Fabula
Object
Object

UNIT Demolition Charges Targeting Llanfairfach Pithead

Military explosives handled by UNIT during bioweapons containment operation at Llanfairfach Colliery
3 appearances

Purpose

To collapse the mine shaft and pithead buildings, sealing the entrance to contain a biological infestation and prevent its spread into the surrounding town and environment.

Significance

The charges represent the Brigadier’s militarized response to the crisis, prioritizing containment over preservation of life or evidence. Their detonation becomes the point of no return, forcing the Doctor to act before Stevens’ reckless bioweapons experiment claims more lives and burrows deeper into the earth. The explosives embody the collision between military necessity and ethical science, a choice that risks burying infected miners and destroying critical forensic evidence.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments
S10E24 · The Green Death Part 4
Demolition plans spark local confrontation

UNIT engineers unload military-grade demolition charges from crates near the main gate, positioning them for placement in the colliery as ordered by the Brigadier. The process is interrupted when the milkman's confrontation causes a pause in operations, forcing the Brigadier to momentarily shift focus from technical execution to public relations.

Before: Stored in olive-drab crates by the main gate, ready for deployment
After: Still positioned for deployment but preparation briefly delayed by confrontation
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S10E24 · The Green Death Part 4
Brigadier orders mine collapse to contain maggot horde

The demolition charges, wired into structural supports deep within the mine, are moments from detonation as part of UNIT’s controlled collapse operation. Sergeant Benton confirms final connections under the Brigadier’s countdown, their olive-drab casings glowing faintly in the dim mine light, now live with lethal potential.

Before: Stored in olive crates at the mine entrance, assembled and armed but not yet active
After: Armed and connected, seconds from detonation
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S10E24 · The Green Death Part 4
Brigadier orders mine detonation

The military-grade demolition charges, already wired in series beneath the colliery's structural beams, are detonated on the Brigadier's order. Their synchronized eruption collapses the mine's support systems, ensuring the pithead buildings are destroyed in the resulting fireball.

Before: Cylindrical demolition blocks with red warning bands were fixed in position underground, connected in series along mine beams with 60-second fuse delays awaiting final authorization.
After: Charges detonated, blasting structural supports and collapsing the colliery entrance with a fireball that engulfs the pithead buildings beyond recognition.
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