 This story was co-written by David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke. "The Faceless Ones" was David Ellis' only Doctor Who story, although he would go on to write for programmes such as Z Cars and Dixon of Dock Green. David Ellis died in 1978. Malcolm Hulke, on the other hand, would continue his association with Doctor Who into the Seventies.
This story had its origins in a planned First Doctor story by David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke called "The Big Store", in which aliens occupied mannequins in a busy department store, while waiting for human hosts to possess. The idea was adapted for the Second Doctor and its setting changed to an airport.
This story concerns a race of identity-stealing aliens known as the Chameleons who are a dying race of aliens. They claim to be the most intelligent beings in the Universe (although they later admit that The Doctor's knowledge is even greater than their own). Scientists on their home planet have developed a way for them to assume the form of kidnapped humans. Almost uniquely, The Doctor does not 'punish' them for their abductions, but instead suggests a chemical solution to their problems.
The director assigned to this story was Gerry Mill - who was new to the director's chair, but had worked on Doctor Who a year earlier as a production assistant on "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve". "The Faceless Ones" would be the only Doctor Who story of which Gerry Mill would take charge. In a break with tradition he decided to record scenes out of script order on several of the episodes.
New producer-in-training Peter Bryant (who would oversee Season Five) served as Associate Producer on this and the next story, "The Evil of the Daleks".
"The Faceless Ones" was filmed on location at London Gatwick Airport. London Heathrow also accepted the production team's offer, but the team chose Gatwick as the cost was lower. A Doctor Who story was filmed at London Heathrow. This was the 1982 Fifth Doctor story "Time-Flight".
This story sees the departure of Michael Craze and Anneke Wills as The Doctor's companions Ben Jackson and Polly Wright. Both characters do not appear in episodes 3 to 5, and appear only in a pre-filmed insert in episode 6.
Popular actress Pauline Collins appears in an early role as Samantha Briggs. Producer Innes Lloyd did ask Collins if she was interested in continuing to play Samantha Briggs and so becoming a regular Doctor Who companion but the actress declined. Pauline Collins did though return to the show as a guest-star, 39 years later, as Queen Victoria in the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "Tooth and Claw".
Wanda Ventham (Jean Rock) and Donald Pickering (Blade) would later star as husband and wife in the 1987 Seventh Doctor story "Time and The Rani". Wanda Ventham would also later appear in the 1977 Fourth Doctor story "Image of the Fendahl".
Christopher Tranchell (Jenkins) would return as Leela's love interest Andred in the 1978 Fourth Doctor story "The Invasion of Time". He had previously appeared in the 1966 First Doctor story "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve" as Roger Colbert.
Frazer Hines is heard to speak without his normal Scots burr in episodes 5 and 6 as the Chameleon copy of Jamie McCrimmon.
The Doctor is heard to use Jamie's term 'ray gun' throughout this story.
The ending of this story - with the TARDIS being taken away in a lorry - leads directly into the next - "The Evil of the Daleks".
The 20th July 1966, is noted as the busiest day for The Doctor in his time on Earth. The First Doctor defeats the War Machines and WOTAN and gains two new companions Polly and Ben ("The War Machines"). The Chameleons have been foiled and Polly and Ben decide to leave The Doctor ("The Faceless Ones") and with the TARDIS being stolen it heralds the beginning of The Doctor and Jamie's adventure against the Daleks ("The Evil of the Daleks").
In the past it was believed that this was the first story to feature The Doctor's face in the opening credits (exact determination having been difficult due to the number of episodes missing from this era of the programme). In reality, it was the previous story, "The Macra Terror", that saw the debut of the new title sequence. However, a slightly revised arrangement, by Delia Derbyshire with assistance from Dick Mills, of the theme music made its debut in episode 2 of this story.
After leaving Doctor Who, Anneke Wills went on to star in the crime drama Strange Report. In the Seventies, she left acting to travel the world before finally returning to the UK so as concentrate on her talents in art and interior decorating. She has appeared in several Doctor Who related videos, such as "Bidding Adieu" and "Lust in Space". She has also recorded appearances as the mother of audio companion Charley Pollard in the Big Finish Productions audio stories "Zagreus" and "The Next Life" as well as providing narrations to some of the BBC soundtrack releases.
Michael Craze, meanwhile, continued to appear in a variety of shows throughout the Sixties and Seventies, including Z Cars and Journey to the Unknown. He also acquired a regular role on the radio soap opera Waggoner's Walk. By the mid-Seventies, Michael Craze had become the manager of a London pub. Sadly he died on 8th December 1998 from injuries resulting from an accidental fall at his home.
Unfortunately only the second and third episode currently exist in the BBC Archives. Following an audit in 1978 only episode two was held by the BBC Film and Videotape Library. However, the third episode was returned, in May 1987, by a private collector.
In November 2003, episodes 1 and 3 of this story were released as part of "The Reign of Terror Collectors' Set". This was the final Doctor Who episodes to be released on VHS by BBC Worldwide.
An animated version of this story was released, on DVD, Blu-ray and as a Limited Edition Steelbook, in March 2020. This release features all six episodes reconstructed in animated format - in both black-and-white and colour - alongside the surviving episodes 1 and 3. The animated episodes were produced by Paul Hembury and directed by Anne Marie Walsh.
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The Firsts:
The first Doctor Who story to be written by David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke.
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Gerry Mill.
Peter Bryant's first involvement in the show as Associate Producer.
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(Position = 79 out of 159)
(Position = 122 out of 200)
(Position = 142 out of 241)
