Beyond the Roundels

What's to say about Avon? Blake's 7 is amazing and Avon and Paul Darrow are just such a huge part of that, which is obvious after even a peek at the fandom. Or any of a number of books that have shamelessly borrowed a certain snarky computer genius anti-hero. (Somewhere there's a webpage dedicated to Book Characters Who Are In Fact Avon). So, I've got some clips, but honestly, he's such a huge part of the show - just go watch Blake's 7 and you'll understand.

Some fellow Classic Who fans told me to do it 10 years ago and I eventually if a little grudgingly agreed and what followed was one of the best rides of my life. And I say that as someone who - barring Classic Who - did not go round watching old Brit TV back then. (I blame B7 for teaching me that old TV could be awesome, so.) I've no regrets whatsoever, not even Ben Steed. It's the only show to ever have caused me to stand up and applaud when it finished and that after it also made me fall off the sofa because I was laughing so hard (the SFX are quite, ahem, something) on top of breaking my heart at least three or four times. And I've seen several of my flist go the same way since with pretty much the same reaction. That's Blake's 7 for you. And Avon.

The show remains complex and painfully relevant, its characters are vivid and compelling and amazingly, terribly, wonderfully dressed (often in costumes specially made down the local sex shop), it's simultaneously a big messy SF Shakespearean tragedy, crack, and Robin Hood in space meets 1984 and has giant ants, my favourite villain ever, Colin Baker with a big gun, Orac, and JARVIK (a MANLY man; it's only fair to warn you). It is all the things. And Avon.

It's written in the DNA of almost every SFF show made after it for a reason. (Firefly, Farscape, and Babylon 5 being the most obvious. Firefly and B5 even quote it directly, B5 at least twice, including the Avon quote in this post header.)

So, go and watch it. And unless you tend to prefer to know what's coming, if you can keep unspoiled, even better. As I said, it's quite the ride. Even if S1 is a bit slow.

Unspoilery:

Blake's 7 - Series One - Avon - Do I Have a Choice? (Fanvid, inc. audio)

Clips:
Avon & Jenna in Episode 3 "Cygnus Alpha", debating whether or not to take the money and run or stay with Blake.
Avon Alone - Avon in S2; he doesn't need anybody else to survive. Except Orac.


Contains some spoilers:

Blake's 7 Hollywood Style (whole show fan trailer)

Blake's 7: Eliminate Blake fanvid, but also serves as good trailer.


Spoilery as hell (hell being the operative word):

Last Man Standing (Avon fanvid)
All Fall Down (Avon fanvid)

So, yes, just watch it. Episode 1 "The Way Back" is here for those in R1 who are tragically and wrongfully deprived of a DVD release by the Terry Nation Estate. ;-p



(Here at the end of this post let me pause to also remember with much pleasure Paul Darrow's amazing microphone chewing in the Kaldor City audios, a B7/DW crossover masterpiece of, er, whatever it is they are. They would not have been the same crack without that for a minute. <3)


So, yes. Thanks for all the snark and all the rest, and so long, Mr Darrow. RIP.

The full set of icons made for naarmamo (minus only the icons that were made as specific requests, and the Big Finish ones, which will follow shortly). It does include some extras and alternates not posted elsewhere. (Gosh. I know. Heh.) A fairly random mix of sources, as follows:

1-5 The Way We Live Now
6-9 Northanger Abbey (BBC 1986)
10-12 Seaside penguins
13-16 North & South) (BBC)
17-26 Text icons from Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce
28-30 Dungeons & Dragons (Cartoon)
31-33 Elizabeth R
34-37 Life
38 Inkheart
39-40 I Capture the Castle
41-46 Doctor Who (Classic)
47-48 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
49-53 Spooks/MI-5
54-57 Sapphire & Steel
58-59 Red Dwarf
60-66 Blake's 7
67-72 The West Wing
73-74 Press Gang
75-76 Jenna Russell
77-86 The House of Eliott
87-88 The Four Musketeers
89-91 Midnight Is A Place (1977/78 ITV)

Teasers:



( Icons here )