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Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones: When the TARDIS materializes in the middle of the runway of an airport, The Doctor, Jamie, Polly and Ben find themselves investigating the mysterious murder of a man and the disappearance of another.
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.
- Overview
- Synopsis
- Plot
- Cast
- Crew
- Worldbuilding
- Story notes
- Continuity
- Home video and audio releases
was the eighth and penultimate serial of season 4 of Doctor Who. It saw the final regular appearances of Michael Craze as Ben Jackson and Anneke Wills as Polly Wright. Additionally, the original rendition of Delia Derbyshire's opening theme for the series was replaced with a new arrangement.
Currently, only episodes one and three exist in the BBC Archives.
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.
Episode 1
The TARDIS lands on a runway at Gatwick Airport, and the Second Doctor, Ben, Polly, and Jamie run for their lives as a jet aeroplane tries to land on them. The jet avoids a collision by aborting its landing, whilst the four intruders are spotted by a police officer, causing them to split up. The airport's Commandant is informed by an air traffic controller of the reason given by the jet's pilot — a police box on the runway. He incredulously orders the obstruction investigated. The police box is quickly hauled away on the back of a truck escorted by police motorcyclists. The officer pursuing Ben has lost him, and Jamie meets up with the Doctor beneath a parked aeroplane. Polly, meanwhile, has hidden in the hangar for Chameleon Tours. She sees a man, who is holding an envelope, killed by another man, wearing a pilot's uniform, with some kind of futuristic weapon. The corpse is covered with a parachute whilst the pilot enters a hidden control chamber filled with high-tech equipment and reports via a monitor to another pilot by the name of Blade. An alarm sounds, and a monitor shows Polly examining the body. The man goes out to catch her, but she escapes. The Commandant is flabbergasted to hear that the obstruction actually was a police box. Polly finds the Doctor and Jamie hiding under a plane. She tells them what she saw; the Doctor insists she show them. Blade joins the other pilot, Spencer, in the hangar. Spencer explains he killed him as he "knew about the postcards". They search the body and learn they have killed Detective Inspector Gascoigne, and Blade is concerned "a parent may have sent him". They dispose of the man's effects and two suitcases. An alarm sounds, and they see the Doctor, Jamie, and Polly in the hangar searching for the body on a monitor. The Doctor is surprised to find the man Polly said was killed by a gun has been electrocuted. The time travellers leave to find someone in charge. Spencer and Blade are concerned when Polly says she could recognise the killer anywhere. They decide that, despite the Doctor's knowledge, it is Polly who poses the biggest threat. They intercept the Doctor and his companions and, as Polly is lagging behind, Spencer knocks her unconscious using a pen-shaped device. Inside the hidden chamber, Polly is questioned to little effect. Polly warns the pilots her friends will worry about her. They say they must do something about that. When the Doctor and Jamie cannot find her in the hangar, they resume their quest for help from the authorities. The Doctor and Jamie arrive at the Immigration & Customs desk but cannot get by the officer, Jenkins, as they haven't got passports. The officer is moved to action when Jamie mentions the TARDIS. Suspecting they may be involved with the police box affair, Jenkins asks them to wait while he contacts the Commandant. Meanwhile, Ben finds the Chameleon hangar and is drawn inside by sounds of hammering. Captain Blade is securing a packing case. Before he can draw his weapon, Jean Rock, the Commandant's assistant, arrives to give Blade flight schedules. Blade shows Ben the way out. The Commandant is extremely dubious at the Doctor's story and disturbed by their lack of passports, but eventually, he relents and follows the Doctor and Jamie to the hangar to allow the Doctor to prove his story. In the hangar's hidden chamber, Blade is affixing stamps to postcards. Spencer tells him that Polly has been "processed" and can be taken on the next flight. Blade opens a refrigerated cabinet. A scaly, humanoid arm is seen. He injects the arm. The pilots are alerted to the presence of the Doctor, Jamie and the Commandant in the hangar. The body is gone, but the Doctor reveals an unused Spanish postage stamp, the only thing found on the body. Jamie and the Doctor find burnt fibres and a burn mark. The Doctor begins to make deductions regarding these, much to the bemusement of the Commandant. The Doctor suggests they search the hangar. They move to open a packing case as Blade emerges from the back. Blade opens the case, revealing plastic cups. The Commandant, fed up now, takes the Doctor and Jamie away. Spencer is ordered to bring the creature from the compartment. Blade and he help it out of the hangar, worrying about the fact that it may be reaching "suffocation point". Back at Immigration & Customs, the Doctor and Jamie are being cross-examined by the Commandant. They spot Polly and draw her to the Commandant's attention, but she claims not to know either of them. The two pilots guide the disguised creature through the airport concourse to the medical centre. They arrive at the medical centre and set him down on a bench. The creature has a misshapen head and is breathing heavily...
