FACELESS

'Faceless' was a series that scared me so much that I have still have nightmares about it. Those haunting images that cause me to wake in the night screaming have earned it a place on Phantom Television.

In 1992 this series invited the viewers to step into the shoes of a top fashion designer, Felicity Kembel, played by former 70s movie starlet Jessica Brice. Felicity lived in Hollywood, where fame is everything.




Her world is turned upside down when she awakes one night to find a woman standing in her bedroom, a women who has no face. The faceless intruder silently points at Felicity before vanishing.

The incident terrifies Felicity but that becomes the least of her problems when she discovers that she no longer needs to eat or drink and after accidentally cutting herself she finds that she doesn't bleed. Felicity begins to question her own identity.

While coping with her new condition and still run her fashion company Felicity becomes involved with an ongoing murder investigation. Someone is murdering people involved in the fashion industry, removing the face from his victim's bodies.

Head of the investigation is Detective Wallace Bodier, played by Alistair Ellis. Although tasked with bringing the killer to justice Bodier was no hero. His hatred for women was barely concealed and his harassment of Felicity was either justified by suggesting she'd be the next victim or was the killer herself.

Smelling a story fashion reporter Chip Queen, played by Charles Vulus, delved into Felicity's background, uncovering some dark secrets she'd rather keep hidden. Chip was certainly a unique character, flamboyant and always wearing extremely garish clothes he had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of dogs and on more than one occasion claimed to be able tot speak with them.

Another thorn in Felicity's side was rival fashion designer Angela Heart. The two had been best friends until Angela had an affair with Felicity's husband and later married him. Since then each had been trying to ruin the others career.

Over two seasons the drama of the fashion business intermingled with the ongoing murder investigation with every character becoming a suspect. Overshadowing it all was Felicitiy's strange condition and her struggles to prove her own humanity to herself.

Combining these plot threads appealed to a broad audience. Woman loved the fashion and Felicitiy's search for identity while men loved the numerous attractive women in the show and the drama of the murders.

Amateur sleuths particularly enjoyed the mystery. This community of fans analysed every episode, piecing the puzzle together. Most seemed unaware that the writer of the show, Scott Carn, was frequently quoted as saying he was making the show up as he went along and had no idea who the killer was.

The themes of 'Faceless' also came under a lot of discussion. What makes a person human? Felicity was famous but she questioned whether there was anything beneath the surface.

Certainly the manner in which the victims of the killer were left was chilling. In the end, despite their visibility during life, they were faceless, just another statistic. Others made the argument that killer viewed his victims as hollow, empty, a condition which was imposed on Felicity in some manner.

In the shocking two hour finale Felicity discovered the body of the faceless women who had first appeared to her, lying on her bed. To her horror she realises that the woman is her, murdered by the serial killer two years before.

Her inability to bleed is because she is already dead, a ghost moving through the fashion world. Just as she makes this realisation the power to her house is turned off and she is pursued by her killer, come to find out why she has been active for the last couple of years.

Viewers only glimpse the killer for a few seconds, lit by lightening as a storm rages around the house. Debate rages around whether the figure we saw in that brief moment was Bodier, Chip or Angela. Whoever it was the killer falls down a flight of stairs as he tries to kill Felicity. With her murder dead she finally lets go and passes on to the here after.

SELECTED EPISODES:


RED IS IN
A fashion shot for Felicity's new line of dresses is ruined when another fashion model is found dead, her face removed. Detective Bodier soon arrives and begins interrogating Felicity, still suspecting her to be the killer.
Felicity's claims of innocence are damaged when Chip prints a story about witnessing a brutal argument between Felicity and the model. An argument that Felicity doesn't remember but which Chip has the photos to prove.


THE LOCATION SHOOT
Felicity tries to getaway from her troubles by taking a trip to Hawaii. Arriving at the resort she is horrified to discover that Angela is there with her ex-husband. During a heat argument they are surprised by a mugger who shots Felicity. Angela becomes suspicious when Felicity's wound doesn't bleed.
Meanwhile in Hollywood Chip discovers that as a young woman Felicity was seeing a psychiatrist due to a number of violent incidents that almost landed her in prison.

SKELETON IN THE CLOSET
At the launch party of a new clothing range Felicity tries to hide the body of another victim of the serial killer, to avoid the party being cancelled. Things get worse when Wallace Bodier crashes the place, drunk after being fired for his handling of the case.
With all the disruption no one notices Chip Queen arrive with his bloodhound which soon sniffs out the secret Felicity is keeping.


TRIVIA:

As part of her contract Jessica Brice was allowed to keep all the costumes shown on the show. After the show ended Jessica claimed she had made a fortune because she never needed to buy new clothes again.


Charles Vulus found himself typecast after appearing in 'Faceless'. He complained bitterly that from then on he was only cast to play flamboyant fashion journalists with a love of dogs.


The show made use of fashion model instead of extras to fill out their cast. The producer, Darren Evans, claimed that their budget for catering stretched much further.