DOCTOR Who fans have reacted with joy at watching the first trailer for the latest animated version of a classic episode.
The Faceless Ones, first released in 1967, sees the second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions uncover a sinister alien plot at Gatwick Airport, and is the latest story to get the cartoon treatment.
Despite masses of vintage TV having been discarded by the BBC, a number of stories like The Faceless Ones have been restored by adding animation to the surviving soundtracks.
To mark the adventure’s release, the official Doctor Who YouTube account this week dropped a new trailer that breathes life into a 53-year-old piece of television.
And, so far, fans of the popular sci-fi franchise commenting on the clip seem to have liked what they’ve seen.
Robert Green wrote: “The hype is real in these dark times and I think we need the Doctor!
“Patrick Troughton is here once again to save the day after 53 years, filling in the missing gaps!”
Anonymous Timelord posted: “It’s a fantastic! A 9/10.” While yuria2 added: “The Second Doctor is always a delight, great to see another animation released!”
The Faceless Ones is the mostly missing eighth serial of the fourth season of Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 April to 13 May 1967.
The story concerns a race of identity-stealing aliens known as the Chameleons and sees the departure of Michael Craze and Anneke Wills as The Doctor’s companions Ben Jackson and Polly.
The next Doctor Who animation will be a restoration of another lost Troughton episode, 1968’s Fury From The Deep, which is available as a pre-order from Amazon ahead of a release later this year.
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Speaking to RadioTimes.com to promote the new version of The Faceless Ones, actress Anneke Wills – who made her final appearance as companion Polly in the story – revealed how Troughton was “anxious” about replacing the first ever Doctor, William Hartnell, in 1966.
She said: “He felt the whole onus of this was on his shoulders. He didn’t so much trust [series producer] Innes Lloyd and the directors, he trusted me and Michael and so he would always run things by me and Mike.
“We’d go to the pub and he’d say, ‘Okay guys, what do you think? Bit over the top?’ and Mike was wonderful for saying, ‘Right over the top, darling! If you’re gonna do that, I’m not working with you!’ – and he trusted us to tell it like it was.
“So in that way, we became very bonded, because we helped him through. By the time we were doing The Faceless Ones, he was just in the role.”
Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones is out now on DVD, Blu-ray and as a Steelbook.