Episode 2
As the creature waits, Meadows, an air traffic controller, lies unconscious on a bed. At the I&C desk, the woman says she is Michelle Leupi from Zurich, before going on to explain that this is her first visit to England and she is here on a work permit. The Doctor asks why she speaks such good English and is told that she had an English governess. She leaves as Jamie forlornly calls after her. As the Commandant calls for the police, the Doctor and Jamie make a dash for it. Nurse Pinto arrives. Armbands are attached to the creature and Meadows. Headsets are attached. Whilst eluding the police the Doctor spots an advertisement for Chameleon Tours, catering for people ages eighteen to twenty-five. Ben finds them and they go off. As the real Meadows twitches, the creature transforms into his duplicate. At the Medical Centre, they adjust the new Meadows' senses and test his self-knowledge. Ben spots the woman who looks like Polly working at the Chameleon Tours desk. The Doctor tries to speak to her, but she denies everything; however, she mentions "someone shot" without prompting. The Doctor and his friends leave. Michelle reports behind the kiosk to Blade. Blade orders her to leave on the next flight back to base and intends to deal with the Doctor. The duplicate Meadows takes his place at Air Traffic Control. DI Crossland has arrived and is investigating Chameleon as well as his missing colleague. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Ben, and Jamie hide in a photo booth and decide Ben should investigate the hangar, Jamie will keep an eye on the kiosk and the Doctor will see the Commandant. As Jamie watches, Samantha Briggs arrives and interrogates Michelle about her brother Brian, supposedly in Rome on a Chameleon Tour; the hotel he's supposed to be staying at doesn't exist, and he can't be found — yet they've received a postcard from him posted in Rome. Michelle says she'll make inquiries and goes back to contact Blade. Spencer informs her Blade isn't contactable; Michelle tries to stall Samantha, who says she'll wait. She sits next to Jamie, who says the Doctor may help her. The Commandant absolutely refuses to listen to the Doctor and calls the police on him. As the Doctor tries to persuade the Commandant, Jean, a secretary dealing with DI Crossland, overhears the name of Chameleon Tours and tries to interrupt. The police arrive. The Doctor fakes a bomb hoax with a rubber ball as a means of escape. Blade orders Michelle to deal with Samantha and close the kiosk. Samantha is told her brother arrived in Rome but went AWOL. Ben arrives in the hangar and opens a packing case to find the real Polly, sitting in a trance. He tries to call the Commandant. The Doctor is introduced to Samantha and investigates the rear of the kiosk. He sees Ben on the monitor, then sees Spencer attack Ben with the pen-shaped freezing device. He also uncovers a large batch of postcards from destinations around the world as well as a selection of foreign stamps. Blade and Spencer prepare for the Doctor's approach. DI Crossland is informed by Jenkins about Brian Briggs, whilst Crossland also enquires about DI Gascoigne. Jenkins explains that things have been hectic at the airport of late and fills Crossland in about the Doctor and Jamie and their story of the dead body. Crossland says they must be found. Samantha flirts with Jamie. A different woman re-opens the Chameleon kiosk. A Chameleon flight to Zurich is announced. Jamie worries about where Polly is. The Doctor reaches the hangar. With no sign of Ben, he searches the office and pockets the pen-like device. The new kiosk attendant hands stamped postcards to the Zurich passengers for them to write before they depart. Samantha sees the implications, realising that her brother wouldn't have had to have been in Rome to send the postcard. She and Jamie go to find the Doctor but are stopped by DI Crossland. The Doctor opens a packing case to discover the trance-like body of Meadows. Suddenly a pleading voice is heard over a loudspeaker, actually made by Spencer. The Doctor is drawn into the office, where he is sealed inside. A freezing vapour seeps through grilles in the walls.
