Sapphire
& Steel - The Complete Series
(1978 - 1980/A&E U.S. DVD Edition/British Sci-Fi TV)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Episodes: A-
PLEASE
NOTE:
This version is out of print, but an updated DVD set was issued in
the U.K. in 2007 and we have updated the review in mid-2020, with
more updates to come.
One
of the problems with recent Horror films and TV series are their need
and desire to emulate Stanley Kubrick's The
Shining
(1980, now issued in an exceptional 4K edition), but with no place to
go. We are referring to the part where mysterious sounds and voices
emulate from hallways, though their sources are never revealed. You
can always tell how bad such genre work is when they imitate and go
no further. A year prior to Kubrick's masterwork, a British TV
series surfaced that achieved cult classic status, but deserved much
more. P. J. Hammond created Sapphire
& Steel
and it has to be the most innovative British TV series since The
Avengers
added Diana Rigg. It tries to explore that dimension most works in
the genre, especially by current posers, feign.
The
next logic step after Doctor
Who
and his time traveling (even figuring in the currently successful
revival series), the title characters represent the elements of their
name and are sent to resolve bizarre phenomenon that they have a
responsibility to fix. That is because they are among a small elite
that can. Only they have the power and knowledge. David McCallum,
still best known for the TV Spy classic The
Man From U.N.C.L.E.
(reviewed on DVD elsewhere on this site), is Steel. He is a
no-nonsense investigator using his sensory powers, telepathy and
near-telekinesis, coming out of nowhere to the location of the
irregularity. He is joined by Sapphire, played by Joanna Lumley.
Though now best known for the international hit British TV comedy
show Absolutely
Fabulous,
the long-time character actress had just come off of another Spy
series, The
New Avengers.
That show (in two volumes, reviewed elsewhere on this site, expected
on Blu-ray at some point) did not break any ground and was not the
hit that was hoped for. The show had its moments, but tried to be
too comical and too realistic, resulting in a backfiring effect
despite al the great talent involved. Lumley was a great match for
McCallum and both landed what remains the best series either of them
ever made.
Over
a decade before X-Files,
these were not government agents of any kind, just (as the voiceover
in the opening credits explain) skilled beings who had simply been
'assigned' to battle potential supernatural and existential evil.
They are not played as comic like the far more 'regular' human
existentialist detectives of I
'Heart' Huckabees,
who had nothing supernatural to take on, but were better prepared
than Darren McGavin's Carl Kolchak in the 1972 Night
Stalker
telefilm, its Night
Strangler
sequel (now out on exceptional Blu-ray discs, DVD reviewed elsewhere
on the site as a great double feature DVD) and the 20-episode
Kolchak:
The Night Stalker
series. Sapphire
& Steel
is at least a smart as the best X-Files
and was far ahead of it in trying to be the next Kolchak.
However, it is more than original enough to go a few rounds with any
of those shows, not an easy achievement.
Like
Dr.
Who,
each story is serialized in multiple half-hour time slotted shows,
which are also marked with roman numerals on the cases, though we
more recently found out these added titles where someone else's
titles coming from a source even the creators have zero ideas on
their origin. For the record and because they are on this U.S. DVD
set, we'll keep them, but they are only supposed to be identified by
'Assignment' followed by a number, as follows:
Escape
Through A Crack In Time
- The duo debut in a case where the parents of young children have
disappeared. The answer lies in the history of the family's house,
if they can figure it out before it is too late.
The
Railway Station
- An old-fashioned investigator doing ghost detecting is ill
equipped to find out what is haunting the abandoned title location,
though it may not be as empty as it seems. A long one that really
adds up.
The
Creature's Revenge
- A set of time investigators beat the duo to a location where they
are conducting their own scientific analysis of an alternate 1980 in
the first world, i.e. Britain or America. As clever and brilliant
as its predecessors.
The
Man Without A Face
- Children disappear, a strange landlord who is not memorable, and
photographs that trap human souls mix it up with the duo in this
short-but-effective entry. I had to wonder if Russell Mulcahy used
one of the visual devices here for his classic Music Video of
Fleetwood Mac's hit Gypsy.
Dr.
McDee Must Die
- A group of ten guests are gathered for a dinner circa 1930.
Instead of one of the guests about to be murdered, someone dead and
dearly missed turns up out of nowhere and the metallurgic duo
disguise themselves as society people to find out how, before the
guests start getting killed off for different reasons. Brilliant
twist on the Mystery genre and another winner for the series. The
great character actor Jeremy Child guest stars. If you liked Lumley
in Peter Bogdanovich's The
Cat's Meow
(highly underrated and unseen, reviewed on this site), then you will
enjoy this even more.
The
Trap
- When the duo arrive for their latest assignment, it seems like
they have been accidentally sent too late, then something else turns
up no one is expecting. Edward De Souza guest stars in a
fascinating end to the original series.
Producer/director
Shaun O'Riordan (Brian
Clemens' Thriller,
Scorpion
Tales)
set the standard for the show, even if he could not be as involved
and handed over directing duties for the fourth and final/sixth
stories. This is a great moment in British TV history and its
arrival on DVD is one of the best events the format will offer in
2005. With no pun intended, this is also a major gem in the A&E
DVD catalog.
The
full frame 1.33 X 1 image is stylishly shot on PAL videotape and
except for an odd, slight ghosting that comes from the transfer for
whatever reason, looks good and is color consistent. This is the
kind of creative, clever use of video we hardly have seen yet with
digital High Definition, including the credit sequences by Ivor Weir.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 is stereo boosted from the original TV
monophonic sound and benefits this show more than usual. Cyril
Ornadel's scoring is exceptional too, which is what you would expect
from someone with his genre music credentials. No, there are no Pro
Logic surrounds, but there is a very smart use of sound throughout
the series and that is all the clearer here.
We
hope a Blu-ray with lossless sound and all the episodes restored and
upscaled for 1080i video from the original PAL masters might turn up
at some point like the Tom Baker Doctor
Who
episodes have been, the U.K. DVD set has the same menus, sound and
picture, though it is slightly more color rich than the U.S. DVD set
here. With more extras than the U.S. DVD, the 2007 U.K. DVD set will
remain definitive until a Blu-ray rolls around.
Extras
include audio commentaries by Hammond on the first show, O'Riordan on
the first installment of the second show, and audio-only introduction
by both on DVDs 3 - 6 that have wavy lines to look at. DVD 6 also
has text biographies of the leads, O'Riordan's original voice over
narration, and a still gallery on the show from Hammond's collection
including his ITC brochure on the series. WARNING:
the commentaries and introductions have spoilers and should be
experienced AFTER you have watched the entire series.
Like
Space:
1999,
this series was ended earlier than need be by Lord Lew Grade's
feature film risks that backfired. Unlike that series, reviewed
elsewhere on this site, this one had not gone down hill due to inane
and unnecessary changes. If anything, Sapphire
& Steel
was just getting warmed up and ended too soon. To date, there has
been no revival, though McCallum did an U.N.C.L.E.
telefilm reunion along with stealing the show NCIS
in every scene he appears in and Lumley kept landing interesting
roles and is now a huge icon. This is a must see show and is highly
collectible in this great set. Be sure to catch it!
-
Nicholas Sheffo
