Sapphire & Steel – ITV’s cult science-fiction series about a special force of inter-dimensional operatives whose task is to protect the universe from evil forces – turns 41 today.
The series, created by PJ Hammond, starred Joanna Lumley and David McCallum as Sapphire and Steel, the mysterious agents charged with protecting the Universe from the malevolent forces of Time with their uncanny powers.
Broadcast between 1979 and 1982 the show ran for just 34 episodes, ending on a cliffhanger. Big Finish Productions revived the show in 2005, in a series of audio dramas, starring David Warner and Susannah Harker as the titular Steel and Sapphire.
Back in 2015, we ran a challenge for downthetubes readers to come up with their interpretation of the spooky show, after it was revealed that Luther creator and Doctor Who script writer Neil Cross was, hopefully, to re-make the show, a project that got further attention back in 2018 when we discovered award-winning writer Ed Hime was apparently then part of the team working on the reboot.
Sadly, we didn’t get a huge response to the competition, unlike our previous Doctor Who and Dan Dare challenges, but Nigel Auchterlounie, Davey Candlish (his art above), Simon Daly and the late Tony Luke did step up the plate and sent in some great art. You can view it all here on Flickr.
Sapphire & Steel has a great history in comics of course, with some brilliant strips drawn by Arthur Ranson for the weekly comic, Look-In – sadly still not collected, though some have tried to cut a licensing deal.
• Sapphire & Steel is available to buy on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
• Check out the Sapphire & Steel Audio Dramas from Big Finish (Affiliate Link)
• You can view our Sapphire & Steel competition entries here on Flickr
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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