Series synopsis
Sapphire & Steel is a British drama sci-fi & fantasy television series that premiered on ITV1 on July 10, 1979. It ended on August 31, 1982. It was created by Peter J. Hammond. It stars Joanna Lumley, David McCallum, David Collings and Gerald James.
Sapphire & Steel is a British television science-fiction fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. Hammond who conceived the programme under the working title The Time Menders, after a stay in an allegedly haunted castle. Hammond also wrote all the stories except for the fifth, which was co-written by Don Houghton and Anthony Read.
None of the stories had onscree ...
Premise
Sapphire & Steel is a British television science-fiction fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. Hammond who conceived the programme under the working title The Time Menders, after a stay in an allegedly haunted castle. Hammond also wrote all the stories except for the fifth, which was co-written by Don Houghton and Anthony Read.
None of the stories had onscreen titles, or any official titles assigned by the writers. The Region 1 Complete Series DVD release gives the titles "Escape Through a Crack in Time", "The Railway Station", "The Creature's Revenge", "The Man Without a Face", "Dr. McDee Must Die" and "The Trap", respectively. These titles have often been cited as having been created by science fiction magazine Time Screen.
Premise: All irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Joanna Lumley as Sapphire
- David McCallum as Steel
- David Collings as Silver
- Gerald James as Tully
- Steven O'Shea as Robert Jardine
- Tamasin Bridge as Helen Jardine
- Patience Collier as Emma Mullrine
- Davy Kaye as Lord Mullrine
Supporting cast
- David Gant as Eldred
- Catherine Hall as Rothwyn
- Jeffry Wickham as Felix Harborough
- Stephen MacDonald as Dr George McDee
- Nan Munro as Felicity McDee
- Tom Kelly as Soldier / Pearce
- Peter Laird as Greville
- Christopher Fairbank as Johnny Jack
Guest cast
- Felicity Harrison as Mother
- John Golightly as Father
- Ronald Goodale as Countryman
- Charles Pemberton as Policeman
- Val Pringle as Lead
- Alyson Spiro as Liz
- Philip Bird as Shape
- Natalie Hedges as Parasol Girl
- Bob Hornery as Shape
- Shelagh Stephenson as Ruth
- David Cann as Pilot
- Edward de Souza as Man
Episodes
This series spans 7 seasons with 35 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 1 | February 20, 2011 | February 20, 2011 |
| Season 1 | 6 | July 10, 1979 | July 26, 1979 |
| Season 2 | 8 | July 31, 1979 | November 8, 1979 |
| Season 3 | 6 | January 6, 1981 | January 22, 1981 |
| Season 4 | 4 | January 27, 1981 | February 5, 1981 |
| Season 5 | 6 | August 11, 1981 | August 26, 1981 |
| Season 6 | 4 | August 19, 1982 | August 31, 1982 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Counting Out Time Reuniting the series stars after nearly thirty years, this documentary features Joanna Lumley and David McCallum reminiscing about the making of this landmark series. Also featured are Writer/Creator P. J. Hammond and Producer/Director Shaun O'Riordan |
February 20, 2011 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Assignment I: Escape through a Crack in Time (1) On an ordinary evening, a mother and father sing nursery rhymes to their daughter Helen before bed. Their teenage son Robert becomes alarmed when all the clocks in the house stop working. He hurries upstairs to find that his parents have vanished. Left alone with Helen and no neighbors nearby, Rob calls the police for help. But a pair of strange, time-traveling agents named Sapphire and Steel arrive instead and inform Rob that they are his only hope in getting his parents back. |
July 10, 1979 |
| 2 |
Assignment I: Escape through a Crack in Time (2) Sapphire and Steel determine that Helen's bedroom is the location of a time break caused by the recitation of nursery rhymes. After narrowly avoiding a disaster, Steel boards up Helen's door to prevent the creatures inside from breaking loose. Rob begins to distrust the mysterious agents and sees a chance for escape when a policeman finally arrives in the morning. Sapphire is one step ahead of him, however, and traps the policeman in a time loop to prevent interference. |
July 12, 1979 |
| 3 |
Assignment I: Escape through a Crack in Time (3) Sapphire and Steel investigate the upstairs hallway after Rob sees a pair of ghostly soldiers on the landing. Unbeknownst to them, a living pool of light has escaped from Helen's room and now lies in wait in a portrait at the top of the stairs. Sapphire walks right into the trap and disappears from the house. Only faintly able to communicate with Steel and Rob, Sapphire tells them she is stuck in a freezing cottage with the sensation that something sinister is there with her. Steel and Rob discover that Sapphire is trapped in the portrait and must work quickly to avoid losing her. |
July 17, 1979 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Assignment II: The Railway Station (1) For their new assignment, Sapphire and Steel arrive at an abandoned railway station haunted by supernatural figures. Paranormal investigator George Tully has been observing the station for several weeks because he has an interest in speaking with the ghost of a young man often heard whistling in the hallways. Sapphire and Steel indulge Mr. Tully by allowing him to help their investigation but Steel warns him that the apparition is something far more dangerous than a ghost. |
