Danger UXD

Only Fools and Horses episode
"Danger UXD"
Series	6
Writer	John Sullivan
Director	Tony Dow
Producer	Gareth Gwenlan
Duration	50 minutes 48:12 (DVD) 48:16 (iTunes)
Airdate	15 January, 1989
Audience	16.1 million

"Danger UXD" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. It was the second episode of series 6 and first broadcast on 15 January, 1989.

Synopsis

While continuing to follow the yuppy lifestyle, Del Boy encourages Rodney to join in the fun. Also, Del's latest items to flog are VCRs from Ronnie Nelson and fresh tomatoes from Jersey.

At the Nag's Head, Denzil tells Mike and the Trotters that he should be taking his wife, Corrine out for the evening to celebrate their anniversary, but can't due to picking up a faulty stock of 50 dolls from a shop in High Wycombe. Del takes the dolls off Denzil.

Back at the flat, the Trotters discover that the dolls are uninflated sex dolls called Lusty Linda and Erotic Estelle. Del suggests that they take the dolls down to a man named Dirty Barry, who owns a sex shop.

At a Chinese takeaway, Denzil watches London Plus and finds out that the dolls are filled with propane gas, which will explode if exposed to heat. Denzil zooms out of the takeaway after paying, but not claiming his meal.

That night, back at the flat, after Del find that the VCR has recorded the wrong programme, Rodney informs Del that the VCRs are made only for use in mainland Europe and cannot be used in the United Kingdom. Del admits that he has already sold most of them! At that moment, the two sex dolls from behind the cocktail bar inflate instantly. The Trotters proceed to deflate the dolls, but can't due to their faulty valves. When Rodney gets dressed for a date with Cassandra, Del gets an idea on how to get the dolls to Dirty Barry's.

Back at the Nag's Head, Trigger complains about the "fresh Jersey" tomatoes, and Boycie turns out to be the one who bought the faulty video recorders. Denzil comes bursting in and tells them about the dolls and how he has to get in touch with Del. Boycie and Mike cackle nastily on hearing that Del has fifty time bombs on his hand which could blow him to kingdom come!

Outside Nelson Mandela House, Rodney and Del come out with the two dolls dressed in their late mother Joan's clothes. The Trotters throw the dolls in their van, and Rodney heads off to meet up with Cassandra, leaving Del and Albert to drive down to Dirty Barry's. Del and Albert arrive at Dirty Barry's place, only to find out that he's had his licence revoked by the council. With nowhere else to drop them off, Del and Albert head back to the van to think of another way to get rid of the dolls.

At a restaurant, Cassandra warns Rodney of the unexploded sex dolls that she's heard about on the news. Eventually, Del and Rodney quickly take the two inflated dolls and dump them in a derelict area. The dolls explode in time for the Trotter brothers to get clear. The Trotter brothers head back to their van, only to find out that more of the dolls are inflating. Del and Rodney bail out of the van and run off into the night.

On 21 December 2006, a scene from this episode was voted number 4 in the UKTV Gold Top 40 Greatest Only Fools Moments. The scene in question was that when one of the blow up dolls blows up by itself, which lead Del Boy, Rodney, and Uncle Albert to hysterically leave the room.^[1]

Episode cast

Actor Role David Jason Del Boy Nicholas Lyndhurst Rodney Buster Merryfield Uncle Albert Roger Lloyd Pack Trigger Gwyneth Strong Cassandra Kenneth MacDonald Mike John Challis Boycie

Actor Role Paul Barber Denzil Walter Sparrow Dirty Barry Paul Cooper Waiter Michael Shallard Adrian Takashi Kawahara Chinese takeaway owner David Warwick TV Presenter Tommy Buson Clayton Cooper

Story arc

• In this episode it is revealed that Denzil has established a new company, Transworld Express. This company is mentioned in a number of later episodes, such as "Mother Nature's Son" and marks a permanent career change for the character.
• The minor character Clayton Cooper would appear again in the 2010 prequel Rock & Chips as the boyfriend of Renee Turpin. He does not appear in "Five Gold Rings" or "The Frog and the Pussycat", although it is unknown if he was to return in any of the four unproduced episodes.

Errors

• Rodney informs Del that his VCRs are designed for use in continental Europe, and when hooked up to the UK power system, quickly burn out and fail. In fact, aside from a differently shaped plug, there is no major difference between the UK and continental power systems. A French-market VCR with a manually-adjusted(or mechanical) tuner (such as one adjusted with thumbwheels or screws via screwdrivers) would fail in the UK due to the incompatibility between the SECAM television system used in France and the PAL-I system used in the UK, which a SECAM VCR can only record in monochrome; most of the rest of Europe uses the PAL-B/G system, and again a VCR designed for this system would fail in the UK, in this case by not recording the soundtrack. A PAL or SECAM-intended VCR with an electronic memory tuner (where the tuner is programmed by buttons), with the right programming at the factory, can record the opposite system with no problems, a few electronic tuner VCRs, however, are only intended for a PAL or SECAM market and will not record the other system. VCRs for PAL or SECAM will not record (though some will play back) tapes recorded on the American NTSC colour system. It will not work vice-versa either (NTSC to PAL/NTSC to SECAM).

Trivia

The episode title refers to Danger UXB, a 1979 British television series. UXB means Unexploded Bomb, in this episode UXD means Unexploded Doll.

Music

• UB40 : Come Out To Play
• Erasure : Stop
• The Pasadenas : Tribute (Right On)
• The Waterboys : Fisherman's Blues
• Joe Jackson : Is You Is or Is You Isn't My Baby
• Joe Jackson : Jack, You're Dead

Notes

1. ^ "Top 10 Only Fools Moments". UK Gold. 21 December 2006. http://uktv.co.uk/index.cfm/uktv/Gold.stepbystep/aid/579394. Retrieved 2006-12-21. 

External links

• "Danger UXD" at BBC Online

Preceded by "Yuppy Love"

Only Fools and Horses 15 January, 1989

Succeeded by "Chain Gang"