The Faceless Ones - Episode 6

The final part of this story needs to tie up the loose ends in a satisfactory way. It’s always important in any piece of drama but in a six part adventure like this, it becomes even more important. I must admit that with the knowledge this is the final story for Ben and Polly, my attention drifted away from the main plot. It’s a shame really as I think that from what I did grasp from the audio, it seemed to be an attempt to return the taken youngsters yet ensure that the chameleon lifeforms aren’t hurt or killed. That aspect of the story is finished off in a perfectly fine way.

Anneke Wills and Michael Craze appear at the very end of the episode to film their departure scene. At least they got a departure scene unlike Jackie Lane who disappeared and then we got a throwaway line from Polly in episode four. It does seem a bit of a waste really considering that they are the last links to the Hartnell era and you think considering that they were there for the first appearances of the Cybermen and the first regeneration they deserve a finer send off. Once Ben and Polly realise that they are back on the same day that they left in ‘The War Machines’ they decide to stay. It does feel like its been wrapped  up in a nice neat bow. If only their departure had been better handled.

The goodbye scene between Sam and Jamie was really sad and it makes the decision for her not to continue with the TARDIS even sadder. I think that as I have liked the chemistry between these two it was always going to be a sad moment when Pauline Collins departed but that didn’t make it any easier when the moment came. Collins is a great actress and her performances over the past five episodes have been wonderful and a credit to the show.

The best thing about this episode is the unexpected ending to the episode. The Doctor and Jamie discover that the TARDIS has been stolen and this leads us into the final story of the season. As an episode I must say that it didn’t have the impact that I thought it would have. The problems with six part episodes were evident here but at least they tried to keep things going by shifting the focus of the story and the setting. The episode did what it needed to do and also gave the viewer in 1967 a reason to watch next week because no sooner have we said goodbye the Anneke Wills and Michael Craze than we say hello to Debroah Watling.