Nigel Peever

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.

Doctor Who: Horror of Fang Rock - Part Three (17th September 1977). "Somewhere out there is a hostile alien from a distant planet, and I believe it intends to destroy us".

Jackanory - The Hobbit (1st October 1979). To celebrate reaching the 3000th edition of Jackanory, a tag team of four readers - Jan Francis, Bernard Cribbins, Maurice Denham, and David Wood - tackled this book.

The Basil Brush Show (13th October 1979). Peter Gilmore joins Basil for a song.