Review BLAKE'S 7: BREAKDOWN - Episode 10

[Doctor Omega]

Your thought on this episode......


The Liberator heads for space station XK72 where they seek help from surgeon Professor Kayn, when Gan's limiter implant malfunctions causing Gan to go psychotic and violently attack members of the crew. But Professor Kayn has other plans and he informs the Federation of the crew's presence on-board the space station.

On to the next episode....


BOUNTY

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/bounty-episode-11.3374/


Back to the previous episode....


PROJECT AVALON

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/project-avalon-episode-9.3367/

 

[Doctor Omega]

Okay, I have been waiting for this one to discuss.

Here's where it gets contentious!

According to this book......





... the original plan when the character of Gan was dreamed up by the production team, was that he has told his fellow crew members a pack of lies about killing a Federation guard to protect his "woman" and that he is, in reality, a cunning serial sex-killer who very much needs the limiter in his brain.

The book also contends that his behaviour in this episode confirms this original plan by the production team. Gan is a complete and utterly evil psychopath, according to them. His cunning certainly being on show when he fools Cally into releasing him - followed by his evil, smug leer as he immediately attacks her.

The book goes on to say that these early plans for Gan's character were watered down as the show went on, until he became the gentle giant we all know, loved.

I don't know where they got their inside information from, but, watching the various episode featuring Gan, in light of what the book says, it feels to me like they could really have a point!

Gan could actually be interpreted as a cunning, lying psychopath! With only the limiter holding him back.






But gullible is my middle name.

I even believed this book at one point, simply because the prose was so politely earnest.....



I therefore stand by, willing to have my naivete shot down in flames!

Or could the writers of the book be onto something?

As for the episode itself, a good one again. Mind you, I think I have a critical blind spot for perhaps all of Blake's 7. I love every episode and overlook whatever flaws may be on show.



Overall score.....

8 out of 10

 

[michaellevenson]

Yes we could do with others reviewing these episodes with us, I love them all too, okay maybe not eps 23 or 29, but even they have something I like.
Yes I believe Gan was a softie, and the limiter was shooting pain into his brain causing him to become violent. The limiter cuts in when he wanted to do violence so at other times he acted as he really was, and he seemed quite nice! Unless he was a schizophrenic psychopath? Julian Glover is terrific in this, and we can ask if Kayn is a psycho or just a federation fanatic who lost his temper.
Zen is back being obstructive and that creates the exiting situation, excellent writing.
Did Avon really want to leave? I do find that a bit unlikely, Avon giving up on the Liberator for a quite life of scientific study !! Not him surely.
I've previously mentioned the Together Again interview tapes I bought via the Blakes7 fan club, David Maloney stated that David Jackson once passed him a note during rehearsals that just said " four", the number of lines he had in one episode.
Darrow remembers Jackson was reassured that Breakdown would rectify that situation, it was all about his character,
" And it turned out he had a couple of lines and spent the rest of the episode on his back! He wasn't happy, but I told him at least you can have a rest!"
10/10

 

[michaellevenson]

Episode Cast

Gareth Thomas......BLAKE
Paul Darrow..........AVON
Sally Knyvette......JENNA
Jan Chappell......CALLY
Michael Keating...VILA
David Jackson........GAN
Peter Tuddenham....ZEN
Julian Glover......KAYN
Ian Thompson.....FARREN
Christian Roberts....RENOR

written by Terry Nation
directed by Vere Lorrimer
Transmitted 6 March 1978.

 

[Brimfin]

This week Gan’s inhibitor chip goes haywire causing him to attack his fellow crew members. Kind of ironic that something made to keep him from becoming violent ends up having exactly the opposite effect. Some of the fight seemed a little like pantomime and the heavy objects that are swung at him didn’t look all that heavy.

Gan needs a neurosurgeon to repair his chip, so they look for the shortest route to one. But Avon knows of a “bolt hole” that’s even closer. That refers to a place that he planned to bolt to if things with Blake didn’t work out. This one is a space station independent of the Federation. It’s fifty hours shorter than any other alternative, but Zen warns he can’t take them there because of some mysterious danger that he cannot relate to them. So they disable Zen and head out on their own.