July 31, 1979 |
| 2 |
Assignment II: The Railway Station (2) Sapphire and Steel discover the ghost is a young World War I soldier who died in battle. They begin to suspect the railway station might be a recruitment ground for the dead. The appearance of a second ghost and the discovery of a recording with the last words of three dying submariners all but confirm their suspicions. The investigation becomes even more difficult and dangerous when the ghost of a fighter pilot forces Steel to experience a deadly plane crash. |
August 2, 1979 |
| 3 |
Assignment II: The Railway Station (3) After Sapphire narrowly saves Steel from meeting the same fate as the doomed fighter pilot, Steel becomes determined to figure out why the ghosts are being recruited at the station. Since the ghosts have such strong emotions, Steel tries to anger the soldier into appearing by singing an old military marching song with Tully. Steel's tactic works a little too well and the soldier takes out his anger on Sapphire and Tully. |
August 7, 1979 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Assignment III: The Creatures' Revenge (1) Sapphire and Steel receive a puzzling assignment at an apartment complex where time is poised to attack. However, their inspection of every room in the complex reveals nothing suspicious. Even the abandoned top floor reveals no indications of trouble. It is only after investigating the roof that Sapphire and Steel discover an invisible time-capsule from 1500 years in the future. A couple and their new baby are living inside the capsule as an experiment, but they are in grave danger because of a horrible figure hidden inside the capsule with them. |
January 6, 1981 |
| 2 |
Assignment III: The Creatures' Revenge (2) Rothwyn and Eldred, the couple living inside the space capsule, begin to realize they might be in serious danger when they cannot make contact with fellow study groups or with their superiors. The evil creature inside the capsule begins an attack by using time to transform the couple's infant into a grown man. As Sapphire and Steel deepen their investigation, Sapphire discovers that the mechanism which transported the capsule is no ordinary machine. |
January 8, 1981 |
| 3 |
Assignment III: The Creatures' Revenge (3) After Sapphire disappears while trying to contact the creature inside the capsule, Steel must figure out where she has gone and how to proceed with the investigation. Luckily, technology specialist Silver arrives to lend a hand with getting inside the capsule. Rothwyn and Eldred discover their child has gone missing and are at a loss for what to do next. Meanwhile, their adult-sized infant wanders the capsule under the control of the creature hidden inside the wall. |
January 13, 1981 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Assignment IV: The Man Without a Face (1) Sapphire and Steel investigate strange happenings at a pawn shop. Children from the past are appearing, but how are these children connected to old photographs? What does the single tenant in the upstairs room know? |
January 27, 1981 |
| 2 |
Assignment IV: The Man Without a Face (2) Who is the new Landlord? He confronts Sapphire and Steel but his face is not what it seems. He warns them to leave or suffer the same fate as the missing shop owner. |
January 29, 1981 |
| 3 |
Assignment IV: The Man Without a Face (3) The missing shop owner and missing former roommate of the tenant are found in an unexpected place. Sapphire tries to contact the missing roommate. The faceless man intervenes. |
February 3, 1981 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Assignment V: Dr McDee Must Die (1) A wealthy business man holds a party in a 1930s period reconstruction for his guests, but all is not what it seems. Sapphire and Steel invite themselves to investigate. |
August 11, 1981 |
| 2 |
Assignment V: Dr McDee Must Die (2) A game of hide and seek is played before dinner but one of the guests will be murdered, there is something evil hiding in one of the guests but which one? |
August 12, 1981 |
| 3 |
Assignment V: Dr McDee Must Die (3) The party guests begin to realise that they are trapped, but their memories are beginning to fail and confusion is taking over. Then there is another death. But is there really? |
August 18, 1981 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Assignment VI: The Trap (1) A roadside garage in 1982 is seemingly stuck at 8:54pm, A car from 1948 appears with a man and a woman apparently waiting to return to 1948. Sapphire, Steel and Silver investigate, then time shifts forward to 9:04pm. |
August 19, 1982 |
| 2 |
Assignment VI: The Trap (2) An encounter with a man from 1925 causes Sapphire, Steel and Silver to question why they are in this place. Time shifts forwards 20 minutes and footsteps are heard outside. Steel goes out to investigate. A stranger arrives. |
August 24, 1982 |
| 3 |
Assignment VI: The Trap (3) Who is the mysterious Johnny Jack from 1957 and what is his connection to the man from 1925 and the man from 1948? The woman from 1948 wants to talk to Sapphire, Steel and Silver. Silver reveals that they are trapped. |
August 26, 1982 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | ITV1 |
|---|---|
| First aired | July 10, 1979 |
| Last aired | August 31, 1982 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes |
| Status | ended |
| Schedule | Tuesday, Thursday |