Stories Television Doctor Who Season 4 Serial: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The Faceless Ones Original Story TV Soundtrack Animation Original Story TV Soundtrack Animation 1 image Overview Episodes Characters How to Watch Reviews 10 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 3 Transcript Overview First aired Saturday, April 8, 1967 Production Code KK Written by David Ellis, Malcolm Hulke Directed by Gerry Mill Runtime 150 minutes Story Type Companion Exit Time Travel Present Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Companion cloned, Miniaturisation, Shape Shifting, Spaceship, Temporary Companion Location (Potential Spoilers!) Earth, England, Gatwick Airport Synopsis The TARDIS arrives at Gatwick Airport in July 1966. A great many young people have vanished, including Ben and Polly. With the help of Samantha Briggs, the sister of one of the missing youths, the Second Doctor and Jamie must uncover the plot of the Chameleons. Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save 6 Episodes Episode 1 First aired Saturday, April 8, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Ellis Malcolm Hulke Directed by Gerry Mill UK Viewers 8 million Appreciation Index 51 Synopsis The TARDIS materialises on the runway of Gatwick Airport, where Polly witnesses a murder only to be kidnapped before she can report it. Episode 2 Missing First aired Saturday, April 15, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Ellis Malcolm Hulke Directed by Gerry Mill UK Viewers 6.4 million Appreciation Index 50 Synopsis With Polly having apparently forgotten them, the Doctor, Ben and Jamie decide to carry out their own investigation of Chameleon Tours. Episode 3 First aired Saturday, April 22, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Ellis Malcolm Hulke Directed by Gerry Mill UK Viewers 7.9 million Appreciation Index 53 Synopsis The Doctor, Jamie and Sam manage to convince Crossland to trust them and he persuades the Commandant to let them continue their investigation. Episode 4 Missing First aired Saturday, April 29, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Ellis Malcolm Hulke Directed by Gerry Mill UK Viewers 6.9 million Appreciation Index 55 Synopsis When Spencer attempts to kill them, the Doctor, Jamie and Sam become convinced Chameleon Tours are hiding something and Sam decides to book a ticket on one of their flights. Episode 5 Missing First aired Saturday, May 6, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Ellis Malcolm Hulke Directed by Gerry Mill UK Viewers 7.1 million Appreciation Index 55 Synopsis Jamie finds himself aboard the Chameleons' satellite and meets their Director while the Doctor forces the Chameleon Meadows to tell him the aliens' plans. Episode 6 Missing First aired Saturday, May 13, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by David Ellis Malcolm Hulke Directed by Gerry Mill UK Viewers 8 million Appreciation Index 52 Synopsis The Doctor and Pinto are captured by the Chameleons but the Doctor manages to use their dependence on their human originals to create dissent in their ranks. Show All Episodes Characters Second Doctor Patrick Troughton Jamie McCrimmon Frazer Hines Polly Wright Anneke Wills Ben Jackson Michael Craze Samantha Briggs Pauline Collins First Appearance Chameleons First Appearance Captain Blade Donald Pickering First Appearance Show All Characters (7) How to watch The Faceless Ones: Watch on iPlayer Blu-Ray The Faceless Ones [Steelbook] Blu-Ray The Faceless Ones DVD The Faceless Ones DVD Lost in Time Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Default Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 10 reviews 14 November 2024 · 114 words Review by dema1020 Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! Watching this recently made me appreciate it a lot more and Time-Flight a little less. For the Faceless Ones, this was a very creative setting for a Doctor Who story. It's full of great moments of dark atmosphere and I enjoyed some of the character work of the terminal staff as they grapple with the increasingly disturbing situation around them. This is not however, a great story for Ben and Polly's exit. Neither character really shines much and Jamie in comparison already feels much more clearly at home with the adventuring. Jamie's got some fun moments in this one and definitely helps make this story a lot better than it might look on paper. dema1020 View profile Like Liked 2 19 August 2024 · 359 words Review by 15thDoctor Spoilers 1 This review contains spoilers! I remember reading an excellent article in DWM about Malcolm Hulke, it is clear that his real life experiences impacted the writing of this story. It's drenched in superstition, hidden motives and spies, fantastic stuff. From the moment our heroes materialise on Gatwick runway in the path of an oncoming plane, this story sets itself out as a lot of fun. Having spent my first 18 years in Crawley, the fact that this episode was that it was all filmed and set so close to home was marvellous for me. Jamie being given a love interest was the first hints of romance we have had since Susan in Dalek Invasion of Earth. Samantha Briggs, the Liverpudlian girl is a great character in and of herself, she gives a wider scope to the story and sells the idea that teenagers from across the country are going missing - plus it's nice to have two characters with ordinary accents talking in classic who! Lots of great ideas here, from the falsified passports to disfigured aliens - it feels like Doctor Who has really succeeded with re-inventing