I actually felt a physical shock reading about the death of former Doctor Who producer/executive producer/writer/director Barry Letts.
I had multiple flashbacks…to my very FIRST memory of Doctor Who…a 7 year old’s frightened-yet-fascinated glimpse of Planet of the Spiders, episode 6, on TVOntario…then, my first complete 3rd Doctor story - Carnival of Monsters - which was unlike anything I had ever seen, and retains its wonderful, cheeky, satirical power to this very day.
Then I thought about my dad…and realized that Barry Letts’ era of Doctor Who is one I watched on local TV stations while in his company. Whether he was reading the paper, cursing as he fooled around with the fireplace, or making joking comments as I watched…
A friend of mine tells me I should celebrate all that Barry Letts did…and I am…I’m watching the DVD of The Sea Devils as I write this. But multiple pieces of my childhood feel as if they have melted away into nothingness…and with the greatest longing I wish I could re-live them, if only for a single, sweet moment.
I miss Barry Letts already…and I’m missing my dad even more.
This man’s impact on Doctor Who is nothing short of staggering. Between 1967 and 2004 he can list 128 episodes as producer, 28 episodes as Executive Producer, the Director (credited & un-credited) of 29 episodes, un-credited co-writer on 23 episodes, as well as author of two Doctor Who radio plays, three novel adaptations, and two original novels. If you want the complete overview, follow this link. Suffice to say, more than any other single person, Barry Letts WAS Doctor Who.
How do you thank a man who provided five amazing, ambitious, memorable years of Doctor Who? How do you thank the man who initiated Doctor Who’s astonishing rise to pop culture success? How do you thank the man who made Jon Pertwee a hero to millions, introduced iconic characters such as The Master & Sarah Jane Smith…and then followed it up by giving the world Tom Baker? The Russell Davies/David Tennant era owes a great deal to these early 1970s halcyon days…far more than any other classic era of the program. Every time I watch a Tennant or Christopher Eccleston episode, I feel the same warm contentment I did while sitting in my old family room, watching Daleks shooting up natives on Exxilon, or Alpha Centauri annoying everyone in the Peladonian throne room, or the Brigadier taking the most ridiculous experiences in his stride, while the Doctor got on with saving the world.
Pick up a 3rd Doctor DVD and listen to one of Barry’s wonderful commentaries. It’s the best tribute I can think of to this extraordinary & talented “father” of modern-day Doctor Who. The world is incredibly poorer for Barry Letts’ departure.
