James and the Coaches

"If you can't behave, I will take away your red coat and have you painted blue!"

- The Fat Controller

James and the Coaches, retitled James Learns a Lesson in American releases, is the eighth episode of the first season.

Plot
James returns from the Works and double-heads a train with Edward. Things start off shaky when James showers the Fat Controller's top-hat with steam. And then, two of the coaches over-run Dryaw's platform and they have to back up to let the passengers out. The next day, the Fat Controller threatens to paint James blue. James is furious, and is so careless with his coaches that he causes a leak in a brakepipe. His crew ingeniously fixes the leak with some sheets of newspaper and a leather bootlace belonging to a man on the train. James feels silly and takes care never to bump coaches again.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * James
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Clarabel
 * Jeremiah Jobling (not named)
 * Annie (cameo)
 * Gordon (mentioned)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Knapford
 * Dryaw
 * Elsbridge
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Maron
 * Henry's Tunnel

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the stories James and the Top-Hat and James and the Bootlace from The Railway Series book, James the Red Engine.
 * Stock footage from Thomas and the Breakdown Train is used.
 * A train passing Edward and James, when they are in front of the Fat Controller, has a truck with "NE" painted on the side.
 * The two coaches at the end of James' train are Annie and Clarabel (in that order).
 * In both Ringo Starr narrations, when James meets Thomas, Thomas says, "Hello James, feeling better? That's right!" In the George Carlin narration, he says, "...feeling better? That's good!"
 * When James lets off steam and ruins Sir Topham Hatt's top hat, George Carlin makes a "weesh" which is absent in both Ringo Starr narrations.
 * When James stops after making a hole in the brake pipe, in both Ringo Starr narrations, his driver says that the brakes were "hard" on. In the George Carlin narration, he simply says that they're on.
 * This is the first episode centering around James.

Goofs

 * While the Fat Controller is talking to Edward and James, a train passing them has a brakevan in the middle of its train.
 * It is mentioned that the events of the previous episode happened on James' first day. However, James had appeared in every single episode leading up to the airing of the aforementioned episode.
 * Clarabel is facing the wrong way when Thomas leaves the junction.
 * A member of James' crew is blonde at the beginning, but when his crew wonder how to fix the leak all three have dark hair.
 * When James and Edward overrun the platform, they are on Thomas' Branch Line.

Episode
Video:James and the Coaches - British narration|UK narration Video:James Learns A Lesson - Ringo Starr American narration|Ringo Starr US narration Video:James Learns A Lesson - George Carlin American narration|George Carlin narration