The Chameleons claimed to be the "most intelligent race in the universe" and that the Earth people were as intelligent as the animals of their world. A "gigantic explosion" on the Chameleons' home planet resulted in the loss of their faces and their identities. To save their race from dying out, their scientists developed a process that would allow them to assume the identities of other beings. They went to Earth and established Chameleon Tours at Gatwick Airport as a front for abducting young humans to their space station. By July 1966 they had acquired 50,000 people, but before they could return to their world they were exposed by the Second Doctor, who offered to help them find another solution to their problem in exchange for releasing the humans. (TV: The Faceless Ones)