Sapphire and Steel: 5 Things You Never Knew
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- čas přidán 1. 03. 2023
- In this video, we delve into the fascinating world of Sapphire and Steel, a classic British sci-fi show from the 1980s. Join us as we explore five awesome things about this groundbreaking series, including its unique blend of horror and science fiction and its unforgettable characters. We'll also take a closer look at the show's legacy and influence, and discuss why it remains a beloved cult classic to this day. So grab a cup of tea and join us for a journey into the mysterious world of Sapphire and Steel!
As a child, I would stand for hours on remote train station platforms (Tiverton Junction) waiting for strange or unusual characters to turn up - seemingly out of nowhere!
One of the 'Rivers of London' novels has the main characters do exactly this. It works, too.
As a kid watching this show I loved everything about it. The mystery, the strange powers of Sapphire and Steel. It was also a show that scared the hell out of me, while the special effects were crude by todays; standards, they worked so well with the well written stories. To this day I hate having my photo taken and I can tie that fear straight back to the episode of Sapphire and Steel. There was no other show like it anywhere, there was humor, with Silver popping in, Empathy from Sapphire and a Steel hardened (pun intended) willingness from Steel do do what needed to be done no matter the cost. Yes there were no happy endings but there was a closure of the breach, regardless of who needed to be sacrificed to get it done.
For an 10 year old watching this and hearing that poor girl screaming as the photo she was trapped in burned send chills down my spine, this was a show not afraid to be carry out the hard choices that needed to be done, it was refreshing, spine chilling and mysterious. Just who were Sapphire and Steel, who was this mysterious entity that sent them without any information to deal with these breaches. We also got to meet Silver and Lead as well, this is a series that should have been allowed to continue there was so much they could have done, so many stories that could have been told and each with a spine chilling twist.
The Railway episode also really stands out for what Sapphire and Steel had to do to resolve the mission, it was heartbreaking and truly horrific and Steel's dead pan, hard delivery of the facts about the only solution was brilliantly played by David McCallum. The Relationship between Joanna Lumley and and McCallum was incredible, it worked so well on screen, no one cared about the lack of real effects, because the stories were so compelling and dark and it is that willingness to create a show with such darkness that really made it stand out for me. One of the best Sci-Fi series to have even been on TV and also one of the most unique, the lack of happy endings was truly inspirational even if they were really shocking, so great.
It's impressive that you've watched and commented on a variety of sci-fi shows, ranging from classic ones like The Tomorrow People and Logan's Run to more obscure ones like Sapphire and Steel. Your passion for these shows and the impact they had on you as a child really shines through in your comments. It's always interesting to hear from fans who have a deep connection to a particular series and can appreciate its strengths and weaknesses. Keep exploring and discovering new sci-fi worlds!
Here, Here
Really well put, I agree with every word.
I recommend tracking down Nigel Kneale's "The Stone Tape," which was about electromagnetic impulses left imprinted in inert matter such as the very stones of a building, replayed over and over given the right stimuli in the form of electromagnetic fields such as those produced by recording equipment, or suitably active human brains.
That show could easily fit in with the Sapphire and Steel universe, and it may have been an inspiration for Peter Hammond (who wrote some episodes of nuWho and Torchwood).
I loved this show. It assumed you had some intelligence and never told you a thing. But you rooted for Sapphire and Steel - even taking into account Adventure 2 (aka The Railway Station), the show's darkest storyline.
Visiting in tribute to David McCallum, who passed away at the age of 90. RIP Steel.
RIP David McCallum x
There are so many mistakes and factual errors in this, especially the story descriptions. For example at the end of the first assignment Sapphire and Steel rescue both parents and stop time. In this it was stated that the parents were lost and the children were left with the soldier from the second assignment.
This entire video is "AI" generated. The synthesized voice, the talking head, and the generated text had no humans involved in the creation of this video. Of course, it's relentlessly incorrect about everything it "says" in this video.
