The Gunfighters represents the flip-side to what we discussed with The Celestial Toymaker last time. Whilst that story was regarded as a lost gem, until we actually got to see the final episode and hear the rest of it, so The Gunfighters was always regarded as one of the worst stories ever, which didn't even have the good grace to be lost.
It wasn't just unpopular in fan opinion, it was officially disliked by the Doctor Who production team - who used it as a reason to discontinue the Historical stories. There would be only two more stories set in history, with no science fiction elements other than the presence of the TARDIS and its crew, but these would be based more on a literary historical genre, rather than historical fact. It wasn't the viewing figures for this story which led to the producer and story editor ditching the Historicals. The Gunfighters got better ratings than some of the later "hard science fiction" stories they preferred - including the first Cyberman story. The problem was with the Audience Appreciation figures, which were the lowest they'd ever been.
The Gunfighters is by Donald Cotton - which means that we get a lot of humour for three episodes, with a bloodbath in the fourth.
Therein lies one of the three main problems with this story. Cotton's style of story structure does mean there is a sharp tonal shift. Is this a serious attempt at a Western, or a parody of one? The Clanton brothers are the main villains of the piece, but they have been presented to us as bumbling, comedic characters - meaning that the audience develops a bit of a soft spot for them. They are more popular than the supposed hero of the piece - the rather humourless Wyatt Earp. The only really villainous character is Johnny Ringo - someone who did exist but had nothing to do with the Gunfight at the OK Corral.
The character who really shines is Doc Holliday, who manages to be a villain and a good guy at the same time, a sort of anti-hero.
The second problem we have with the story is the genre - the fact that it is a Western. Cowboy films and TV series were ten a penny at the time this story was produced and broadcast. Doctor Who was supposed to offer something different, and yet here it was aping other shows which were cluttering up the TV schedules. Not everyone likes Westerns, so if you didn't like them then a Doctor Who version wasn't going to all that attractive. US TV shows were able to film in the Californian sunshine, lending a certain verisimilitude, but here the BBC are forced to recreate the town of Tombstone within the confines of Riverside Studios. We also have the issue of accents, as the BBC had a much smaller pool of US or Canadian actors to draw upon. Despite being brothers, the Clantons exhibit a diverse range of accents.
The third problem we have with The Gunfighters is that bloody song. "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon" runs throughout the story, acting like a Greek chorus to comment on the on screen action. It does get used slightly less as the story proceeds, but by then the damage has been done. It is extremely intrusive and annoying.
As far as the actual plot is concerned, major liberties have been taken. We've already mentioned that Johnny Ringo played no part in the gunfight. The actual events were not as clear cut between the Earps and the Clantons as is shown here, in terms of right and wrong sides of the law. Bat Masterson was in Tombstone with Wyatt Earp for a time at the beginning of 1881, but he was recalled to Dodge City and was not present when the OK Corral shoot-out took place. It was Virgil Earp who was the Marshal of Tombstone, so should have featured in this story from the start rather than turn up in the later stages. Also, there were three Earps present at the Gunfight, rather than two - Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan. Morgan didn't die until the following year. Seth "Snake Eyes" Harper is an entirely fictional addition to the story.
There are some plotting problems as well, as various characters go riding off to other places in the middle section of the story, yet manage to be back in Tombstone in no time at all, when the action is supposed to be taking place within a single day or night.
We see a couple of 'Wanted' posters, but they feature photographs. It would more likely be artists impressions at this time. If the Clantons know that Holliday has set himself up as the town's new dentist, why do they wait for him at the saloon, rather than go to the shop with the big false tooth hanging outside a few doors down. And surely they would at the very least have gone and had a look at him, so they knew what their intended victim actually looked like.
As we've said, this story used to be looked upon as one of the worst Doctor Who adventures ever. Once people got to see it, they didn't really mind it at all, and many enjoy the humour.
The DWM 50th Anniversary poll managed to identify 39 stories less well liked than The Gunfighters, including stories written by Steven Moffat, Russell T Davies, Robert Holmes and Neil Gaiman.
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