The Lighthouse (Sapphire and Steel)

I know that this story has come in for criticism; even the writer saw fit to defend what he had done in the sleeve notes as if he was expecting a dearth of derogatory comments. A shame really, as this is very close in spirit to the original series in terms of tone and story. I won't bother with needless synopsis that give away the plot since a lot of the joy of Sapphire and Steel is putting the pieces together while you are watching/listening. Suffice to say that you will find the course of the story only slightly less pleasant than shocking conclusion to be sure, but Sapphire and Steel was never a series that played it safe ... at least until the first Big Finish story. Now before anyone thinks I am heaping ceaseless praise on what is essentially not a great story, I should clarify my position. As another review has said, this could have been so much better. It's short length plays against its strengths. The story is a whirlwind of scenes and ideas; a style which I suppose is meant to reflect the time storm that drives the narrative. Unfortunately it just makes the whole adventure seem rushed and confusing. Characters are woefully underdeveloped and scenes start and stop with a scant disregard for the intricacies of the plot. Having said all of that, this still feels far closer to the Sapphire and Steel I grew up with than the first tentative steps of the audio series, the overrated The Passenger. From its demanding story to its uncompromising subject matter to its cruel ending; these are the things I love about Sapphire and Steel. The Lighthouse will never be remembered as a classic. But it will be remembered as a step back towards the series we love. If future adventures advance this thinking things can only get better, and for that I am thankful.

An expected drop in quality for great series. (1/3 people found this helpful)

It's hard to find anything to recommend this Sapphire & Steel audio adventure. As number 4 in the series, it sits uncomfortably with the previous releases, and is a step in the wrong direction. A big step, in fact. Sapphire and Steel, themselves, seem aloof throughout, and get around 5 minutes of air time. As the lead characters this seems rather silly, and is not helped by the quality of the remaining characters. Big Finish seem to be attempting to redefine the 'unlikable character,' and succeeding with terrible effect. It's not that the acting is bad, it is the script which lets down the show.

What could have been a wonderfully evocative Lighthouse based chiller, has been written as a rather camp serial killer thriller, which would seem tacky on ITV circa 1988. Screenplay writer, Nigel Fairs, has delivered a nasty script with clumsy homophobia/child abuse issues, and violent lust driven murders. It is not the uncomfortable content that is troublesome, but the quality of the writing itself.

To be honest, I couldn't help feel this was a fleshy 4 part story at some point, which has been slashed and glossed up to be something else. There was a lack of consistency between scenes, and the lead characters could have been in different adventures entirely. Some nice sound mixing does go someway to disguise the flaws, but also implies another story is struggling to emerge from the mess. We should be thankful that this is the shortest Sapphire and Steel adventure to date. Thank the elements for this small mercy.

Nigel Fairs has proved a good producer for the series, so far. May he continue to produce some great new Sapphire and Steel adventures, but steer clear of the writing duties.

The Lighthouse (Sapphire and Steel)

Nigel Fairs

Reader Reviews:

A step backwards and ... forwards (1/1 people found this helpful)

An expected drop in quality for great series. (1/3 people found this helpful)

Similar Products

Categories