Blake’s 7: Paul Darrow’s final performance as Avon due in November

This coming month, Blake’s 7 fans will get to hear the final performance of Paul Darrow as Avon, as the second part of audio series Restoration is released.

While we usually prefer to focus on either Doctor Who or one of its many related spin-offs at Doctor Who Watch, we’re also aware that there’s a lot of crossover between fans of Classic Who and Blake’s 7, the cult classic British sci-fi series.

Earlier this year, we found out the devastating news that Paul Darrow had passed away. For those of you unaware, Paul Darrow was most well known for playing the gloriously cynical anti-hero Kerr Avon in Blake’s 7. While he had also appeared in several Doctor Who stories both on and off-screen, it will be for the role of Avon that he’ll always be remembered for.

Thanks to Big Finish, it was a role that he continued to play until his recent death. I’ll admit, I haven’t kept on top of Big Finish’s Blake’s 7 audios as much as anything Doctor Who related, but in everything I have heard, Darrow continued to play the role with as much wonderful dryness as he did on television.

Along with featuring the last performance of Paul Darrow, Restoration: Part 2 features other Blake’s 7 regulars, including Michael Keating (Vila), here standing next to Richard Keith (Remek).

(Image credit: Blake’s 7/Big Finish Productions. Image Courtesy: Big Finish Productions.)

Restoration

Which brings me to Big Finish’s latest news regarding their Blake’s 7 audios. Next month, Big Finish will be releasing Blake’s 7: Restoration Part 2. Set during the original television show’s third series, Restoration has been planned for a three box-set run, with the final installment released next year.

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Part 2 was recorded shortly before Darrow’s death on Jun 3 2019, making it his final ever performance in the role. Part 3, which will be released Feb 2020, will address Avon’s absence, and there are no plans to re-cast Avon with a new actor. However, Big Finish do plan to continue producing new Blake’s 7 stories.

This is quite a bold move. In some ways, Darrow was Blake’s 7. Of course, original lead actor Gareth Thomas had played the title role of Roj Blake, and he was the original lead for the series. But when he left after the second series, Avon essentially became the new lead – despite being the most self-serving character of the crew. (It’s also why he was the most interesting.)

Darrow was in the show for almost the entire series, so his absence will be clearly felt. On top of that, Gareth Thomas passed away in 2016, and Jacqueline Pearce – who played main antagonist Servalan – also died in September last year. With so many major actors gone who played such key roles in the series, Big Finish continuing the audios is honestly a big risk.

But I’m cautiously optimistic that they can make it work. They initially began by making The Liberator Chronicles, stories that only focused on one or two cast members at a time. These audios have been highly praised, so stories focused on each of the remaining characters could still work. Even if the loss of such key actors will be keenly felt, now more than ever.

In the meantime, you can pre-order Restoration: Part 2 on CD or download from Big Finish and listen to Paul Darrow’s final performance of Avon in the coming month.

Have you followed Blake’s 7 on audio? Will you be listening to Restoration: Part 2? Do you think the series can continue after such a major loss? Let us know in the comments below.