"The Faceless Ones" Episode 2

Doctor Who
Airdate: April 15, 1967
Patrick Troughton, Anneke Wills, Michael Craze, Frazer Hines
Written by David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke
Produced by Innes Lloyd
Directed by Gerry Mill

In the medical centre, Captain Blade and Nurse Pinto perform some sort of operation on the creature, the result of which is that its blank, misshapen features morph to resemble Meadows, an air-traffic controller who is sedated nearby. Meanwhile, the Doctor has no luck with "Polly", and he and Jamie run off to avoid arrest. They run into Ben, and put him in the picture. The Doctor takes another crack at "Polly", now working at a Chameleon Tours kiosk, while Jamie makes the acquaintance of Sam Briggs, who is trying to find information on her missing brother. Also arriving at the airport is Inspector Crossland, investigating the disappearance of Inspector Gascoigne, the man who Polly saw murdered. The Doctor gets into the office behind the Chameleon kiosk, and stares helplessly at a monitor showing Ben being immobilized by some device and taken away. As the Doctor explores further, he finds the unconscious body of Meadows in a crate, but soon finds himself trapped in a small office as a freezing vapor is pumped into the room.

Except for a brief farewell scene at the end of Episode 6, this marks the last we'll ever see of Ben and Polly. It isn't entirely clear why they were written out. The actors contracts extended through the second episode of the next story, and they were paid through to that point. But they were unceremoniously dropped right in the middle of this one. It isn't quite as bad as what happened to Dodo in "The War Machines", because at least they get to return to say goodbye in person, but it's not good. Especially since they were, in my opinion, the best companions since Ian and Barbara, and they did a terrific job of shepherding the series into the Patrick Troughton era.

This episode also introduces Samantha "Sam" Briggs, who would have been a new companion had the actress, Pauline Collins, not declined at the last minute. Collins would return to "Doctor Who" much later to play Queen Victoria in "Tooth and Claw" alongside David Tennant and Billie Piper. The actual companion that we get during the next story leaves a lot to be desired, but I don't think Sam Briggs would have been much better, if at all.

In other casting news, we welcome Bernard Kay back to the series in this episode, playing Inspector Crossland. He previously played Tyler in "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" and Saladin in "The Crusade". Here he's playing a Scottish detective, and struggling a bit with the accent.

This episode sees the debut of a slightly altered theme tune for the series, which will continue in use through Season Seventeen. The difference is rather subtle, and easy to miss if it isn't pointed out to you.