This and The Evil of the Daleks are presented as one continuous adventure. While they both sound spectacular and depart a bit from the usual "base under siege" formula of the Troughton era, The Faceless Ones seems more of a convincing affair. The episode itself starts with an exciting cliffhanger in which the TARDIS lands on the runway of Gatwick Airport and is about to be hit by an airplane. It then plays out as a thriller, as layer upon layer of mystery is slowly revealed using well written twists. The story (obviously inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers) revolves around a supposed tourism company, called Chameleon Tours, which organises flights that passengers never return from. Later, fans find out that the company is actually run by aliens called Chameleon, who were left faceless and now wish to harvest young humans so that they can simply gain their identities. Not only are the Chameleons terrifying but there are plenty of lost space scenes that should appeal to most fans of old sci-fi films. The most memorable is one where an airplane turns rocket and boards an alien space station. Sadly, the animated reconstruction of that particular moment isnt very imaginative. However, other sequences (filmed on location in Gatwick Airport) have a more realist tone in the vein of Hartnells outstanding The War Machines. It is later revealed that The Faceless Ones happens exactly at the same time as The War Machines but thats used only as a vehicle for the exit of Ben and Polly, an overall rather unspectacular departure. Its also a shame that Samantha Briggs (played by the great Pauline Collins) didnt stay as a companion, either.
Adrian Serban lives in Bucharest, Romania where he has studied screenwriting and film criticism. But it's not all about artsy European dramas for him, as he's also a fan of horrors, kung-fu flicks and sci-fi films of all eras. Monty Python and Doctor Who are two British institutions that changed his life for the better. Or so he thinks.
