Last Chance Saloon

The Last Chance Saloon was a saloon in Caldwell, Kansas. It was so called because it was the last place travellers could legally buy liquor before moving into Indian territory, where alcohol was banned. [1]. In addition, a 'First and Last Chance Saloon' in Oakland, California was opened in 1883, and was mentioned several times in the writings of Jack London[2].

In Popular Culture

The Last Chance Saloon has found its way into two British science fiction television shows - although the only real similarity between them is the name.

In Doctor Who, the fictitious Last Chance Saloon in Tombstone, Arizona was the focus of the First Doctor serial, "The Gunfighters" (1966). It is there that the Clanton brothers hang out for most of the story, ready to shoot either The Doctor (mistaken for Doc Holiday) or Steven or Dodo. The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon is the musical piece that is heard at various places through the serial, underscoring the threat and humour of the story.

In Red Dwarf, the Last Chance Saloon was the saloon in Kryten's subconscious when he was battling the Armageddon virus in "Gunmen of the Apocalypse".

In Xiaolin Showdown, the Last Chance Saloon is where the monks fight a live painting of a cowboy.

The Bluetones released an album entitled 'Return to the Last Chance Saloon'

In everyday speech, the term has been adopted to describe a situation beyond which hope or good fortune will greatly diminish. For example, the launch of the Rover 75 was humourously described by the then BMW owners as 'Rovers Last Chance Saloon', comedy duo Matt Lucas and David Walliams described the launch of their Little Britain series as their 'Last Chance Saloon' having been behind a number of worthy, yet largly ignored projects before.