Sapphire and Steel Assignment 6 Part 3
In my last post I forgot to comment on the garage owner from 1925 who appeared. He didn't come across as quite as wrong as the man and the woman, in my opinion. Even though there are differences between this and the preceding Sapphire and Steel assignments, that was a touch that made a connection, to my mind: a much-loved character who kept his garage open all hours can't possibly be offensive and gives the authentic feel of something being wrong with Time.
I particularly like the almost nonexistent recap of part 3. The sound of rain is of course a classic technique used in film noir to create a sense of depression or foreboding, and here it is combined with Sapphire picking up the ringing phone just to hear the repetition of the Remarkably snappy for a Sapphire and Steel recap, because what I've described is literally all you get, with the addition of Sapphire suggesting that Steel has gone walkies and the woman saying the somebody else has arrived: I really like it.
I have always loathed the Johnny Jack character. With or without the children on his back. No actor or entertainer of any description goes around in full make-up when they're not performing. He's also a loathsome character, and frankly you wouldn't send your kids out unaccompanied if he was running the ice crean van. His character is a difficulty I have always had with this assignment, howevera as always, blogging about a TV show has given me a different understanding, and the predominant thing that's hitting me is how Sapphire, Steel and Silver really aren't with the programme in this assignment and really should be noticing that there's all sorts of wrong going on. I think in the past I have tended to overlook the things that don't make sense in this assignment (such as Sapphire and Steel suddenly being summoned into a trap with no way out and no understanding), and really Johnny Jack shouldn't be there. Even the woman says that he shouldn't have been able just to walk in to the situation they find themselves in, Sapphire says it, what do they have to do? Put 'be suspicious of this' in big flashing letters?
So on this viewing, the sheer number of unsubtle hints that there is something wrong here are really hitting me. Obvious comment to make, I know.
The rest of the episode builds up the feeling that something is wrong, and Sapphire gets her first inkling from reading the woman, of the danger they are in.
I think this assignment also prompts a question which occupies much of the discussion about this show on the internet, namely what Sapphire and Steel actually are. Certainly not human, and it's interesting that they don't seem to know what the other characters are either, indicated by Sapphire's comment that, 'They answer to a higher authority'.
As I commented on a previous post, you could take Sapphire, Steel and Silver's complete ignorance of what is going on as a plot weakness (come on, what kind of specialists go out without a thorough knowledge of what they're likely to face?). However I suspect in reality the introduction of other entities and the rather perplexing nature of this assignment may have been prompted by a desire to broaden the scope of the show in future assignments which were never made.
My favourite bit is where Steel sits with the others while Sapphire and Silver are removing the car, and as if he is a weary worker in a factory says to them, 'Makes it a long day, doesn't it, when there's no time?'.
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