Rewatching... Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones - Part 4

Saturday 29 April 1967

The production team on Doctor Who clearly like pilots at the moment. The last story (The Macra Terror) had a character called Pilot and there weren't even any aircraft in that one. This story however has an airport, aircraft, and is therefore chock full of air-based staff.

Still no sign of Ben or Polly this week. Perhaps next week then. It's very unusual for the companions to be absent for more than one episode. I'm surprised the Doctor hasn't been showing more urgency in trying to find them.

But he's not much help to anyone at the moment as he collapsed again last week after the alien gadget thing in his back was remotely activated, and the passengers aboard one of the Chameleon tours flights all vanished. Luckily it's not a ploy for Patrick Troughton to have a week off though, as he'll be back to full health soon.

Spencer tells Jamie that it's no use trying to rouse the Doctor because he's dead, there's a quick scuffle as both Jamie and Samantha try, and fail, to overpower the pilot. Sam doesn't mind getting stuck in then - perhaps she's got Michael Craze's script this week. So if Spencer thinks the Doctor is dead why does he feel the need to tie three of them up?

This 'laser beam' moving along the floor towards them is very Goldfinger.

On the plane, Crossland is being abducted. Alien Blade contacts 'base': "This is plane number three to base". These aliens tell it like it is, no time for fancy aircraft names or call signs.

In the medical centre the nurse gives another alien the face of Jenkins the immigration officer. I like the look of these 'raw' Chameleons with their sort of cotton wool faces.

There's some shenanigans with the Doctor and friends struggling to escape and of course they manage it. The whole business with the alien knock out device now seems like script padding, as everyone's up and about again as if nothing happened. The Doctor's getting on everyone's nerves and Jamie and Samantha are back at the booking kiosk again. Makes me wonder why the Chameleons needed to use their back-zapper on the Doctor anyway; after all they managed to overpower two extra people without using it.

"The Doctor is a menace to our plan", says Spencer in classic sixties sci-fi style. "Then we must kill him" replies Jenkins. They said that last week though! They really are useless, why not just shoot him?

At air traffic control Jean Rock has been doing detective work of her own, on the telephone. She calls all the cities where Chameleon Tours fly to...in the space of about a minute whilst the Doctor and the other characters are chatting! And we don't here a sound from her despite her being just off camera. She finds out that none of her passengers ever arrive at their destinations.

The Commandant calls the RAF and asks for the next Chameleon Tours flight to be followed. Samantha decides to get even closer and book a seat on one of their flights. Jamie doesn't approve though and pinches her ticket while he kisses her, proving he can be just as wily and devious as she can! The Doctor meanwhile had a word with Miss Rock and persuades her to get rid of the nurse in the medical centre so he can have a snoop. She does this by pretending to pass out, thus the nurse is summoned.

The Doctor discovers the real nurse in a cubicle in the medical centre.

Samantha tries to board her flight but can't find her ticket. She's being watched by Spencer on his monitor though, and she's summoned to his office where he points a gun at her.

Some stock footage as the plane takes off. There's a scene where Jamie appears to be a bit air sick. The trouble with Doctor Who is that it doesn't have the time to address really big issues convincingly. And if you think about the concept of a highland piper from the 1740s on a jumbo jet 200 years into his future...well that's huge! I mean it's one thing travelling in the TARDIS or even bouncing around on the moon, but to actually see the ground disappearing into the distance below you must be staggering. But of course it's glossed over and it's on with the plot. The RAF plane is attacked and crashes, and the Chameleon planes wings fold in: it's a spaceship! I must admit I do love a good "it's a spaceship!" cliffhanger (see future episodes). I don't know whether we'll see the full repercussions of the murdered fighter pilot. A visit to his next of kin? Perhaps even the funeral. I'm sure there's time - we've got another two episodes yet.