90%
A lot of people have commented on how the even numbered Star Trek films are the best. The same can be said of Sapphire and Steel. The three even-numbered stories are excellent. This one is particularly chilling, for example - when Sapphire tries to summon the Shape on the stairs so that they can see its face, and the ending of episode 3 as the duo try to communicate with Ruth (trapped in a photograph). Nor can anyone forget the chilling finale, when the Shape is trapped, as it issues a warning to Liz - remindering her that it will find a photograph of her, photographs are made of paper and paper burns.

The Shape proves to be a formidable and memorable opponent. If there is one thing I could say about Sapphire and Steel it would have to be that it added new twists to common things. This story may be built on the idea that photographs capture more than a person's image but it is nonetheless highly effective, very imaginative, highly original and ranks above the vast majority of stories from other Science Fiction shows.

It is unfortunate that Carlton haven't gone to town on this series. The DVD releases offer little more than the original VHS releases - they are almost bare bones with only a handful of static features. Not to mention the fact that all six stories have been spread across two box sets, so the series are mixed together. All 4 episodes of Assignment Four are on the first disc of the three which comprise set 2.

There is no option to play all the episodes. When you reach the end of an episode you are returned to the menu and must select the next one. And the sole subtitles are in English only - of course, the series was not that big a success, but nothing damns a series more than the faint praise this DVD release represents.