Fictional Biography
A child of the colonies, Avon possesses genius-level intelligence, and is an aloof and sardonic computer expert found guilty of an attempt to embezzle five hundred million credits from the Terran Federation banking system. First seen in the second episode, Space Fall, 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 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." The ship's security system caused Avon to see a projection of his brother, nearly killing him until Blake shot the security field.
Avon acts self-serving but in reality, when it comes to actions, he is more selfless than any of the others, constantly saving the lives of almost everyone he comes across and including the entire crew several times over, with nothing to gain for himself.
Avon was far more paranoid during Blake's leadership. He was much less paranoid after Blake left. Avon was a cautious man. He tended to think first before he leapt. As a result he didn't tend to take as many uncalculated risks.
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 second to last 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. Upon next seeing Avon, Vila is very keen to know what happened to Tarrant.
By the end of the series, Avon and crew re-discover Blake who now seems to be working as a Federation bounty hunter. Avon reacts badly to the knowledge that Blake has apparently betrayed them all, and responds by shooting Blake. He later discovers that Blake's role as bounty hunter was a masquerade, as revealed by a real Federation agent who herself (unbeknownst to Blake) was masquerading as Blake's rebel accomplice. Having witnessed the massacre of Vila, Tarrant, Dayna and Soolin, Avon's final action is uncertain. He smiles as he raises his gun, and the audience never knows whether he survives.
Avon quickly became the most popular character on the show due to his darker nature, his unclear motives, and sardonic wit. Paul Darrow's portrayal led to the actor being permanently associated with the character.
Read more about this topic: Kerr Avon
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