The Gunfighters [Doctor Who, Story 25]

The Gunfighters by Donald Cotton

30 April - 21 May 1966

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Before talking about The Gunfighters, I'd like to take a moment to doff my hat to the individual episode titles, as this is the last time in the classic series that we shall see them. Though changing very little about the day-to-day facts of the show, it is still noteworthy that this marks a departure from the original format of the series as an ever-evolving serial made up of many episodes, like the golden age science-fiction of yesteryear, and into a subtly different format where discrete stories are told across multiple parts every few weeks. This change has been happening since Season One, with the fully serialized format only really being obvious in the initial run of 13 episodes. It is still noticeable as a break with the past in a period where these breaks are coming faster and more often. It wasn't at all obvious in The Daleks' Master Plan, just a few months ago, that we were getting into the final days of the Hartnell era, but it is starting to become more so here, as the episodes which don't feature or which marginalize the Doctor are beginning to become more obvious. The new production team has a vision, and unfortunately it's rather clear that this vision, ultimately, does not include William Hartnell.

About The Gunfighters specifically, then. This is a little less funny than Cotton's previous effort (The Myth Makers), but still has more than a few amusing moments, particularly the one where Steven and Dodo are forced at gunpoint to play the Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon. And ugh, that song! I wasn't that annoyed with it as I watched, but now that it's been stuck in my head for days it's starting to wear on me. Please send help.

The first two episodes are very fun and mix the TARDIS crew's antics with the Old West farce quite well, but I was a little let down in the latter half of the serial when the focus turned to the titular gunfighters themselves and the main cast stopped mattering to the ongoing story. It swiftly turned from "Doctor Who parodies Old Westerns" to something more like Doctor Who standing by the sidelines while a somewhat lackluster Old Western just plays out around them. It's a little disappointing that this serial couldn't have been just a little more, but The Gunfighters remains fun and entertaining, albeit not entirely substantial. I don't have any more to add for now, so The Savages is next.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 3 May 2020.)