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Sapphire and Steel - Assignment One

Sapphire & Steel , one of the most unusual and arresting television series of the twentieth century, aired as six serials broadcast from 1979 to 1982. In a sporadic release schedule, the serials made up four broadcast series, at different times of the year and of different lengths, almost as unpredictable as the stories themselves. Created and largely written by P. J. Hammond, the concept for the series was as a children's fantasy programme, a follow-up of sorts to his critically successful Thames Television series Ace of Wands and " For My Next Trick ," an episode of the children's supernatural anthology series Shadows . It was Pamela Lonsdale, the producer of those two series, who asked him to come up with an idea for a new series for the same audience. Provisionally titled The Time Machine , this series would see a team of "time agents" who protected the world against the forces of time itself.

Lonsdale supported the idea, but others as Thames were less keen, and Hammond took the concept to ATV, where Lewis Rudd and David Reid were intrigued (Reid reportedly was so troubled by the idea it gave him nightmares). Given the level of supernatural scares – low level for horror cinema, but strong for television – Reid decided the series would work better for a family audience than a children's one, and its slot on ITV was pushed to early evenings on weekdays.

The time agents evolved into Sapphire and Steel, merely two of a variety of "elements," mysterious entities of unknown origin who are named after, and display some characteristics inspired by, chemical elements. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of chemistry will immediately realise that neither Sapphire nor Steel are elements (steel being an iron-carbon alloy, and sapphire largely aluminium oxide), but they sound cool and that's far more important. Sapphire notes in the first serial that there are 127 elements (which is notably higher than the count of known chemical elements even now), but Steel reiterates the warning from the opening titles: transuranic elements may not be used where there is life. It's all distinctly ominous.

In spite of a very low budget (a holdover from its origins in the children's drama department, no doubt), Head of ATV Lew Grade managed to secure two big names for the leads in the series. Steel was played by David McCallum, an acclaimed character actor on both sides of the Atlantic. Known for guest roles on series such as The Outer Limits , he went on to stardom as Illya Kuryakin in The Man from UNCLE , followed by lead roles in series such as The Invisible Man and Colditz . He gave steel an unnervingly detached persona, distinctly cold and inhuman, to everyone except his partner Sapphire. Cast in this role was Joanna Lumley, recently pushed to star status with her role as Purdey in The New Avengers . A warmer, more human character than Steel, Sapphire had the same air of mystery with less threat... but this only made her less human aspects all the more unexpected and unsettling.

None of the serials were ever given official titles (and Hammond has stated he never chose any for them), but they are usually referred to by number as "Assignments," from the title voiceover that stated that "Sapphire and Steel have been assigned," or otherwise as "Adventures." However, fans have sometimes invented titles for them, and the effective "Escape Through a Crack in Time" has become attached to the first serial in some home video releases. The series' origins in children's television are clear in this first story, with the protagonist being a pubescent boy named Rob. He's played with some skill and sympathy by Steven O'Shea. He and his little sister Helen (Tamasin Bridge) are alone in their large country house after their parents inexplicably vanish, the first of many bizarre and threatening events.

The six-part serial sets the tone for the series nicely. It's essentially a ghost story, one that utilises the sometimes-theorised origin of ghosts as being temporal echoes or anomalies. When the kids' parents disappear, seemingly due to nothing more serious than Helen reciting a nursery rhyme, Sapphire and Steel soon knock at the door. They give virtually no explanation for their presence other than that they are there to help, although Sapphire does at least try to console the children. She also explains to them something of the nature of time, in ways they might understand. It's opaque at best, and the implication is that while she's dumbing things down for the kids, the true concepts she's dealing with would be just as beyond adult understanding. Her illustration of time sketches out a very basic but highly evocative mythology for the series. Time is said to be a corridor which runs beyond and around the world, and at times the fabric of the corridor wears thin, and things can get in. Steel jumps in later to explain that "creatures" can enter through weak points, but Sapphire's earlier insinuation that time itself is a malevolent force is far more disquieting.

It's about all we get in terms of explanation for the nature of the series. Steel hammers home the point regarding the vastness of time when he asks Rob to imagine his whole life as an inch; time would stretch on for a thousand million miles in both directions. What's most worrying is that a simple anachronism, such as a nursery rhyme or an antique, could cause the weakening that lets time in. There's an immediate feeling that nobody is safe. The serial ramps up the chills with other strange events, not least the appearance of malevolent figures from the past – ghosts, by any other name – that step forward into the present now time has been weakened. Yet Sapphire and Steel themselves are almost as frightening, displaying unearthly powers that they use to fight back against the forces of time. Steel can freeze things to near absolute zero, while Sapphire can roll back time to a limited extent. She also displays a form of psychometry – reading the history of an object through touch – and can project different clothes onto herself on a whim. The inference, of course, is that her whole appearance is just another projection.

