The Faceless Ones

"Ooh, it's a flying beastie!"

Writers: David Ellis & Malcolm Hulke

Format: TV

Broadcast: 8th April - 13th May 1967

Season: 4.08

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie

Synopsis 

The Doctor, Polly, Ben and Jamie arrive in near-present day Gatwick Airport and they discover that the new airline Chameleon Tours isn't all what it seems. Why are families receiving postcards from people who didn't get to their destinations? What is happening on a satellite not too far from Earth? And just who are the creatures with no face?

Verdict 

The Faceless Ones was a very good penultimate serial of the fourth season of Doctor and it saw a farewell to two popular companions. The cockney sailor Ben and the beautiful blonde Polly said their farewells to the Doctor and Jamie as they departed the TARDIS for the final time. I was a little saddened that considering this was their final serial, Polly and Ben missed three episodes of the story, equating to half! A real shame and they barely registered an appearance in the final part! The story itself was full of intrigue, mystery and humour. I loved the Gatwick Airport setting and the amount of differing locations within it brought the opportunity for. We had the eery Chameleon Tours, immigration control and kiosks. I loved how Jamie, of course being from an age quite some years before the invention of aeroplanes, was overwhelmed by the "beasties" and size of the airport. His relationship with Samantha was wonderful to see, it really was nice to see a soft side to the Scotsman. I really thought that Samantha was going to become a companion during my first viewing of this story and after reading up on the story and the character in finer detail I discovered that was the intention. I think I'm glad that she didn't become companion as I'm not sure a Scouse women is the way to go! Even if I am a Liverpool supporter. The concept behind the Chameleons was really intriguing! They were unique villains to say the least. Their claim to be the most intelligent race in the universe is one I would happily dispute and it was quite a horrific sight seeing them in their true form after the catastrophe. As the serial title suggests, they literally were faceless! Utterly scorned. So what is their scientist's great scheme to revert themselves to some sort of normality? They're going to duplicate young humans. Surely there'd be a simpler way. The villainous personalities of Spencer, Meadow and Blade were fantastic. I really enjoyed them as the bad guys. The cliffhanger were done pretty well with the vanishing of the aeroplane passengers my particular favourite. I loved how the story gradually went from mystery on Earth to a satellite in space! Some variation I'll say. The scenes with the Doctor and Jamie at immigration were superb and I loved the relationship with the Commandant throughout! A real highlight. Patrick Troughton was on top form as the Doctor here, probably my favourite performance of his as the Second Doctor so far. The climax was really good with the Doctor and the original Nurse Pinto faking their way up to the satellites as transformations and then the party back on the surface searching ruthlessly to find the originals had trigger the destruction of the copies. The fact they were in a car park was logical I thought and I liked the threats that were provided from the emergency evacuation of the Chameleons from the planet. The Doctor sparing the enemies of the serial was a nice touch and I like how it seemed they'd realised they'd done wrong. The departure of Polly and Ben was a quick one but an emotional one. I was sad to see my beautiful blonde companion leaving! Polly really is an all time favourite of mine. I thought it was intriguing that the TARDIS landed on the exact same day as The War Machines! At the same point the First Doctor was putting a stop to WOTAN, his successor was defeating the Chameleons. Excellent. Overall, a great story. My thanks must go out to Loose Canon Productions for their recons of the four missing episodes. Another stellar job allowing me to watch the story in full! 

Rating: 8/10