Sapphire and Steel

[mcroft]

So Netflix has the late 1970s/early 1980s ATV SF show Sapphire and Steel available, yay! Joanna Lumley and David McCallum in a sort of "What if the X-Files had been written in 1979 by Dr. Who writers?

Watch on YouTube

It was lower-than-low budget, but was well-written and well-acted and fun and scary. It was as much ghost stories as SF. ATV was Lew Grade's independent network which also showed The Prisoner.

So far, we've seen the first (of six) adventures, and the rest are in our Netflix queue. It's fascinating seeing Joanna Lumley as a timecop. I'm interested in seeing where they take it.

“All irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension. Transuranic, heavy elements may not be used where there is life. Medium atomic weights are available: Gold, Lead, Copper, Jet, Diamond, Radium, Sapphire, Silver and Steel. Sapphire and Steel have been assigned.”

I find this really intriguing. It doesn't mean anything and yet it makes me want to see what it's about. Which is, I suppose, the point.

Comments

[mcroft.livejournal.com]

We sent DVD 1 back this morning.

The first episode explains the Mary Celeste, as a throwaway comment. "You said you sunk it, but it was found!" "Not the real one..."

[jimhenley.livejournal.com]

I like S&S quite a bit, tending to the conventional view that the even-numbered adventures are the best.

More than once have I cogitated the problem of designing a Sapphire & Steel rpg.

[mcroft.livejournal.com]

We have more even-numbered adventures than odd-numbered adventures left, so all to the good. And an even-numbered one is next. I suspect that the 8-parter will not be the a one-night stand like Adventure One.

Hmm. FASA's Dr Who Role Playing Game is one possible place to start. If the PCs are Operators, then there are questions about how much and what they know. There are ways in which it's like Amber, with really powerful PCs and really insanely powerful outsiders trying to get in.

I might also look at Spirit of the Century or Gumshoe to try to get the ghost story feel. The trick with the game would be to promote play that had the feel of watching an adventure.