Thomas, Percy and the Dragon

"Look out, Percy! Or the dragon may gobble you up!"

- James

Thomas, Percy and the Dragon is the seventh episode of the third season. In the US, this episode first aired on the Shining Time Station episode Scare Dares.

Plot
Percy is still ribbing Thomas about the time he thought Percy was a ghost. Thomas pays no attention, and one night is asked to collect a special load from Brendam. Thomas is horrified to find it is a dragon, but his driver tells him it is made of paper and is needed for a carnival.

Meanwhile, Percy is stuck in a siding while shunting and has to stay there for the night because of jammed points. Thomas passes by with the dragon and Percy is so terrified that he doesn't sleep at all.

The next day Percy sees the dragon again, but is indignant when he sees Thomas pushing it. Thomas explained what happened and the two make up their teasing.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Henry (does not speak)
 * Duck (cameo)
 * Diesel (cameo)
 * Bertie (cameo)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Elsbridge
 * Brendam
 * Knapford
 * Lower Suddery
 * Shunting Yards

Trivia

 * In the restored version, in the last shot of Thomas and Percy in the shed, Thomas looks cross instead of asleep.
 * A reference to Ghost Train is made in this episode.
 * A deleted scene shows Gordon passing Percy in the siding instead of James.
 * In the US narration, the narrator says "Percy woke up with a start" after Thomas scares Percy with the Chinese dragon. This is absent in the UK version.
 * Big Mickey, from Thomas and Friends' sister show, TUGS, makes his first appearance in the show as a background character. He continues to be a background character to this day, even making it into CGI.
 * In Germany, this episode is called "The Mysterious Dragon".
 * S.S. Vienna's model from TUGS appears in the scenes at the docks.
 * In the US narration, the owl hoots once while in the UK narration, it hoots twice.
 * In the US narration, When the narrator says "'Look out Percy' chuckled James 'or the Dragon may gobbing you up'", a music cue is heard but it is faded out in the UK and Japanese versions.
 * This is based on the two Andrew Brenner magazine stories, "Percy's Night Out" and "Percy and the Dragon".

Goofs

 * The dragon was said to be covered in lights, but it was actually lit up from underneath.
 * The steam vent goes off too early when Thomas blows steam at Percy.
 * In the shot of Henry, James, and Duck, Henry's front wheels are derailed.
 * When Thomas goes under the bridge, the rails on the left end.
 * In the overhead shots of the jammed points, a truck next to Percy is derailed.
 * In the scene of Thomas and Percy in Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas is in a middle berth. But, the morning after, Thomas has moved to the berth on the far right.
 * George Carlin uses the term guard at one point.
 * Wires can be seen under the tarp on the flatbed in front of the dragon when Thomas passes Percy. These are most likely wires connecting the power source to the dragon's lights.
 * A brakevan should have been added to Thomas' train.
 * When Thomas arrives at Elsbridge, his lamp is wonky.

Quotes

 * Gordon: "You've been sitting in the sun too long! Your dome has cracked!"


 * Percy: "No one believes me! Maybe I did imagine the dragon after all."

Merchandise

 * Motor Road and Rail (discontinued)
 * TrackMaster (UK only; discontinued)