The mystery danger turns out to be a gravitational vortex spiral, and all sorts of problems ensue. First they have to try to pilot the ship manually, but then it starts drifting around, so they realize they need to engage the computers without engaging Zen. Then, Cally makes the mistake of letting Gan out of his restraints because he says he is feeling okay now. The trouble with that whole scenario is that Gan is supposedly violent only because his chip has gone haywire. He’s smart enough to feign that he is feeling better in order to get loose but not smart enough to realize he’ll just be a danger to everyone if he’s released. In other words, he wants to be released so that he can go clobber everybody. What is his motivation to do that?

Anyway, while Avon is fixing the computers, Gan bursts in and appears to rip a big chunk of wiring out of the equipment before he can be subdued. Nevertheless, afterward Avon says the computers are fixed and ready to go, which they needed to be anyway as they’d be crushed by the vortex if they didn’t work. So what did Gan actually do? Just rip off some unimportant cover or something? They pass through the vortex with some ship bending and mental confusion effects but come out the other side okay.

They arrive at Station XK72 and request a neurosurgeon to help them. A Professor Kayn seems to be a good fellow and immediately volunteers to go with them and help. However, once over there, we find out that he recognized Blake and is just stalling so that the Federation ships he summoned can have time to come over and arrest him. His younger assistant comes over to help and is appalled at Kayn’s behavior but can do nothing to help. Finally, Vila gets suspicious and bursts in with a gun to force Kayn to do the surgery. When he tries to refuse, Blake threatens to destroy his hands if he doesn’t save their friend.

Meanwhile, Avon had been the one to go over to fetch the assistant. I saw him only take one bracelet off the shelf. When he calls them back, he sends the assistant back by himself saying he’ll wait there for now and call them later. Still, when he does call to come back later no one has to bring him over a bracelet. Perhaps he was already wearing one bracelet when he took the one off the shelf. Did anyone else notice this apparent discrepancy?

Avon’s plan was to join the space station crew and as their reward for taking him in help them develop teleport capability. But when he gets wind of Kayn’s call for the Federation ship he heads back to the Liberator. Kayn does the surgery but tells them they can’t move the ship at all until he is finished or Gan may die. Blake waits and delivers Kayn and his assistant back after the surgery is complete.

Here’s where the episode really lets me down, though. The Liberator inexplicably backs up to face the Federation ships rather than running off in any other direction to avoid them. The Fed ships fire plasma bolts at them, miss, and blow up the space station instead. Kayn contributes to the problem by arguing with the station commander and then angrily killing him. Thus when a station worker calls to ask what to do about the plasma bolt zooming in on them, there is no one to respond. But there was no evidence that the station had any defenses anyway as they were neutral. So, a group of good people – including the likeable assistant that we met earlier – get blown up for the crime of helping save Gan. They acknowledged very briefly that the loss of the station was sad, but that was about it. Somehow, seeing them all laughing and joking at the very end just sent the wrong message to me.

With all my problems with this one, I can only give it a 5.

 

[michaellevenson]

This week Gan’s inhibitor chip goes haywire causing him to attack his fellow crew members. Kind of ironic that something made to keep him from becoming violent ends up having exactly the opposite effect. Some of the fight seemed a little like pantomime and the heavy objects that are swung at him didn’t look all that heavy.

Gan needs a neurosurgeon to repair his chip, so they look for the shortest route to one. But Avon knows of a “bolt hole” that’s even closer. That refers to a place that he planned to bolt to if things with Blake didn’t work out. This one is a space station independent of the Federation. It’s fifty hours shorter than any other alternative, but Zen warns he can’t take them there because of some mysterious danger that he cannot relate to them. So they disable Zen and head out on their own.

The mystery danger turns out to be a gravitational vortex spiral, and all sorts of problems ensue. First they have to try to pilot the ship manually, but then it starts drifting around, so they realize they need to engage the computers without engaging Zen. Then, Cally makes the mistake of letting Gan out of his restraints because he says he is feeling okay now. The trouble with that whole scenario is that Gan is supposedly violent only because his chip has gone haywire. He’s smart enough to feign that he is feeling better in order to get loose but not smart enough to realize he’ll just be a danger to everyone if he’s released. In other words, he wants to be released so that he can go clobber everybody. What is his motivation to do that?

