I think if the BBC revamped this series with CGI and a modern twist they would fuck it up. The key to this series was great actors, Gareth Thomas, Jacqueline Pearce, Paul Darrow and Glynis Barber amongst others... High quality actors make crap low budget BBC sets into classics as ever it was.
People talk about two sides of the same coin, it was so apropos with Blake and Avon. Even in the end, Blake’s dream had turned Avon, but Blake himself had been turned.
Wanna hear something sad? I´m spanish and i´m on holiday in the UK and i was due to meet Paul in person last Saturday at a convention in Birmingham but he cancelled on Friday. I came back from the theatre last night to learn why...I´ll always feel bad about it. He created the best antiheroe character in the history of scifi. RIP Paul. You´ll be missed
Thank you for this video!!! I remember i fell in love with Avon when I was about 9 or 10... :):) and now, at 32, watching it i feel the same. Aah, sweet childhood :)
I watched the first two series recently , it was awesome ! The scenery was a bit shaky but considering when it was made it was most impressive . Blake the idealist , Jenna , Avon , Gan and Vila the survivalists and Cally , the telepathic alien with Zen the computer watching over them . It had that feel good factor .
Blake and his crew lived in fascist dystopia where people were controlled with mind altering drugs, and spent the entire series hunted like dogs for daring to oppose this tyranny, before finally being massacred at the end. Loved the series, but there's no feel good factor in that. Maybe you're just associating the show with a time when you were young, so that's what you mean. But the show itself was pretty dark.
@@adamsmith7058 I was born in 1989 , 8 or 9 years after the series ended . I didn't watch series 3 or 4 because by then at least half of the original characters had gone . It was very dark in places , it was Blake's indomitable spirit that freedom should never be allowed to die that captured my imagination and of course his crew , the beautiful and spirited Jenna , Cally the alien who was both clever and intuitive , Avon , the man who replaced emotion with logic , Gan , the strong man , who could always be relied upon , Vila , cunning and timid and of course , Zen , the computer who was the voice of reason . It must have been an awful time to live in but this cast of characters always made me feel that one day things would change , even after they had gone but left their legacy to inspire others .
The big question is whether Avon really would have been ruthless enough to kill Vila and jettison his body to lighten the shuttle to achieve escape velocity in episode 11 of series 4 "Orbit"..
No, because he would have told you that by the time the killing was done that it wouldn’t have made a difference. Although that would have been Avon’s excuse not to do it. An anti-hero can’t show their feet of clay.
@@FingerBreakerWu But how do you know that even if Avon had bumped off Vila and jettisoned his body it would have been too late to achieve escape velocity? After all, Orac indirectly suggested to do it and Orac is infallible..;)
@@tungstenkid2271 Orac was so full of himself, it wasn't funny. Avon was a ruthless pragmatist, but at that point had grown an attachment to his unwanted crewmates. He would rather make threats to do ruthless deeds to show he's still the man they have come to know than actually do it. In the back of his mind, he would be like, "Someone please come up with a solution so I can save face!"
@@FingerBreakerWu A pragmatist operates by logic (like Mr Spock), not by emotion, so jettisoning Vila would have been perfectly logical to Avon, even if it was a bit distasteful, otherwise both would die. So although it seemed Avon had a ruthless streak at times, it was never actually put into practice because there were always workable alternatives, so we never did find out whether he'd have sacrificed the crew in various situations to save himself and we're left guessing..:) Interestingly in one episode Blake is injured and has to temporarily retire to his cabin and let Avon run the ship. He pops back to the control room later to see how things are going, and Avon asks half-jokingly- "Don't you trust me?" to which Blake replies "I've always trusted you, right from the start", so maybe Blake knew Avon better than the rest of us..:)
Blake had a deep-seated grudge to settle with the Federation, but I'm surprised the others didn't ask to be put off the Liberator at some paradise planet to live out their lives in peace
I'd love to see Paul Darrow in a Star Wars film. Maybe as a former Imperial governor, or something. He can convey that same bureaucratic ruthlessness that Peter Cushing did so well back in 1977.
Holy shit, that's awful. Such a good actor. Just learned he has even voiced Governor Tarkin in a Star Wars game. He'd have been brilliant in one of the modern sequels.
@daro2096 yes, he played a judge in law and order UK, guess he could still do something like that that. Also check out the b7 audio books in audible particularly the ones that are "full cast".
Well if you're gonna get stuck with a character, its good thats its one as good as avon. Old age sucks. I think without darrow, blake 7 would of flopped.
