History Series / DangerUXB

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: The tunneling companies that Ash is a member of were created in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI to dig mines under enemy trenches, fill them full of explosives and detonate them. Blitzkrieg warfare made them obsolete, but as it happens the skills were useful for those digging up bombs and handling explosives, if not for defusing them.

* GallowsHumor: Rodgers is a master.

* TheNeidermeyer: Captain Francis chews out Ash for burning toast, purely because he's jealous of a magazine article that Ash appeared in (under orders from his superiors). He also [[ApatheticTeacher fails to train Ash despite being Training Officer]], leaving him to pick up everything from his sergeant. When [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Francis becomes OC of the unit]], he starts making Ash's life miserable in surrogate revenge for [[JerkassWoobie his own wife having an affair]] with a young officer.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The tunneling companies that Ash is a member of were created in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI to dig mines under enemy trenches, fill them full of explosives and detonate them. Blitzkrieg warfare made them obsolete, but as it happens the skills were useful for those digging up bombs and handling explosives, if not for defusing them.

* MadScientist: Dr Gillespie is building a HeathRobinsonMachine in his backyard for steaming explosives out of bombs. He even has a MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter in Susan Mount (who is distinctly unamused when [[RightBehindMe she overhears Ash describe her this way]]). However the steam sterilizer is the only available means of bypassing a booby-trapped detonator, so Gillespie, Susan and Ash have to work together to solve its teething problems.

Lieutenant Brian Ash is a newly-commissioned officer assigned to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Engineer_tunnelling_companies 97 Tunnelling Company of the Royal Engineers]]. He is shocked to find his job involves the defusing of UXB's (unexploded bombs), a task he must carry out with only rudimentary training. Even as the unit gains experience and better equipment becomes available, their German opponents are [[LensmanArmsRace continually adapting the bombs to make them more difficult to defuse]].

* InfantImmortality: In "Just Like a Woman" audience tension is created when a kid sneaks off to look at the bomb being defused, but when it goes off he suffers no major injuries despite having a hut collapse on him.

* TimeBomb: The Germans discovered during the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar that bombs which failed to explode caused more disruption and fear than those that blew up right away, so some bombs have time-delay detonators that can explode days later.

* BlackWidow: Elspeth in "Dead Letter". Her husband and previous lovers have all been killed in action, and [[BrokenBird she romances Ash knowing full well he's likely to get killed too]]. Ash accepts her advances even though it's suggested she might be jinxed.

* TheCasanova: Ivor Rodgers -- Ash consults him on the best place to take a married woman on a date. Rodgers congratulates Ash on his good sense. "At your age there is no more dangerous sport than deflowering debutantes."

* IdiotBall: The authorities have made no preparations for bomb disposal whatsoever, originally telling police and air raid wardens to just pile up UXB's somewhere out of the way.
-->'''Major Luckhurst:''' "Apparently some chap was hawking the details of these things (German detonators) in London before the war. No-one listened to him."

* BombWhistle: The characters comment it on at least the first two episodes. The first episode has a whistle without a corresponding explosion, claimed to be some delay action bomb. The second episode mentions that there's a special vein to make the whistle louder.

* VomitIndiscretionShot / StressVomit: Ash throws up after defusing his first bomb.

* TheHomeFront: Which in this case is the front line.