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Cilla, Cindy, Frag, Gamak, Hywel, Snyder, Turnidus and Ytzabub
head for Xoolian Major to answer an SOS. But who sent the
mysterious distress call? Could it be Jake Avara or Madame
D? Or is it part of a trap set by the dastardly Arran...?
What
could be better than having Gareth Thomas in your sci-fi comedy
drama? Having two of him, of course! In this instalment, Hywel
Hammond and Arran Arkenstein, two characters previously portrayed
by Thomas, though never before in the same scene, finally
confront one another. Believe it or not, Thomas actually manages
to crank up his deliberately OTT villainous performance even
higher than before in his role as Arran, now that he has to
compete with himself in camp mode as Hywel. Well, he is supposed
to be same arch character that Colin Baker played in Part
One.
Speaking
of whom, Baker features in a brief flashback to that very
first episode, as Cindy (Mark J Thompson) recalls a comment
she made back then, thereby tying up a loose end that had
been left dangling since the beginning of the series.
And
speaking of memories, do you remember what happened to the
Retsab-Maureen (Alison Taffs)? No, me neither, which is why
I found the narrated recap at the beginning of the CD very
useful indeed. Madame Deephole (Jacqueline Pearce), Major
Grondlepuss (Mark J Thompson), Crispin Caelys (Niall Stuchfield)
and Violet Goodgrip (Alison Taffs) also make welcome returns.
It probably came as a relief to the talented Ms Taffs that
her character Mrs Blubber stayed behind on Earth at the end
of the last instalment, because in addition to Maureen and
Violet, she also plays the arachnid Zalia in this episode.
I
wonder if this CD was recorded in more of a hurry than usual,
because I noticed a few semi-fluffed lines along the way.
Nothing major, just a few mispronunciations and instances
of incorrectly placed emphasis.
Still,
we get what we came for: plenty of double entendres concerning
rings, long pink things and the importance of a good oral
range.
Richard
McGinlay
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