Rest In Peace David McCallum
Sapphire & Steel is one of the most unique sci-fi horror classics ever. Certainly for debuting the same year as The Ωmega Factor and of course Alien, when the genre could make such groundbreaking headway for TV and cinema. Thank you for your video.
Well this video was creepier than any sapphire & steel episode. Probably written by chatGpt it genuinely made me wonder if my childhood memories were correct. This I guess is the future: it is your own memories vs the content you read, hear or watch online.
It got the Assignment 1 ending wrong. The boy got his family back.
I remember it when first broadcast - along with Sky, Ace of Wands, Tomorrow People etc. It's no wonder I'm as eccentric as I am..! Those 70s shows were so imaginative on 10/- or 50p budget that they had to rely on 'tell' don't 'show'
I couldn't agree more! It's amazing how much creativity and imagination these shows managed to pack into such a limited budget. The fact that they had to rely on 'tell' rather than 'show' actually added to the eerie atmosphere and mystery of shows like Sapphire and Steel. And the fact that they didn't rely heavily on special effects means that the show doesn't feel dated even decades later. It's no wonder they have such a devoted fanbase to this day!
This is the first video I’ve seen with such a realistic AI host. Amazing. I almost didn’t catch that it is artificial and not an actual human. ❤❤❤❤❤
I was going to comment on their wooden, slightly cold performance. The timing seemed out in places but have to say its pretty convincing.
You're joking. I was watching this listening to what she was saying and after about 10 seconds I thought there's something wrong with her voice, it sounds robotic with no soul. You can tell this isn't a real person a mile off.
Yeah, I recognized that this video was AI generated within seconds. Most of the "facts" on this video are also incorrect.
The only noteworthy thing about this video is the 'almost not uncanny valley' AI/cgi woman doing the narration reading out essentially the wikipedia page about the show.
Damn this one got a lot of things wrong. They erased a family?. Which family? If it’s adventure 3 they they were placed into a safe area to live peacefully. A boy ended up being taken care of by a WW1 soldier?. The Soldier in question was let go by the negative energy being and was given Tully who was a loaner who had about 5 years to live. Adventure 6 she says a “aim the 6th story they face an enemy known only as the darkness” the Darkness was the afore mentioned Negative energy being in adventure 2. Adventure 6 they faced a higher authority the the organisation they worked for an authority that wanted them dead hence trapping them in a cafe in space. She also says “They also condemn a young woman to live forever in a photograph” the faceless man in Ad 4 took a picture of a street in the past and trapped her inside it he did that they didn’t and he killed her by burning her to death. The faceless man a Damon was trapped in a Kaleidoscope so he could not hurt anybody anymore.
AI generated, many factual errors, basically any wiki article would be better, and one made by someone who knew anything about what was being described would be better.
The usual AI failure, and the real danger is that this will later become a standard source, containing basic factual errors which will be perpetuated, resulting in distrust of anyone claiming to be the truth. .
I loved this show. I much prefer the atmosphere and the mystery involved in it to the in-your-face bang bang right on stuff that passes for sci fi these days...This is how television ought to be..but so rarely is these days
Adventure 2 has always been my favourite but loved it in general.
One thing, a snippet of production information: this show was heavily disrupted by a strike which hit television production. BBC and ITV were both hit by the strikes, and this was coupled with transient strike action on the part of power companies which left the country plunged into darkness due to nationwide power cuts at night.
We did not get to see the ending of the second story, the one featuring an old railway worker in a railway station, with elements of DIckens' story The Signalman, for literally months.
Probably one of the strangest things I've ever seen, and I am of course referring to this video rather than Sapphire and Steel. Is this lady an AI construct?
@@Slate-writer Perhaps she's a rift in the time corridor?
Yes, as is the script, filled with factual errors and Mandela effect hazards.
My understanding is that the 2 leads did NOT come back for the rradio adaptations.
