Sad news from the Doctor Who family today. Via Doctor Who News, we learn of the death of prolific classic-era director Christopher Barry at the age of 89. How important was Barry to creating the legend of the show? Doctor Who News:
Barry joined the Doctor Who team in the late summer of 1963, when he was assigned to direct the second story, The Daleks, replacing Rex Tucker who had left after artistic differences with producer Verity Lambert. The script he would bring to life would see the introduction of the Daleks and ensure the success of the fledgling series. Barry would end up directing episodes 1,2,4 and 5 of the story, creating the ‘sink-plunger’ cliff hanger at the end of episode 1 which would see the nation on the edge of their seats until the full revelation of the Dalek machine in episode 2.
That important. Barry would go on to direct some of the most-loved serials, including Patrick Troughton’s first story, “The Power of the Daleks” (so he was the first director to have to deal with regeneration and maintaining the emotional and dramatic continuity with a new actor in the lead); the Jon Pertwee serial “The Daemons”; the Tom Baker story “The Brain of Morbius” (pictured above); and many others.
Barry’s IMDb page reveals that he also directed episodes of Z Cars, All Creatures Great and Small, The Tripods, Poldark, and many other series across the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. If you’re a fan of classic British television, you’ve certainly seen his work.
(If you stumble across a cool Doctor Who thing, feel free to email me with a link.)
Oh, no! Another icon of Old School Who bites the dust. :-(
Alas, it’s official. Kate O’Mara, the actress who played the Rani on the first series, died today (March 30). She will be missed.