Kerr Avon
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Kerr Avon is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Darrow.
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[edit] Fictional Biography
A native of Earth, Avon is a highly intelligent, aloof, and sardonic computer expert found guilty of an attempt to embezzle 5 million credits from the Terran Federation banking system. First seen as a prisoner aboard the London, a cargo vessel transporting a group of convicted criminals to the penal colony on the planet Cygnus Alpha, he assists Blake in his abortive attempted mutiny on the journey, using his skills to take over the ship's computer. He subsequently boards the Liberator along with Blake and Jenna, and becomes a member of the original "seven".
Utterly self-serving, he has nothing but scorn for Blake's idealism and their relationship is consequently somewhat strained. Despite this attitude he single-handedly saved all of the crew's lives, including Blake, on several occasions. Avon eventually takes over as the group's leader after Blake leaves the series, although he was frequently challenged by Del Tarrant. Avon is not as successful as Blake in leadership as his crew follow Avon out of convenience rather than loyalty. Also, Avon becomes increasingly paranoid during the time after Blake's disappearance, and even more so after the loss of Cally. As a result, the seven under Avon are more defensive than proactive.
Avon's relationship with Vila is explored throughout the series and especially in series four; Vila says he "feels safe" with Avon, and in the final two episodes Vila is clearly deeply hurt by Avon's (unavoidable) decision (pointed out to him by Orac) to sacrifice Vila when a shuttle-craft's load must be lightened in the penultimate episode. The need for this sacrifice is avoided when Avon discovers an alternative solution, but the situation is recalled (and mirrored) when Tarrant offers to risk his life to save Avon's as the Scorpio crashes into Gauda Prime in the final episode. On next seeing Avon, Vila is very keen to know what happened to Tarrant.
Despite their dislike of each other, Avon and Blake trusted each other. Blake admits this much to Avon before he disappears. However, by the end of the series, Avon and crew re-discover Blake who now seems to be working as a Federation bounty hunter. Whereas Avon would have once coolly assumed that this was just another of Blake's "harebrained schemes", the now totally paranoid Avon only reacted with the thought that Blake had betrayed them all. As a result, Avon shot Blake dead only to discover that Blake's role as bounty hunter was indeed a masquerade as revealed by a real Federation agent who herself (unbeknownst to Blake) was masquerading as Blake's rebel accomplice. This, along with witnessing the killing of Vila, Tarrant, Dayna and Soolin, causes Avon to suffer a nervous breakdown. It is generally assumed that Avon's final act was an act of futile defiance before he suffered the same fate as his Seven. His smile as he raises his gun does seem to indicate that he appreciates the irony of the situation in which he a cynical former embezzler gets to play the martyred hero.
[edit] Personal life
He had an affair with a women called Anna Grant whom he loved and he believed that she was betrayed by a Federation agent named Bartholomew and was tortured and executed by the notorious Federation torturer Shrinker. However during Season three he realised that Anna Grant who was living under an alias was in fact the Federation agent and he killed her. Anna Grant's final dying words was to claim that she "let him go", implying that she never betrayed Avon and allowed him to escape. Avon's statement was that "You never did", implying that he still loved her.
[edit] First name
Avon's first name is usually given as Kerr, with a double r. However, it is occasionally spelled Ker, and in Darrow's noncanonical novel A Terrible Aspect this is explained as a short form of his full name Kerguelen, which supposedly means desolation. The latter is actually a misunderstanding or poetic license on Darrow's part, probably based on the Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean, which are sometimes known as "Desolation Islands." The name Kerguelen is, however, not a direct translation of "desolation," but a reference to the discoverer of the archipelago.
[edit] Avon's possible survival
Avon and Vila survived the shootout in Gauda Prime in the novel Blake's 7: Afterlife. They acquired a new ship which was christened Blake. This novel was not well received and is generally discounted by fans. Paul Darrow purchased the rights to the show and was originally part of the recent project which would have been called Blake's 7: A Legacy Reborn. Reportedly, Darrow would have made an appearance as an aged Avon in Napoleonic exile on a penal planet, his exploits long forgotten, most or all of the others long dead. (This scenario is close to one described by Blake's 7 creator Terry Nation.) Avon would have passed the torch on to a new group of escaped prisoners who would become the new Seven. It was not clear if Avon was to be their leader or he was to die. Due to creative differences, Darrow left the project which has since gone into development hell.
[edit] End credits
The ambiguous ending was done with the possibility that those who wished to stay on for the proposed fifth serial would only be stunned or wounded. Those who did not: their characters would be explained as having been killed. Blake's actual death was in the contract (as per Gareth Thomas' request, a different type of gun was used by Avon as well as showing blood and Blake's dead body). The end credit sequence for this episode is interpreted several ways by fans. The last scene of the series ends in Avon pointing his gun at the camera. The scene freeze frames for a few seconds and abruptly switches to the end credits. Instead of the end credit music, a single shot followed by several others in quick succession is heard. Among the more wild theories is that Avon gets off a few shots or that he might have escaped after shooting all the Federation troopers. However, since a follow-up serial never materialized, most fans assume that the gunshots heard represent Avon shooting once before the guards open fire killing him.
[edit] Trivia
- Paul Darrow appeared as Avon in 51 of the 52 episodes of Blake's 7. The only episode in which he did not appear was the pilot, The Way Back.
- In the final season, the BBC demanded that the metal studs on Avon's boots should be removed, as they were "unacceptably aggressive."[citation needed]
| Blake's 7 |
|---|
| Blake's 7 – The Television Series |
| History of Blake's 7 | List of Blake's 7 episodes | Blake's 7 actors |
| The Blake's 7 Universe |
| Terran Federation | Liberator | Scorpio | Planets | Intergalacic War |
| Roj Blake | Kerr Avon | Vila Restal | Jenna Stannis | Olag Gan | Cally | Zen | Orac | Dayna Mellanby | Del Tarrant | Soolin | Slave | Servalan | Travis |
