Danger UXB 

Brian Ash is a young lieutenant who is assigned to a UXB unit in the early days of World War II. UXB (UneXploded Bomb) is the signal that an aerial bomb has not exploded. Ash's job is to ... See full summary »

Creators:

John Hawkesworth, John Whitney

Stars:

Anthony Andrews, Maurice Roëves, George Innes

Cast

Series cast summary:
Anthony Andrews	...	Brian Ash 13 episodes, 1979
Maurice Roëves	...	Sergeant James 13 episodes, 1979
George Innes	...	Sapper Wilkins / ... 13 episodes, 1979
Gordon Kane	...	Sapper Mulley 13 episodes, 1979
Robert Pugh	...	Sapper Powell 12 episodes, 1979
Ken Kitson	...	Corporal Horrocks 11 episodes, 1979
Jeremy Sinden	...	Ivor Rodgers / ... 10 episodes, 1979
Judy Geeson	...	Susan 9 episodes, 1979
Kenneth Cranham	...	Sapper Salt / ... 9 episodes, 1979
Osmund Bullock	...	Lieutenant Pringle / ... 7 episodes, 1979
Deborah Watling	...	Norma 7 episodes, 1979
Peter Cartwright	...	Major Luckhurst 7 episodes, 1979
Iain Cuthbertson	...	Doctor Gillespie 6 episodes, 1979
Marjie Lawrence	...	Mrs. Baker 6 episodes, 1979
Royston Tickner	...	Lieutenant Leckie / ... 6 episodes, 1979

Storyline

Brian Ash is a young lieutenant who is assigned to a UXB unit in the early days of World War II. UXB (UneXploded Bomb) is the signal that an aerial bomb has not exploded. Ash's job is to deactivate German bombs, some of which have fuses specifically designed to kill him.

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Plot Keywords:

world war two | bomb disposal | bomb disposal unit | tv mini series | bomb | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The 'Butterfly Winter' story (episode 10) was loosely based on a true story. In reality the Luftwaffe dropped the 'Butterfly Bomb' (officially known as the SD2) on the towns of Ipswich, Grimsby, Hull and Cleethorpes, and on the island of Malta, but not in the south east as depicted in this episode. They were lethal 2kg cluster bombs that were not designed to go off on impact but rather were either on a pre-set timer or were triggered if they were disturbed. Unfortunately many small children were killed or injured by them when they picked them up thinking they were toys.

The Butterfly bomb was as disruptive as it was nasty, and particularly difficult to deal with. Many if not most of them that had not already detonated were set off in a controlled explosion as they were too fiddly and unpredictable to be defused. Due to the disruption they caused the War Office issued a 'D notice' which requested the British press do not report on raids where these were used. The hope was that by not mentioning it, the German spy network would not mention it in reports and therefore the Luftwaffe would consider the bombs to have been relatively ineffective and be discouraged from using them in future. The plan worked as the bombs were not dropped on any of the major inland cities in Britain.

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Connections

Referenced in Verity Lambert: Drama Queen (2008)

User Reviews

Still superb after all these years

I just saw it on video 20 years after first watching it on PBS. Great storytelling, great acting, great writing. John Hawkesworth made this well: he neither missed nor flubbed a detail, nor did he insert any improbable or cliched lines or angles. The actual stories themselves are simple enough: a few romances, comradery among the old boys, mateship among the men, a commanding idiot, the proverbial English eccentric ...

But hanging over all their heads - literally - is the Nazi Blitz and its delayed-fuse calling-cards in particular. The fuses kept changing, forcing the engineers to respond to them.

Hawkesworth didn't cop the "budget restraints" plea with "Danger UXB" like so many others would have done; he used what he could get to their fullest. He used the actual techniques used by EOD, RE, in exact detail, using real defused German bombs. I could almost feel the cold mud, a dull counter-part to the sheer terror.

Period pieces are 100% dependent on the details to give their full effect. A wrong uniform, a 50-star flag in the 1940s, an anachronistic hairstyle or remark or attitude gives it all away every time. Hawkesworth gives nothing away in "Danger UXB;" he neither exaggerates nor underplays anything, nor does he throw in a "portent of the future" or "meeting the historical figure."

As for the actors: superlatives won't do them justice. Talent abounds in well-written parts, great and small, with no room for star-tripping anywhere. Every role depends upon with whom they interact. About the only one I thought *may* have been short-shrifted was Maurice Röeves as Sgt. James; he seemed to be chomping on the bit to do more than bark orders, nurse the men or flip a coin through his fingers in a pub. Still, he was thoroughly believable as the backbone of Section 347.

So: I liked it.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bombletarna

Company Credits

Production Co:

Euston Films, Thames Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1