May
15
2017
After the giant crabby ridiculousness of The Macra Terror, I really wasn't expecting much out of today's new story. It turns out I was completely wrong. The Faceless Ones, at least so far, is fiendishly unsettling in all the right ways. It has certainly creeped me right hell out.
Let's talk about that.
The Faceless Ones - Episodes 1 & 2
(TARDIS Data Core recap)
The Faceless Ones kicks off a new trend of longer stories, which will run pretty consistently through the remainder of the Second Doctor era. From here on out, most of the stories are six episodes with some running even longer. I approve of this trend. It also debuts the new arrangement of the opening theme by Delia Derbyshire, which will continue to be used all the way through the 70's. Check it out here:
As for the story, it is creepy as all get out. The TARDIS materializes in the middle of a runway at London's Gatwick airport, and upon exiting onto the tarmac the Doctor, Ben, Polly, and Jamie are split up and chased by airport police. During the ensuing escape, Polly enters a hanger to hide and ends up witnessing a murder. There is much running around and paranoia, with airport officials and police officers distrusting our heroes, with bodies disappearing, and with Polly being captured and then somehow replaced by a perfect replica who doesn't recognize the Doctor or Jamie.
Oh, and briefly at the end of the first episode, this guy shows up:
I'd say, "Kill it with fire!", but it seems like someone has already beaten me to it.
Thus far (and I have intentionally not read ahead for plot points, because this story is really creeping me out, which I love!), as near as I can tell there is an alien invasion in progress which has set up a scam budget youth tour operation to lure in healthy, attractive young people who can be disappeared with little fuss. Said healthy, attractive young people are being frozen and templated, Invasion of the Body Snatchers style, as the aliens copy their bodies. The name of the alien travel company is, not surprisingly, Chameleon Tours.
At the point where I am now, Polly has been frozen and copied, with her body packed away in a crate. Ben has been captured, and is presumably about to be frozen and copied. Meanwhile, the Doctor has been lured into a trap, and has just been frozen by a strange gas coming from the walls of the Chameleon Tours office. Only Jamie remains free, but continually hiding from security officers inside the airport terminal.
Only episodes 1 and 3 still exist for this story, so for the others I am watching the Loose Canon reconstructions. As usual, they are excellent. I am seriously tempted to watch more episodes tonight, but I just physically can't do another three miles on the treadmill. I guess it will have to wait until the morning. Wanna take any bets on whether or not this guy will visit me tonight in my dreams?
"Aaaauugghhhh!"
STATS:
Doctor(s): Second
Companion(s): Ben Jackson, Polly Wright, Jamie McCrimmon
Episode(s): The Faceless Ones - Episodes 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 6,287 today, 541,409 total
Distance Walked: 3.07 miles today, 256.84 miles total
Weight: 282.70 lbs (five day moving average), net change -24.60 lbs