Finally... and a very long time after the fact... my comments on
'Horizon'
To be honest, I'd always remembered this episode as a prime demonstration of how potentially good ideas can be wasted by being handled badly. Blake manages to liberate a whole planet - or, at least, manages to persuade it to liberate itself! - while Avon actually turns down a real opportunity of taking the 'Liberator' off on his own.... But the abiding impression I'd got was that the regular cast had been given few opportunities to shine.
'Horizon' was the first script turned in by Allan Prior (also responsible for 'Animals' and 'Hostage'). Previous episodes had either been scripted by Terry Nation or by Chris Boucher, who as script editor and general dialogue 'tweaker' for the previous series was by this time as familiar with Blake's crew as Nation himself. I did wonder if the new writer had anything to do with what I felt to be poor characterization.
'Horizon' is missing a lot of the sharp humour that is an integral part of 'Blake's 7'. It's not for lack of trying - it's just that for me, the humour that is attempted tends to fall short of the mark. Vila complaining that he has never worked in his life before, for example. Vila's reactions to adrenalin and soma. Blake quipping "Missed!" as Avon conveniently (and for perhaps the only time in the series) fails to kill his target. (Is Avon supposed to have pulled the shot at the last minute? It didn't look like it.) About the only memorable line is Avon's famous retort: "I'm not expendable, I'm not stupid, and I'm not going!" - which, given the amount of influence Boucher is known to have had on the character's dialogue over the course of the series, I'd be fairly certain that Allan Prior didn't actually write...
As for dramatic tension - take Avon's soliloquy scene, where he is tempted to abandon the others and take the 'Liberator' for his own... well, honestly. What a wasted opportunity!
Blake is heard to swear in this episode, saying "Hell" to Jenna. For some reason, it sticks out like a sore thumb. (Strangely enough, the only other occasion on which I remember his doing so was in 'Hostage', also by Allan Prior... and the actor sounded just as uncomfortable with it in that context.) For Jenna and Avon, it sounds natural - for Blake it comes across as out of character.
However... despite going into the episode with vivid memories of all of the above, I was surprised to find that thanks to the need to find something intelligent to say for the Synchro-Watch, I did actually quite enjoy it. At this rate I may even enjoy 'Sand'... I still think the regular characters are badly handled. But the story of Ro, the Commissar, and Horizon itself caught at my imagination.
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One thing I don't understand, even with hindsight, is why the very first seconds of the episode are taken up in showing us head-and-shoulders shots of Jenna and Vila respectively. This doesn't seem to be related in any way to what follows. If it had been, say, glimpses of Avon suffering from backache and Blake wincing with head pains, it might have made more sense.
From the strict perspective of story construction, I don't actually see the point of the 'fatigue shock' section of the plot at all. It is never, so far as I recall, alluded to in subsequent episodes, despite the fact that the crew must be even more stressed by that stage. Nor does it have any role to play in bringing the 'Liberator' to Horizon - indeed, it makes heading off for Horizon a rather odd thing to do under the circumstances. Blake is pig-headed - but he normally has more respect for Cally's judgement than that, and a rather more compelling reason to act against the crew's best interests than mere curiosity. I'm afraid this entire scene strikes me as pure padding - and compared to the Tyce sub-plot in 'Bounty' (explicitly introduced to bulk out that episode to the full fifty minutes) it dovetails very ill with the rest of the story.
Another odd little snippet is our glimpse into Gan's 'self-improvement class' with Orac. Not an experience I'd envy him - I imagine Orac makes a very poor teacher! I wonder what Gan is studying?
In view of the accusations of sexism which are nowadays levelled against the second series, it is interesting to note that it is Cally who volunteers to go down to the surface of Horizon - and Jenna who actually straps on a gun and accompanies Blake. We learn why Jenna's presence is required - in effect, to disable the ship from any ambitions Avon might have - but why is Cally's company rejected? At a guess, Blake is trusting her to keep an eye on Avon's activities...
(Note that the last time we saw him trying to take off on his own, in 'Breakdown', Avon was aiming merely to jump ship. If Blake is now worried that the other man may hijack the entire 'Liberator' for his own purposes, it suggests that the increasing breakdown we have seen in their relationship over the course of the second series has now deteriorated all the way back to the hostility of 'Cygnus Alpha' and beyond.)
The detectors on the planet's surface seem very densely spaced - presumably the entire surface of Horizon is not under such intense surveillance. Is it coincidence that the Liberator's crew choose to teleport into such a hazardous zone, or was the teleport landing deliberately selected to be close to signs of human habitation - which happen to be a sensitive area as far as the Federation is concerned?
I was surprised at first that the Commissar had not heard of Blake. Later, of course, it transpires that he has recognised him - and is keeping this potentially valuable information close to his chest. However, the Deputy Commissar apparently doesn't know who this 'resister' really is. Obviously Blake isn't quite as notorious as we might like to think!
It is a nice touch that Gan's greater body mass means that it takes two darts before he succumbs to the poison, even though this is the only use made of his characteristics all episode - indeed, more or less the only use made of the character all episode. But alas, Allan Prior is not the only one to find difficulty in writing a role for Gan.
I found the relationship between Ro and the Commissar a very interesting one. The Commissar has the classic problem of 'leading from behind' - he has to make sure that Ro does what is required, while boosting his self-confidence so that the young ruler doesn't feel that he is being pushed around. He has to be encouraged to stand on his own two feet, as a representative of civilisation on his planet on the Federation's behalf; yet he cannot be encouraged so far as to be permitted to disobey. If the Federation ever has to enforce an explicit order or resort to military threat, then the Commissar has failed - and probably lost his career into the bargain. He has to try to hold Ro by bonds of affection, relying on his personal influence and the after-effects of a good Federation education to steer him in the right direction.
It's clear, of course, by the end that any affection has been entirely one-way; the Commissar is prepared to dispose of Ro without a qualm as soon as he seems to be escaping from Federation control. But Ro doesn't know that. Despite the age difference, he has been taught to think of the older man as a brother - a wise and benevolent sibling.
As a story of betrayal, on a personal and ideological level, this episode is potentially as dramatic as the much-fan-ficced 'Rumours of Death'. Unfortunately, however, it wasn't written by Chris Boucher...
I was a little puzzled by the details of Selma's history. The Commissar seems to suggest that she was condemned to the mines in order to induce her to consent to take up a Colonial Service training such as the one Ro has presumably received. Selma herself, however, appears to believe that she actually attended the training complex and was dismissed (?back to Horizon?) for disobedience.
I'm afraid I wasn't overly-impressed by the performance of the actress who played Selma. Her early lines were very wooden, and the plot really demands a woman with the charisma to haunt Ro's actions, even in her own absence. However, the audience isn't required to be convinced by the force of Selma's convictions - it is sufficient that Ro himself be seen to be so. After all, there is no accounting for tastes!
He is, I think, essentially a self-doubting man, who knows himself to be all too easily swayed by more forceful individuals; whether this is an inherent character flaw or a trait developed by the Federation deliberately undermining his self-confidence to make him more malleable is a moot point. In the course of this episode, we see Ro influenced by the Commissar, by Blake, and by Selma in turn. When the 'Liberator' finally leaves, it could be said that all that has really changed is the identity of the power behind the throne. We can be fairly certain, however, that Selma will have the well-being of her people and of her husband more truly at heart than any of the Federation's representatives ever have...
