The Faceless Ones was the eighth story of Season 4 of Doctor Who. Companions Ben Jackson and Polly, played by Michael Craze and Anneke Wills respectively, left the series at the end of this story.
Synopsis
The TARDIS arrives on Earth in 1966 - on a runway at Gatwick airport. Polly witnesses a murder in a nearby hangar and is then kidnapped by the perpetrator, Spencer of Chameleon Tours. Subsequently Ben also vanishes. The Doctor and Jamie are left to try to convince the sceptical airport Commandant that there has been foul play.
It transpires that a great many other young people have also vanished, all of them while on Chameleon Tours holidays. With the help of Samantha Briggs, the sister of one of the missing youths, the Doctor and Jamie uncover a plot by the alien Chameleons to kidnap human youngsters in order to take their identities - for the Chameleons have lost their own in an accident on their home planet.
The Doctor offers to help the Chameleons find another solution to their problem and the kidnapped humans are released.
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
- Ben Jackson - Michael Craze
- Polly - Anneke Wills
- Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
- Samantha Briggs - Pauline Collins
- Policeman - James Appleby
- Commandant - Colin Gordon
- Meadows - George Selway
- Jean Rock - Wanda Ventham
- Spencer - Victor Winding
- Inspector Gascoigne - Peter Whitaker
- Blade - Donald Pickering
- Jenkins - Christopher Tranchell
- Nurse Pinto - Madalena Nicol
- Crossland - Bernard Kay
- Ann Davidson - Gilly Fraser
- Announcer - Brigit Paul
- Heslington - Barry Wilsher
- R.A.F. Pilot - Michael Ladkin
- Supt. Reynolds - Leonard Trolley
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Sue Marlborough
- Associate Producer - Peter Bryant
- Costumes - Daphne Dare, Sandra Reid
- Designer - Geoffrey Kirkland
- Film Cameraman - Tony Imi
- Film Editor - Chris Hayden
- Make-Up - Gillian James
- Producer - Innes Lloyd
- Production Assistant - Richard Brooks
- Script Editor - Gerry Davis
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
- Studio Lighting - Howard King
- Studio Sound - Gordon Mackie
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
References
- The Chameleons were made faceless by a nuclear accident.
Story Notes
- Samantha Briggs was originally designed to be a companion, however Pauline Collins turned down the offer.
- Pauline Collins appears playing Sam Briggs, she appears later (much so) in Tooth and Claw.
- This story had a working title of; The Chameleons.
Ratings
- Episode 1 - 8.0 million viewers
- Episode 2 - 6.4 million viewers
- Episode 3 - 7.9 million viewers
- Episode 4 - 6.9 million viewers
- Episode 5 - 7.1 million viewers
- Episode 6 - 8.0 million viewers
Myths
to be added
Location Filming
to be added
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added
Continuity
- The conclusion of this story leads straight into The Evil of the Daleks.
DVD, Video and Other Releases
DVD Release
The surviving episodes (Episodes 1 & 3) were released as part of the Lost in Time set.
Released:
- Region 2 1st November 2005
- PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1353
- Region 4 2nd December 2005
- Region 1 2nd November 2005
- NTSC - Warner Video E2082 (Troughton 2 disc set) / E2083 (Box set)
Video Releases
The surviving episodes (Episodes 1 & 3) were released alongside The Web of Fear Episode 1 and the remaining episodes of The Reign of Terror as part of a two cassette release entitled Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror.
Released:
- PAL - BBC Video BBCV7335
- NTSC - Warner Video E1853
Notes: The US release was also located in The End of the Universe Collection.
Target Novelisations
to be added
See Also
to be added
External Links
- BBC Episode Guide for The Faceless Ones
- Photonovel of The Faceless Ones, on the BBC website
- Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: The Faceless Ones
- Doctor Who Reference Guide: Detailed Synopsis - The Faceless Ones
- A Brief History of Time (Travel) entry for The Faceless Ones
- The Faceless Ones transcript
