On transmission the stories were not titled and the episodes not numbered. Even the "TV Times" could not tell you when a story was in its final episode. When the videos were released (and we found that the memory did not cheat on this series) the tapes used chronological numbers for the adventures. However, the name Adventure One is a bit of a misnomer. Sapphire and Steel had had a number of un-transmitted adventures before this which they referred to in this story. These references were given to establish that Time was evolving mentally to meet the challenge that it faced against Sapphire and Steel. Time was learning how they worked and evolving its tactics to defeat the duo.

I must have been nine when I first saw that story. After the first episode I was not allowed to watch the series in the living room because my parents did not like the supernatural overtones of the series. So I was sent upstairs to watch it alone on the black and white telly in my parents room. I loved the atmosphere of the episodes, built from the shadowy sets and eerie music. When watching I never put the light on, because I knew that with it off the atmosphere would be that bit more electrifying.

Nowadays, I can see why my parents found it too frightening for themselves but would let me watch it. Sapphire and Steel would often describe what was seen, rather than what was happening. This protected the young naïve viewer but implicitly telegraphed what was going on to the older viewer who would intellectually struggle to make sense of it. This telegraphing is what appeals to me about the programme nowadays. The programmes ideas have genuinely horrific qualities - it can take an object we think we know, and challenge this understanding by making the object seem malevolent. This idea then grows over the episodes, brooding on our imagination.

Perhaps it is just as well that my parents never saw Adventure Two. While its predecessor had child characters and nursery rhymes, its sequel had little that a worried parent would give the benefit of doubt to. A disused railway station had become a recruiting ground for the dead, and the companion-like character was a sad old ghost-hunter. While Time in story one was physically represented by lights, here it was a plague-like darkness spreading out from shadows; consuming everything. Worse still, the resolution to the story demonstrated just how clinical Steel could be. While there were never any cosy denunciations or big bang solutions to Sapphire and Steel stories, this one was the most chilling.

Adventure three had people from a future time coming back to the present to investigate what life was like in the 1980’s. Their invisible time capsule was furbished with products from that by-gone time. However, the by-products of dead animals were attacking these people with a mix of hallucinatory and physical attacks. It transpired that Time had let the mental energy of these animals exact revenge on a generation who had exploited their various species to extinction.

Perhaps the subject matters of such a series are too controversial for today’s television producers. In the six stories that formed Sapphire and Steel, children are the enemy in A4, eating meat will most certainly kill you in A3 (without the aid of BSE), while Steel, the hero, has a horrifyingly heartless method of resolving the crisis in A2. Innovative yes, but not safe, never stereo-typical, and always pitched higher than the average programmes intelligence threshold. What programmes made today, "innovative" or otherwise, can claim to be all those?

Wow
Review date: 2003-06-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

For years in my mind, I could see a spider web which then burned up. I didn't know where I had seen it. Then I bought the Sapphire and Steel DVD and there right before my eyes it appeared. I watched this programme when I was 4 years old and it has stayed with my until now!!! My 2 nephews aged 8 & 10 they have become addicted to it.

To think this was created before the 'X' Files and Buffy but it still has the power to hook you on it.

Yes, it might not be as fashionable as them but it was way ahead of its time.

A TV Sci-fi Gem
Review date: 2003-04-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

"Sapphire and Steel" was an interesting attempt by Lew Grade's ATV Network to capitalise on the (initial) success of the rescheduled "Doctor Who" on the BBC during weekday early evenings. This humble ambition gave rise to what seems now to be the most incredible piece of scheduling ever. In slots which these days are filled by cheap, witless products like "Pets Do The Funniest Things" and "UK's Worst Taxi-Drivers", we had this remarkable series.
What strikes me watching these episodes again is that despite passages of almost Beckettian inertia, the level of tension remains high. This is a testament to director, writer and stars. Despite the limited sets, tuppence-ha'penny special effects and wholly unsuitable VT medium, you keep watching. Moreover, for an early evening slot (especially on ITV) the episodes feature decidedly near-the-knuckle plotlines and twists. Without giving too much away, don't be deluded into imagining that good always wins, nor that our heroes won't be cold-bloodedly ruthless.
Although this box set leaves a lot to be desired, and is pitifully low on extras, for the series alone it must have five stars.

The work of a brilliant and bonkers brain
Review date: 2003-02-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

It's tricky to know what to say about this. It left a huge invisible cartoon-like question mark above my head when I watched it as a young lad, and now as a grown up fellow, it's still there. That's not a bad thing of course, it's good to have to work on things. Who were Sapphire and Steel? I've absolutely no idea at all! Kind of supernatural trouble shooters. The enemy? Time. The concept of time being a molevolant being. Sounds weird? It is. BUT...it is also completely brilliant! It has such an unnerving vibe to it and at times is still very scary. The story that is about a deserted railway station is not one to watch with the lights off. It seems strange to think this was on at 7.30 on a weekday evening on ITV. It just would not get made these days, which is a shame as it is excellent and odd. Joanna Lumley and David McCullum are ideal as the lead roles and work off each other beautifully. Creepy and very entertaining. The second box set is just as good too!

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