The Faceless Ones

"Don't believe everything you see."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: May 1987

Series: Target 116

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie

Synopsis

In the summer of 1966, thousands of young people are taking their holidays with Chameleon Tours. And not one of them is coming back. 

When the TARDIS lands at Gatwick Airport the Doctor is drawn into a web of intrigue and deception. To add to his troubles, Polly mysteriously vanishes. 

Or does she? The girl at the Chameleon Tours desk looks like Polly, and even sounds like her, but she claims she comes from Zurich. 

Who is she really? Who is behind these abductions? And for what sinister purpose? Soon the Doctor and Jamie must face a desperate group of faceless aliens – the deadly Chameleons...

Verdict

The Faceless Ones was a very good novelisation of the Season 4 story of the same name! It's a somewhat underrated adventure in my opinion and considering it doesn't wholly exist in the BBC Archives, I remembered a great deal about it. Of course, it does help that I have two previous blog entries of the story given that I've watched the reconstruction alongside the existing parts and then the relatively recent animation release, but this was good to read in a complete and true form. I absolutely love the first half or so in particular with the running around Gatwick Airport. Honestly, this is such a good setting and the scale of it despite being contained makes it rather unique. There's so much potential there and it's quite hilarious to start with an aeroplane trying to land but having to make a quick abort because of the TARDIS materialising on the runway! Of course, the 1960s setting makes the ridiculousness of the police box being there not wholly unlikely as they were commonplace, just not on private property like that! The quartet quickly split up in humorous style and it's quite sad really that it sees the quick departure of Ben and Polly. To me, they're an iconic pairing where it really is a travesty that so many of their stories are missing from the BBC Archives. They're brilliant here despite not being themselves for most of it, and unfortunately it really is noticeable that they just disappear from the story. I think you can get away with that more in a novel though and it doesn't feel like such a strange occurrence when they come back at the end just to say goodbye. Of course, there's a lot that comes before we reach that point as the mysterious Chameleon Tours make their mark. The concept of young people being kidnapped literally on their flights is a pretty good one and whilst it is a whacky way for the Chameleons to obtain humans for the survival of their race, I appreciated the unique idea in storyline purposes. I thought the characterisation of the Second Doctor was really well done and it was a delight to put Jamie on an aeroplane. As a highlander, he wasn't exactly fit for travelling within a flying beastie! Brilliant stuff. His relationship with Samantha was lovely too and it's no surprise that she may have been considered for the companion role. The story for Polly is quite a sad one as she gets duplicated and the actual despair Jamie and the Doctor have when she fails to recognise them is a huge shame. I do love the comedy that came from the Doctor and the Airport Manager's relationship. The Time Lord just wouldn't give up with his dead body story! He even managed to bypass immigration and passport control which was great stuff. I thought it was quite sad for Samantha with her brother missing to find the numerous pre-written and pre-stamped letters to home. The Doctor realising that the aeroplane disappearance after staying still meant it was going up rather than down was brilliant and the description of the plane becoming the rocket was terrific. I liked how the originals were utilised in bringing about the Chameleons' destruction and they really didn't hang around once one of their brethren was wiped out in a necessary demonstration. I liked that as it was quick and the Chameleons would be let away despite Jamie's outrage, but they now had more important things to worry about. Ben and Polly were returned to their normal lives on the same day as The War Machines took place, but for the Doctor and Jamie the TARDIS was nowhere to be seen! I liked how Dicks referenced the scale of The Evil of the Daleks to come as one of their biggest adventures yet. Overall, a really good read! 

Rating: 8/10