R.I.P. Gareth Thomas
Sad news. Gareth Thomas has died. R.I.P.
The world is your lobster.
R.I.P.
share
MovieChat Forums > Blake's 7 (1978) Discussion > R.I.P. Gareth Thomas
I know.. I'm actually more upset than I thought I'd be.
Blake's 7 was my favourite show when I was growing up, bar none. I didn't give a damn about "dodgy" special effects and "cheap" sets, because the characters and storytelling was exceptional (and still is). Now I'm 45 years old, I'm still able to watch the show through those ten year old eyes and see it's qualities.
I also listen to the Big Finish audio versions regularly (wonder if they have a future?)... I'm a big fan of all four seasons, but the show was never quite as good after Gareth left.
Heart failure at 71 years old... not fair :(
"I reject your reality and substitute my own"
A fantastic actor. It was his portray of Blake that drew me to the series right from the beginning. A great character played by a very fine actor. He will be missed.
shareI just heard! He will be missed! ;-( 😢
- - http://scifiblogs3.blogspot.com/ - - Sci-fi, Batman, & E:FC
- - http://www.childrenofrassilon.com/ - - Homage to DW & B7
Yes, everyone used to rave about Avon but for me Blake was always the true driving force behind the show. It was never the same after he left.
share[deleted]
Avon was totally out of control by "Terminal" where he actually pulled a gun on Tarrant who was getting a little too frisky for a newbie on board! He didn't own anything there; a crew member, but still too new to be making demands of Avon's leadership! ;-/
- http://scifiblogs3.blogspot.com/2011/01/introduction-to-blakes-7.html
- - http://www.childrenofrassilon.com/blakes-7.html - Blake's 7 Homage - -
Paul Darrow also said that once Gareth Thomas left the series, the makers tried to change Avon's character into a more moral character - like Blake. therefore, Paul did everything - including going OTT occasionally - to avoid this horrendous fate.
ant-mac
"Yes, everyone used to rave about Avon but for me Blake was always the true driving force behind the show. It was never the same after he left."
The reason why they raved about Avon is because he was the main reason the show was such a success. It may have been called BLAKE'S 7 - but it soon became apparent that it was Avon's show.
Personally, I enjoyed the entire TV series - even those slightly odd experiments they tried from time to time.
ant-mac
The reason why they raved about Avon is because he was the main reason the show was such a success. It may have been called BLAKE'S 7 - but it soon became apparent that it was Avon's show.
I respectfully disagree. Avon may have had most of the best lines but Blake's 7 at least for me was always about Blake and his hopeless quest to destroy the Federation. It was a bit like when David Duchovny left the X- Files, the entire show changed and became rather irrelevant. Season 3 had no real arc and became a muddle of loosely connected stories that really went nowhere. By season 4 it was impossible for the crew to continue their fight against the Federation without the Liberator so they became more of a band of mercenaries who jabbed at the Federation from time to time. Avon tried to take Blake's place but had no real leadership or political skills like Blake did hence their endeavours were rather ineffective.
Just go back and look at the first and last episodes of the show, The Way Back and Blake. Gareth Thomas owned the screen in his very human portrayal of Blake, Paul Darrow's Avon by contrast became more comic book like as the show progresses to the point where it became increasingly hard to take his character seriously. Blake was always real, right at the start and right at the end. Avon started real but became an over the top comic book character. share
[deleted]
Correct. Avon had absolutely no reason to do the things that he did after the Galactic War. He spent the entire first 2 seasons running Blake and his cause down, now with Blake missing Avon finally has his chance to be free as he stated he wanted to be all along. However Avon suddenly does a 180 and tries to become the new Blake?. made no sense to me whatsoever.
I understand that the show producers had hit a snag with Garreth Thomas suddenly leaving. The show was named after his character and his cause, now suddenly they have lost him so i do understand why they did what they did, it sadly just didn't make a lot of sense. The character of Avon was good when he had someone like Blake to bump against but once Blake was gone he just became another tinpot dictator.
Great actor and will be sadly missed.
Walking on water is like finding a non fake female profile on a dating site...a miracle!
Interesting discussion about series 2/3 changes. My view is that big changes were needed whether Gareth stayed or left.
Introducing the whole Star One thread boxed the writers into a corner.
If the aliens hadn't destroyed it then surely the first action of Blake in series3 would have been to destroy star one as planned. Blake finding star one meant his goal of federation destruction had to be realized, either by him or by the andromedans . Of course the writers might have introduced the star one saga after knowing Gareth was leaving , that would have been clever , I just don't know when it was clear he was leaving.
The point being post-star one couldn't really include Blake , his race was done , victory achieved.
If Gareth changed his mind and stayed series3 would have looked very different. As Avon said in Pressure Point " You would have to return to Earth and lead the revolt"
So perhaps that's what we would have got , Earth based series 3 , Blake fighting for control of the planet.
On a different topic , may I draw your attention to the TOGETHER AGAIN series of cassette tapes produced by the B7 fan club in the nineties.
I'm lucky to have all seven of these hour long interviews with cast and crew members. I don't know if they're commercially available, but worth checking.
Gareth and Paul appear in all seven I think ,others interviewed are Keating, Grieff, Boucher, Mary Ridge ,Pennant Roberts, Jackie Pearce, Maloney and Peter Tuddenham. Darrow states in one interview that his posturing and posing in series 4 was deliberately done to show Avon's descent into psychotic breakdown , not bad acting on his part.
Thank you Gareth for your wonderful performances in Blakes 7. Still my favourite TV series after all these years (I am 49). Watched episode 1 again last night in your memory.
Also for pre Blakes 7 Star Maidens & Children of the Stones.