The assignment is such a dangerous one that the two operators have to call in a specialist. Lead, played by Val Pringle. A huge, ebullient giant of a man, Lead is far more human and likeable than either of his colleagues. While he's a rather clichéd "big, jolly black man" character, he certainly livens things up, and Pringle puts in a strong and entertaining performance. Like the reliance on nursery rhymes, Lead's singing to keep up Rob's spirits marks this out as a script that was written with children's television in mind. Lead has superhuman strength and resilience, which doesn't sound like a particularly specialist skill compared to rolling back time, but he does come in handy.

There's a fun gag that runs through the serial, where Sapphire and Steel recollect a case involving a ship lost at sea. Sapphire recollects fondly the view of the corridor or time she managed to glimpse on the mission, while Steel reminds her that they had to sink the ship. It takes Lead's presence (he was also called in on the mission) to remember the name of the ship: the Mary Celeste . Young Rob points out that the Mary Celeste wasn't sunk, it was found adrift, to which Steel merely says, "I sunk the real one." It's a great moment, both funny and absolutely chilling, although not as unnerving as Sapphire's earlier "It's far harder to sink a house," which she notably keeps from the children's ears.

The creepiest moments come later in the serial, when Rob and Helen's parents appear to return. John Golightly and Felicity Harrison put in sinister performances as the alleged parents. The serial is directed by Shaun O'Riordan, who had experience of taught thrillers and spooky stories with Scorpion Tales , A Place to Hide and, indeed, Thriller . O'Riordan would work on several more serials in the series, and he suffuses this serial with plenty of chills. The nursery rhymes help, though – there's nothing creepier than a childlike rendition of "Ring a Ring o' Roses." The cast all impress, particularly Lumley and McCallum. They're pure class and embody their roles from the moment they step onto the screen. While it's perhaps an episode too long, Sapphire & Steel's first Assignment is an atmospheric family-friendly chiller, that promises great things from the series.

Review: Daniel Tessier

Dan describes himself as a geek. Skinny white guy. Older than he looks. Younger than he feels. Reads, watches, plays and writes. Has been compared to the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth Doctors, and the Dream Lord. Plus Dr. Smith from 'Lost in Space.' He has also had a short story published in Master Pieces: Misadventures in Space and Time a charity anthology about the renegade Time Lord. 

Dan's web page can be here:  Immaterial

Published on December 7th, 2020. Written by Daniel Tessier for Television Heaven.

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Assignment Five: Part 1

• Episode aired Aug 11, 1981

A wealthy business man holds a party in a 1930's period reconstruction for his guests, but all is not what it seems. Sapphire and Steel invite themselves to investigate. A wealthy business man holds a party in a 1930's period reconstruction for his guests, but all is not what it seems. Sapphire and Steel invite themselves to investigate. A wealthy business man holds a party in a 1930's period reconstruction for his guests, but all is not what it seems. Sapphire and Steel invite themselves to investigate.

• Shaun O'Riordan
• Peter Hammond
• Don Houghton
• Anthony Read
• David McCallum
• Joanna Lumley
• Patience Collier
• 3 User reviews
• 1 Critic review

Top cast 13

• Emma Mullrine

• Lord Mullrine
• Felicity McDee

• Felix Harborough
• (as Jeffrey Wickham)

• Howard McDee
• Annabelle Harborough
• (as Jenny Stoller)

• Radio Broadcast Voice

• Veronica Blaney
• (uncredited)
• Dr. George McDee
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia Lord Arthur Mullrine's party (accurately) commences at 6.30pm on Saturday June 21st 1980, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Mullrine International's founding.
• Goofs The radio cricket commentator states that Australia are 123 for 1, Australia did not have that score in either innings, furthermore it also states the Les Ames was the England wicket keeper whereas George Duckworth kept wicket in that game.

User reviews 3

• jamesrupert2014
• Mar 21, 2022
• August 11, 1981 (United Kingdom)
• United Kingdom
• Associated Television (ATV)
• Colour Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 26 minutes

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Assignment One: Part 1

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Sapphire and Steel - Full Cast & Crew

• Drama, Science Fiction
• Watchlist Where to Watch

Mysterious investigators possess strange powers, including the ability to manipulate time. Popular in Britain, where it aired from 1979 to 1982, it stars David McCallum, one-time 'Man from U.N.C.L.E.' heartthrob, and Joanna Lumley, best known for 'Absolutely Fabulous,' as operatives.

