History Series / DropTheDeadDonkey

** In payback for Globelink repeatedly undercutting her wages, Gus's cleaning lady urinates in his executive coffee machine once a week.

* DuctTapeForEverything: Even for faking executions.
** More ''retaking'' executions.
* EmpathyDollShot: Damien carries a teddybear named Dimbles around with him for disaster stories. [[CrossesTheLineTwice And a blood-stained plimsol]].

* FriendlyEnemy: Henry to Sally in the last episode: ''"You know, I'm going to rather miss this."'' And in an earlier episode, when Sally [[spoiler:recovers from her period of Evangelism, during which she was polite to people and didn't react to Henry's insults]], Henry is absolutely delighted to have her back to normal.

* TheGhost: Sir Royston Merchant, the owner of Globelink News, and Gerry, Damien's unlucky cameraman.
** [[spoiler:Well, Sir Royston until the end of the last episode]]

-->Helen - "It's not like you can start a war or anything!"
-->Damien - "Yeah, that would never work again..."

** Used as a running joke with much of what Gus says about mental illness and loneliness

* HeyItsThatGuy: Anyone who first watched ''{{Ballykissangel}}'' and discovered this comedy later will be taken aback to see the decent and self-effacing Father Clifford (Peter Tomkinson) as psychopathic news reporter Damien Day.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: George, usually a complete wimp, has held a thug at fork-point, paid to have Damien's car set on fire, and tied up and tortured Gus during a paintball game. All also double as George's [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments Of Awesome]], partly just from sheer contrast.

* TheNotSecret: [[spoiler: Helen agonises for years over telling her parents that she's a lesbian. After her father's funeral, she finally tells her mother, who instantly responds "Of course you are." They figured it out years ago and were waiting for her to tell them in her own time. And later, she admits she had "a bit of a phase" in her time.]]

* FluffyTheTerrible: Joy Merryweather.

* TheTroubles: ''"What do people think they're dying of, stress?"''

* HeroicSociopath: Joy.

* PaintballEpisode: Partly justified as Damien, Gus, Joy, and George ignore all the rules so they can work out their grudges against their colleagues.

** It should be said that "Royston Merchant"'s initials, RM, were shared by two highly unpleasant newspaper moguls who at the time were branching out into owning TV stations. While Britain's TV is regulated and all news and current affairs footage is legally required to be impartial and even-handed, GlobeLink TV was meant to be an awful warning about the unhealthy power an owner can exert over the media he owns. There is no such regulation over British newspapers, which explains why ''Robert Maxwell'' and ''Rupert Murdoch'' were - and are - allowed to get away with murder. And in America, Rupert Murdoch owns FOX TV. Where there is no regulation designed to enforce even-handedness in news broadcasting...

* WordSaladTitle: WordOfGod has it the title is only meant to ''sound'' like something that would be said in a high-pressure newsroom. (Originally it was "Dead Belgians Don't Count".)
** Actually, it alludes to ITN's flagship ''News At Ten'', where editorial policy was to end every night with some sort of lightweight, preferably animal related, story. The "Dead Donkey" related to some sort of fiesta tradition in Spain involving dropping a donkey off the church tower - British animal rights charities exposed this sort of thing regularly, much to the irritation of the Spanish, who thought it was none of their business. The other sense of "drop the dead donkey" was when serious news broke - therefore the lightweight animal story about , for instance, plucky Brits rescuing persecuted Spanish donkeys, had to be "dropped" from the run to allow more room for the big news item.

* EstrogenBrigadeBait: The Chippendales episode had this.

* PointyHairedBoss: The vacuous, hero-worshipping Gus, who talks almost exclusively in management speak. He would appear to be a living, breathing example of the [[{{Dilbert}} Adams principle]].

Much like ''SouthPark'', the show was produced close enough to its airtime that constant {{Take That}}'s were made to weekly issues. Possibly the most cynical look at a Newsroom ever - and that's with some stiff competition.

** Made even more hilarious by the fact that aforementioned thug was played by an as-yet-unknown ''DanielCraig''.

* BritishBrevity: Subverts this somewhat, as most seasons (1-5) are 12 episodes long, and only Season 6 (filmed after the end of the 1979-97 Conservative government, and thus noticeably light on topical humour) was the standard 6 episodes long.

* DeadpanSnarker: Dave, Alex, Helen, and Joy.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:George gives up the chance for a life of happiness with his new love in Australia to nurse his manipulative ex-wife after she has a heart attack. Sir Royston burns down the building in an insurance fraud, but even then Gus is in denial that Globelink is closing and is left sitting in the condemned office, a broken man.]]

* FriendlyEnemy: Henry to Sally in the last episode: ''"You know, I'm going to rather miss this."''

* HiddenHeartOfGold: Very possibly ''also'' Joy, considering the episode with her brother, but -- ''really'' hidden.

* IntrepidReporter: Damien sells himself as this, but most of his stories are doctored for added drama, faked, or engineered by ''him''.
* {{Jerkass}}: Pretty much every character.

* ManipulativeBastard: Everyone in the series, at one point or another.

* PapaWolf: George when Deborah joins a gang of muggers. [[spoiler:He holds a toasting fork to the leader's neck and makes him sing "the birdie song".]]

* RichBitch: Sally. Vacuous, elitist, uptight, condescending ''Sally''.

* SympathyForTheDevil: Sally, Gus, and Damien - usually complete bastards - each get an episode which shows how sad and lonely they are.

* TakeThat: Every episode, every five minutes, to every notable politician during the show's run.

** TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: [[invoked]] Absurdly pretentious modern art abounds as Joy mixes with artists who love her sketches. The regular characters (Joy included) think it's all a ridiculous con, and a critic at a showing of her work suggests she's too naive to understand. When she knocks him out, [[AllPartOfTheShow someone else assumes he's an installation]].

** TrueArtIsOffensive: [[invoked]] Gus buys a artwork that's a cutout of Sir Royston and a bucket of vomit to prevent it being displayed. While delivering it to him, the art dealer's eye is caught by the rage and violence in Joy's doodling ("I don't think I've ever seen a man stabbed with own penis before.")