The Gunfighters

HOLLIDAY: I never tolerated any complaints yet

DOCTOR: Well, I'm afraid I don't touch alcohol, but a little glass of milk and I should be only too delighted.

HARPER: Doc, I would like you to meet the Clanton brothers.
DOCTOR: The Clanton brothers! Oh dear! I mean, er, how d'you do?

DOCTOR: People keep giving me guns and do I wish they wouldn't.

DOCTOR: Doc Holliday's a great friend of mine. He gave me a gun, he extracted my tooth. Good gracious me, what more do you want?

DODO: I shall try not to kill you. I shall aim for your arm.
HOLLIDAY: That's real thoughtful. Just at the moment you're aiming right between my eyes.

• We get the first "Doctor Who?" joke for a while, and it's rather a good one. Not surprising, though, as this story is crammed full of excellent jokes. And bizarre lines and top class visual jokes. 
• Steven and Dodo's reaction to being in the Wild West is so sweet. It's pretty much exactly the reaction most people would have. And the way Wyatt Earp gently but firmly tells Steven off for his exuberance is great. 
• I know it's completely against the spirit of the story to even mention acting, but even for this story William Hurndall's performance as Ike
  
  Clanton really is abominable. I only mention it because it doesn't actually affect the story in a negative way. If anything, it adds to it, because any time he has to do or say anything I burst out laughing. Much like when the Clantons try and say the Doctor won't get out, "alive, that is!" in unison and fail miserably. 
• I like the way the Doctor is written in this story. He doesn't even realise there won't be anaesthetic (even though he was worried by the giant tooth outside). I love how Holliday offers him a choice of a smack on the head or alcohol to dull the pain. And then Holliday dresses the Doctor up as himself to try and get him killed! I love the way Doc can do that and still be portrayed as one of the good guys! I love all the (accidental) gun-waving the Doctor does in this story, particularly when he waves it at the Clantons and threatens to kill an unarmed Seth Harper (who is played by Scott Tracy from Thunderbirds!) 
• Richard Beale gives William Hartnell a really hard shove. Be careful with him! I wonder if/how much they rehearsed that? 
• Dodo is so inconsistent. She gets angry at Steven and tells him to "just have a good time with your new friends!" when he's forced at gunpoint to play the piano! How stupid can she be? And then she makes up for that later by pulling a gun on Doc Holliday and taking him prisoner (with a little help from him). She's also the one who saves the day in the gunfight, so go Dodo! Jackie Lane is always great, however oddly Dodo is written at times. 
  
• I love it when Steven accidentally calls Wyatt Earp "Mr Werp" after having heard the Doctor calling him that all through the story. Peter Purves is generally great in this. He does the comedy stuff so well. As does Hartnell. They were both born to play those comic scenes. 
• As usual with Donald Cotton, you get some great titles. "A Holiday for the Doctor" and "Don't Shoot the Pianist" are amongst the best of the lot. It's a shame the last two are a little mundane, especially as they're the last two episode titles ever. I think it's a shame they abandoned individual episode titles. It always added an extra little bit of fun and debate. And it would be fun to see how many people would have learnt every single episode title from the entire 26 years.

 

Verdict

In case it wasn't already obvious, I love the Gunfighters. For me it's right up there with the very very best of Doctor Who. It's blessed relief in a marathon, too, as it's the first deliberately funny story since the Myth Makers (gosh, what's the connection there?), which feels like ages ago now. Top marks to all involved. It's brilliant, and along with the Massacre makes Season 3 feel truly special.