"Allow me sir to introduce er, Miss Dodo Dupont wizard of the ivory keys, and ah Steven Regret, tenor. And lastly sir, your humble servant Doctor... Calligari."
At the end of the last serial, the Doctor bit down on a piece of trick candy that Cyril had given to Dodo. This resulted in the Doctor getting a cracked tooth.
This episode begins with The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon. An annoying pastiche of better western songs such as The Streets of Laredo. This song recurs over and over throughout the episode, meaning that Lynda Baron (who sang the song) has more lines than any of the series regulars.
As the dulcet tones of Lynda Baron introduce us to the song that we will come to hate, the Clanton brothers make their way into Tombstone, Arizona. They are intent on gunning down Doc Holliday who killed their brother Reuben sometime back before Lynda began singing.
They explain, in very poor American accents, that they are to meet Seth Harper at the Last Chance Saloon.
One of the actors sounds American, but the rest are all over the place. There's one guy who makes Peri sound like Jenny from the block.
The TARDIS arrives and the Doctor is in quiet a state of agony over his damaged tooth. A quick look around tells them that they are at the OK Corral .
This gets Dodo and Steven revved up. They run back into the TARDIS and get changed into Gene Autry and Dale Evans drag. They are seriously embarrassing trying to pass themselves off as an old west gun fighter and a cowgirl. At least their bad American accents are in character.
They are quickly rounded up by Wyatt Earp for bad impersonation of a gunslinger. The Doctor spins a yarn about being a troupe of performers and makes his way to the local dentist-Doc Holliday, while Steven and Dodo book rooms at the local hotel.
Holliday's girlfriend, a saloon girl/singer/prostitute, hears the Clantons talking about killing Holliday. They have never seen him, so they are relying on recognizing him by description and hoping that his love of liqour and gambling will draw him to the saloon.
Miss Kate runs off to warn Holliday. While she is "warning" him (let's just say that lips touch and a bustle might be shifted somewhat), the Doctor shows up to get his tooth removed.
The removal is a painful process. There is no pain gas or injections, and the Doctor is unwilling to drink the rotgut whiskey offered him.
While the Doctor is recovering in Holliday's waiting room, Seth Harper shows up. There is a comedy of errors and Harper believes that the Doctor is Doc Holliday. Harper invites the Doc back to the saloon to share a friendly drink.
Steven and Dodo have been identified as friends of the Doctor. They used the cover story that the Doctor gave them. No one believes that they are performers, but the Clantons figure that Steven is a second gun working for Holliday. To keep him from backing up the gunslinging dentist, they have Steven and Dodo perform the Ballad.
We leave with the Doctor about to walk through the door, the Clantons waiting to fill him full of lead.
Next up: Don't Shoot the Pianist
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