SAPPHIRE & STEEL:

THE PASSENGER

A dark Winter’s evening in the year 2004. Sixty-six year-old steam enthusiast and antiquarian book dealer Philip Burgess steps onto his long overdue train, unaware that Time has decreed that this will be his final journey.

A 1930s steam train. Twelve passengers with ulterior motives. A mysterious conductor. One victim. And two detectives…

Sapphire and Steel must uncover the secrets in Burgess’s past, before the story can reach its terminus. But how can they succeed, when Time has made them a part of its plans already?

Starring Susannah Harker and David Warner, with Mark Gatiss as Gold. Directed by Jason Haigh-Ellery. 4 x 25 minutes.

 

 

 

 

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The first episode of a four-part story, in which Susannah Harker and David Warner take on the roles of the time-travelling detectives from the cult LWT series. On TV, Sapphire & Steel made great use of visual imagery to create a distinctive eerie atmosphere. The challenge with this script, then, was to do the same using only dialogue and sound effects. Just as important, though, are the characters whom Sapphire and Steel meet in the course of their investigations. The Passenger focuses on one such character; this episode needed to introduce him, and make him three-dimensional, without giving away all his secrets just yet...

 

 

 

Sapphire and Steel adapts well to the audio medium. The ghost story feel and creep factor rise when not encumbered by special effects that date over time. Limited to two hours and without the leads being able to stare meaningfully and silently into space for much of an episode, the pacing moves steadily.

The Passenger is an excellent story – a good extension of the show for its fans, and a solid standalone introduction to the universe to new listeners. Big Finish needed a good start to launch this series, and they knocked it out of the park on the first try.

- Linnea Dodson, Unreality SF

 

 

Impressively written and directed, The Passenger metamorphoses into a gripping murder mystery tale, a strong character piece, an authentically creepy and clever Sapphire and Steel tale and a chilling piece of audio theatre. Steve Lyons confines his tale to one claustrophobic location and uses the opportunity to concentrate on creating a strong cast of characters, a fascinating plot and exploring some wonderfully imaginative concepts that revolve around the nature of time and its manipulations. Time proves to be an insidious and terrifying menace and it doesn’t even say a word. There are so many delicious touches of ingenuity, so many strong lines and so many great scenes the series is off to a phenomenal start. I cannot imagine how they will top this. 10/10.

- Joe Ford, Doc OHO Reviews

 

 

Steam enthusiast and book dealer Philip Burgess steps on to his long overdue train, unaware that an old book has given Time a means to break its chains. As reality and fiction become intertwined, a familiar story begins to play itself out: a 1930s steam train, twelve passengers with ulterior motives, a mysterious conductor, one victim, and two detectives...

The television series was always less concerned with plot than it was with atmosphere. Accordingly, writer Steve Lyons allows his two-hour story to unfold at a sedate pace. Since the audio medium cannot reproduce the old show's signature visual chills ... the creepiness comes in the form of sounds and voices. And proving that the sound of silence can also be unnerving, there's a voiceless conductor, of whom we are only made aware by other characters' reactions to him.

Now I can't wait until Sapphire and Steel get assigned again.

- Richard McGinlay, Sci-Fi Online