Anyway, while Avon is fixing the computers, Gan bursts in and appears to rip a big chunk of wiring out of the equipment before he can be subdued. Nevertheless, afterward Avon says the computers are fixed and ready to go, which they needed to be anyway as they’d be crushed by the vortex if they didn’t work. So what did Gan actually do? Just rip off some unimportant cover or something? They pass through the vortex with some ship bending and mental confusion effects but come out the other side okay.

They arrive at Station XK72 and request a neurosurgeon to help them. A Professor Kayn seems to be a good fellow and immediately volunteers to go with them and help. However, once over there, we find out that he recognized Blake and is just stalling so that the Federation ships he summoned can have time to come over and arrest him. His younger assistant comes over to help and is appalled at Kayn’s behavior but can do nothing to help. Finally, Vila gets suspicious and bursts in with a gun to force Kayn to do the surgery. When he tries to refuse, Blake threatens to destroy his hands if he doesn’t save their friend.

Meanwhile, Avon had been the one to go over to fetch the assistant. I saw him only take one bracelet off the shelf. When he calls them back, he sends the assistant back by himself saying he’ll wait there for now and call them later. Still, when he does call to come back later no one has to bring him over a bracelet. Perhaps he was already wearing one bracelet when he took the one off the shelf. Did anyone else notice this apparent discrepancy?

Avon’s plan was to join the space station crew and as their reward for taking him in help them develop teleport capability. But when he gets wind of Kayn’s call for the Federation ship he heads back to the Liberator. Kayn does the surgery but tells them they can’t move the ship at all until he is finished or Gan may die. Blake waits and delivers Kayn and his assistant back after the surgery is complete.

Here’s where the episode really lets me down, though. The Liberator inexplicably backs up to face the Federation ships rather than running off in any other direction to avoid them. The Fed ships fire plasma bolts at them, miss, and blow up the space station instead. Kayn contributes to the problem by arguing with the station commander and then angrily killing him. Thus when a station worker calls to ask what to do about the plasma bolt zooming in on them, there is no one to respond. But there was no evidence that the station had any defenses anyway as they were neutral. So, a group of good people – including the likeable assistant that we met earlier – get blown up for the crime of helping save Gan. They acknowledged very briefly that the loss of the station was sad, but that was about it. Somehow, seeing them all laughing and joking at the very end just sent the wrong message to me.

With all my problems with this one, I can only give it a 5.

There's an interesting subtext here that you may have missed, but at the same time not missed ..Yes Gan when seemingly calm attacks Cally, the limiter is not giving him pain at this point so why do it?
There is one explanation, Gan as seen up to now has only been rational because of the limiter. The limiter is giving him pain, but when not doing that it's simply not working. Gan unaffected by the device is a psycho An unpleasant thought but it makes sense. We have Gan in various episodes swigging down pills with water....medication? Also of importance is Gan smiling when trying to strangle Cally, you don't smile when in pain, the limiter simply is not working. Also Kayn without knowing anything of Gan's background assumes he is a dangerous psychopath, as if limiters are only used on dangerous headcases.
One point, the crew didn't disable Zen, Zen disabled itself by refusing to operate in the zone.

 

[Gavin]

I have to say I have mixed feelings about this episode. There are a lot of good elements but they just don't seem to come together well for me. I was excited to see that Gan (who has been woefully underused so far) was getting a "day in the limelight" episode, but it turned out that he didn't really do much other than grunt and attack people (and computers). The idea expressed by others, that Gan is really a psycho only held in check by the limiter is intriguing, but its not explored, and I don't have much confidence that it will be in the future. It's a little frustrating that we're getting little peeks at each of the main characters' histories but not seeing a lot in the way of character development.

Julian Glover is always entertaining to watch (although I kept expecting him to rip his face off and reveal himself as a Jagaroth. That's a Doctor Who reference for those (sadly) uninitiated people who don't understand. But there didn't seem to be any real motivation behind his initial betrayal of Blake to the federation (unless he's so strongly attached to law and order, and sees the federation representing that, that he's willing to breach the station's neutrality). And then his murder of the station commander seemed to come out of nowhere.