“I invested certain aspects in his character that •I• would like in *mine* - for example, I made him *scrupulously Honest* : AVON : I *thought* you were probably insane. BLAKE : That's *possible!* They butchered my family, my friends. They murdered my past and gave me *tranquillised dreams.* JENNA : At least you're *Still Alive.* BLAKE : *No!* Not until free men can think and speak. Not until *Power* is back with *The Honest Man.* AVON •sneers• Have you ever *met* “An *Honest* Man”? JENNA [Glances at Blake] Perhaps. “….for instance *if he said he was going to Kill You,* he *WOULD.*
Like a bull!!! Avon my favorite character way better then blakes character in my opinion with a dash of darkness that's in Avon makes him so interesting
He was my first love in 1989, when I was 12., He will always be my first love when I was 12 years old. RIP PAUL, I will love you forever Paul Darrow ❤️
I watched Blake,s Seven from when it aired on bbc 1 from 1978 to 1981 and the best characters ever in B7 for me are Avon vila and the arch-enemy Servalan herself Cally was okay but I also do think B7 without Servalan asthe arch-villain Avon and Vila and Avon would have folded Blake was also good but his arch-enemy Servalan was more interesting as a character than Blake
Darrow had Avon off to a tee, we were always wondering whether Avon really was self-centred and out for his own gain, or whether he was a cuddly bunny at heart..:)
Rest easy, Paul ❤ Your beautiful voice. Everything you did in real life, or as Kerr Avon, was with class, finesse, and with aplomb. After Blake's 7, you were still incredibly classy and fine. Everything you ever did was with class. That's why I loved you when I was 11. I'm 42 and still admire you the same way. Avon wasn't a chauvinist. He battled men and women equally and treated them as equals when they got between him and his goals.
Paul Darrow you are nobility and there is certainly no "a" in that nobility. We love love you sir and I knell to a true Lord which you are sir. I salute you!
I'm 55 and just "discovered" Blake's 7. I'm fortunate in a way (I think) to see it for the first time, without rose colored nostalgia and I'm totally in love with it. Avon is my new hero and I'll be stealing some of his lines...lol
RIP Paul' You made Blake's 7 the memorable TV that it was.
Avon, the real star from B7. Thanks Paul for all the great memories 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
No mate, Orac was the most important character in B7, no arguments 🇯🇲
R.I.P. Mr Darrow, thank you for the great memories, you will be missed.
RIP Paul Darrow, you were so very very good as Avon!
I love that he's so proud of being Avon. So many actors seem embarrassed by their early work and try to pretend it never happened.
Re-watching Blake's 7 you're struck by how good Darrow's acting was. The friction between Avon and Blake made the show.
Yes it was central
Excellent actor, in everything he's done.
When I was a primary school kid we used to 'play' Blake's 7 at break times, and everyone wanted to be Avon..
For sure I did :-)
Avon is one of the few characters from tv sf that actually really suggests what a person from a technological future might be like.
Gareth Thomas's portrayal of Blake had real punch because Thomas certainly could act; his delivery, nuances and inflections etc were perfect
Paul Darrow, you are a legend in your own lifetime and just get better with age. A very entertaining interview.
I think if the BBC revamped this series with CGI and a modern twist they would fuck it up.
The key to this series was great actors, Gareth Thomas, Jacqueline Pearce, Paul Darrow and Glynis Barber amongst others...
High quality actors make crap low budget BBC sets into classics as ever it was.
Just love this guy! Thanks for everything!
He was always the one I wanted to meet at cons, met serveralan in my home town
Servalan was an awesome arch-enemy for Blake and his crew to be enemies with and in constant battles
People talk about two sides of the same coin, it was so apropos with Blake and Avon. Even in the end, Blake’s dream had turned Avon, but Blake himself had been turned.
RIP - Paul Darrow
Still handsome and charismatic after all these years.
Wanna hear something sad? I´m spanish and i´m on holiday in the UK and i was due to meet Paul in person last Saturday at a convention in Birmingham but he cancelled on Friday. I came back from the theatre last night to learn why...I´ll always feel bad about it. He created the best antiheroe character in the history of scifi. RIP Paul. You´ll be missed
RIP Gareth Thomas.
RIP Paul Darrow 💖 You will never be forgotten. Kerr Avon was an antihero. I will do anything for my fur-kids. No questions asked, we are very similar.
Rest in Peace Paul.
