"And the same to you and many of them!"

"And the same to you and many of them!"

Although we often mention 'Doctor Who' in passing on 'Round The Archives', it took us until Episode 15 to do an actual review of a story. This was deliberate, as there are a great many podcasts that cover the series and we only wanted to do so if we felt there was something new we could actually say.

So we planned a linked set of editions to cover the show's first three decades (allowing wiggle room for diversions into other fields if we wanted) with the running theme being underappreciated stories. We asked our extended team of contributors to pick a subject they wanted to champion, but what's the use of being the editor if you can't save the best for yourself?

And in my opinion 'The Gunfighters' stands head and shoulders above its actual reputation in fandom. Clearly great minds think alike, as the moment I mentioned that I was going to cover it, Warren's reaction owed much to the Lenny Henry incarnation of the Doctor: "I wanted to do that!"...

For, as we discuss in the article, this story goes back a long way in our friendship and the wobbly VHS tape of it we had got played and played again. Our DVD shelf is actually stacked  two boxes deep and significantly 'The Gunfighters' is usually to be found on the outer layer for easy access.

Yes, we must confess that our 'Doctor Who' DVDs are NOT arranged in anything like transmission order! (You may, of course, leave this blog by the usual emergency exit, if that information makes you uncomfortable)

So, with Lisa at work, we sat on the sofa and burned through the story in one sitting, thoroughly enjoying ourselves in the process. The witty and informative production notes (by some bloke or other) helped us learn a new thing or two, especially about Camera 6 and its unusual angles. With the odd diversion into BBC memos about beans, we hope that the fun we had watching it came across in the actual article.

As we say, 'The Gunfighters' does not pretend to be a documentary. It begins in playful mode, with the comedy reaching a peak near the start of the wonderfully-named second episode 'Don't Shoot The Pianist'. But slowly, it becomes more and more serious until the grim gunfighs scenes at the end.

Maybe this shifting tone doesn't work for everyone, but for me this story sees 'Doctor Who' being unashamedly brave with its own format, which is something it should strive to do. In production terms it's confident and efficient (thankfully the DVD commentary has a very positive tone) and provides 100 minutes of solid entertainment that's never fails to amuse me.

"Oh, er Mister Werp... I say, can you do that?"

(By Andrew Trowbridge)