Sapphire & Steel

A star-scape, trumpeting music, a booming voice announcing the entrance of those mysterious elemental agents...

So began each installment of the fantastic, and very underrated, "Sapphire and Steel" starring David "Man from UNCLE" McCallum and Joanna "Purdey" Lumley.

Produced by ATV in the late 70s and early 80s, this show certainly left the audiences divided. You either loved it or hated it.

Some, baffled by its weighty plots, weird characters and bizarre set pieces found it an instant turn off. Other, perhaps more patient people, who stuck with the series were rewarded with some of the best TV science-fiction this country has ever produced.

Innovative out of necessity rather than choice given its miniscule budget, "Sapphire and Steel" was a triumph of experimentation. Weird music, disturbing imagery, film noir-esque lighting and solid performances from almost every actor to feature in it, everything about the show is a joy to behold.

Now deleted on video, but with a rumoured DVD release in the offing, it is well worth catching this enthralling show. Only 6 stories were ever produced and its short run makes this gem all the more worthy of cherishing. So if you're sick of time travelling Doctors, battles in space and little green men on Mars, then give this intelligent and brooding fantasy treat a try!

A fore runner to the x-files would be the simplest way to explain Saphire and Steel. Steel (David McCullum, Man From UNCLE) and Sapphire (Joanna Lumley, The New Avengers, AbFab) are a team sent from some other dimension to correct errors in the fabric of our space time. Errors include places and times when some brutal crime has been committed or some evil force from another time/place/dimension is trying to enter our world. These errors manifest themselves invariably as ghosts or shadows or something similar and evil. Strangely dark and decidedly unsettling (man without a face episode scared me 25 years ago and still scares me today). The sets are small, rustic and highly claustrophobic and this adds to the already unsettling mood. Strange music with odd eerie sound effects all add atmosphere. Steel is a short tempered man who doesn't tolerate fools easily and tolerates children even less. Sapphire, however, is the warmer of the two. It seems there are many people who remember the name of the program but not the content and this is a shame as it easily rivals the X-Files in quality of stories and positively outshines it in sheer "spine tingle". The acting is excellent as you would expect from such high profile stars. Pity there was such a short run of it. The video quality is a tiny bit grainy but it was originally filmed in analogue and is the best part of 25 years old. However, this is a not a problem as far as I am concerned. I did read that both Joanna Lumley and David McCullum both expressed a particular fondness for the show and its a shame that it hasn't had the airplay it should have. Spooky, eerie, dark, eerie, did I mention eerie? Yeah. Scares the crap out of me still. Worth buying........

I watched this when I was at University and it held a cult status with my friends and I. I bought the tapes then the DVDs when they came out and I still enjoy watching it 25 years later. Some parts of it are still scary and it just goes to show that you don't need huge budgets to make fine TV shows.

The choices of David McCallum and Joanna Lumley for the stars was the hook that got a lot of people watching it but I stayed watching it for the stories - not the stars. There were only six miniseries made. My personal favourite was the one set in a deserted railway station. The ending was a real surprise.

Its a real shame it ended when it did.

I watched Sapphire and Steel when it was on the telly and, unfortunately, missed the last episode. (long story, but in short, my house was being rewired and electricity was off)

I was confused when i went to work the next day (being a Wednesday) and my work colleague told me that it had been the last episode..... SHOCK, HORROR!!!! "But" I said, "it's on Tuesday and Thursday, how can they end it on a Tuesday???"

So...... for years i asked around, scoured the TV guides (in the hope it would be repeated), all to no avail. :o( Then about 4 years ago, I was chatting to a friend of mine who informed me he had the series on video..... JOY O JOY!!!! :o)

I borrowed the series and watched the last episode first... as I remembered where I had left off..

Then I proceeded to watch the other episodes, along with my daughter, who incidentally is now an avid 'Fan'. We have now bought them on DVD. :o)) How wonderful to watch it again, and again. Despite the fact that i can still remember, almost, everything that happens, from all those years ago. Which storyline belongs to what etc etc etc.

If they can repeat Fawlty Towers, Reggie Perrin, Fools and Horses etc... (admittedly they are comedies) why can't Sapphire and Steel be repeated? A bit contradictory i know, as I say i have it on DVD, but then there are so many people missing out of such an excellent short lived series.

Not sure it would be possible to do a remake, as JL and DM played their 'roles' so well, and the 'chemistry' they had on screen was magnificent.

I suppose i could always loan out my DVD's (would I ever get them back though? ;o) For the time being, my piece has been said.

I vaguely remember watching S&S on first broadcast, and clutching a handy sofa cushion. Watching it again, curtesy of the DVD collection (and at least 20 years older,) It still makes me shiver. Story is great, characterisation & acting excellent, and effects as expected (it works for me, and to see CGI implementations of `TIME` couldn`t be as effective as eerie pools of light).

Still, watching again as a fierce man (cough, possibly,) I still experience the same shivers I did first time round. Believe me, as a psychological thriller, it really works. Situations, and snippets of dialogue from the series, tend to surface when I try to get to sleep. This will soon pass, as it did 20-odd years ago...

Extras, they`re interesting - copies of TV times articles, and production stills related to each episode. Adequate, interesting, but not exceptionable.