I often wondered how Sapphire and Steel could be Rescued from Nowhere. By another element. Just to carry on the Story the first assignment was really creepy. My mum's a retired Medium and my Grandad was before her so this added a bit more of creepiness
The writer apparently had a next season planned, which included Silver's disappearance shortly before the end being the source of S&S's rescue, but this was based upon a magazine article some years later. Do not know if those stories were ever finished, such as by Big Finish Audios, who have made a few S&S audios.
As a one off program…I would like to think… there was duration but effectively not time passed where Sapphire and Steel were imprisoned, so inside only a decade or so had passed, whereas thousands/millions had passed outside (hence they could play their own characters again)..meanwhile the powers that be were eventually replaced, removed due to corruption or realised their mistakes, or were required to release them to put right an imminent threat that they could only temporarily put right beforehand … though we will never see that happen with the passing of David McCallum 25 September 2023
Top Sci Fi, shame it was never continued
I always found it somewhat ironic that neither Sapphire nor Steel are actually chemical elements...
I wondeer if they meant "Elementals" that got accidentally shortened and then they were stuck with it.
I can definitely see why that would be ironic! It's funny how the names of the characters can sometimes be misleading. But even though Sapphire and Steel aren't actual chemical elements, they still managed to capture the imaginations of audiences with their unique abilities and mysterious personalities. I think that's a testament to the creative storytelling and world-building of the show!
Thanks for a great video. Please forgivew me for this, I hate correcting people and I can see you put a lot of effort into this video, but there are a few inaccuracies in parts of what you said. You mention 'for example in the first story they manage to stop a time breach caused by nursery rhymes'. That is correct, but you continue with 'but they also erase a family from existence and leave a young boy alone with an elderly soldier from World War 1'. First, the parents are temporarily erased in the first story by the time breach, but the whole family re-unite when the time breach is fixed. This is the only story which does have a genuine happy ending. The only story featuring a soldier from World War 1 is the second story and it's the ghost of a young man. An older, living man gets sacrificed to the Darkness (the molevelant force in the second story), but the notion of leaving a young boy alone with an elderly WW1 soldier is wrong - this never happened in any of the broadcast stories. It's the fourth story, not the third where they prevent a time trap involving a ghostly faceless man, but they don't condemn a young woman to live forever in a photograph. The ghostly faceless man has the ability to trap people in photos as well as take them out. He trapped the woman in the photo and then sets fire to it, killing her and another he'd trapped in there before Sapphire and Steel can figure out a way to get them out. The Darkness was the force in the second story and the villains of the 6th story which trap Sapphire and Steel were sentient lifeforms known as the Transient beings. Lastly, Joanna Lumley and David Mccallum didn't reprise their roles for the audio dramas, they were too busy and other actors were hired. That aside, thanks for a great video and tribute to a series I used to love (but was terrified by) as a kid.
@@Slate-writer Yes, I did suspect there was something a little funny about it. I thought at first the presenter perhaps couldn't speak English that well, so had used some kind of voice translator and mimed to it. AI seems to be penetrating more and more of the creative arena these days. Art, story writing, computer coding and now, it seems CZcams Videos.
Thank you for taking the time to watch our video and provide feedback. We appreciate your correction regarding the inaccuracies in our description of the first few stories in Sapphire and Steel. We stand corrected and thank you for setting the record straight.
We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the video overall, and we share your fondness for this series. It was a unique and memorable show that left a lasting impression on many of us. We also appreciate the additional information you provided about the audio dramas and the Transient beings, which we were not aware of.
As you mentioned, the future is changing fast, and we hope to continue creating content that is informative and engaging, even as technology advances and evolves. Thank you again for your input, and we hope to hear from you again in the future.
I was a kid and found it very scary
Was this scripted by an AI? Some details seem a little off. There’s a couple of books on Amazon about Sapphire and Steel if you’re interested in more insight about the show.
Quite a lot of it was off, and what is told has a very factory template feel to it.
@@ShamrockParticle Even the replies to posts here read like they were generated by ChatGPT!
I did find it odd when she said it inspired Dr Who.