Finally the idea that the federation would fire at Blake in a line that would directly intersect with the station if he did the obvious thing - move - just seems idiotic, or worse, implies a casual disregard to life that might even lead to war (the station was neutral, but I understood that it had scientists from multiple unaligned worlds). And the casual way the crew were all laughing at the end just made it weirder.

Despite those flaws it was entertaining, keeping the action moving throughout. And there were a couple of interesting character moments. Vila rushing in to help stop Gan and later showing up with a gun to force Kayn to operate - what happened to the coward who dropped his gun in the mutiny in the 2nd episode? And Avon, his planning to leave didn't surprise me but the fact that he gave that up so quickly when Blake and the others were threatened showed that he is beginning to care for the others. Earlier on in the show I think he'd have left without a second thought and not worried what happened to them.

I'm struggling with a score for this one but I think I can only give it 6 out of 10 - the flaws outweigh the entertainment.

 

[ant-mac]

Gan suffers a potentially fatal seizure after the behavioural limiter in his brain develops a fault. He becomes dangerously violent and threatens the lives of the rest of the Liberator crew. However, they are able to overpower and restrain Gan. To save his life, Blake and his crew undertake a dangerous journey through a deadly gravity vortex to get to the XK72 space laboratory, to enlist the assistance of its personal. It is a space station financed by a consortium of planets, which has two fields of research - weaponry and space medicine.

The suicidal manoeuvre of travelling through the gravity vortex causes Avon to declare that he is finally quitting Blake's team of freedom fighters for good. Once they arrive at the XK72 space laboratory, the Liberator crew contact the surgeon, Professor Kayn, to ask for his help. Kayn and his aide teleport across to the Liberator to perform an operation on Gan, but Kayn delays the medical procedure when he becomes suspicious of Blake and his crew.

Meanwhile, Avon has stayed behind on the space station to negotiate with its staff for his sanctuary, but he soon discovers that someone has already alerted the Federation of Blake's arrival and that pursuit ships are on their way. Once Avon realizes that they have been recognized and reported to the Federation, he alerts Blake to this fact. Blake persuades Kayn to complete the medical procedure on Gan by threatening to destroy the surgeon’s hands. While stalling for time Kayn has in fact cured Gan's problem, but the behavioural limiter must remain in place. The Liberator manages to escape just in the nick of time, but a plasma bolt fired at them from an approaching Federation pursuit ship glances off their force wall and completely destroys the XK72 laboratory.

Overall, I enjoyed BREAKDOWN and thought it was a reasonably good episode. I thought the early scenes on board the Liberator were suitably exciting and gripping and that the crew’s desperate attempt to find help for their shipmate - including navigating through a dangerous energy vortex - showed just how far they had come and how much they had bonded together as a team - with the exception of Avon of course.

I thought that the regular cast was well served by this episode and that Julian Glover gave his usual brilliant performance in the role of Kayn - a cold and calculating bastard. I was pleasantly surprised by Blake’s very effective threat of violence against Kayn, should he fail to successfully complete his surgery upon Gan. It was nice to see the dark side of Blake for a change.

However, I did think that the ending was a bit of an overkill. I didn’t think it was necessary to destroy the space station and all of the innocent lives on board it. I think it would have been quite sufficient to have Kayn being taken into custody for his crime of murder, whilst the Federation pursuit ships fired a couple of ineffective plasma bolts at the Liberator and then take up the chase once more… Oh well.

4/5.

 

[michaellevenson]

Gan suffers a potentially fatal seizure after the behavioural limiter in his brain develops a fault. He becomes dangerously violent and threatens the lives of the rest of the Liberator crew. However, they are able to overpower and restrain Gan. To save his life, Blake and his crew undertake a dangerous journey through a deadly gravity vortex to get to the XK72 space laboratory, to enlist the assistance of its personal. It is a space station financed by a consortium of planets, which has two fields of research - weaponry and space medicine.

The suicidal manoeuvre of travelling through the gravity vortex causes Avon to declare that he is finally quitting Blake's team of freedom fighters for good. Once they arrive at the XK72 space laboratory, the Liberator crew contact the surgeon, Professor Kayn, to ask for his help. Kayn and his aide teleport across to the Liberator to perform an operation on Gan, but Kayn delays the medical procedure when he becomes suspicious of Blake and his crew.

