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The Doctor has Toothache
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The TARDIS lands in the 19th Century American frontier town of Tombstone. The Doctor is suffering from toothache, having hurt a tooth on one of Cyril's sweets (see "The Celestial Toymaker"), and so seeks out the local dentist, who turns out to be none other than the notorious Doc Holliday.
Unbeknown to The Doctor and his two travelling companions, Steven Taylor and Dodo, they have arrived at a critical time in history for Tombstone as Doc Holliday is currently engaged in a feud with Pa Clanton and his sons; Ike, Phineas and Billy. They are currently in town in search of Doc Holliday to settle an old score over the death of another brother called Reuben. And they are after revenge at any cost. Lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson are meanwhile doing their best to keep the peace.
Meanwhile, in a nearby stable, with The Doctor in agony from toothache, he and his companions Steven Taylor and Dodo, dressed as cowboys, soon encounter local marshal Wyatt Earp, who offers them his protection and warns them to keep their counsel.
| Dodo Dresses for the Part |
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The Doctor finds Doc Holliday, and has his tooth removed, while Steven and Dodo book rooms at the local hotel. There they are mocked by the Clantons, who suspect The Doctor they refer to is Holliday himself.
After his visit to Doc Holliday, The Doctor finds himself walking into a trap set by the Clanton Brothers. Luckily The Doctor is rescued by bar singer Kate who persuades Doc Holliday to fire his gun at appropriate moments to con the Clantons into thinking The Doctor is indeed Holliday the sharpshooter. Soon afterward Wyatt Earp and Sheriff Bat Masterson arrive and break up the fracas, taking The Doctor into custody for his own protection.
| Wyatt Earp |
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Steven however, becomes embroiled in a plot to smuggle The Doctor a gun to help free him from the jailhouse. Dodo though has fallen in with Kate and Doc Holliday, who both plan to leave town and take her with them. When the Clanton’s hired help Seth Harper stumbles across their escape plans, Doc Holliday kills him, and the trio then depart.
Harper's role as aide to the Clantons is soon replaced by a new arrival, Johnny Ringo, who shoots local barman Charlie by way of an introduction to the town of Tombstone. When The Doctor and Steven return to the Last Chance Saloon, in search of Dodo, they encounter the dangerous Johnny Ringo.
It is then they learn of Dodo’s departure so Steven heads out of town to look for Dodo with Johnny Ringo in tow in search of Doc Holliday. Johnny Ringo eventually catches up with Steven, who along with Kate end up being taken by Ringo to the Clanton ranch. Doc Holliday returns to Tombstone with Dodo, and offers his services to deal with the Clantons once and for all.
| The Doctor, Steven and Dodo at Gunpoint |
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The Doctor, it seems, is powerless to prevent more bloodshed: there will be a gunfight at the O.K. Corral. On the one side are the three Clanton brothers and Johnny Ringo; on the other, Wyatt Earp, Earp's brother Virgil and Doc Holliday. At the end of the gunfight Ringo and the three Clantons are shot dead.
Shortly thereafter, The Doctor, Steven and Dodo manage to slip away in the TARDIS grateful to leave Tombstone alive.
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