Episode 3
Spencer watches from the hidden chamber. The Doctor tries to block one grille. Spencer opens another. The Doctor notices a closed-circuit camera watching him and blocks that. Spencer comes out to find the Doctor huddled on the ground. As he bends down to check on him, the Doctor fires the freezing device at him and escapes. Jamie and Samantha have explained the situation to Crossland when the Doctor finds them. The Doctor identifies a picture of Gascoigne as the dead man. Crossland takes the Doctor to the Commandant despite his protestations that the Commandant will not believe him. The Doctor orders Jamie to keep an eye on the kiosk while he's gone. Blade finds Spencer and orders him to kill the Doctor as punishment for letting him escape. Blade departs to pilot the Zurich flight. Samantha decides to investigate the hangar herself and goads Jamie into accompanying her, despite the fact he was told to stay with the kiosk. The Doctor, with Crossland's encouragement, tells the Commandant about the stupefied man in the packing case and suspects it is a worker from the airport. He presents the paralysis pen to the Commandant and introduces the idea that they may be dealing with an alien force. The Commandant is still very sceptical. The Doctor explains his conviction that Gascoigne was murdered by a ray-gun — a weapon unknown on Earth — and that Chameleon Tours is a front for the mass abduction of young men and women. In order to prove the alien side of the venture, the Doctor demonstrates the pen-like freezing device with "Meadows'" reluctant help. Meadows runs off as the Doctor fires the device at a china cup Meadows is holding, rendering it frozen solid. Samantha finds an envelope full of signed postcards in the Chameleon office and goes to the Commandant's office to show the Doctor. The Doctor is busying himself with the flight record of Chameleon Tours when Sam bursts in. She shows that the envelope is addressed to a Chameleon Tours office in Germany and explains the ramifications. Convinced by this strange turn of affairs, the Commandant gives the Doctor the freedom of the airport for twelve hours. The duplicate Meadows reports back to Spencer, who chastises him from running out of the observation tower before gaining further information and then orders him to attach a button-like device to the Doctor which will "put paid to him once and for all". Meadows returns to air traffic control. Captain Blade's flight is returning, and the Doctor questions another controller about the range of their radar. He discovers that once the planes get 130 miles out they have no further record of them. The Commandant questions whether the Doctor is using his freedom of the airport wisely by staying in the observation tower. The duplicated Meadows bumps into the Doctor as he leaves, planting the device. Crossland presents himself to the Chameleon Tours kiosk and wants to see Blade. Spencer checks that this is OK, and Crossland is given permission to meet Blade aboard his next flight. When the Doctor searches the Chameleon office, the grilles are hidden, but he suspects there is a secret chamber. He and Jamie tear apart the room. Crossland confronts Blade on a busy plane ready to take off. Crossland's questioning gets too close to home for Blade, and he is asked to stay in the bulk of the plane while Blade cancels the flight. The plane starts to take off, and Crossland forces his way onto the flight deck. This is not a standard flight deck — no throttle controls or the usual displays. Blade and Ann Davidson clamp him in a chair, and the flight takes off. The Doctor and Jamie find the opening mechanism and discover the high-tech contents of the room, including the cabinet with an air-conditioning unit "for someone who's not used to the Earth's atmosphere". They see on a monitor the inside of the Medical Centre and go in search of it; Spencer watches this from the kiosk and activates the device on the Doctor's back, causing him to fall in pain, clutching his back. Jamie removes the device from the Doctor's back and throws it on the floor. He then stomps on it with his shoe, completely destroying it Ann passes out refreshments to the passengers on the plane and returns to the flight deck where she locks the door. Crossland is looking at a monitor showing all the passengers on the plane. Blade says to him "You wanted to know the secret of Chameleon Tours? Well Inspector, see for yourself!" and he pulls a lever. Crossland then looks at the monitor and notices, much to his horror, that all the passengers seats are now empty...
•Dr. Who - Patrick Troughton
•Ben Jackson - Michael Craze
•Polly - Anneke Wills
•Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
•Samantha Briggs - Pauline Collins
•Policeman - James Appleby
•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
Food and beverages
•The Chameleon hostess Ann Davidson offers barley sugar to the kidnapped passengers.
The Doctor
•The Doctor is referred to as "human" by the Chameleons. •When Polly says that present England is their world, the Doctor shows sorrow about never going back to his world. •The Doctor pretends that he is a physician and that Jamie has a tropical disease, to be cured with "somnalin." •The Doctor belittles passports as "mumbo jumbo."
