My fascination with the famous gunfight in Tombstone did not begin with a book or western movie…it began with an episode of Star Trek, of all things.
In the original series episode titled “Spectre of the Gun”, the crew of the Enterprise encounters (of course) a strange alien species that doesn’t take kindly to Kirk and company trespassing in their corner of the universe. 5 members of the crew (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty & Chekov) are transformed by the offended species into the “Cow-boy” faction (Ike Clanton, Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Clanton and Billy Claiborne, respectively) in 1881 Tombstone. The aliens (“Melkotians”) use Kirk’s memories to recreate the scenario and place the crew in the losing side of the fight as punishment for their transgression. Chekov, as Claiborne, is shot and believed killed by Morgan Earp hours before the gunfight, cluing Spock into the fact that events aren’t happening as history dictates (Claiborne was not killed prior to or during the famous shootout) and that they are experiencing a shared illusion in their minds. Spock uses his “Vulcan mind meld” on each remaining crew member to remove any doubts regarding the illusion (specifically, the bullets from the Earps’ guns). The Earps and Holliday start firing on the crew at the OK Corral, with no effect. Kirk approaches Wyatt and takes him down, draws his gun, thinks better of it, and tosses the gun away. The Melkotians, impressed by Kirk’s civility in not killing Wyatt, return the crew (with Chekov) to the bridge of the Enterprise and agree to diplomatic relations with Starfleet.
The funny thing is that the writers were careful enough to point out that Billy Claiborne didn’t die in the famous gunfight, but put Kirk in Ike’s role (Ike also survived the gunfight, having not been armed and hightailing it out of there). They also placed the time of the fight at 5pm…the actual fight took place at about 2:30pm.
I watched this episode in elementary school in the 70s (reruns) and was always curious about Tombstone and the shootout. It wasn’t until 2006 that I finally had the chance to visit Tombstone and indulge my interests. I haven’t stopped since.
Another interesting sidenote: the late DeForest Kelley, most famous for playing Dr. McCoy, portrayed Morgan Earp in the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