Meanwhile, Avon has stayed behind on the space station to negotiate with its staff for his sanctuary, but he soon discovers that someone has already alerted the Federation of Blake's arrival and that pursuit ships are on their way. Once Avon realizes that they have been recognized and reported to the Federation, he alerts Blake to this fact. Blake persuades Kayn to complete the medical procedure on Gan by threatening to destroy the surgeon’s hands. While stalling for time Kayn has in fact cured Gan's problem, but the behavioural limiter must remain in place. The Liberator manages to escape just in the nick of time, but a plasma bolt fired at them from an approaching Federation pursuit ship glances off their force wall and completely destroys the XK72 laboratory.

Overall, I enjoyed BREAKDOWN and thought it was a reasonably good episode. I thought the early scenes on board the Liberator were suitably exciting and gripping and that the crew’s desperate attempt to find help for their shipmate - including navigating through a dangerous energy vortex - showed just how far they had come and how much they had bonded together as a team - with the exception of Avon of course.

I thought that the regular cast was well served by this episode and that Julian Glover gave his usual brilliant performance in the role of Kayn - a cold and calculating bastard. I was pleasantly surprised by Blake’s very effective threat of violence against Kayn, should he fail to successfully complete his surgery upon Gan. It was nice to see the dark side of Blake for a change.

However, I did think that the ending was a bit of an overkill. I didn’t think it was necessary to destroy the space station and all of the innocent lives on board it. I think it would have been quite sufficient to have Kayn being taken into custody for his crime of murder, whilst the Federation pursuit ships fired a couple of ineffective plasma bolts at the Liberator and then take up the chase once more… Oh well.

4/5.

Where do you stand on the issue of Gan and his limiter?
Is he really a psycho? When he tried to strangle Cally the limiter wasn't causing him pain, he was smiling, as if getting a kick out of it.

 

[ant-mac]

Where do you stand on the issue of Gan and his limiter?
Is he really a psycho? When he tried to strangle Cally the limiter wasn't causing him pain, he was smiling, as if getting a kick out of it.

I've given that some thought... And to be honest, I'm torn between the two options.

Ever since I was young, I've always liked Gan. However, as I got older, I started to wonder about one or two "moments" he seemed to have. Upon reflection, I can't say I'm entirely surprised by Doc's revelations and I think Gan probably is a psychopath - although not without some redeeming qualities.

Besides, it's helps to give B7 a gritty edge and a coating of grey that sets it apart from some other space operas.

 

[The Seeker]

I really liked this episode, flaws and all. I was glad to see them acknowledge Gan, even if he was knocked off for most of the episode. Earlier in the series when he showed Jenna the limiter I thought he said it prevents him from getting violent. That’s how I remember it anyway.

It was touching to see the camaraderie among the crew, though Avon and Vila seemed ambivalent. They redeemed themselves when Vila threatened Kayn and Avon hurried back to the ship to warn his friends rather than abandoning them.

I’d give it a ten if they hadn’t blown up the space station, which was totally unnecessary. I also felt that the Liberator eluded the Federation too easily. So I’m giving it a nine.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Where do you stand on the issue of Gan and his limiter?
Is he really a psycho? When he tried to strangle Cally the limiter wasn't causing him pain, he was smiling, as if getting a kick out of it.

Yes, that is a really chilling moment. Just that air of savouring her distress and his power over her. The cunning way he talks her into releasing him also suggests that he knew exactly what he was doing.

At the end of the episode it is breezily glossed over by the others that the limiter couldn't be removed and Vila is jokey and lighthearted. But the book, LIBERATION suggests that Blake and co. are not so stupid as to remove it, for they surely suspect the truth...

I am not sure what credence can be put on a book that is, at the end of the day, written by fans, but I love the possibility that the Gan we think we know may not be the real Gan.

 

[johnnybear]

An interesting idea that I have never thought of before! I loved the way Renor was flirting with Jenna and later Cally when he first meets them on the Liberator! Jenna's a mighty sexy lady and she seemed to be lapping up the attention even if at this point in the show she was shown to be an avid if somewhat lovestruck member of Blakes crew!
JB