History Series / JamesMaysManLab

* DontTryThisAtHome: During [[TheDeerHunter The Beer Hunter]] segment, James warns viewers not to try what they're doing at home, or in a pound shop mockup of Vietnam.

* TheLongitudeProblem: In the second episode, James tests the SympatheticMagic theory by attempting to sail to France using a dog as a navigational aid. The theory is that a wounded dog is taken on the ship; the sympathetic magic is performed on the dog every night at midnight in Paris; by watching the dog's reaction and noting the local time, you can figure out your longitude much as with the "clock" method. Not surprisingly, it fails.

* FreezeFrameBonus: Starting in the third series, the "Shopping List" on the blackboard often lists humorous items, like "Trousers," "[[TrademarkFavoriteFood Pies]]", and "Complete Works of Thomas Campion (1567-1620)".

* NoOSHACompliance: While the Tea Temperature Alarm prototype does let you know when you're cup of tea is about to get cold, it also releases metal filings and bits of solder into the tea.

* NoOSHACompliance: While the Tea Temperature Alarm prototype does let you know when you're cup of tea is about to get cold, it also releases metal filings andn bits of solder into the tea.

* SpotOfTea: Mugs of it are frequently consumed, but taken to an extreme during the creation of the cold cup alarm. James and the crew break for a minute-long argument over how to make a proper cup of tea, including what to make the tea in and when to add the milk. Tea is SeriousBusiness in the Man Lab.

* {{Transplant}}: Oz from ''OzAndJames'', and Simmy from ''James May's Toy Stories''.

* TheLongitudeProblem: In the second episode, James tests the 'SympatheticMagic' theory by attempting to sail to France using a dog as a navigational aid (the theory is that a wounded dog is taken on the ship; the sympathetic magic is performed on the dog every night at midnight in Paris; by watching the dog's reaction and noting the local time, you can figure out your longitude much as with the "clock" method). Not surprisingly, it fails.

* Don'tTryThisAtHomeDisclaimer: During [[TheDeerHunter The Beer Hunter]] segment, James warns viewers not to try what they're doing at home, or in a pound shop mockup of Vietnam.

* InsistentTerminology: Thomas Campion, 1567 to 1620

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: The show does a segment dedicated to remembering people's names. Solid methods include repeating the name frequently, spelling the name out loud, using word association with the name, and [[ItMakesSenseInContext talking to your gin and tonic]].

[[caption-width-right:270:As you'd expect, he's done this properly.]]

* CatScare: Actually a ''Bat'' Scare; one flies behind James and Tom at the castle and sends them running back into the safe room.

* EarlyBirdCameo: Simi can occasionally be seen in May's earlier show ''Toy Stories.''

* OminousLatinChanting: "O Fortuna" plays when Rory is presented with "''The Tray''" to haphazardly carry a round of beers through a crowded pub.

* AshesToCrashes: Averted; the space pet funeral goes as planned, and Tommy and Budgie's ashes are released into space.

-->'''James:''' Look at this thing. I've ''never even worn it.''

* AbnormalAmmo: In order to ensure those in the back row of Abingdon receive buns, Simmy comes up with not one but three bun-firing devices: the Hot-Crossbow, the Bun-Derbuss, and the Machine Bun.

* LittleKnownFacts: James May is involved...what else would you expect?

* TakeThat: James make a pointed reference to Oz Clarke at least once an episode, if Oz doesn't appear outright; he also maroons Oz in France after he can't complete his trip across the English Channel during the first series. He also pokes fun at ''Series/TopGear'' co-presenter Richard Hammond quite a bit, going so far as to add pages from one of Hammond's books to his batch of homemade toilet paper.

* BlatantBurglar: James harnesses the power of this trope, complete with stripey shirt, to sneak around town and test out the cat-cams. He actually wants to be obvious, so people mistake him for a real burglar and "beat him to death with pick-axe handles."

* BritishBrevity: Series one had three episodes, and series two five episodes.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: The RockPaperScissors tournament the Man Lab team enters (under the banner of [[ItMakesSenseInContext China]])