Script, spoken voice and simulated woman are all AI generated. - and mostly wrong.
The narrator seems totally AI. Or at least not human.
it's not true the assignments can be watched in any order. Assignment 6 is the iast since it has Sapphire and Steel trapped, seemingly forever.
They need to remake this.
It's understandable to want a remake of a show you enjoy, but it's important to remember that remakes may not always capture the same magic as the original. Additionally, the creators and actors of the original show may have moved on or may not be involved in a potential remake. However, if a remake were to happen, it would be interesting to see how they could update the show for a modern audience while still staying true to its original spirit.
@@Advances_in_PerspectiveA new Sapphire & Steel TV series would be even more challenging than it was to finally bring back Doctor Who.
Thank you for your very interesting video.
Nope and if they do they need the original cast.
@@darrenkeady6570 No chance of that now.
@@Advances_in_PerspectiveI'd rather watch the series here or on my DVDs than see a rebooted/recasted series on a streaming channel.
For anyone who hasn't noticed yet, every part of this video (the voice, the talking head, the spoken text, even the comment replies!) is "AI" generated. (And factually incorrect.)
I must have seen a different version of the first show because it ends as it began with a family reciting nursery rhymes in a young girl's bedroom. Where was the elderly soldier from World War One?
I've just finished watching the 1st assignment, the soldiers from WW1 didn't appear until assignment 2. So much for AI LOL absolute cock-up.
Lumley and McCallum did not reprise their roles in Big Finish audio productions. These had David Warner and Susannah Harker. Have I seen the TV show? HUH, I know every line in it :))) I have watched it over a 100 times. As for the audio series, I also liked it, although I did not enjoy the ending which gives the TV ending a run for its money. Way beyond bleak into total oblivion.
This video is wrong about almost everything because it's the output of an "AI"... even the synthetic voice and talking head.
Sapphire and steel my childhood t.v program in Pakistan
Sapphire and Steel were unavailable to address issues of AI in the original series.
The boy does gets back with his parents in the first story.
I looked back into this series as of the passing of David mc Callum recently and I think in last episode darkness if sapphire didn't look in box and silver got it the series would have carried on question is why happened to silver as most time lords like Docter who change everytime sapphire and steel didn't but great acting RiP David Mc Callum
some incorrect info here, wish they would bring it back
That's because this video is completely 100% AI generated.
Loved the show. Seen it on it's original run. and on a few occassions since. Will probably do so again. But where did you get the information that the same actors reprised their roles for the audio series. I assume you mean Big Finish. That was David Warner, and Susannah Harker.
Also in what sense did it influence those other shows you mentioned. I'm not saying you are wrong. But surely you should cite some examples. Other than that, thank you for some interesting stuff.
This video is wrong. No human was involved in the creation of this video. All of it is "AI" generated, the voice, the talking head, and the text.
this still stands up today, for me the best Kids TV show ever made
Thank you for sharing your opinion! It's always great to hear from fans of classic shows like Sapphire and Steel. Even though it was made decades ago, the show's unique blend of mystery, suspense, and supernatural elements still captivates audiences today. It's a testament to the quality of the writing and the performances that the show continues to be loved by fans old and new.
they didnt leave a girl in a photo
My theory is that sapphire and steel was designed to make money.
AI generated, based upon repetitive use of existing descriptions, and with numerous factual errors. A shame.
Why show the AI host at all? Especially for the whole video.
All due respect, why does the narrator of this video have such a flat affect?
It's a text to speech synthesizer. The talking head graphic is "AI" generated too.. and so is all of the spoken text... and the "channel author's" replies on comments. There is no human involved with any aspect of this video. It's all "AI" generated garbage.
@@juliavixen176 #🤯
😂😂😂😂 dr who inspired SnS 😂😂😂
some of these facts are not true.
Most of these facts are wrong
Then they are not facts. Big Finish Audios is real, but Sapphire and Steel by them do not contain Lumley or McCullam.