The Gunfighters - The OK Corral

The final episode of this story starts off with the Doctor becoming a deputy sheriff. We then have lots and lots of singing narration which seems to have undone all the good work from the previous episodes. The whole episode is cantered around a shootout. Though its quite impressive how Donald Cotton had managed to string it out for as long as he did.

The build up to the shootout was quite enjoyable and once we got to the shootout itself it was a curious mix of enjoyment and confusion. I mention confusion because it seems like a lot of bullets were fired but no one seemed to go down until Johnny Ringo met his maker at the hands of Doc Holiday. It lasted for several minutes and once Ringo went down, everyone went down and before too long it was all over and Doc Holiday and Kate walked off into the sunset. it wasn't the ending that the Doctor wanted and it was good how he was tempted to change history but knew his own rules. Being a historical adventure it was never going to be wrapped up in a nice bow and I think that it was the only way that things could have ended.

When we get to the final scene we have a nice tight three shot where the Doctor, Dod and Steven are in the TARDIS where the Doctor discuses where they have landed and he uses three words that spell doom in the next story. Peace and Prosperity are the words used and that should have sent alarm bells ringing for Steven and Dodo. As an episode it's rather good as it did what it needed to do in terms of telling drama even though it takes some liberties in what the characters do and how they end up. As a story its not improved as much as previous stories but I didn't mind it tha much.  Thought that the music was an irritation which I could have done without but I thought that the characters were all well played and I must day that the production crew should be applauded for doing a western on a limited budget and whereas in the past an ambitious set would have failed (like the Web Planet), I thought tha due to some clever camera angles and authentic sets they manage to get it to work. 

The Gunfighters - Johnny Ringo

Despite the tone of the story having gone up a bit we still have put up with more singing. We have the prospect of Steven being hanged which is the closest I think they come to putting a regular in serious peril. The opening part of this episode is a nice little stalemate with guns and its only thanks to the dopey looking barman that Steven doesn't meet a sticky end. It's a solid opening five or six minutes.

There are some cracking bits of dialogue which I haven't noticed in the previous two episodes. My favourite line comes from the barman when he says "The next extractions gonna be a tooth". There are some good camera shots which is where Rex Tucker deserves credit because being in a studio its difficult to make this western look interesting. Despite not being a 100% fan of the barman it was a bit of a shame that he got shot because he could have just hidden under the bar and stayed there.

The Johnny Ringo of the piece is well cast and he seems the perfect person to go up against Doc Holiday. Whilst its clear that Donald Cotton has taken dramatic licence with the story, it means that the characters are larger than life and that helps move the story along because without them then the adventure would just grind to a halt. Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp are still two of my favourite characters. Even Dodo is used well in this story but that might be to do with that she was with Doc Holiday.

All in all this was another good episode with a few weak moments kept to a minimum. The story isn't going to be a classic and I don't think it's better than I had thought of it in the past but its still got some good characters and the have managed to pull off a western on a BBC budget but it wouldn't be until the new era tha we would see a western done well.

The Gunfighters - Dont Shoot the Pianist

The next episode starts off with the stupid singing of the last chance saloon. There is a look that Steven gives that mplies that he is sick of singing it Not often does the actor match the view of the viewer. The episode picks up when William Hartnell enters the saloon and says that he would be happy with a glass of milk. The locals still think that the Doctor is Doc Holiday and its fun when he finally realises the confusion. After the chuckle I got from the milk line, the fact that he shot someone (accidentally) was another funny sight.

As the Doctor is trying to explain the truth he keeps getting cut off by various people and its somewhat frustrating because I feel like they are just trying to kill time. Having said that Donald Cotton has done a better job of at least looking like he knows where the story is heading. Dodo is being kept to one sode b Doc Holiday and the Doctor is behind bars because they still think that he is Doc Holiday. The singing has become tolerable during this episode but I still think that the storycould benefit a little from not having it playing every couple of minutes.

The central performances have discarded the silly playing up of their surroundings and get stuck into the stor and all do a good job but frankly they don't really have much to do so I think that its the supporting performances that are noticeable. Anthony Jacobs is very good as Doc Holiday. There is a sense of slimeyness about him and I think that's what I like about his performance. John Alderson continues to impress as Wyatt Earp. Every time that he is on screen he is very good.

This was a much better episode than the first. I still don't think my opinion of the whole story will change over the course of the four episodes but at least the quality has gone up instead of down but its not difficult to go up when our at the bottom. The ending of the episode was quite good as the rabble are about to hang the Doctor and Doc Holiday is trying to get out of town with Dodo. It's quite a dramatic ending though its ruined by the singing but I think that at least we get a funny look of Willam Hartnell due see us out of the episode.

The Gunfighters - A Holiday for the Doctor

From the moment that the theme music ends I can feel my toe curling. The Gunfighters is when Doctor Who meets the Western genre. It's another instance if the shows ambitions hitting reality. Would the show be able to pull off a western stor on a tiny BBC budget? The story starts to go downhill when Steven and Dodo get into their Western gear. Purves feels the need to do a terrible accent. The first scene when they are dressed up its only saved by Wyatt Earp. It's surprising that Peter Purves does this as when he first appeared in The Chase he did a rather good American accent. When he has to sing he does it quite well though its slightly undermined by Jackie Lane's exaggerated piano playing.

Sadly when you try and get past the cringy singing and accents, there isnt a great deal that happens during this opening 25 minutes. Theres a lot of people waiting and then Dodo and Steven start singing and playing. The characters in this episode are the only thing worth watching as the Doctor spends most of the episode in pain and its not long before he gets confused for Doc Holiday. Doc Holiday is well played by Anthony Jacobs and the character is instantly likeable though he not meant to be likeable. 

