Starring Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, William Squire, Darien Angadi, Souad Faress, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Jackson, Jan Chappell & Peter Tuddenham
Written by Allan Prior
Directed by Jonathan Wright Miller
The Liberator crew are in desperate need of rest, but Blake is intrested in following a lone Federation freighter to the very edge of the galaxy.
There lies Horizon: a planet subjugated with typical Federation efficiency. And with the Liberator crew slowly being captured, it will take all of Blake's powers of persuasion to convince the planet's leader of the danger he is in...
When one first hears about Horizon, you may discover that it doesn't have the greatest reputation with fandom. It may not be as hated as, say Voice From The Past or Rescue, but it's often considered weak when compared with the episodes that surround it, which I believe are more highly regarded. However, for me, Horizon may be unremarkable in many ways, but it's still a very solid slice of Blake's 7, with som strong characters and some really witty one liners.
Before Horizon, I had never heard of Allan Prior, but his first Blake's 7 isn't actually that bad. Certainly, the first 15 minutes of the story could have been broken up a little better, with cutting between the situation on Horizon and the Liberator. However, as a whole, there is little wrong with this, as it gives the Liberator crew plenty of time to shine, which, compared with there pitiful showing in Weapon, must be an improvement. The plot itself maybe slight, and possibly more reminiscent of season 1's looser arc, rather than the grand, overarching narrative of season 2, but it still has some great ideas propelling it. The idea that the Liberator crew are so fatigued that there tearing each other's throats out is one that makes complete sense, considering the amount of pressure that has been placed on the crew recently. It also makes a nice companion piece to Weapon, considering that they lost IMIPAK in that story. The main bulk of the story (trying to subvert a planet into joining the rebellion) is a nice one, and is handled extremely well by Prior. It's not too dark, but there's enough grey areas to make it interesting. Ro is a particular highlight, his conflicted morality clear to see from the moment that he appears. It's becomes clear early on that his character will fall into little more than a steriotype, but it's so well calculated that that's not really a problem. He gets some really rather deep moments, with some moments between him and the woman he wants to make her bride that are really touching. It's really about this one character: someone who Blake mearly stumbles across, and proceeds to turn his life upside down, and Horizon is his struggle as he has to choose a side. However, from the opening few minutes, prehaps Horizon should have been something more radical, rather than just a colony world, because there's a lot of build up. Having just a normal world feels a little like a cheat.
As I was saying the characters in this are really strong. It's nice to see Avon put in a position where he could sell out his crew if he wants to and get control of the Liberator, but instead chooses to rescue them, because it shows real development from when he was introduced. The situation would have been quite different if this was the Avon of series 1, and reminds the viewer of similar discussions that occured back in Cygnus Alpha. However, it's certainly clear that the massive Liberator crew is now the show's main problem, since Blake and Avon are the only two members of crew who really get anything to do. The rest are either sidelined, or virtually ignored in the case of Gan or Zen for massive swaths of the episode. Something drastic may need to be done to make sure that the Liberator crew don't overshadow each other, it's a priority that something is done about it. The guest cast are great, especially Darien Angadi (Ro) and William Squire (The Commissar). Both are fantastic, but the main guest characters are so few, and no one really disappoints, so the story gets a massive thumbs up from me for that. The direction, however, isn't quite as good as I was hoping for. Certainly, Jonathan Wright Miller's work is impressive, however it's nowhere near as good as his directorial debut for Blake's 7, Shadow. It's all a little too safe, particularly during the interrogation scenes. However, this does allow the acting talent and the very decent script a chance to shine.
Horizon isn't a poor story by any means, and is, in actual fact, a very strong, relatively self contained plot. It may seem unremarkable, but like so many Blake's 7 and Doctor Who stories, there are always hidden gems to find. And while there are issues with Horizon (the first plodding fifteen minutes, the bog standard direction and the wasting of the Liberator crew), it is nevertheless a good, solid Blake's 7 romp.
Liberator Rating - 7/10
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