RIP Paul Darrow

[Lonemagpie]

Better known for Blake's 7, of course, but was in The Silurians and Timelash...
https://scifibulletin.com/2019/06/0...3I4OQPnBvepI1gNNrt1ddGH__hF2Jk6DFE3gced-2ai7M

 

[Marc]

Oh bummer

Knew his B7 appearance of course plus a coupe of Doctor Who stories (supposedly his over acting in Timelash was returning the favour for Colin Baker's appearance as Baban the Butcher in B7

Then he turned up in Law & Order UK as judge in a few episodes. Even if you didn't see the face, you just the knew the voice.

As Avon he gave us one of my favourite quotes

"That is the sort of natural stupidity that no amount of training could hope to match"

But then there was also

"I'm not stupid, I'm not exependable, I'm not going"

"I don't know about on Auron, but on Earth it's considered bad manners to take your friends with you when commit suicide"

"You can have wars between states, you can have wars between planets, but when you have war between the sexes, everyone loses"

 

[Qonundrum]

A sad day indeed. It's time for a B7 marathon...

I wonder, had he ever worked with Christopher Plummer?

 

[Relayer1]

Bugger.

 

[Saul]

I'm sad to read this. He was excellent as Avon, probably my favorite Blake 7 character. I don't think anyone can ever capture that performance of the character.

 

[Starkers]

"I'm not stupid, I'm not exependable, I'm not going"

I have a t-shirt with that on.
Such a sad day, he was wonderful, such a feature of my childhood

 

[Mr Awe]

Oh no, this is a very sad day. I'll miss him.

 

[matthunter]

Tarrant: One day, Avon, I may have to kill you.
Avon (smiles): It has been tried.

Well, fuck.

 

[Skellington]

A sad day. That final scene in Blake’s 7 was a classic of its kind, imho.

Some will recall that he also played Sam Vimes on stage in the 1998/1999 production of Terry Pratchett’s Guards! Guards!.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Damn, this is a terrible loss. Rest in peace, Paul.

Blake's 7 truly became great with Paul Darrow when he stepped into the leading role after Gareth Thomas left the show. Avon and Vila were always my two favorite characters because of their complexities and the rapport between each other and that often came down to Darrow's and Michael Keating's performances. He and the rest of the cast breathed in fresh air into the characters in recent years with the Big Finish audio plays which I've enjoyed just much as the series itself (although I'm a couple of years behind right now).

It's been many years since I've seen either The Silurians or Timelash and I don't think I've watched either since I finally watched Blake's 7 for the first time about a decade ago. I guess it's time to do a Paul Darrow marathon!

Then he turned up in Law & Order UK as judge in a few episodes. Even if you didn't see the face, you just the knew the voice.

Oh, damn, I forgot he had a reoccurring role on Law & Order: UK. It wasn't much of a character but I always grinned watching him glower down from his bench.

 

[Relayer1]

He'd have been a great Bond.

 

[Marc]

He'd have been a great Bond.

Speaking of which, another role was a blink and you miss it appearance in Die Another Day.

Darrow played a doctor who treated Bond when he returned front North Korea.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Yep - you only see the back of his head cos his lines were cut.

 

[Starkers]

I've watched that scene so many times and he isn't remotely recognisable, but he was still in a Bond film!

 

[Marc]

I've watched that scene so many times and he isn't remotely recognisable, but he was still in a Bond film!

If you listen closely you can recogonise his voice - the problem is there's a lot of other voices and noises in the scene.