itself with this Doctor, yet somehow staying very much the same show. The most lasting consequence of this story is the departure of Ben and Polly, who have been a fantastic team. Ben was a complete departure from Ian and Steven who were made in similar heroic, stoic moulds. A cockney with a cheeky attitude worked perfectly alongside Jamie, who is less forthright and confident. Polly is really hip, the moment she was first onscreen it was difficult to remember Dodo was even in that story. Its a crying shame that she wasn't present throughout the whole of her final story. Having said all this, whilst they were brilliant companions, everything I love about them was there to be seen in The War Machines, after that there were more there to support the fantastic new Doctor. It would have been nice to see these two develop further in their own right. Perhaps I would rate them higher if their entire time wasn't so cruelly missing. Another great story - can't wait to see what happens next! 15thDoctor View profile Like Liked 1 17 January 2025 · 60 words Review by Jamie Spoilers This review contains spoilers! if this were a 4 parter, it would've been a higher rating. as per most 6 parters, it dragged a lot. as far as companion exits go, i know classic who ones are never the best however the fact ben and polly were barely present in the story??? it was a sad exit scene though, glad to fill that gap in finally. Jamie View profile Like Liked 0 30 June 2025 · 326 words Review by RandomJoke Spoilers This review contains spoilers! I quite like this one, while not as great as what came before or after, I think this one is a lovely Story. One might argue it drags, and I do agree, but to me, it works here since I do think it enhances the Atmosphere of a Location. I mean, at least to me, whenever I am on an Airport, things drag massively or at least it seems to do so. The setting itself is a great and gives this one a unique feeling to it, I’d argue this Story without the TARDIS Team could have made a decent Entry into the Twilight Zone. The titular Faceless ones or Chameleons are a fun force, even if they aren’t the best Shapeshifter in Who’s History, I find them quite charming and a bit shocked they haven’t been used again (but then again you have the Zygons so is there a Need for the Chameleons anymore?) Throughton and Hines are top-notch, I particularly enjoy the Opening Scene where 2 shouts that they should all scatter, mainly because after that we see less & less from Ben & Polly, until they just kinda start to vanish. And while I do like their departure Scene, it’s another War Machine Situation, where as a Companion Exit they feel like an Afterthought, oh well at least we actually see them have an exit this time around. This is probably also my biggest Issue with the Serial, since the rest really holds itself together quite well, sure there are some Things I am not sold on, but the Things that work here, really work. Samantha is a great ‘Could have been’-Companion, even if I am not thrilled with each Choice they made with her Character in this Story. The Cliffhangers are usually great, with a few that are a bit what ever. And the ending how it all gets resolved is just great, I quite like this one! A great one for sure! RandomJoke View profile Like Liked 0 9 February 2025 · 80 words Review by greenLetterT Spoilers This review contains spoilers! A story I couldn't help but compare to future ones that will use similar ideas - the shape-changing Zygons and the Master's Tissue Compression Eliminator came immediately to mind. Equally, for a story that was Ben and Polly's last one, they played very little part in the actual plot, and whilst a sudden goodbye hasn't been all that unusual for Classic Who it still felt rushed Still, though, there was some nice intrigue going here, and I liked Samantha Briggs greenLetterT View profile Like Liked 0 Show All Reviews (10) Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating495 members 3.53 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 893 Favourited 67 Reviewed 10 Saved 5 Skipped 7 Related Stories Other adaptations of this story: We define an adaptation as a recreation of a similar story but on a different medium or with different characters. Target Collection Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones Rating: 3.56 Story Skipped Book More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Target Collection Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Other variations of this story We define a variation as another way of experiencing the exact same story - like an autiobook, a reconstruction or an omnibus edition. BBC Audio Soundtracks The Faceless Ones (BBC Audio Soundtrack) Rating: 3.55 Story Skipped Soundtrack Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: BBC Audio Soundtracks Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Animated Reconstructions The Faceless Ones (Animated Reconstruction) Rating: 3.56 Story Skipped Animated Reviews(4) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Animated Reconstructions Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite Tags: Funny (The TARDIS materialises in the middle of a runway. Jamie and the Doctor come out.) JAMIE: It's a flying beastie! — The Faceless Ones Show All Quotes (3) Open in new window Transcript Needs checking (Transcribers note - episodes 2, 4, 5, and 6 only exist as audio) Episode One (From the Lost In Time DVD) [Gatwick airport runway] (The TARDIS materialises in the middle of a runway. Jamie and the Doctor come out.) Show Full Transcript Open in new window