Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Julian Glover, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Vere Lorrimer
"In the unlikely event that we survive this - I'm finished..."
Gan's limiter has malfunctioned. And with no one on board the Liberator to fix it, the crew are placed in the desperate position of having to find outside help...
Avon suggests Station XK72 as a place where the limiter can be repaired. However, first the ship has to pass through a unknown sector of space that even Zen has no data for. At first all goes well - until Zen goes offline and the Liberator starts to become affected by a gravitational wormhole. This is the final straw for Avon, who vows to leave if they get through the wormhole.
And while the crew battle with the ship, Gan's life hangs in the balance...
Breakdown is an episode of two halves: the first (and infinitely superior) half is a tense, claustrophobic thriller set exclusively aboard the Liberator, while the second half is a race against time, with double crossing and political agendas being it's buzzwords. So, for me, Breakdown suffers from being very split. However, there are plenty of positive things about the story.
Sadly, the way that this episode handles Gan isn't one of them. As an episode that is all about Gan, you couldn't have him advanced or do anything less. For most of the episode, he's restrained and/or unconscious, and when he's not, he's mostly flinging his arms about like a modern Tarzan. Nothing new or interesting is done with him, he simply isn't used. And it comes back to my point in my review of Project Avalon: there are simply too many crew members on board the Liberator now, and, with Terry Nation unable to effectively use them, it seems pointless to keep them around. It does seem as if this could be Avon's final episode, because let's not forget Blake's 7's unpredictability factor, which was something that was applauded when the show began. But sadly, the crew remain just as large at the end of the episode, and by now, it's become obvious that Nation doesn't really know what to do with them. It's starting to become a huge problem, and in an episode primarily set on the Liberator, you would expect each crew member to get an equal share of the action. But that's not what happens at all: instead, it's rationed down to Nation picking and choosing - again. Certainly Avon gets the best deal of the lot, getting a chance to put him in a situation where he's directly butting heads with Blake's sucidal loyality. His line about staying with Blake requires a degree of stupidity that he no longer feels capable of really makes you think about Blake's 'crusade'. His motives aren't being called into question, but the means by which he aims to achive them is. It's only a small thing, but it's really nice to see decent in the ranks is now really starting to grow against Blake. Hopefully, that will be an idea that will continue to grow in future episodes.
Because the first half is set exclusively on the Liberator, the guest cast in this one is probably the smallest since Duel, and certainly there a great one. Julian Glover really stands out as Kane, a man who at first seems very sympathetic, but is in actual fact a harsh and rather rude man. Glover is perfect at playing characters who are really deep, not just one dimensional cliches. A lot of Kane's appeal comes from what Glover invests in the part and the work that has been put into him before he even steps on the set. Paul Darrow is the standout of the regulars, really loving the material that these opportunities allows him. He's completely dedicated, and at times, the conviction that he gives is completely palpable, especially his desperate pleas to Blake to turn the ship around out of the unknown sector. Poor David Jackson does the best he can with the part he's given, but it's clear that he's disliking the fact he's got so little to do. The rest of the cast are very good, but Darrow and Glover are the standouts here.
Breakdown is an episode that I really want to like, with a really tense first half, with the Liberator crew at each other's throats and the ship spinning out of control around them. Sadly the second half loses it's way a little, and Gan is shunted to the sidelines again, meaning that this episode is a story of two tales.
Liberator Rating - 6/10
Comments
Post a Comment