Newspapers
•A copy of the Daily Reflection is present in the Commandant's office. •The Doctor and Jamie use copies of the Mill Hill Times to hide themselves from the Chameleons.
•This was the final performance for Michael Craze as Ben Jackson before his death on 7 December 1998. His final line in the role was: "We might see you sometime. Take care."
•This story had a working title of The Chameleons.
•The conclusion of this story leads straight into The Evil of the Daleks.
•Only episodes one and three of this six-part story exist as 16mm black & white film telerecordings in the BBC Archives.
•Episode three was returned in 1987, along with episode two of The Evil of the Daleks, by a private collector who acquired the episodes at a car boot sale some years earlier. However, this copy of the episode is slightly damaged and is missing approximately nineteen seconds of footage. According to Toby Hadoke on the DVD commentary, this is because the owner of the episode watched it excessively and, as a result, the film was starting to break in several places. However, the episode has been restored to its original length by using the complete audio tape, cutaways and CGI.
•Malcolm Hulke and David Kerkham (who wrote under the pen-name of David Ellis) had both previously submitted various storylines to Doctor Who that had all been rejected. The two of them then collaborated on a script titled The People Who Couldn't Remember which was also rejected but the two writers remained on good terms with story editor Gerry Davis, having worked with him on United! He eventually met with Hulke and Kerkham and asked them to write a new Doctor Who story set in a department store. Hulke and Kerkham then drafted a four part story, titled The Big Store, which would have seen the Doctor (then played by William Hartnell) coming up against a race of shape-shifting aliens, known as the Chameleons, hiding out in a British department store in 1973. Davis liked the idea of the Chameleons but was now no longer keen on the location and, subsequently, Hulke and Kerkham rewrote the outline of the story by shifting the action to an airport. Furthermore, Innes Lloyd was unhappy with the series' onslaught of four-part serials, since they prevented costs from being spread out over more episodes
•Ben is glad to have not met the Cybermen again. (TV: The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase)
•The Sixth Doctor encounters the Chameleons on Krennos. (PROSE: Face Value)
•The Doctor again pretends to be a medical doctor. (TV: The Highlanders et al.)
•In his investigation of reports of a series of agent provocateurs known as "the Doctor" who had been involved in numerous unusual incidents, the journalist James Stevens interviewed Samantha Briggs about the Gatwick Incident. She described the Doctor as "a short man with a mournful face and dishevelled clothing". She also noted that he had a "blurred" English accent which defied description and seemed to be extremely knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects. Stevens dubbed him "the Gatwick Doctor" due to his involvement in the investigation of holiday fraud. He found it bizarre that it occurred on the same day as the C-Day fiasco, namely 20 July 1966, when Sir Charles Summer claimed to have been in the company of an elderly white-haired man who also called himself "the Doctor" in Central London. Stevens also found evidence that the Gatwick Doctor was later heavily involved in the London Event, an infamous nerve gas scare on the London Underground, during which the population of Central London was evacuated. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy)
DVD Releases
•The surviving episodes (episodes one and three) were released in digitally re-mastered form as part of the Lost in Time 3-disc DVD set in 2004. Released: •Region 2 - 1 November 2004 PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1353 •Region 4 - 2 December 2004 •Region 1 - 2 November 2004
VHS releases
•The surviving episodes episodes one and three were released alongside The Web of Fear episode one and the remaining first, second, third and sixth episodes of The Reign of Terror all in digitally re-mastered form as part of a two-cassette release entitled Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror. The events of the missing fourth and fifth episodes of The Reign of Terror were summarised on-screen by Carole Ann Ford. Released: •UK November 2003 PAL - BBC Video BBCV7335 •US October 2003 NTSC - Warner Video E1853 Notes: The US release was also located in The End of the Universe Collection. •Editing of surviving episodes for the VHS and DVD releases was completed by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.
Digital releases
•The animated version of the story is available for streaming through Tubi (US) for free as part of Season 4 of Classic Doctor Who in November 2023 for the 60th anniversary. The surviving episodes were not included.
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Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones. 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.
7 ott 2020 · Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones will air on BBC America in two parts, with the first three episodes arriving on Wednesday, Oct. 7, and the final three on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, at 8 p.m....
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