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Harrowing, funny, and immediately addictive, the 1979 British television series
Danger UXB stars Anthony Andrews as Army Lieutenant Brian Ash, an engineering student whose excitement about his rapid commission as an officer during World War II is tempered by his unenviable post with a bomb disposal unit. Assigned to a fatality-heavy team that defuses unexploded German bombs scattered throughout London during the blitz, Ash faces down his terror and eventually becomes the closest thing to an expert one can be dismantling sometimes booby-trapped ordnance. In doing so, he earns the respect of his superiors as well as from the enlisted men working under him, and his protracted survival is nothing short of miraculous considering the tragic number of friends and colleagues Ash loses.
There is a dark side, however. The longer Ash sticks with his unit, the more obsessive he becomes about his responsibility to keep London safe. Meanwhile, his nerves grow frayed and his morale collapses. Ash's desperate romance with a married woman (Judy Geeson) provides him little to hold onto, and when a true crisis ambushes his spirit toward the end, one can't be sure if he's headed for the scrap heap of permanent casualties. Based on the recollections of an actual wartime bomb disposer, Danger UXB was created by John Hawkesworth, who later produced (and wrote many episodes for) the fantastic Sherlock Holmes TV series starring Jeremy Brett. Despite many tense moments in Danger UXB's 13 episodes--one is always expecting a bomb to blow away a favorite character--the show is also graced by great humor (Ash's crew sometimes bring to mind Sergeant Bilko's hustlers) and a warm, likable cast. Andrews himself, perhaps, has never been better. This boxed set includes a History Channel documentary, "Bomb Squad." --Tom Keogh
Video Description
How do you live when your job can kill you--as well as everyone else around you? The year is 1940, and the blitzkrieg is in full force. A furious battle is being waged over British skies. On the ground, bombs explode by the thousands. The land is far from safe, as many more bombs lie amidst the rubble, waiting to detonate. Lieutenant Brian Ash and the brave men of the 97th Tunneling Company must accomplish their ongoing mission: to defuse all unexploded bombs (UXBs). These are the stories of their lives--unsung heroes and their wives, lovers, and families, all facing the pressures of one of the war's deadliest jobs. Brought to you by the awarding-winning producer of Upstairs, Downstairs, DANGER UXB features Anthony Andrews (Brideshead Revisited) and a stellar supporting cast. Based on actual war memoirs, all 13 compelling and intelligently written episodes of this series are now available on DVD for the first time. DVD Features: "Bomb Squad" Episode from THE HISTORY CHANNELs award-winning series SUICIDE MISSIONS; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection