The opening credits voiceover

All irregularities wil be handled by the forces controlling each dimension.

Transuranic, heavy elements may not be used where there is life.

Medium atomic weights are allowed.

Gold, Lead, Copper, Jet, Diamond, Radium, Sapphire, Silver and Steel.

Sapphire and Steel have been assigned.

Sapphire and Steel ain't elements?

In the late seventies, as Star Wars blew away all preconceptions of Science Fiction on the big screen, Dr. Who was one of the most populour TV programs ever and Blakes 7 were just starting their doomed fight against the Federation, ITV* produced Sapphire and Steel. With a tiny budget, but superb scripts and acting, something special was created.

The viewing public was first introduced to Steel (David Macallum, of Man from Uncle and the Invisible Man) and Sapphire (Joanna Lumley, of The New Avengers and Absolutely Fabulous) as they appeared, as if by magic*, in a house with too many clocks and proceeded to fight creatures which had been released from who knows where, by the power of nursery rhymes. No explanation was given for where they came from, who they actually were, or what they were fighting, except the opening voiceover. It is difficult to even be sure they were human. Steel was immensely strong, could withstand extreme cold and remotely manipulate locks. Sapphire could turn back time a short way and appeared to have an empathic link with anyone/anything they met. Also they could communicate telepathically.

Initially, Sapphire appeared to be the more sympathetic character, happy to help children. Steel found humans a distraction. However, as the series progressed, Steel becomes more caring and Sapphire less so.

The general assumption is that their names are only codenames, perhaps with humans being recruited to fill the positions. In one episode a human gets given some limited powers (and takes the name Tin) but this is deemed to be irregular. They are fighting forces akin to Terry Pratchet's Dungeon Dimensions forces, which are brought into this world by combinations of antique objects, historical rhymes and old buildings. They also normally have quite a job on their hands.

Story Guide

Note: Sapphire and Steel did not have story titles, but we tend to give them ones. Each episode was half an hour long. All stories were written by P.J. Hammond, except Adventure Five by Don Houghton and Anthony Read

Adventure 1 (The House with the Clocks) 6 episodes

Two parents, while reading their daughter a nursery rhyme (Ring a ring a roses), vanish. Sapphire and Steel arrive and try and return the parents while the two children get in the way. Eventually Steel uses the younger one (singing This is the House that Jack built) as bait. A third "element" Lead turns up half way through to further annoy Steel.
Memorable scenes include the policeman stuck in a time loop and all the clocks stopping.

Adventure 2 (The Train Station One) A whopping 8 episodes

Sapphire and Steel arrive at an abandoned railway station, where they find a ghost hunter. He is trying to communicate with the ghosts in the station, while S and S want to get rid of them. To send the ghosts on their way Steel does a deal with a demon thing which proves how little he values human life. Memorable for Steel hanging from WWI barbed wire and his skip of joy at a job well done at the end.

Adventure 3 (The Crap One) 4 episodes

While being memorable for introducing Silver (a technical genius, and smarmy get), this one, about time travellers from the future attacked by their own technology, has three quite interesting episodes of build up, followed by a really poor finale.
Unfortunately memorable for Steel being attacked by a pillow.

Adventure 4 (The photographs) 4 episodes

S and S arrive at a brick-a-brac shop, where sepia coloured children play in the backyard. They are investigating the disappearence of the landlord, and one of the tenants of the upstairs flats. Includes a man with no face, S and S being trapped in a photograph, someone else being burned to death inside a photograph and "Find every photograph ever taken of you. Burn them. Never have another one taken." Sound advice if you ask me.

Adventures 5 (Dr. McDee must die or The Agatha Christie One) 6 episodes

A rich industrialist has a thirties party to celibrate the aniversary of his company. Guests start to die off, youngest first, as something tries to change history and wipe out humanity.Memorable bits include the childlike joy of TiIn with his new powers and the looping finale.

Adventure 6 (Can't tell you, it would give away the ending) 4 episodes

S and S and Silver arrive at a petrol station frozen in time. The building is from the eighties, but there is a car and two passengers from the forties, an old man out back who can see them as ghosts (and claims to be from the twenties) and a tinker from the fifties. What time is real, how do they get everyone back to their own times and will Silver learn to lose on the fruit machine?

I, personally, think Sapphire and Steel was top stuff. Very British, with it's ideas heavy scripts and limited action, but something to put you off singing nursery rhymes or owning anything old. It is, unfortunately, best remembered for being confusing. This is mostly due to the first story being interupted by a strike at ITV* causing the majority of viewers to lose the plot, so to speak.