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• Sapphire and Steel

Escape through a Crack in Time (1)

When a mother and father disappear from an old house while reading their young daughter a nursery rhyme, Sapphire and Steel arrive to investigate.

By Gadfly on Dec 19, 2018

In an isolated house, a boy, Robert Stephen Jardine, sits at the kitchen table studying. Around him, clock stick regularly. He hears something moving at the window and goes to investigate. Robert closes the drapes and goes to the stairs, and hears his mother upstairs, chanting numbers and laughing with Robert's sister Helen. They then begin "Ring a Ring of Roses " together, and the clocks keep ticking. Robert continues studying and the cocks keep ticking. Each one shows a different time. The clo…

Felicity Harrison

Steven O'Shea

Tamasin Bridge

Ronald Goodale

John Golightly

Cast appearances.

David McCallum

Joanna Lumley

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Currently available on 1 streaming service.

Sapphire & Steel - Assignment I (1979)

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14 Episodes

S1 e1 - assignment i: escape through a crack in time (1), s1 e2 - assignment i: escape through a crack in time (2), s1 e3 - assignment i: escape through a crack in time (3), s1 e4 - assignment i: escape through a crack in time (4), s1 e5 - assignment i: escape through a crack in time (5), s1 e6 - assignment i: escape through a crack in time (6), s1 e7 - assignment ii: the railway station (part 1), s1 e8 - assignment ii: the railway station (part 2), s1 e9 - assignment ii: the railway station (part 3), s1 e10 - assignment ii: the railway station (part 4), s1 e11 - assignment ii: the railway station (part 5), s1 e12 - assignment ii: the railway station (part 6), s1 e13 - assignment ii: the railway station (part 7), s1 e14 - assignment ii: the railway station (part 8), streaming, rent, or buy sapphire & steel – season 1:.

Currently you are able to watch "Sapphire & Steel - Season 1" streaming on ITVX for free.

Escape Through A Crack in Time None of the stories had on-screen 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

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Hogan Reviews

Doctor who, anime, gaming, films and more, sapphire and steel – assignment 1 review.

The next classic bit of sci-fi I’m tackling (because putting distance between me and Galactica 1980 is always a good thing…) takes us back to my home shores with Sapphire and Steel. I’ve heard good things about the show, though mostly about other stories than this first one… which is good because this first story is a mixed bag, and may not have motivated me to continue with the show otherwise (if I weren’t set on covering the whole show for the blog, obviously…) Let’s take a look at “Assignment 1” shall we?

A happy family lives in an 18th-century house filled with clocks and antiques. One night, a nursery rhyme (“Ring a Ring o’ Roses”) read aloud to Helen, the little girl, triggers a time fracture that takes away her parents. As Rob, Helen’s older brother, tries to understand what has happened, two mysterious strangers appear, promising to fix things. Sapphire and Steel eventually gain Rob’s trust and work out a solution to the problem. Lead also arrives to provide assistance.

*spoilers appear from here on out! *

Cast of Characters:

Steel and Sapphire… hmmmm… should have taken a screengrab with them the other way round, that sounds wrong now…

Sapphire (Joanna Lumley) – One of the mysterious “elements” that arrive to help the equally mysterious time fracture that has begun to plague this household. Sapphire has several abilities, including telepathy and the ability to rewind time…

Steel (David McCallum) – Steel is Sapphire’s partner and also an “element” that has been sent to deal with the issues in the house. His powers are less defined, but he can reduce his temperature to extremely low levels…

Rob Jardine (Steven O’Shea) – The big brother (who is still just a kid) of Helen who tries his best to look after her when his parents vanish…

Helen Jardine (Tamasin Bridge) – Little girl who always looks either happy or bored no matter what danger she’s supposed to be in… guess it’s a trauma or something…

Lead (Val Pringle) – Another “element” that arrives to assist Sapphire and Steel. He’s large, extremely strong, and a very happy fellow.

Plus one or two more!

It’s Emperor Palpatine’s brother! … from heaven, or something…?

The one thing I have to praise the story with first and foremost is how little it gives away. The intro states only a few vague sentences (like “heavy atomic elements cannot be sent on missions where there is life” and such) and Sapphire and Steel just show up and start dealing with the time fracture, revealing little about who or what they are. It’s a refreshing change from most shows nowadays, that feel like they have to explore every detail right away.

