Thomas and the Rumours

"Harold wants to get rid of us." "He doesn't need tunnels!" "Don't worry; he's just counting sheep!" "Counting sheep? Pah! He's counting how many engines he can get rid of!"

- Gordon, Henry and Percy

Thomas and the Rumours, renamed Thomas and the Rumors in American releases, is the seventeenth episode of the fifth season.

Plot
Some children are upset that their playground has been closed, but before Thomas can tell the others, Percy butts in with news that Harold has been hired to show a special visitor around Sodor, and the other engines think that the visitor wants to replace the engines with Harold. A few days later, Gordon is going to collect his train when he sees Harold and goes down the wrong line into a tunnel being bored. Thomas is worried that Gordon will be scrapped, but the Fat Controller laughs and says Harold was hired so the man could find a new site for the playground from the air. The man declares that the sand cleared from the tunnel will be perfect for the playground.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * The Special Visitor
 * Harold (does not speak)
 * Duck (cameo)
 * Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
 * Jem Cole (cameo)
 * Farmer Trotter (cameo)

Locations

 * Callan
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Henry's Tunnel
 * Glennock
 * The School
 * The Windmill

Trivia

 * Stock footage from Trucks! is used.
 * When Gordon hits the tunnel, music is heard in the US version but not in the UK version.
 * Michael Angelis says "But it was too late", long after Alec Baldwin does.
 * In the UK, the special visitor says "Found by accident and by rumour you might say." In the US, he says "Sand we found by accident you might say."
 * The Italian title is "Do Not Listen to Rumors!". In Japan, this episode is called "Thomas and the Playground". The German title is "Gossip Factory".

Goofs

 * When Thomas puffs into the yard, the decals on the milk wagon beside him are incorrectly placed.
 * When Percy is on the turntable, part of its fencing is snapped.
 * Studio equipment can be seen in the top-left corner in the close-up of Henry before he enters the tunnel.
 * Percy does not have his own branch line, as opposed to this episode's script.
 * Why would Gordon's driver take the rumour so seriously?
 * When the engines look up at Harold at the end, Henry's eyes look wonky.
 * When Thomas puffs out of Callan, a signal tilts slightly to one side.
 * When the children tell Thomas about the playground, one child looks happy.
 * The title card of the US version uses the UK spelling of "rumours".
 * When Thomas passes the playground saying, "The Children were right" there is a sign saying "Playground closed until further notice" at the back of the playground. However, when Gordon passes the playground, the sign is gone.
 * Percy's eyes are wonky when Gordon replies about counting sheep.
 * The special visitor's small scale model is wearing a grey suit while the large scale model is wearing a yellow suit.

Quotes

 * Henry: "Harold might think he's more important than me, but he's not! Harold can't fly through tunnels!"
 * Percy: "I know what he's doing! He's counting sheep!"