Phoenix Rising

Sapphire & Steel

Background

The programme centred on a pair of interdimensional operatives, the titular Sapphire and Steel. Very little was revealed about their purposes or backgrounds in the course of the series but they appeared to be engaged in guarding the order, if not the integrity of Time. In the series, it was explained that Time is like a corridor that surrounds everything, but there are weak spots where Time - implied to be a potentially malignant force - could break into the present and take things. There were also creatures from the beginnings and ends of time that roamed the corridor looking for the same weak spots to break through.

These breaks were most often triggered by the presence of an anachronism, for example a nursery rhyme, a doctored photograph that mixed period and contemporary elements, or a house decorated to replicate a 1930s setting. Investigators would assess the situation and then, if intervention was warranted, Operators were assigned to deal with the problem by a mysterious unseen authority, to be assisted by Specialists if necessary.

The stories were generally quite cryptic, raising more questions than answers, and had an eerie air to them. The programme’s use of simple but effective staging and minimal special effects actually contributed to the uneasy atmosphere. The ambiguous nature of the programme extended to its main characters. While Sapphire was portrayed as more effable and “human” than the no-nonsense, grim Steel, it was clear that their prime concern was to deal with the break in Time, sometimes over the safety of the humans caught in the incidents they investigated.

It was heavily implied that Sapphire and Steel were not human, given their abilities and manner. Steel, for example, often had gaps in his knowledge of human culture and even Sapphire’s grace was tempered with a cool detachment from the humans they interacted with. In Adventure 5, Steel confirmed that they were alien, “in the extraterrestrial sense,” but what this qualification means is not clear. The two also referred to being involved in the mystery of the Mary Celeste, and in one case stated they would be waiting for a ship to surface in seventy-five years. This could mean they were either exceptionately long-lived or some kind of time travel was involved.

Sapphire and Steel, who were Operators, were occasionally assisted by other operatives, including Lead and Silver. There were 127 operatives in total, including 12 transuranic elements, which could not be assigned where life existed. Although they were described as elements, the code names included non-elements like Jet, with whom Steel had been involved in the past. Sapphire, in turn seemed to be in a relationship with Silver when he helped Steel and her on a case.

Among Sapphire’s abilities was the power to manipulate time in small ways as well as divine the age or historical details of an object by touching it. Her most prominent ability was to “take back time,” literally rewinding it in a localised area to see or replay the past. She also exhibited an ability to obtain information about people just by being close to them - their ages and backgrounds as well as psychological insights into their personality. Sometimes it appeared that she did not discover this information herself but was receiving the information telepathically from some external source. She could also manipulate people’s emotions, and project illusions. When she used her powers, her eyes would usually glow blue.

Steel, on the other hand, could freeze himself to absolute zero which gave him the ability to destroy “ghosts”, which were in actuality remnants of Time. He also possessed immense strength (in Adventure 3 he tied knots in elevator cables to prevent the elevator from being used) and a degree of invulnerability. He exhibited telekinetic abilities, being able to paralyse people with a look, weld metal with his bare hands or undo deadbolts with a gesture.

The other operatives that appeared also had special powers. Silver (played by David Collings), a Specialist who was specified as a Technician, was good with electronics and gadgets, even being able to create small objects out of nothing. Lead (played by Val Pringle), on the other hand, possessed superhuman strength and could act as needed insulation for Steel when he froze himself to extreme temperatures. The operatives could also communicate telepathically with each other, and in one instance Sapphire granted this ability to a human being.

Each adventure would start with Sapphire and Steel simply showing up, seemingly out of nowhere, although often they were already present when the story started. Usually, they would investigate and mingle with various humans, although it was nearly always the location the humans were in which was of the most interest - an old house which dated back to the 18th Century, an abandoned railway station, a 1940s-era motorway café, and so on.

Although the series lasted over a period of four years, only 6 serials consisting of a total of 34 episodes were made, each episode lasting approximately 25 minutes. Eventually, the series ended in 1982, due to the increasing production costs, the sporadic availability of high-profile actors Lumley and McCallum for shooting and finally the reorganization of ATV into the new Central Independent Television.

Audio Version

In late May 2004, Big Finish Productions announced that they had secured the rights to produce a new series of Sapphire & Steel audio adventures for release on CD. However, neither McCallum nor Lumley are reprising their roles: McCallum is working in the United States and Lumley declined to play Sapphire again. The characters will now be played by by Susannah Harker and David Warner.

The character of Gold (voiced by Mark Gatiss) will also appear in the first adventure, The Passenger by Steve Lyons. David Collings has picked up his role again, as Silver in the third and fifth stories of the first series of audio plays.