Writer: David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke
Original Broadcast Date: 8 April 1967 - 13 May 1967
The TARDIS lands in Gatwick Aiport, 1966, where Polly discovers a murder in a nearby hangar, before she is kidnapped. Jamie and the Doctor attempt to find her when they uncover a series of mysteries, all revolving around Chameleon Tours: planes full of thousands have people have arrived in their destination with no one on board!
From what I heard about this story I expected it be an early Troughton masterpiece; that, it certainly was not! The episode starts off with a great chase scene, where the Doctor and friends all separate as they are chased by the police around the runway of an airport. I regret to say this was the most enjoyable part of the story. After that it all goes downhill.
The Faceless Ones, with such an intriguing concept behind it, failed to capitalize on its potential, leaving us with a rather unpolished, inconsistent story that dragged on too long. Perhaps it would have worked if it was reduced to four parts, but pacing is not its biggest problem. Instead that lies in how it handles (or fails to) the characters, with Ben and Polly completely sidelined for most of what is their final appearance, only present in the first two and last episodes. While not as bad as Dodo's departure, it feels more offensive mainly because of the fact no one liked Dodo (sorry Jackie Lane!); Ben and Polly were a fantastic duo that brought some lovely charm to many adventures across the two Doctor's eras they featured in.
Adding to the already ridiculous situation, the lovely Pauline Collins (who I'm afraid can't pull off a Liverpool accent) takes their place for the rest of the episode, but even then, she is completely underused and forgotten about for large periods of time throughout.
Even with complications such as this stripped away, The Faceless Ones still lacks in quality, with a menace that never really felt menacing and (as two episodes remain intact) sloppy direction, making this story feel like it never took off. (Get it? Because its set in an airport? Ah forget it!)
5/10
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