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Post by rushy on Apr 25, 2023 19:30:42 GMT
That being said, it is worth noting that Darrow barely had Avon and Servalan interact in the entire Lucifer trilogy. They meet twice in three books, and one of those is just a rewritten version of the "Aftermath" scene, where the kiss is omitted. Make of that what you will XD.
He also includes Hugh Fraser's President rather than Servalan as the villain of his only audio drama "Erebus", even though Pearce was still around and part of that box set. Might've been mandated or Darrow just didn't want Servalan to overshadow Avon's love interest in that story, but who knows...
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Post by burrunjor on May 4, 2023 12:48:59 GMT
Considering that Darrow dedicated all of his books to his wife even after her passing, I find it doubtful. Plus, Paul might've had film star looks and played a badass, but he was kind of a quirky nerd in terms of personality. I just can't really picture him as the womanizing type. I think it's more likely that Darrow quickly realized how open Pearce was physically, and exploited that when it came to establishing the Avon/Servalan dynamic. He wasn't afraid to kiss Pearce, because Pearce was the type of person to let anyone smooch her. As for the Tarrant/Servalan team-up in series 4, that was mostly an in-joke about Pearce's known crush on Pacey. They were neighbours ("if you were the girl next door, I'd move" being the most obvious reference to that), and legend has it she chased him around naked at one point. Pearce's bitterness about series 4 makes total sense to me. Servalan is by far the weakest aspect of series 4. The Commissioner Sleer thing devolved into nonsense, and she was given nothing of any real substance to work with aside from "Sand". Didn't even get a sendoff episode. I'd have hated series 4 too in her shoes. Thanks for that info, I didn't know a lot of that. I still say Sand would have been better with Avon. It's also funny how goofy Paul Darrow can seem in the outtakes like when he pulls the set apart LOL. I suppose that and his love of old movies do kind of show him up to be a lovable geek unlike Avon. I still don't think season 4 was bad for Servalan. On the contrary I think it kind of cemented the type of villain she was. What I love about Servalan is that she is true to life, in spite of how ott she is. IE she's the slimey, self serving bastard whose in with the bricks, always has a back up plan, has 0 scruples and will switch sides whenever it suits her, is a coward who will sell anybody out, stoop to any low and as a result will never be held accountable for her heinous actions. From Hillary Clinton, to Henry Kissinger, to Madeline Albright, to Dick Chaney, to George W Bush, to Tony Blair, history is full of Servalans. The worst any of these people ever get, is a college student heckling them at some event. As I pointed out, Kissinger has now lived as long as John Lennon, Amy Winehouse and Bruce Lee combined! Series 4 for me is when Servalan really slips into that territory. Whilst she does have victories in previous seasons, she still gets her just deserts and loses a lot of the time. In fact she's kind of a doofus in season 2 LOL. She is the one who completely buggers up Travis' perfect plan which would have taken out Avon, Blake, Vila and Gan in Pressure Point (and it's only because of Travis that they get ANYTHING out of that defeat. The death of one of the seven, Gan.) She also gets duped by Travis in regards to Star One and has to rely on the Seven to save her bacon. She also doesn't achieve any victories other than taking over a dying empire in that series. IE she loses Imipak, blowing up Travis when he's just a cowboy bum fails, getting Star One, she is consistently outfoxed. Had it not been Jacqueline Pearce's presence, Servalan may very well have seemed like a Wile Coyote villain always losing that year. Series 4 has her win in just about every episode (her only defeats are mutual losses like Orbit), get away with the most horrible atrocities like killing Cally and Justin and unlike even in series 3 where she seemingly dies, she never even comes close to paying for any of it. When I was young I HATED her so much because she got away with so many horrible things haha and I loved that about the show, that it stuck out and was depressingly true to life. I get things like the Sleer cover being stupid, when surely everyone would recognise her, but to be fair they had kind of written themselves into a corner with that. Personally not to diss Jacqueline Pearce, but I think it was a bit silly on her part to hate series 4 so much. |
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2023 13:05:14 GMT
Glynis Barber and Brian Croucher are going to London comic con in July. Be nice if a few others go too as it's the 45th anniversary of the show.
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Post by rushy on May 4, 2023 13:48:57 GMT
I get things like the Sleer cover being stupid, when surely everyone would recognise her, but to be fair they had kind of written themselves into a corner with that. Personally not to diss Jacqueline Pearce, but I think it was a bit silly on her part to hate series 4 so much. It's the difference between watching the show and making it happen. We can enjoy Servalan's deviousness, but as an actress, she's obviously disposed towards episodes that really push Servalan out of her comfort zone and give her a chance to go up against some heavyweight actors. Aside from Sand and maybe Orbit (in a comedic sense), that never happens in series 4. |
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Post by iank on May 4, 2023 21:15:41 GMT
It's a bit like when the New Tricks actors were moaning about the scripts, despite the show still being hugely popular. They wanted character development and big "acting" moments, but the audience just wanted good crime/mystery stories with familiar characters they liked.
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Post by rushy on May 4, 2023 22:06:22 GMT
It's a bit like when the New Tricks actors were moaning about the scripts, despite the show still being hugely popular. They wanted character development and big "acting" moments, but the audience just wanted good crime/mystery stories with familiar characters they liked. Yeah, but Servalan was at her best when she had someone to go up against. In the first two series, she had superior officers and Travis to contend with. In the third series, it was Avon. In the fourth series, she just kinda does her thing without any conflict at all, which would bore any actress I would think. |
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