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Though essentially an interview CD, this product is also
something rather more than that.
The
actual interview comes in two parts. The first of these analyses,
in considerable (some might even say anally retentive) detail,
the personality and back story of Gareth Thomas' most famous
character, the titular hero of Blake's 7. It is asserted,
for example, that Roj Blake's band of outlaws may have been
a surrogate family to him, although Thomas himself remains
unconvinced about this theory.
The
second part of the interview covers the actor's various roles
in MJTV's on-going comedic sci-fi CD series, Soldiers of
Love. It reveals just how long a history SOL has
had, ever since its beginnings as an amateur cassette-recorded
student venture. The discussion also discloses the surprising
fact that Thomas' popular Welsh TV producer character, Hywel
Hammond, actually began life as a spur-of-the-moment plot
device.
In
case you were beginning to think that all this sounds just
a little too serious for an MJTV production, the camp Hywel
is also heard, in character, in a monologue written by Mark
J Thompson and performed by Gareth Thomas. Two further monologues,
written by Thomas himself, feature the more sombre - though
far from humourless - character of a medieval monk. They are
read, rather charmingly, by Thomas' SOL co-star Nicholas
Courtney.
The
CD is rounded off by a brand-new "Galactovision TV advert"
for Jake's Heaven, the Blake's 7 spoof that
briefly but memorably featured in Soldiers of Love.
Starring Thomas as the Gregorian-chanting computer ANET, along
with several other SOL cast members, this sketch lampoons
numerous key moments from Blake's 7 in the space of
a few minutes.
This
is a peculiar mixture, then, but one that bears repeated listening
rather better than your average interview CD.
Richard
McGinlay
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