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Sapphire & Steel
"The Mystery of the Missing Hour" Part 1
Audio drama
Big Finish Productions
Written by Joseph Lidster
Directed by Nigel Fairs
June 2007 |
A murder at a Cairo hotel brings Shuffle and Sixpence to
investigate.
Notes from the Sapphire & Steel chronology
This story opens in an unidentified year (presumably the
"present", circa 2007) with the elderly
Arthur Travers
telling the story
of events that began in Cairo, Egypt when he was a young man on December 3, 1926, where
the majority of the story takes place.
Didja Know?
This storyline features a new version of the
Sapphire & Steel theme, with a
resonance aimed to evoke a more early-20th Century detective
melodrama style and without the usual voiceover.
Characters appearing or mentioned in this episode
Arthur Travers
Major Cornelius Haute
Mark Shuffle (Steel)
Sixpence (Sapphire)
MC
the General (mentioned only)
Lady Marjorie
Haute
Agatha
Jane Manners (the Major's secretary, dies in this episode)
Betty (maid)
Steven Travers
(mentioned only, deceased since 1912)
Ruby Travers (mentioned only, deceased since 1912)
Ranjit
Didja Notice?
The elderly
Arthur Travers
tells us in the narration that he was
staying at the Cairo
Hilton on the night of
December 3, 1926. I've been unable to confirm that the
Hilton chain had a hotel in
Cairo at the time. The earliest I've
found is the Nile Hilton in Cairo, not built until 1958 and
the earliest international Hilton hotel was the Istanbul
Hilton (Turkey) in 1955.
At 4:20, Arthur states to the major and Shuffle that he's
suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu. Déjà vu,
of course, is the sensation of having experienced a current
event previously. Here, it presages the revelation coming in
"The Mystery of the Missing Hour" Part 3.
Throughout the adventure, characters keep referring to what
room they are in, how hot it is, who the people around them
are, etc. This is to point out that they are all characters
in an audio drama, so the audience has to be told in
non-visual ways what is happening. This is all playing to a
point that comes in
"The Mystery of the Missing Hour" Part 3.
The emcee at the hotel's dining room introduces Sixpence to
sing a song on stage, saying, "Some know her as the Queen of
Shaftesbury Avenue..." or "...the sapphire of Soho."
Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in London known as a
theatre district, passing through the districts of St. Giles
and Soho.
Apparently, Sixpence has a gimmick where
she will not sing until the crowd urges her on by themselves
singing the opening line of the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song
of Sixpence".
The song Sixpence sings, featuring the
lyrics "give
the dog a bone", is an original song first heard in
"Cruel Immortality" Part 2
and "Cruel Immortality"
Part 4, a hint of Sixpence's "connection" to Sapphire.
The Major remarks that Shuffle is an ex-boxer.
Arthur tells us he was born in 1902.
When Arthur's parents died on the Titanic in 1912,
his father's business partner, Major Haute, took him in as his
stepson. The famously "unsinkable" RMS Titanic sank
in April 1912 after hitting an iceberg.
Arthur's mother is said to have been named Ruby. This must
be a clue that Sapphire and Steel's colleague called Ruby is
involved somehow in their current case.
At 13:13, Arthur remarks on his untalkative nature as a boy,
except for the topic of history, "unlocking buried
memories". "Buried memories" is a foreshadowing of events in
"The Mystery of the Missing Hour" Part 3.
Arthur tells his step-parents he wants to go to Egypt after
having studied some texts at the British Museum.
The British Museum
was established in 1753 and is one of the most prestigious
museums in the world.
Arthur describes taking the train
to Dover, then the ferry across to France.
Dover lies southeast of
London,
in the county of Kent and has a harbor running ferries to
the European mainland.
Arthur remarks to his fellow travellers that though Cairo is
the current capital, in ancient Egypt it was Memphis, and
Cairo started out as just a Roman fort. This is true.
However, he seems to say that the fort was established in
150 AD, but it was actually around the turn of the 4th
Century (300 AD).
Arthur tells Lady Marjorie that the wall hangings in the
hotel are from the 21st Dynasty. This dynasty of Ancient
Egypt lasted from 1069 BC to 945 BC.
There are hints in the dialog throughout the story that many
of the characters, including Shuffle, are bisexual.
At 26:15, Arthur is humming a tune as he comes in from the
pool to prepare to go down to dinner. The tune is "God Save
the Queen".
At 34:18, Sixpence remarks to her husband, Shuffle, in
regards to investigating the murder of Jane that has taken
place, "I think we've just been assigned." This is obviously
a reference to the voiceover that normally plays on the
Sapphire & Steel opening theme,
"Sapphire and Steel have been assigned."
Memorable Dialog
the most famous amateur detectives in London.mp3
we've just been assigned.mp3
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