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Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: August 27, 2013.
Director: Various
Cast: David McCallum, Joanna Lumley
Year: 1979-1982
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The Series:
Sapphire And Steel ran from 1979 through 1982 on TV in the United Kingdom where it was produced by ATV. It's been on DVD before, in the UK through Network and domestically through A&E - but that A&E set is out of print and long gone. Created and written by Peter Hammond (the fifth story he co-wrote with Don Houghton and Anthony Read), the series begins with some odd opening narration:
“All irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension. Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life. Medium atomic weights are available: Gold, Lead, Copper, Jet, Diamond, Radium, Sapphire, Silver and Steel. Sapphire and Steel have been assigned.â€
From here we meet a pair of time travelling characters, possibly aliens, named Sapphire (Joanna Lumley) and Steel (David McCallum). We don't know much about them, where they come from or why they do what they do but they have a knack for showing up whenever any sort of unexpected event causes a rift in the flow of time. They're not the warmest of types, they keep their distance from the humans they show up to help and Sapphire's ability to alter time tends to make her a little freaky to those who see her in action. Steel, on the other hand, is just cold - literally. He can turn his temperature to freezing and use that ability to destroy evil remnants of time. He's also pretty strong. So yeah, these two are… weird. And their adventures are also… weird.
The series ran for six storylines, and they play out as follows:
Assignment I: Escape Through a Crack in Time:
The first storyline runs six episodes and it follows our duo as they show up to investigate a haunting at a stately old home caused by the reading of a nursery rhyme to the young girl who lives there. This causes a time rift that whisks her parents away and leaves her in the care of her brother. Sapphire and Steel, with some help in the later episodes from Lead (Val Pringle), show up to help and figure out what is causing the ghosts of soldiers past to manifest in the home.
Assignment II: The Railway Station:
The next batch of eight episodes are sent in a really creepy old abandoned railway station where a ghost hunter named George Tully (Gerard James) has his investigation sidelined when Sapphire and Steel show up to figure out what exactly is going on with the appearance of a ghost that appears to be a soldier killed just minutes after the first world war came to a close.
Assignment III: The Creature's Revenge:
The six episodes in story three begin when a couple named Rothwyn (Catharine Hall) and Eldred (David Gant) appear to be using their apartment as a time capsule of sorts, while trying to pass themselves off as citizens of the modern day. When they become trapped in our time, the technology that controls their capsule revolts and it's up to Sapphire and Steel, with some help from Silver (David Collings), to set things right and prevent a meltdown in the time stream.
Assignment IV: The Man Without a Face:
This four episode run introduces us to a strange group of children who seem to live in an abandoned and rundown apartment complex haunted by a man without a face and seemingly devoid of any actual normal human beings. All of this ties in to a strange photograph which contains the ability to suck things into it in 2D form forever - much to the dismay of our duo, who are going to figure this out the hardway.
Assignment V: Dr. McDee Must Die:
The fifth storyline runs six episodes and follows an eccentric millionaire named Lord Mullrine who hosts a 1930s themed dinner party at his massive home to honor the half century anniversary of his company. When his late associate, Doctor McGee, shows up at the party and his guests start getting killed off, Sapphire and Steel show up to figure out what has gone wrong in the annals of time.
Assignment VI: The Trap:
The final storyline runs four episodes and revolves around an old dinner that lays abandoned at the side of an empty road. Sapphire and Steel show up and find that Silver has been there but they're not sure why he's been there or what exactly it is that they're supposed to be looking for here. When they meet a man (John Boswell) and a woman (Johanna Kirby) who claim to be from the 1940s, things get odd.
Made on a fairly modest budget and without the aid of much in the way of special effects, this is a series that succeeds more on atmosphere and mood than on flash. Our two leads play their roles very well, never emoting too much and keeping an obvious distance from all of those they encounter throughout their investigations. This keeps them creepy, really. They're not typical heroes, they don't have the charm nor the humor of any of The Doctors and their relationship never gets as personal as say, Mulder and Scully. The fact that we can't really relate to them means we don't necessarily like them, but at the same time, it keeps them interesting as characters. We want to know more about them, about why they do what they do and the series proves to be incredibly good at building suspense through clever camera work and pacing - the series tends to be slow in that department, letting mood and acting build things deliberately.
This is a much smarter and more intelligent science fiction show than most that end up on television. Whereas the longer running and more successful series will generally play to the lowest common denominator and stay kid friendly, this is a show that, while hardly explicit, will likely freak out younger viewers if not go completely over their heads. Despite the fact that it keeps everything clean, the writing would seem to have geared the series towards adult viewers. It never simplifies things, it often avoids explanations outright, and it leaves a lot up to us to decide in terms of how things inevitably end up.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The series was broadcast fullframe and that's how it's shown here on this DVD set from Shout! Factory. Picture quality is pretty good, there are some spots where maybe some minor blurring is present but otherwise the picture looks good considering its age and low budget television roots. Colors are nicely defined and detail is about as good as can reasonably be expected.
The English language Dolby Digital Mono sound mix that accompanies each and every episode of the series is also fine. Dialogue is clean and clear and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion. Range is understandably limited by the source but all in all, no problems here. There are no alternate language or subtitle options provided.
Aside from static menus and episode selection, this set is barebones, though on the alternate side of the cover art there are credits and synopsis' for each of the six storylines in the set. The A& set had some commentary tracks and a few other bits and the UK release had some commentary tracks and a featurette - none of those are carried over to this set.
The Final Word:
It's easy to see why this oddity of British pop culture has maintained a cult following over the years, because Sapphire And Steel is a genuinely bizarre show. It definitely seems to have had an influence on The X-Files and would look good on your shelf next to your Doctor Who discs but the series carves out its own nice. McCallum and Lumley are quite good in the show and the series is intriguing, mysterious and highly addictive. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray set doesn't contain any of the extras provided on the British set but it looks and sounds just fine.
