Traitor never gets started.
WRITTEN BY
An unusual misfire from the reliable Robert Holmes. Probably a result of the writers asking him to tackle the series arc.
PLOT
Becoming concerned with rapid Federation expansionism, Avon takes the Scorpio to Helotrix, the latest independent colony to fall in the hopes of finding answers and a possible solution. There, Tarrant and Dayna become mixed up with the planet's dwindling rebellion.
ANALYSIS
Helotrix has got to be one of the most boring planets in the galaxy. It's already visually unappealing, seeing as how it's composed of a field of mud and a poorly lit city/wilderness set(it's never really made clear which is which). But the actual setting is dull and uninteresting. Literally all we learn about the planet is that there's a rebelling colony and an evil Federation. It's a setup we've seen before in episodes like Horizon and Countdown, but those stories made it work by focusing on personal relationships(Ro/The Kommissar, Avon/Grant) and in the latter case, a literal ticking clock. To make matters even worse, the action here is all given to Tarrant and Dayna, who naturally suck any intrigue out of it with how flat and predictable their characters are.
There's very little humor or memorable dialogue(in a Holmes story, no less!), but much of the acting is camp, especially from the Federation side. Not a good mix. The plot moves at a snail's pace, with almost 20 minutes going to waste on exposition about the various forgettable villains and their motives. It doesn't matter, they all die anyway.
I don't even really like the main series arc. Oh no, not the horror of... pacification drugs? Was that the most intimidating thing they could come up with? They could've made it so that everyone who get hooked become murderous sociopaths willing to kill their families for the Federation, but no, it's basically weed. The Federation is threatening the galaxy with techno-laser weed.
There's also the troublesome fact that the return of the Federation to power kind of neuters the massive effect left by Star One. On one hand, it's quite poignant that ultimately, all of our heroes' efforts were for naught. Avon is visibly frightened by the idea. But this is really something that should've been addressed within the narrative of the series, not gleaned from performances and context. Without that, I just can't help but feel that Blake's 7 still hasn't quite figured out what to do without Gareth Thomas. So now the Federation is back. Servalan is back. Yet neither have the impact they once did.
CHARACTERS
Paul Darrow was the saving grace of the episode for me. Avon's become a man of extremes(an obvious symptom of mental stress). During moments of lull, he is very irreverent and takes great pleasure in whatever misfortune he notices. Yet in times of need, he snaps to an incredibly commanding persona.
It's interesting that despite Avon's cynicism and desire for the Liberator, he rarely gave orders, instead preferring to put forward plans and let the others make up their own minds about helping him. Now, however, Avon's authority over the crew has suddenly become stern and unquestionable. Perhaps he's overcompensating for the recent disasters. In any case, I like it. I feel like it gives the crew more of a structure(Avon as commander, Tarrant as 2nd in charge + pilot, Dayna and Soolin as the guns and Vila as the picklock) and there's always more of an impetus for doing things when he's so aggressive about it.
Speaking of aggression, did Tarrant piss in Vila's wine this week? He spends the entire episode sniping about the guy. I don't think it's entirely out of character given all the things Tarrant did to Vila in the previous season, but it seems strange for it to occur now, all of a sudden. And it does make Vila a tad unpleasant.
Christopher Neame was in this episode. I'm only saying it because Christopher Neame was in this episode.
I'll give some credit to Robert Morris, who played Star Major Hunda, as he was the only one trying to give the material any gravitas(besides Darrow obviously). I totally bought him as a fierce, tired yet noble rebel leader. They gave him nothing interesting to do(and he disappears at the end), but I did at least mildly care about him.
Jacqueline Pearce still has her charisma going for her, but pretty much everything that made the character so cool is gone now. She's not been a calculating politician for a while, but now she doesn't even revel in her own evil. I understand that Pearce was ill and may not have been fully up for it. As much as I hate to say it, it would've been wiser to leave Servalan dead and introduce a new villain to shake things up some more. After all, what could possibly top "maximum power"?
NOTES
*I'm not sure how Igin is supposed to kill off a whole rebel column with that tiny little explosion.
*For some strange reason, Holmes uses a lot of Germanic names here: Liedenbrank, Leitz, Wazis.
*I like how Holmes is the only writer to actually bother giving a fixed date to an event. In this case, the Fletch expedition of '29. Though I suppose the number might refer to something else.
*Mythological wolves exist on Tarz?
*The use of Peter Tuddenham on the Federation speaker system is really noticeable.
*Practically all non-rebel Helot costumes are reused outfits. There's several vests from The Way Back, Avon's Frankenstein suit from Redemption(worn by our boy Tarrant too), Blake's Robin Hood outfit from Series A, Avon's grey outfit from Series A, Jarvik's blue worker suit, Vila's brown corduroy jacket from the Intergalactic War era, two of Tarrant's jackets and even the costume of Omega from Doctor Who's "The Three Doctors".
*There's a few conveniences in the plot that I didn't like, such as Forbus name-dropping Leitz for the major revelation in a very forced manner, or the deus ex machina of a minor trigger disabling communications on the Scorpio and shifting the whole plot. Then again, the latter does show how crappy the new ship is in comparison to the last one. And I love the Scorpio's inherent crappitude.
*I feel bad for the guard who had to carry a booby-trapped key. Always terrified of confusing them one day. Why make your security system 50% breakable anyway?
*There really should've been a line clarifying that the "message from Space Centre" that Avon refers to at the end is the computers' answer to the speed problem that Orac mentioned earlier. It's a bit hard to follow.
*Why doesn't Soolin just teleport Tarrant and Dayna out when they break contact? We're long past the days of having to provide teleport coordinates!
*How thick is that General to drink the wine of an assassination victim?
INFORMATION!
*Helotrix is described as being in Sector 4, and one of the earliest colonies independent from the Federation. This is the same description Blake gave to Saurian Major in Time Squad. Probably an unintentional coincidence, but it's nice to imagine the planets might be close by. And while we're on the subject of sectors, some trivia: the remote penal colony Exbar(from Hostage) is also in Sector 4. Obsidian(from Volcano), Terminal and Xenon are in Sector 6. Star One is in Sector 11. Space World(from Redemption) is in Sector 12, as is the black hole from Dawn Of The Gods. Just in case anyone feels like drawing a map!
*The Liberator and its recent destruction in Terminal is referenced several times.
*Vila mentions that Blake(known for his passionate rebellion against all logic) would've been proud of Avon.
*The painting of Servalan has her wearing the dress seen in Terminal.
*Federation pacification drugs(of a weaker variety) were previously featured in The Way Back and Space Fall.
*Servalan(referred to as "Supreme Empress" rather than the usual President) was dethroned between seasons, and a new High Council has been restored.
*Early space colonies obeyed a Stock Equalization Act, which forced all of them to include all human races.
*Hunda says that Tarrant and Dayna are from Earth.
BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE
"Tarrant is young, brave, handsome... there are three reasons for anyone not to like him."
CONCLUSION
Snorefest.
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