Sapphire and Steel (Joanna Lumley and David McCallum), along with technician Silver (David Collings) and a couple (Edward de Souza and Johanna Kirby) who appear to have temporally driven in from 1948, find themselves in a 1980's gas station where the flow of time is being disrupted. Soon denizens from other times show up as the investigators try to figure out where and when they are, and what the future holds. Sadly, the future held 'cancellation' as this intriguing but incomplete story-arc is the final 'assignment' in the puzzling sci-fi-fantasy series. After assignment 5's ill-advised foray into 'Christie-esque' parlor mysteries, the return to science fiction is welcome as are the hints about the titular pair's universe and the possibility of an existential struggle that goes beyond mundane chronological meddling and pseudo-ghosts. The show's limited special-effects budget is apparent but forgivable and some of the acting (notably de Souza and Kirby) is either a bit remedial or cunningly intended to make the characters seem a bit 'preternatural' (hard to say, and after 40 years, who really cares). The 6-assignment series was a novel and entertaining attempt at low-budget 'mind-bending' sci-fi that was not always successful but is well worth hunting down on-line and watching, especially by fans of the genre or of the stars.
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