"If he said he would kill you he would" lol unquestionably one of the great sifi charachters superbly well played by Paul Barrow
*Darrow
Thank you for this video!!! I remember i fell in love with Avon when I was about 9 or 10... :):) and now, at 32, watching it i feel the same. Aah, sweet childhood :)
RIP :-(
Great interview! Paul is a gem.
RIP Paul. You should have been the Next Dr Who.
Or the next Master.
He would had made a good James Bond.
I watched the first two series recently , it was awesome ! The scenery was a bit shaky but considering when it was made it was most impressive . Blake the idealist , Jenna , Avon , Gan and Vila the survivalists and Cally , the telepathic alien with Zen the computer watching over them .
It had that feel good factor .
Blake and his crew lived in fascist dystopia where people were controlled with mind altering drugs, and spent the entire series hunted like dogs for daring to oppose this tyranny, before finally being massacred at the end. Loved the series, but there's no feel good factor in that. Maybe you're just associating the show with a time when you were young, so that's what you mean. But the show itself was pretty dark.
@@adamsmith7058 I was born in 1989 , 8 or 9 years after the series ended . I didn't watch series 3 or 4 because by then at least half of the original characters had gone . It was very dark in places , it was Blake's indomitable spirit that freedom should never be allowed to die that captured my imagination and of course his crew , the beautiful and spirited Jenna , Cally the alien who was both clever and intuitive , Avon , the man who replaced emotion with logic , Gan , the strong man , who could always be relied upon , Vila , cunning and timid and of course , Zen , the computer who was the voice of reason .
It must have been an awful time to live in but this cast of characters always made me feel that one day things would change , even after they had gone but left their legacy to inspire others .
The big question is whether Avon really would have been ruthless enough to kill Vila and jettison his body to lighten the shuttle to achieve escape velocity in episode 11 of series 4 "Orbit"..
No, because he would have told you that by the time the killing was done that it wouldn’t have made a difference. Although that would have been Avon’s excuse not to do it. An anti-hero can’t show their feet of clay.
@@FingerBreakerWu But how do you know that even if Avon had bumped off Vila and jettisoned his body it would have been too late to achieve escape velocity?
After all, Orac indirectly suggested to do it and Orac is infallible..;)
@@tungstenkid2271
Orac was so full of himself, it wasn't funny.
Avon was a ruthless pragmatist, but at that point had grown an attachment to his unwanted crewmates. He would rather make threats to do ruthless deeds to show he's still the man they have come to know than actually do it. In the back of his mind, he would be like, "Someone please come up with a solution so I can save face!"
@@FingerBreakerWu A pragmatist operates by logic (like Mr Spock), not by emotion, so jettisoning Vila would have been perfectly logical to Avon, even if it was a bit distasteful, otherwise both would die.
So although it seemed Avon had a ruthless streak at times, it was never actually put into practice because there were always workable alternatives, so we never did find out whether he'd have sacrificed the crew in various situations to save himself and we're left guessing..:)
Interestingly in one episode Blake is injured and has to temporarily retire to his cabin and let Avon run the ship. He pops back to the control room later to see how things are going, and Avon asks half-jokingly- "Don't you trust me?" to which Blake replies "I've always trusted you, right from the start", so maybe Blake knew Avon better than the rest of us..:)
Blake had a deep-seated grudge to settle with the Federation, but I'm surprised the others didn't ask to be put off the Liberator at some paradise planet to live out their lives in peace
Rest in peace. He died in the summer this year 2019 . Only just found out, and i have no idea what made me think of him just recently.
He give the voice of Zarok in MediEvil
Lord Jeremy Irons voiced Jack of the Green in Medievil
I'd love to see Paul Darrow in a Star Wars film. Maybe as a former Imperial governor, or something. He can convey that same bureaucratic ruthlessness that Peter Cushing did so well back in 1977.
Me too.
Holy shit, that's awful. Such a good actor. Just learned he has even voiced Governor Tarkin in a Star Wars game. He'd have been brilliant in one of the modern sequels.
There's no reason actors can't be in films using wheelchairs. Various wheelchair users on TV.
Yeah, expect a big role would be far too exhausting. I'm very glad he's still doing recordings, and going to fan conventions.
@daro2096 yes, he played a judge in law and order UK, guess he could still do something like that that. Also check out the b7 audio books in audible particularly the ones that are "full cast".
AVON LIVES!
They need to restart this show. With the advances in CG and the backing of the BBC, this would be amazing!
Seems like a nice bloke.
Well if you're gonna get stuck with a character, its good thats its one as good as avon.
Old age sucks.
I think without darrow, blake 7 would of flopped.
