Hi,
Can anyone explain the storyline of the episode that has something to do with a train station and some ghosts. One of the ghosts was a world war two soldier. I watched it when I was quite young and I remember being really freaked out by it. I'd love to know what it was about! Thanks in advance.
Rich.
Just watching this episode at the moment.
The ghosthunter, Tully, aroused the baddie of the episode - an entity referred to as Darkness - by trying to exorcise the soldier's ghost. Dakrness had gathered the ghosts of several people who had died prematurely. In order to defeat it and get it to release their ghosts Steel gave it Tully, as he was due to die within the next couple of months anyway. Thus rather than feeding of the resentment of the individuals that had died it would feed off the resentment of Time itself, a much more potent force, at having been cheated of Tully. A rather brutal and heartless way of solving the problem but then Sapphire and Steel weren't human.
One of my all-time favourite programmes.
Sapphire and Steel was an incredible show. There were a couple of dull stories, the last one being particularly poor, but when it was at it's best it ranked among the best of TV drama. I think that two adventures, one about a man with no face and ghosts that live in old Victorian photographs, and the one you mentioned, about the train station, are some of the finest and most frightening children's dramas ever put on TV. If only the modern post-MTV producers would watch those episodes. The train station adventure took place almost entirely on a single set, with only a handfull of characters. There was almost no action, very little bright lighting or colour of any kind, and was 8 episodes long! And yet it managed to build such an amazing atmosphere and sense of terror that it became impossible to turn away for a second! It has stayed in my mind for 25 years. Not many childrens shows can claim that. I still get chills every time I hear that song: "Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, and smile! smile! smile!"... Woooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
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When it was first pitched as a show, it was almost certainly intended to be a children's show, when they got David McCallum however (a very big name at the time) they upped the budget and gave it a early evening timeslot. The first episode was aimed at children as an audience but this changed as the series progressed.
Rachael
Pack all your worries in your old kit bag and smilesmilesmile
It was Ruth Boswell (then head of children's drama at Thames and one time producer of The Tomorrow People) who got it made as an adult series. She was so impressed by the script for story one (written for children) that she sent it to the head of (adult) drama and they produced it as such.
shareTo:- Simon-licence, I didn't realise that Ruth Boswell was somehow involved in this. I should have guessed - I loved her Timeslip prog.
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I'm sorry but did you say children's show? I'm pretty sure this was evening television when it was first shown and was never marketed as a children's show
It may not have been intended as a children's show, but I've run across many people of my own age who are staunch fans, which means that they - like me - were watching it between the ages of six and ten.
Ladies of the Shadow Gallery: http://www.freewebs.com/vendettafan/
It wasn't a WWII soldier but a WWI soldier
He was killed at 11:11 am on 11 November 1918 - hence the resentment the darkness needed as the fighting should have stopped 11 minutes earlier
Ian Jones
Brilliant! Thanks for filling me in with the info Ian. :)
shareThanks for the historical background as well.
I knew there was some significance... didn't put it together til now.
Ticks Ticks thousands of ticks, and not one blessed TOCK among them!