A La Recherche Du Bombs Perdu

Sorry, couldn't resist the title.

I'm always a bit leary about going back and revisiting a program or movie I used to love but haven't seen in a while for fear of destroying fond memories through the realization that what I enjoyed back then did not age well. So it was with some trepidation that I ordered Danger: UXB from Netflix.

Well, I watched the first two episodes last evening and I'm happy to report that they were every bit as enjoyable as I remember, right down to the punchy march music over the closing credits.

For those of you unfamiliar with this series, it was released back in 1979 and is the story of a Bomb Disposal Squad of the Royal Engineers during the Blitz. The program is well written, well acted and quite exciting, a typical product of the great John Hawkesworth at the height of his powers. (He also produced such series from the glory years of Mawsterpiece Thee-ay-ter as Upstairs, Downstairs, The Duchess of Duke Street, The Flame Trees of Thika and By The Sword Divided. Yes, in those days, Alistair Cooke ruled Sunday nights at my house.) I'm glad that none of the luster seems to have worn off.

The series stars the then up-and-coming Anthony Andrews as Lt. Brian Ash. Andrews' fame seemed to peak shortly thereafter with his role as Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited, and then started a steady decline. Perhaps it's a question for another post, but Mom routinely states that Andrews and Jeromy Irons never should have switched roles in Brideshead (Andrews was originally cast as Charles Ryder, who Irons ultimately played) on the grounds that Irons looked much more like Diana Quick, who played Sebastian's sister Julia. Somebody recently told me, by the way that Andrews comes from an old acting family, which I think is rather nice.

Anyhoo, if you haven't seen this series in a while or are interested in exploring some new-to-you WWII drama, I'd heartily recommend checking it out.