Del Tarrant
Encyclopedia
Del Tarrant is a fictional character
from the British
science fiction
television
series Blake's 7
, played by Steven Pacey
.
Del Tarrant was a skilled pilot, trained in the Federation Space Academy, who stole a pursuit ship and began running contraband in the outer planets and getting involved in wars. He rose high on the Federation's "wanted list". During the Intergalactic War, he went in against the Andromedans and his ship was destroyed in the first salvo. He was picked up by a Federation ship and acquired a uniform. When that ship was destroyed, he was picked up by the damaged Liberator
and presumed by the Federation officers aboard to be in charge. He cooperated with Avon to kill the Federation officers and take back the ship, after which he became a member of the crew, replacing Jenna
as their principal pilot.
Tarrant was intelligent, cunning and worldly, but could also be arrogant and impulsive. He was also heroic and idealistic - when the Liberator was being pulled into a black hole, he stopped Avon
from abandoning the ship on the idea that "we all go together." Avon once said of him, "Tarrant is brave, young, handsome - there are three good reasons for anyone not to like him."
He and Avon had frequent "alpha male" clashes over who was in charge of the ship. And while his idealism was central to this conflict, it also afforded Avon some tactical advantages. He would sometimes use Tarrant's headstrong approach to distract the enemy while he found a more devious solution. Despite their conflicts, Tarrant went out of his way on a number of occasions to save Avon's life. He tended to bully Vila
, which Avon castigated him about in "City at the Edge of the World".
Tarrant's brother, Deeta, was killed by an android in the Teal-Vandor Convention. Tarrant avenged his death to prevent a war, although he could not bring himself to shoot the android in the back. Tarrant had brief romantic involvements with Servalan
and Zeeona. It was also implied during the episode "Ultraworld" that Dayna and Tarrant had sex, so that the human reproductive process could be studied by the planet's inhabitants (at one point, Dayna is shown leaning over a prone Tarrant and remarking "I can't be all that repulsive" prior to their first kiss).
Tarrant was seriously injured in the crash of the Scorpio when he heroically stayed at the controls so that the others could escape. He was later gunned down during the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. However, in Tony Attwood
's non-canonical "Afterlife", he had simply passed out from his wounds (although he was later killed by wild animals on Terminal).
The very first episode of the whole series "The Way Back" features a Federation security agent called Dev Tarrant who arranges the massacre of Blake's friends and the murder of his lawyers. No connection is made between him and Steven Pacey's character when the latter joins the series.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
, played by Steven Pacey
Steven Pacey
Steven Pacey is an English actor, best known for his role as Del Tarrant in the third and fourth seasons of the sci-fi series Blake's 7....
.
Del Tarrant was a skilled pilot, trained in the Federation Space Academy, who stole a pursuit ship and began running contraband in the outer planets and getting involved in wars. He rose high on the Federation's "wanted list". During the Intergalactic War, he went in against the Andromedans and his ship was destroyed in the first salvo. He was picked up by a Federation ship and acquired a uniform. When that ship was destroyed, he was picked up by the damaged Liberator
Liberator (Blake's 7)
The spaceship Liberator is a fictional starship featured in the first three seasons of the BBC television series Blake's 7.-Background:...
and presumed by the Federation officers aboard to be in charge. He cooperated with Avon to kill the Federation officers and take back the ship, after which he became a member of the crew, replacing Jenna
Jenna Stannis
Jenna Stannis is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Sally Knyvette. The role of Jenna Stannis has recently been revived in the Blake's 7 audio plays where she is played by Carrie Dobro....
as their principal pilot.
Tarrant was intelligent, cunning and worldly, but could also be arrogant and impulsive. He was also heroic and idealistic - when the Liberator was being pulled into a black hole, he stopped Avon
Kerr Avon
Kerr Avon is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Darrow...
from abandoning the ship on the idea that "we all go together." Avon once said of him, "Tarrant is brave, young, handsome - there are three good reasons for anyone not to like him."
He and Avon had frequent "alpha male" clashes over who was in charge of the ship. And while his idealism was central to this conflict, it also afforded Avon some tactical advantages. He would sometimes use Tarrant's headstrong approach to distract the enemy while he found a more devious solution. Despite their conflicts, Tarrant went out of his way on a number of occasions to save Avon's life. He tended to bully Vila
Vila Restal
Vila Restal is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Michael Keating. The only character to appear in all 52 episodes of the series, Vila was particularly known for his humorous lines and his banter with Kerr Avon.In the new audio series,...
, which Avon castigated him about in "City at the Edge of the World".
Tarrant's brother, Deeta, was killed by an android in the Teal-Vandor Convention. Tarrant avenged his death to prevent a war, although he could not bring himself to shoot the android in the back. Tarrant had brief romantic involvements with Servalan
Servalan
Servalan is a fictional character in the BBC science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Jacqueline Pearce . She was the principal villain of the series...
and Zeeona. It was also implied during the episode "Ultraworld" that Dayna and Tarrant had sex, so that the human reproductive process could be studied by the planet's inhabitants (at one point, Dayna is shown leaning over a prone Tarrant and remarking "I can't be all that repulsive" prior to their first kiss).
Tarrant was seriously injured in the crash of the Scorpio when he heroically stayed at the controls so that the others could escape. He was later gunned down during the final shoot-out on Gauda Prime. However, in Tony Attwood
Tony Attwood
Tony Attwood is an English psychologist who lives in Queensland, Australia and is an author of several books on Asperger's Syndrome....
's non-canonical "Afterlife", he had simply passed out from his wounds (although he was later killed by wild animals on Terminal).
The very first episode of the whole series "The Way Back" features a Federation security agent called Dev Tarrant who arranges the massacre of Blake's friends and the murder of his lawyers. No connection is made between him and Steven Pacey's character when the latter joins the series.