God did come back he is Paul Darrow ; )
Wow, I had no idea this existed.
Ah, right thanx. A good extra. I have series 1 and 2, so I'll look forward to the other two :)
“I invested certain aspects in his character that •I• would like in *mine* - for example, I made him *scrupulously Honest* :
AVON : I *thought* you were probably insane.
BLAKE : That's *possible!* They butchered my family, my friends. They murdered my past and gave me *tranquillised dreams.*
JENNA : At least you're *Still Alive.*
BLAKE : *No!* Not until free men can think and speak. Not until *Power* is back with *The Honest Man.*
AVON •sneers• Have you ever *met* “An *Honest* Man”?
JENNA [Glances at Blake] Perhaps.
“….for instance *if he said he was going to Kill You,* he *WOULD.*
lol that's so true! I always had to be villa
Paul Darrow was just superb at Avon. Knocked spots off boring ole Blake
He certainly wasn't a chauvinist! He treated all women as equals. He was never callous or a sociopath, he's like all of us really.
Great guy. BTW, the subtitles say 'Marxist Pencils'... it really should be 'Marks & Spencers'.
and still... likeable.
Like a bull!!! Avon my favorite character way better then blakes character in my opinion with a dash of darkness that's in Avon makes him so interesting
AVON ROKS
did any one catch him in the Bond movie?
excellent. What programme was this on?
madderscientist23 This is a extra on Series 4 dvd...
Why the annoying talking in the background
hows it feel to be a one-hit wonder?
better than being a no-hit wonder
Rewatching Blake’s 7 now in 2021. It’s still a cracking show with a great cast.
I grew up idolizing the character Avon as a child, to see Paul Darrow today at 41, I am in awe 😃😃
This on RUclips, to me, is Heaven.
I'm surprised Paul didn't feature in more movies and shows, such a memorable character, and easily my favorite character in Blake's 7.
My greatest sci fi character of all time.
RIP Paul, RIP Avon..my favourite character by far.
He was my first love in 1989, when I was 12., He will always be my first love when I was 12 years old. RIP PAUL, I will love you forever Paul Darrow ❤️
I watched Blake,s Seven from when it aired on bbc 1 from 1978 to 1981 and the best characters ever in B7 for me are Avon vila and the arch-enemy Servalan herself Cally was okay but I also do think B7 without Servalan asthe arch-villain Avon and Vila and Avon would have folded Blake was also good but his arch-enemy Servalan was more interesting as a character than Blake
Darrow had Avon off to a tee, we were always wondering whether Avon really was self-centred and out for his own gain, or whether he was a cuddly bunny at heart..:)
RIP Paul darrow forever Avon 🙏
Damn all I hear is lord Zarok voice from Medievil , RIP Paul Darrow , You’ll be dearly missed
Rest easy, Paul ❤ Your beautiful voice. Everything you did in real life, or as Kerr Avon, was with class, finesse, and with aplomb. After Blake's 7, you were still incredibly classy and fine. Everything you ever did was with class. That's why I loved you when I was 11. I'm 42 and still admire you the same way. Avon wasn't a chauvinist. He battled men and women equally and treated them as equals when they got between him and his goals.
RIP avon
Paul Darrow you are nobility and there is certainly no "a" in that nobility. We love love you sir and I knell to a true Lord which you are sir. I salute you!
I too watched it as a primary/ early secondary school . Had a huge crush on Jan Chapel (Caly)
Oh wonderful Paul! You are such a class act!
I'm 55 and just "discovered" Blake's 7. I'm fortunate in a way (I think) to see it for the first time, without rose colored nostalgia and I'm totally in love with it. Avon is my new hero and I'll be stealing some of his lines...lol
R.I.P Zarok from Medievil my childhood of the 90's .
RIP Avon and Servelan, plotting together to rule the afterlife!
Avon was so much like me. Brutally honest.
Like Spock was the most uninteresting character in Star Trek, Avon was the most interesting character in Blake's 7.
RIP Paul :(
such a cool bloke Mr Darrow
I despise the mob.
As a kid I always thought Avon was played by James Woods..........funny eh!
Star Trek should have a character like Ker Avon.
i love avon paul is a very good actor i love u paul
Nice work son
Jack fm brought me here
@misterwillguitar Hilarious - really!! However, there are some similarities and the memories of youth are often warped. James Wood, ha.
It's rare that the words interesting and actor can be used together.
5:12 Dodger, is that you?
Time for Darrow to move on surely...
Just let Avon go Paul! There are other roles out there!
The legend that was Paul Valentine Birkby!