ones which allude to his mysterious identity?
3) The accents
In the nicest possible way, the American accents in ‘The Gunfighters’ tend to vary in quality. That is not to poke fun at, or demean, the hard work of the actors concerned; convincing accents can be notoriously hard to pull off, and the imperfect performances in ‘The Gunfighters’ are all part of the story’s charm.
That being said, like all good Doctor Who adventures, this one does have its stand-out actors. Credit must go to the bartender Charlie played by the estimable David Graham. This is an actor you may well have encountered before, as he was the voice of many of the Thunderbirds characters, and also played the memorable Professor Kerensky in one of the later Doctor Who adventures ‘City of Death.’ He also voiced the Daleks in the Peter Cushing movies and the series itself, and in fact he was instrumental in devising the monsters’ original voices.
Then there is Anthony Jacobs as the famous Doc Holliday, who gives a surprisingly dark yet entertaining portrayal of Tombstone’s famous dentist. Interestingly, the role of Holliday was originally offered to the Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, who ultimately turned it down. And even more interestingly, Jacobs’ son Matthew would later pen the Doctor Who TV movie.
4) The production design
One thing that has remained consistent in the Doctor Who adventures over the years is the attention to detail in the production design, particularly with the historical stories. Undoubtedly, these Doctor Who adventures were never going to be able to compete with the big budget movies of the day, but they gave it their damnedest, and many of the stories still stand up well, such as ‘Marco Polo‘ (from the photos, at least), ‘The Reign of Terror,’ ‘The Romans’ and ‘The Crusade.’
The same is true of ‘The Gunfighters.’ Again, it’s not a patch on the popular Western movies of the 60s, but considering that the majority of this story was shot in a tiny studio in Lime Grove (which didn’t even have a proper lighting console) it looks incredible. This, surely, is a testament to the skill of the designer Barry Newbury, who managed to capture the essence of the American Old West perfectly, even going so far as to bring live horses into the studio – which the actors rode!
Yes, it’s a low budget production, it’s far from the wobbly embarrassment that some people expect. If you’ve never seen this (or any of the historical Doctor Who adventures, for that matter) then you should give it a go. You may be surprised.
5) It’s funny
Like many Doctor Who adventures, ‘The Gunfighters’ deals with a real piece of history – in this case, the famous shoot-out at the O.K. Corral between Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and the Clanton brothers. And whilst this hardly makes for obvious comedy material, ‘The Gunfighters’ is, for the most part, a fairly light-hearted and entertaining adventure. If you watch this after the more intense ‘Reign of Terror’ or ‘Dalek Invasion of Earth,’ it will come like a breath of fresh air. For better or for worse, it’s played mostly for laughs, and it’s intended to entertain rather than educate or depress.
And, as mentioned previously, much of the credit should go to William Hartnell, who is taking every opportunity to dial-up his character’s eccentricity, and is having a great time in the process. But then, all of the cast members seem to be enjoying themselves, with some particularly stand-out (and amusing performances) coming from Anthony Jacobs as Doc Holliday, and Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet.
And whilst Peter Perves (Steven) has often spoken of his dislike for his particular story (and his embarrassment at being in it!) even he turns in a fantastic performance, although he is the ‘straight man’ of the piece, maintaining his steely composure as the chaos unfolds around him.
You may not fall in love with ‘The Gunfighters’ on your first watch, but you will certainly be entertained by it – hopefully for the right reasons! Like all Doctor Who adventures, it has its lovers and its haters, but there is much to merit. “So fill up your glasses and join in the song!” You’re going to have a great ride.
What’s your favourite moment from ‘The Gunfighters’? Let us know in the comments below.
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