Over the last couple of years I’ve had the opportunity to check out a lot of old British TV shows as they have been released on DVD. Many of them I had not heard of before, and more than a few of them were excellent. The problem with most British TV series, and a part of the reason I’m surprised that so many are getting released her in the States, falls directly on its limited audience here. While there are certainly a lot of fans of the U.K. imports, most of the quality is lost on the average mainstream TV viewer. The style is generally very different than what you get here, and God forbid there be humor. One of the newer releases that landed on my doorstep was a complete set of a series called “Sapphire and Steel.” Once again, I had not heard of it but quickly learned that it had been produced by ATV and originally aired between 1979 and 1982. The title was a little off-putting at first as it sounded like a poorly named comic book superhero duo, but once I read into it a little more and learned that it starred Joanna Lumley and David McCallum, my interest returned.

I’ve long enjoyed the work of Joanna Lumley, from her secret agent days of “The New Avengers” to her hysterical turn in “Absolutely Fabulous.” Knowing that she was one of the leads in this series immediately gave me a reason to watch.

I’ve also been a longtime fan of McCallum, which began for me when I used to watch “The Man from Uncle”, which to date is probably still his most famous series. Over the years, I’ve seen him pop up in various shows and movies (some better than others), and was sad to see his career seemingly languish, at least here in the States. However, he has found a new audience with his role as medical examiner Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard on the super popular “Navy NCIS.”

“Sapphire and Steel” had rather an interesting premise as the Lumley and McCallum starred as (for lack of a better description) beings from another place. It was rather unclear as to whether or not they were aliens or simply from another dimension. Their assignment is to protect the rather delicate time continuum from being destroyed by those who seek to do so. Their enemies generally come from one end of time or another and want nothing more than to cause time to crumble and fall apart. They use all manner of ways to do so, some of which appear to us as other-worldly.

The two main characters did not only have to rely on their wits to save the time continuum, each has a few special ‘powers’ that aid them. Sapphire has some telekinetic powers, as well as the ability to turn time back a little bit. Steel can freeze objects and has what can be considered enhanced strength. What makes these two interesting, beyond these abilities, is the way they handle some of the situations. Often there are those whose lives are caught up in the events, and like it or not they have to make some tough decisions when fixing a break in time. What can be seen as being heartless and cold-blooded is really no more than their understanding that the consequences far outweigh the costs.

The series itself was made up of six ‘assignments’, each broken up into separate episodes. They vary in length, but not at all in quality. “Sapphire and Steel” had a bit of a limited budget, but the producers were able to make up for it by delivering some great storylines. The series was filmed on mainly on sets, but this just added to the claustrophobic feel. Because of the main premise, the stories had that sci-fi background, but there were some cases that had a decidedly ‘haunted house’ feel to them.

The series is hopefully going to gain a new audience with the release of the entire series on DVD from A&E Home Entertainment. This 6-disc set offers up the full 34 episode run of the series as well as few extra features for those who are already fans. There are audio commentaries on each of the first episodes of the first two ‘assignments.’ In “Assignment 1” we hear from the show’s creator P.J. Hammond, while “Assignment 2” features producer and director Shaun O’Riordan. There are also introductions by both to the remaining ‘assignments.’ Major fans of the series will enjoy the Photo Galleries, which include some press clippings and promotional materials from Hammond’s personal collection, as well as some original voiceover narration by O’Riordan.

“Sapphire and Steel”, is definitely one of those shows that I’m glad I had the chance to see. I would easily consider it a classic amongst British Sci-fi shows, and would have hated having it be lost forever. Now if we can just get American audiences open up more to quality imports like these…

Assignments:
Escape Through a Crack in Time
The Railway Station
The Creature’s Revenge
The Man Without a Face
Dr. McDee Must Die
The Trap

Starring: Joanna Lumley, David McCallum
Extras: Commentary with Creator and Writer P.J. Hammond on Assignment 1- Part 1, Commentary with Producer and Director Shaun O’Riordan on Assignment 2 - Part 1, Assignment Introductions from P.J. Hammond and Shaun O’Riordan on Assignments 3, 4, 5 and 6, Original Voiceover Narration by Shaun O’Riordan, Joanna Lumley and David McCallum Biographies, Photo Gallery of P.J. Hammond’s Personal Sapphire and Steel Press Clippings, Photo Gallery of P.J. Hammond’s Personal Promotional Brochure from ITC
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital Stereo
Studio: A&E
Release Date: 12/28/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Sapphire & Steel: The Complete Series an A.