Christopher Barry, the legendary director of serials such as The Daleks, The Power of the Daleks and The Daemons, has sadly died at the age of 88.
Mr Barry will possibly be forever remembered as the director of that first Dalek serial in 1963 which paved the way for the ongoing success of the series and made cultural icons of Skaro’s finest. Yet the breadth of his work stretches from William Hartnell through to the Tom Baker era with The Creature From the Pit, not to mention Downtime in 1995. He is widely regarded as one of the classic series’ finest directors.
He will be sadly missed and our thoughts and condolences go out to his family at this sad time.
The legacy of Christopher Barry:
- The Daleks (episodes 1,2,4,5 and 7)
- The Rescue
- The Romans
- The Savages
- The Power of the Daleks
- The Dæmons
- The Mutants
- Robot
- The Brain of Morbius
- The Creature from the Pit
The following tribute is from DWW contributor Robert Mammone:
The death today of Christopher Barry, closes the chapter on the life of one of Doctor Who’s most influential, and longest serving, directors.
Barry, whose career career in films and television began in 1949, was constantly in work during the next five decades. From uncredited assistant director roles on British quota films, he moved into television to take up the producer’s role in a number of productions, such as Jane Eyre, during the 1960s.
However, it is his work on Doctor Who that will long be remembered. To understand the longevity of the series, is to understand the impact of his work on the first Dalek serial, The Daleks. Week after week, the audience numbers mounted until an astonishing 10.4 million viewers watched the final episode.
Barry demonstrated his versatility as a director with The Romans, a comedy romp which ably demonstrated William Hartnell’s lighter touch as an actor. Such was the regard Barry was held, he was tasked with directing Patrick Troughton’s first story, The Power of the Daleks. While it is Troughton’s performance that is remembered, none of this would’ve been possible with Barry’s steady hand guiding his uncertain lead actor.
A gap of five years ensued before Barry came back to the show, directing The Daemons. A homage in many ways to the Hammer and Amicus films of the preceding decade, The Daemons ably demonstrated that horror films could easily be translated to the small screen. The destruction of the church at the end of episode five caused many viewers to contact the BBC in outrage, a testimony to Barry’s directing.
Again, Barry was invited back to help shepherd a new Doctor into the role, with Robot, starring Tom Baker. Barry would return twice more, with The Brain of Morbius (where he provided one of the faces in the mind bending battle between the Doctor and Morbius) and finally The Creature from the Pit.
Barry’s career in television wasn’t simply restricted to telefantasy. He worked on popular long running series like Z-Cars, Polark, The Onedin Line and All Creatures Great and Small.
A versatile director over an astonishingly long career, Christopher Barry will long be remembered by generations of fans for his work in Doctor Who.
Christopher Barry, who had retired to Oxfordshire, is survived by his wife.
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