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In the spring of 2001, a poll published in SFX saw SAPPHIRE & STEEL rated as the second best science-fiction series of all time, ahead of BUFFY (which I'd agree with) but behind STAR TREK (which I wouldn't). Since the series was only ever shown once on terrestrial television, had been deleted on video for years and hadn't even been on cable or satellite since the mid-1990s, that performance shows just how well the series lingered in the minds of those who saw it. But does it still stand up? If you haven't seen the series before, or at least haven't seen it since it was originally shown on ITV, initial impressions aren't great as a wonky roller caption plays over a starfield background. Apart from the cheapo nature of this sequence (fortunately the credits themselves are much better, with that memorable "Sapphire and Steel have been assigned" voice-over), the series probably seems very slow to those used to modern-day television, but this often one of its strengths and it gives writer/creator P.J. Hammond the opportunity to build the suspense gradually. ASSIGNMENT I (as I suppose we should call it now) betrays the series' origins as a series designed for children. Nursery rhymes provide Time with the means to break through to the present, and the main guest characters are both children. This could have been a recipe for disaster, but fortunately the child actors are good (particularly Steven O'Shea as Rob) and the plot explores the real meaning of the nursery rhymes used by Time. The direction, especially early, on is also excellent. On the downside, the cheap nature of the series is occasionally shown. The expanding wall of Helen's bedroom is a bit ropey (although the floating teddy bear is hilarious), having a pair of spotlights represent the threat hardly stretches the budget, and the arrival of the supposedly "giant" Lead is almost laughable. The character isn't much better either, spending most of the time laughing, eating or singing and generally proving annoying. Despite this, a strong opening story, although looking at it today the obvious conclusion is that it would have worked better as a four-parter, which probably would have meant the exclusion of Lead anyway. ASSIGNMENT II is the one that most people will remember - either because of its length (8 episodes) or because it was a least partially repeated because of the 1979 ITV strike which saw most regions only getting three episodes before the network shut down. When the strike finally ended, the story was rerun in its entirety. The first four episodes probably seem terminally slow to a modern audience, but this slow build-up only adds to the story's overall impact. Although the eight episodes do provide the actors playing the ghosts room to develop their roles, it's the two leads and Gerald James as the parapsychologist Tully who take the acting honours. Lumley gets some good material to play with in the form of schoolteacher Eleanor while Tully is an excellent character and there's a genuine sense that two Elements really do need him, something that Steel grudgingly accepts. This makes Steel's treatment of Tully all the more shocking, but he's still able to give a jump of joy in the final scene. After this high-point, the series comes crashing in ASSIGNMENT III . The anti-vivisection storyline is just too obvious to work properly and it's badly paced - the first five episodes are too slow but then there's too much explanation in the final one. As a four-parter with better pacing, it might have worked but as it stands t's clearly the worst story here. Yet there are still good things about it. The leads are as good as ever, and this time they're joined by David Collings as the technician Silver, who we'll get to see again in the second volume. Steel's attack by a pillow is usually held up as being laughable but just about works, and it's certainly no worse than the scene with the lift cable. Guest stars David Gant and Catherine Hall are a little wooden, but then again, they're only really cyphers anyway. The episodes themselves have supposedly been remastered and admittedly do look a lot better than the VHS releases. However, Carlton's decision to cram all eight episodes of ASSIGNMENT II onto one disc was clearly the wrong one as the episodes do tend to look rather smeary, which is rather disappointing. Speaking of disappointments, it's sad to see Carlton removing the ATV zoom frontcaps from each episode, and the ATV Colour Production endcap from the final five episodes of ASSIGNMENT I. Carlton have claimed that they weren't on the masters, but this is almost certainly rubbish as the endcaps were shown by Bravo in the mid-1990s (and they would have shown the frontcaps if they'd been given them). Extras are pretty thin on the ground and limited to a couple of text articles, cast bios and a dozen or so photos that you'll probably look at once and never bother with again. Even so, anyone with an interest in classic UK science-fiction/fantasy television is unlikely to be disappointed by this set. BACK TO THE TOP |
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