Day 160: The Faceless Ones Episode 4

Ben and Polly don't appear in this episode. Nor did they appear in the previous episode, or will they appear in the next. They'll make a farewell appearance in the last episode, but I've got plans for that, and indeed tomorrow's episode (I know, this idiot has plans! Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are) so let's see why Ben and Polly have to go. The reasons may not be too apparent at first, they are incredibly likeable characters, Polly is certainly one of the better female leads that we've had and Ben brings forth some good stuff as well, even if his role as young male lead has been usurped by Jamie. However, they have been in the role for a year now, and so the characters are beginning to become a bit stale, and so the time has come for them to leave.

But lets just realise how important these characters were. They were truly modern, representing the height of the swinging 60's. Polly was remarkably well rounded, being able to be frightened, but also she was also incredibly sparky and developed an instant rapport with Patrick Troughton. Ben also shared this rapport with the Doctor, but he perhaps slipped into the role of young male lead a little too well, lacking the spark that Steven and Ian brought by being able to fight against the Doctor, although he did achieve this wonderfully in The Macra Terror. But the major thing that these two characters brought was the modern world. Doctor Who was no longer a stuffy old kids show with monsters, it was groovy, and ready to fully embrace the 1960's.