Monday Morning Maybe

Add your email and we'll match picks to the services you stream at home.

Poster for Sapphire & Steel

Sapphire & Steel

Seen it?

1979 | 6 seasons | 25 min | Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Sunday Safe Betearly rating

Why it’s a Sunday Safe Bet

Solid across the board without standing out anywhere. A safe bet when you want something reliable.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for sci-fi fans. If you loved WandaVision or Doctor Who, start here.
The mood
Mind-bending.
The pace
6 seasons and 34 episodes: a long-haul commitment, short, snackable episodes, about 14 hours in all.
What might put you off
  • A big time investment at 6 seasons.
  • Made in 1979: an older pace and style.

Sapphire & Steel is a British television science-fiction fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. Hammond who conceived the programme under the working title The Time Menders, after a stay in an allegedly haunted castle. Hammond also wrote all the stories except for the fifth, which was co-written by Don Houghton and Anthony Read. None of the stories had onscreen 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.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsNot counted

    Not enough reviews on record yet

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerSolid

    Ran for 6 seasons and reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactSolid

    About 67K people sought it out in the past year

Season by season

The show overall is a Sunday Safe Bet. Here's how each season stacks up.

  1. Assignment I: Escape Through a Crack in Time1979 · 6 episodes
    Not rated yet
  2. Assignment II: The Railway Station1979 · 8 episodes
    Not rated yet
  3. Assignment III: The Creature's Revenge1981 · 6 episodes
    Not rated yet
  4. Assignment IV: The Man Without a Face1981 · 4 episodes
    Not rated yet
  5. Assignment V: Dr McDee Must Die1981 · 6 episodes
    Not rated yet
  6. Assignment VI: The Trap1982 · 4 episodes
    Not rated yet

Trailer

More like this

Want more like this, picked just for you? Get my picks

Cast & crew

Created by Peter J. Hammond

  • Joanna LumleySapphire
  • David McCallumSteel
  • David CollingsSilver
  • Christopher FairbankJohnny Jack