Doctor Who: 15 Real Historical Characters The Doctor Has Met
12. Wyatt Earp
Before films like the Young Guns movies and Kevin Costner's wonky 1994 epic, the adventures of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were given the dramatic treatment by Doctor Who. The 1966 four parter titled 'The Gunfighters' saw Hartnell's Doctor initially confused for the more famous Doc, with only the help of companion Dodo getting him out of trouble. The final episode saw the famous shootout at the O.K. Corral, with the legendary duo taking down the notorious Clanton gang, though largely off screen.
The episode was not well received by audiences and critics alike, with some of the lowest ratings that the show had seen till that point in time. The finale in particular fell under the 6 million mark audience wise, just the fifth time this had occurred in 119 episodes.
It's hard to know why the episode was so unsuccessful, be it poor writing, the fading acting talents of Hartnell due to old age or just a setting that felt out of kilter with the sci fi genre. One factor that did come under significant criticism was the poor accents for the legendary gunslingers, which were mediocre to say the least.