Jennifer Griffin

Sapphire and Steel (1979-82). One of the most terrifying children's dramas ever made. The premise of Sapphire and Steel was ambiguous: 'elements’ were assigned by a higher power to prevent time from exploiting anomalies in the fabric of the universe. Sometimes beings from the past or future were the threat; sometimes it was time itself. David McCallum and Joanna Lumley play the lead roles: two inter-dimensional operatives called Sapphire and Steel, who took human form in their mission to stop time itself wreaking havoc on the present. Sapphire was the more empathetic agent: she could rewind time in small ways to see what has happened, and could tell the age and history of objects or people by touch. Often her eyes changed colour when this happened. Steel was a more cold, calculating character. He had enormous strength and could freeze himself to near absolute zero, allowing him to destroy paranormal entities. He had little sympathy for humans. Other 'elements' occasionally helped Sapphire and Steel: Lead had immense strength, whilst Silver was a mischievous Technician who could manipulate technology and create holograms. The key to Sapphire and Steel was its claustrophobic sense of terror: the sets were sparse and confined; the plot proceeded slowly like a good horror novel, building up the tension. It's available on DVD and is well worth watching if you like tales of slowly building psychological fear.