I had hopes that after getting a new appreciation of The Ark and The Celestial Toymaker that I would see a new side to this story but sadly that isn't going to happen. Apart from John Alderson as Wyatt Earp and Anthony Jacobs as Doc Holiday, the story is excruciatingly bad and I'm trying to decide whether its so bad that its good. Only time will tell I suppose but I'm safe in thinking that the chances are slim that I will be seeing a new side to this story.

The Myth Makers - Horse of Destruction

Thankfully we have reached the final episode of this very lacklustre historical. Sadly it’s the last to feature Maureen O’Brien as Vicki. After less than 11 months in the role, Maureen O’Brien has decided to leave the Doctor and Steven. It’s the most action packed of the episodes and its where things finally start to happen. If only the previous three episodes had been liked this then I would have been writing a different review.

The story didn’t seem to have much to do for the regulars apart from Vicki. William Hartnell continues to seem like he is walking through the episode and Steven has slightly more to do but sadly doesn’t have much more to do. One thing that seems to have jumped out of nowhere is the inclusion of Katarina. She only really gets going when she is asked to bring Steven to the TARDIS/Temple. I must admit that I didn’t notice her before this and think that her presence is somewhat limited. 

Vicki has been a good companion and was better realised than Susan. I think that there were moments where Vicki seemed to be turning into Susan but on the whole I think that Vicki and Maureen O’Brien were a good force for the show. It’s a shame that this story was so poor to write Vicki out of the show, she deserved better. Her final scene was very dramatic and like Susan’s was helped by the music and the performances. That said I have been wonderful for the past four episodes as to why I have disliked this story so much and I think that after Mission to the Unknown and knowing that the Daleks will be coming soon that I have just been waiting for the episodes to come and go so we can get to the Daleks Master Plan. Now we are there and one of the most epic stories in Doctor Who’s history.

The Myth Makers - Death of a Spy

Oh well, lets just get through this as best as we can. These episode reviews seem to have been getting shorter and shorter as the episodes have been moving on. Thankfully this is the episode where it starts to pick up and things start to happen. Sadly it’s the latter stages of the episode where it all happens but at least something seems to be moving. This is the episode where the history starts to move things along and we finally get the Trojan horse which is perhaps the most famous part of this period.  What stands out foappen.to not suspect that anything is going to happen.to not suspect that anything is going to happen.

However the most interesting thing that happens is what happens to Vicki. It seems that at long last something has been done to prepare the exit of this character. Her love interest with Troilus is rather well done and I think that its given enough time to register in the viewers memory. I must admit that I Cassandra to be the most entertaining character in the whole thing though that’s not really a compliment when you consider how rather dull the rest of the characters are in this piece.

This is the most interesting episode of the serial though again that’s not really a compliment (it seems to be a regular thing in this episode). I thought that for the first time in a long time (if ever), William Hartnell seems to be walking through this story and doesn’t do anything really of any worth. This is turning out to be an even duller serial than Galaxy 4 and this third season of Doctor Who is quickly turning into the worst so far.

The Myth Makers - Small Prophet, Quick Return

After the rather limp opening episode. I’m happy to say that things have picked up slightly. This is the episode where everything from Vicki to the plot seem to wake up and get going. After spending most of the previous episode inside the TARDIS for various dubious reasons, Vicki finally gets to do something.  Like the Doctor, Vicki has to pretend to be someone else. However unlike the Doctor willing to pretend he is someone else, Vicki is willing to admit the truth and say that she is from the future. Speaking of the Doctor, he seems be thriving in the illusion. Steven gets to pretend to be someone though he is only pretending to be Greek.

The regulars are written much better than in the previous episode and also the supporting cast are also much better with Cassandra being my favourite. She is the one that I felt was the strongest and Frances White delivers her lines well and I like how everyone rubbishes her prophesies. She is also very jealous of Vicki as she believes that Vicki is a rival prophet.

Whilst I think that this is a much stronger episode. I think that that the story suffers a great deal from not being on video. The fact that it’s not the greatest story ever isn’t helping me enjoy the story. I am struggling to think of what to write. What I can say is that I don’t  think that Maureen O’Brien’s final story is going to be the finest finale story that a companion has ever had.

The Myth Makers - Temple of Secrets

The Myth Makers is the final story for Vicki who departs in yet another historical story.  It’s also the first story that is produced by John Wiles with Verity Lambert having departed at the previous episode. It’s also another story that doesnt exist on video in any form. This is a period of history that I know the basics and about 15 years ago I would have known quite a lot about this period however since then my interest and knowledge has ebbed away. The story starts off in a very shouty manner. It seems to continue throughout the episode but its at its peak at the beginning.

The Doctor is mistakened for Zeus which is quite an amusing and continues to the trend of the Doctor landing on his feet. The thing about historical stories is that the story is up and running before the regulars get involved and so there is a bit of a blur before I got a sense of what is going on.

It’s quite late before Steven really gets involved in the story. In fact its just past the 19 minute mark. Vicki had a blink and you’ll miss it moment at the beginning but she was side-lined because there isn’t much that could be done. It’s not a particularly action packed part of history and its made even harder to enjoy when you cant see whats going on.

I really cant get that excited about this story and it’s a shame because its Vicki’s last story. Hopefully the story will pick up in future episodes and the departure of Vicki is going to be fitting of the character but if memory serves me correctly then that wont be the case.