Danger UXD

"Danger UXD" was the second episode in the 6th series of Only Fools And Horses, airing on the 15th January 1989 with a viewing figure of 16.1 million. Del Boy and Rodney Trotter have invested in some inflatable dolls which have been wrongly fitted with an explosive gas.

Synopsis[]

Del Boy has bought some new video recorders. He says the machines will sell well and make them millionaires. At the same time Del tries to rub off his new yuppy image onto Rodney. Aluminium briefcase, filofax the works. Del has also bought a consignment of tomatoes as well. He tells Rodney and Albert to load up the two boxes of tomatoes into the van and not forgetting the rest, opening a fridge door full of tomatoes. In The Nags Head, Denzil is talking to Mike. Denzel says how Del has advised him to name his new delivery company to make it look yuppified. Mike says how Del Boy is frequenting the wine bars and bistros around Peckham. He points to some yuppies at a table, saying they only come into the pub to avoid Del. An usually cheery Del Boy comes in much to the disgust of the yuppies, Chloe and Adrian who like to avoid Del.

Denzel tells Del and Rodney that he took his wife, Corrine out for the evening to celebrate their anniversary, despite picking up a faulty stock of 50 dolls from a shop in High Wycombe and having to take them back to the factory, intending to take them in Monday. However there was a fire at the factory so Denzil can't take them in, and has to hand in a form to show he returned the dolls. He worries that they will think he has become unreliable or is nicking stuff. Del forges a signature from the factory and buys the dolls off Denzil. Del said they never check these signatures and according to Denzel's bosses, those 50 dolls went up with the rest of them.

But back at the flat Del, Rodney and Albert open up the boxes and find that the dolls are not just ordinary dolls but life size inflatable sex dolls. Rodney berates Del for making quick decisions too often. Del suggests they take the dolls down to Dirty Barry that night.

That night Denzel goes into a Chinese Takeaway, his food is almost ready, he pays for it, but on the TV above the counter Denzel watches the news where the newsreader, David Edwards, has said the police are on the lookout for a batch of 50 inflatable dolls which went missing from a factory which burnt down over the weekend and that they have been fitted with the wrong gas and are suspected to have caused the fire at the factory. Denzel knows these are the same 50 dolls Del bought off him. Denzel then rushes out of the Chinese takeaway. The owner tries to call after him saying his food is ready but says to a customer that they usually take their food and run off without paying, not the other way round.

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. As they settle down to read the paper, they hear a funny noise. The dolls that Albert threw behind the bar earlier on have inflated due to being near the radiator. They try to deflate the dolls but cant due to their faulty valves. Rodney gets ready to go on his date with Cassandra but as he leaves, Del finds a way to get the dolls to Dirty Barry without anyone seeing them load them into the van. To dress them in his late mum Joan Mavis Trotter's clothing to make them look like real people.

At The Nags Head, Trigger is complaining about the tomatoes and Boycie says to Mike that he is the man who bought the video recorders off Del. 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. An old West Indian man, Clayton Cooper, mistakes them for real women and Del imitates a female voice. The Trotters throw the dolls in their van, and Rodney heads off to meet up with Cassandra, leaving Del and Albert to drive to Dirty Barrys. Del calls Rodney back and asks him if he is coming to Dirty Barry's and Rodney says he is not. He is more worried about his date with Cassandra so walks off, saying "YP" to Del, meaning "your problem". Del then gets in the van and drives away, and turns left down a road, but as he does, Denzel drives in from a road to the right, and they do not see each other. Denzel gets out of the van and rushes up to Del's flat, unaware Del has just gone out.

About half an hour later, Rodney and Cassandra are having their meal. Cassandra mildly berates Rodney for saying he lived in a mansion down King's Avenue instead of a 12 floor flat in a towerblock. Rodney says it is still a big house, it has 70 flats. Cassie says she would love to meet Rodney's brother and Rodney almost chokes on his beer. He says Del can be intelligent but most of the time is baffling.

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, Del thinking they should hold them until the market picks up again. They will hang on to them and wait for the big bang.

Back at restaurant, Cassandra warns Rodney of the unexploded sex dolls that she's heard about on the news. She says how they were accidentally filled with an explosive gas. Rodney hides the fact that he knows about them, and pretends to laugh, and failing miserably. Rodney then feigns illness. One of the restaurateur's overhears Rodney leaving saying he is sick and asks to another man where they got those tomatoes from.

Half an hour or so later, Del and Rodney bung the dolls into the back of their van. Del says he will smack Rodney in the mouth if he is pulling his leg. Del is spraying the dolls to keep them cool. The eventually drop the dolls off in a remote derelict area. 3 elderly vagrants sat round a fire look on strangely. Del says he is just dropping 2 girls off. Del wants to take his late mothers clothing off them then leave them but as they do the dolls explode. The 3 vagrants look on strangely. Del says he told the girls not to have the mutton vindaloo.

As Del and Rodney get back into the van, another doll inflates, causing Del and Rodney to get out of the van and run off into the night.

Cast[]

Main cast

Guest cast

Adrian - Michael Shallard
Takeaway owner - Takashi Kawahara
Clayton Cooper - Tommy Buson
Dirty Barry - Walter Sparrow
Newsreader - David Warwick
Waiter - Paul Cooper
3 vagrants - Uncredited

Previous Episode Yuppy Love[]

Next Episode Chain Gang[]

Observations[]

The idea for the script goes way back to during filming "It Never Rains..." on Nicholas Lyndhurst's 21st birthday.
This episode was the first episode to feature location scenes for "Nelson Mandela House" at Whitemead House, Bristol. Before that location scenes were filmed at Harlech Tower in Acton, West London, although the exterior of "Nelson Mandela House" was not seen in Series 5, 1986, 1987, and 1988 Christmas specials, and the Series 6 opener "Yuppy Love".
This episode refers to the scene in Strained Relations, when Albert moves in with Del and Rodney. In "Danger UXD" Del jokes that him and Rodney felt bad luck when Albert moved in.
Denzil, who was last seen in "To Hull and Back", makes a return 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 his character.
The minor character Clayton Cooper would appear again in the first episode of the prequel trilogy Rock & Chips.

Blunders[]

Locations seen[]

The Trotters flat (living room, kitchen, entrance hallway)
The Nag's Head (main bar)
Chinese takeaway (waiting area, counter, TV)
Nelson Mandela House exterior (car park, towerblocks)
Unknown restaurant (seating area, entrance area)
Walworth Road
Alleyway off Walworth Road
Dirty Barry's shop exterior (door)
Dirty Barry's shop (hallway, storage area, counter)
Run down area (old buildings, grassy area, road)