While it takes a good while to get going, I do appreciate the well-crafted “spooky” atmosphere the story presents throughout. I also have to praise the main duo for their performances, Steel is … steely and nearly cold and uncaring at times, even around the children, where as Sapphire is more motherly and soft. Through the dialogue you instantly get the feeling that they’ve known each other for a long time and are a well oiled machine. Lead is also a fun character, though nearly reaches “over-the-top” in his laugher-filled performance…

The plot in general is interesting, the reason for the kids parents’ vanishing is not really explained for a long time, and so the story does a good job of keeping the mystery up. By reading a nursery rhyme the children’s parents accidentally open a portal through time due to the words having strong meaning in the old house, or something along those lines. There are scenes with people who have been in the house in the past, evil light beings that are never really explained, people trapped in pictures, a spooky cellar and even a creepy grave-like outside scene (that’s actually the house being built in the past, but looks aesthetically like a graveyard). The blend of sci-fi elements (no pun intended, I guess?) and horror clichés was really enjoyable.

The boy is trying to be serious in distrusting Sapphire and Steel, and the little girl has her eyes closed smiling a bit… Argh!

What wasn’t enjoyable was the kids, specifically the little girl. This is going to sound like I have a thing against children or something given my intentionally-over-exaggerated rants at Boxey from Battlestar Galactica, but it’s hard to find a good child actor, and this story once again proves that. The boy isn’t too bad, he is at least aware of when he should be scared or angry, even if he’s not very good at it, but the little girl… I mean, I don’t want to be too harsh given her age, but … yikes. There is a cliffhanger of supernatural wind rushing through and wrecking the kitchen around Sapphire and the girl, Sapphire looks worried and maybe even frightened, and the girl? She’s giggling and putting her hand to grab some of the flying paper. Completely ruined the scene.

Much like Doctor Who from this time period, Sapphire and Steel “Assignments” are split into 25-ish minute chunks, and this is a six-part story. Although I appreciate how well it builds and mystery up, I still think it could and indeed should have been cut down a bit. It’s slow going at times, and with such a small cast (two of which can’t act) it can be quite… annoying.

Overall Thoughts:

Sapphire, Lead and Steel… well, the back of Steel’s head. Remind me to get an actual clear shot of Steel next time, I’ve kind of screwed him over here…

Sapphire and Steel gets off to a shaky start. The core premise (and how little we know about it) is great, the lead duo are really good and play off each other well, both of which are promising as it pertains to the other stories. Sadly this opening story is plagued with some rather slow repeated scenes and yes, bad child acting. No I couldn’t have done better at that age, but then I wasn’t selected by someone who’s job it was to find someone who could… Anyway! I hear the second story is most people’s favourite, so let’s look forward to that!

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2 thoughts on “ sapphire and steel – assignment 1 review ”.

I would like to think that Lead had more of a function than to simply act as an insulator to Steel. I also found it interesting that Lead consumed food which is something we never see Sapphire or Steel ever do. Did he specifically require sustenance for his role or was it just a human quirk that he particularly enjoyed?

Jet sends her love and we later discover Ruby in the audio dramas. Were all female operatives gemstones?

Like Liked by 1 person

Not my favourite assignment however after repeated viewings it has grown on me. Its a fascinating premise that time can be changed in some way through different triggers. In this case we had an old house, a collection of clocks, an old family name and nursery rhymes which often had a macabre origin. Ring O Roses relates to the Great Plague and its verses describe the symptoms of its sufferers. Goosey Gander I believe had it’s roots during the reign of Henry VII when Catholic priests were being persecuted. The fact that these terrible events in history were recited in children’s songs just adds to the unsettling nature of this story (originally pitched as a ghost story).

I wont say too much about the child actors. Steven O’ Shea for the most part played his role quite well (at least he tried). Tamasin on the other hand may not have had much if any acting experience (it shows at times when she is looking into the camera).

I think of all the assignments we actually get a lot of information (relatively speaking) about Sapphire and Steel. We learn about the corridor of time and how its weak in certain places (like stretched fabric). There are creatures from the beginning and end of time trying to break in. S&S are there to try and stop this from happening in whatever way they can. I think we learn so much because the victims are children who are obviously curious and ask questions…..well Rob does!

The motivations of the protagonists gets a bit murky at times (as well as it should be). Rob and Helen’s parents are initially whisked off to wherever and I thought the story was going to focus solely on getting them back. We later see patches of light which turn out to be intelligent beings with their own agenda and later manifest themselves into a darker version of the kids parents.

I’ve mentioned Lead in my earlier comment. His character was fun if however quite mad. I don’t know whether Val Pringle was just given free reign or if PJ Hammond actually had a plan with this character? He laughs a lot and has a fondness for home cooking which he loves talking about at the most inappropriate times. I would have loved to have seen Lead in more episodes but alas this was his only appearance.

Uniquely in this story there is a resolution where everything gets reset, the entities defeated and Rob even gets a final goodbye from the team which I thought was a nice touch.

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Sapphire and Steel

Assignment i: escape through a crack in time (1).

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