The Smelly Kipper

"James is scared of the smelly fish! James is scared of the smelly fish!"

- The Troublesome Trucks

The Smelly Kipper is the twenty-fourth episode of the seventeenth season.

Plot
One evening at Tidmouth Sheds, James is teasing Percy about being scared of the dark, so Henry challenges him to take "The Flying Kipper" that night.

When James arrives at Brendan Docks, he notices a terrible smell. Porter, who is shunting the trucks for the Flying Kipper, explains that it is the fish. James explains that he usually pulls coaches, so he goes back to Tidmouth Sheds to wake Henry up.

Henry remembers the promise James made, however, James tricks the big green engine into thinking that it was just a dream, so Henry, without dillydallying, sets off to pull the Flying Kipper.

However, the deliveries were late, getting Henry into trouble with the Fat Controller the next morning. Henry explains the "dream" he had last night, but Thomas and Gordon explain that they heard Henry and James' conversation, thus telling him it was not a dream after all.

James starts to feel silly and explains to the Fat Controller that the fish were too smelly for him, but the Fat Controller decides that, smelly or not, James is to pull the train that night to make up for his broken promise.

That night, when James arrives to take the Flying Kipper, he bumps into Cranky's hook while he was unloading, and the red engine is covered in fish. Soon James takes the Flying Kipper, and is praised by the Fat Controller the next morning.

James soon notices a fish on his running board and he is immediately sent to the washdown.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Porter
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Edward (cameo)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Brendam Docks
 * Knapford
 * Maron
 * Kellsthorpe
 * The Washdown
 * Sodor Shipping Company

Trivia

 * Some elements of this episode are borrowed from the Railway Series story Sliding Scales which also had James pulling the Flying Kipper, albeit unsuccessfully.
 * Going by production order, this is the twelfth episode of the seventeenth season.

Goofs

 * When James returns from the docks for the first time, the footage is not cut properly when James reverses off the turntable and into his berth.
 * When James returns from the docks, Percy can be seen in the shed, but he went out to deliver the mail and it is unlikely he would have finished so quickly.
 * When James reverses out of the docks, the two troublesome trucks at the front of the Flying Kipper have disappeared.
 * James reverses into the pallet of fish, but the fish fall onto his smokebox rather than his tender.
 * At the end of the shot where Gordon says "it looks like he's brought a present for the Fat Controller", a small black box glitch briefly appears on the screen by Thomas' wheels. In the same scene, Gordon is missing his lamp irons.
 * The narrator incorrectly refers to the pallet of fish Cranky is moving as Cranky's hook.

Take-n-Play

 * James' Flying Fish

Wooden Railway

 * James' Fishy Delivery

Books

 * Spills and Thrills/No More Mr. Nice Engine!