| THE FACELESS ONES by David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke |
| Story 35 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands in the middle of a runway at Gatwick. The Doctor and his friends split up. The TARDIS is removed from trouble. Polly witnesses a man being killed, and is later kidnapped. The Doctor and Jamie try to report the murder and Polly's disappearance, but their lack of passports puts them in hot water. They catch up with Ben, but he goes missing soon after. The Doctor realises that Chameleon Tours are up to no good. He meets up with DI Crossland, whose colleague is missing (Polly witnessed his murder), and Samantha Briggs, whose brother Brian went missing after taking a CT flight. Crossland is taken on a flight, and informed that passengers disappear. Jamie takes the next flight. The Doctor realises that the planes are rendez-vousing somewhere in space. The Chameleons are kidnapping thousands of young people to use their body patterns, they having lost this facet in a genetic disaster. The Doctor goes to their base, and forces them to end their kidnappings. He offers to help with a solution. Ben and Polly decide to stay on Earth, but the Doctor and Jamie are stuck - the TARDIS has gone missing. |
| Review:- Back down to Earth, and the first usage of an airport in the series (although oddly, not the last). Missing persons are a good cliche to base a story around, and here is a plot with quite a convincing angle to it. It helps that the Chameleons are quite convincing aliens, and have a simple and understandable motive. Ben and Polly score one of the worst exits in series history, although at least Anneke Wills gets to play someone different before she goes. Jamie fares better, proving daring in sneaking aboard a Chameleon Tours flight, and acting as a manly protector to Sam Briggs, and a trusting help to Inspector Crossland. The Doctor gets plenty to do, racing to solve the mystery of the missing people, avoiding being frozen to death, or death by laser... it is perhaps a shame that although he gets the final face-off with the Chameleons' Director, his scheme depends on bluff, although at least he wins over Blade. His non-judgemental response to trying to help find a cure for the Chameleons is rather special, too. Sam Briggs is well acted, and possibly a more entertaining companion prospect than Victoria would be, but never mind. It is a little weak that she is apparently the only person to miss one of Chameleon Tours' victims. On the whole, it's a bit of a mixed bag, but entertaining all the same. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book. |