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The Mystery Of The Missing Hour


Sapphire and Steel 2.6


A man narrates a story: the time he and his family went on an archaeological expedition to Cairo in 1926.


Sapphire and Steel - or rather Shuffle and Sixpence - the amateur detectives - are players in a rather cliched tale, full of stock characters, that comes across as a hammily performed, detective story by an am dram group. So what is going on?


Its narrator (Colin Baker) tells of when he was younger and when the murders happened. The interesting thing is that even Sapphire and Steel appear not to know who they really are. It is part comedy and sends up the medium at times. The narrator, for instance, saying something only for it to cut to1926 and the younger version to repeat it. 


There are mysteries and clues along the way, both in the story being told and the bigger issue.  Arthur Travers being seen in two places at once, and what really happened to his parents. Shuffle/Steel asking why people keep announcing where they are. 


The missing hour refers to a time difference between when the murder happened and the time of death, though its a little misleading as it has little to do with the actual plot. There are some nice references for the long term listener, call backs to ‘The Passenger’ ‘Water Like A Stone’ and talk  of Gold and Silver. 


It can be confusing at times, that fact that you hear the same bits again, and wonder whether it  was mentioned at the start and we’ve caught up to that part of the story or there’s some kind of time loop. 


Its really hard to review this audio as, things take a turn in the second half, and completely turns the table on what the story is about. It pays off well, and makes all that’s gone before worth sitting though.



Its been a few months since I relistened to ‘The Surest Poison’ and I’m struggling to remember it, for some reason I jumped ahead - probably just the first CD I grabbed. I do get an urge to revisit the older Big Finish releases, but with so much new stuf, it tends to be just the one audio.


It is really good, without wanting to give too much away, it makes you part of the plot, and though these days the end doesn’t  have the impact it did it still does a fantastic job.

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