Christopher Barry has died

[dbminter]

Doctor Who director Christopher Barry has died.  He was 88.  He died after having a fall at his home.

 

 

Barry directed the lion's share of the episodes for the first Dalek story, The Daleks.  It was under his direction that only the Dalek plunger was shown at the end of episode 1, creating a national hysteria to see, next week, what was at the end of that arm!

 

 

He also cemented the continued success of Doctor Who by directing The Power Of The Daleks, the first story to feature a new actor in the lead role of the Doctor.  At the time, it was a concept that was so unfamiliar, no one was sure that the audience would be a different actor in the lead.  It's shame only a few seconds of clips exist from this story in the BBC vaults.

 

 

Barry was one of only 3 directors to direct stories for the first 4 Doctors.  He also directed the classic The Daemons for Jon Pertwee.  He helmed the debuted of Tom Baker in the series helping again to cement the change in lead actor, for Robot.  He also directed another classic Tom Baker serial, The Brain Of Morbius, which one of the first Doctor Who stories I ever saw back when they were first released on VHS around 1987.

 

 

He directed some 40 total episodes.  He was a unique vision on Doctor Who, helping on several occasions to secure the success of the series.  Without the Daleks, the show might not have become a worldwide institution.