MovieChat Forums > Sapphire & Steel (1979) Discussion > Just watched the entire boxset in practi...

Just watched the entire boxset in practically one sitting


Treated myself to the DVD boxset and it was certainly a treat, commentaries on the first and last episodes of the series (although the writer and producer seem to have fading memories) and a lovely documentary with both Lumley and McCallum.

Just as good as I remember it, great mood, writing, acting, terrific premises all around. If I were to have one complaint it would be that some episodes go on for far too long and would have been much better if they'd been cut to nearly have their length, especially adventure 2. But it's still great fun and shows what you can do without big special effects and graphic sex and violence. Would love to have seen more especially if they could have expanded their universe, we could have got to see other members of their community and understood a little more but then one of the appealing points was that it was never all explained, we were always left wondering.

And the ending? On face value Sapphire and Steel are trapped in the café in 'nowhere' forever whilst Silver's fate is unknown. However rather than being trapped by their opponents it seems they have been imprisoned by the higher authorities of their own organisation who resent their 'independence'. When Sapphire looked into their future she saw this fate as 'thousands' of years and not eternity. In adventure 3 Steel observes that it would be better if 'operatives' were in place before time crises erupted rather than being dispatched when they had already occurred but Sapphire points out that no one would volunteer to wait for hundreds of years, including him. It is possible that they have actually been put on ice for just such an occasion.

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There is also the possibility that Sapphire and Steel are imprisoned at the end as punishment for Steel's previous actions in The Railway Station. He himself stated at the time that his bargain with The Darkness was certain to have "repercussions in high places."

That's the beauty of the ending - we'll never know for certain why it was done to them.

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I always felt if there was another series, Silver was going to rescue them. It was odd the way he disappeared with no mention of him again.
I still wait in hope Silver does get to them!

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