Cranky Bugs

"Heeeelp!" "I can't!"

- The engines and Cranky

Cranky Bugs is the first episode of the fifth season.

Plot
Thomas and Percy enjoy working at the docks, but one day, they find themselves delayed when a new crane named Cranky pushes his weight around and messes up their work. Thomas and Percy tell James and Gordon about Cranky. Gordon believes that cranes need a lot of attention like him, and James tells Thomas and Percy that they should see the situation from Cranky's point of view, high up in the air, coping with wind, rain, and baking sun, looking down on the two engines being annoying.

Matters are made even worse when Cranky finds out Gordon and James agree with his ways, causing him to be more bossy. He tells Percy to shunt some trucks closer to him. Percy is too upset to concentrate and he pushes the trucks too far, leading Cranky to drop a crate on Percy's funnel and boiler. Cranky then plays a trick on Thomas by telling him to shunt his flatbeds to the outside line, so that it's easy for Cranky to load up. Thomas does so, but Cranky leaves the loads beside the trucks, rather than in them. The Fat Controller believes Thomas and Percy are responsible for the confusion and delay and is most upset. He sends the two engines to the sheds to consider how they will improve themselves the next day.

That night, a storm traps Henry, Gordon, James, and Duck in the harbour shed. Duck is sure that they will be safe, but a tramp steamer crashes and runs aground into the quayside, knocking down the shed, and causing Cranky to land on his side. When the storm is over, The Fat Controller tells Cranky that Thomas and Percy are coming to help him, and that he can help the other engines. Cranky tells The Fat Controller to say sorry that he was rude to them, and The Fat Controller then realises that he owes the two engines an apology. Thomas and Percy come to the rescue, and it's not long before Cranky is upright again, and releasing the engines from what remains of the shed. Cranky then mistakenly calls his rescuers "mites". Percy, offended, starts to puff away not realizing, despite Thomas' warnings, that he is still attached to Cranky, and pulls him down again.

Cranky still looks down on Thomas and Percy, but ever since that stormy night, he never causes trouble for them again.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Duck
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Butch (cameo)
 * Edward (original concept only)

Locations

 * Brendam Docks
 * Tidmouth Sheds (stock footage)

Trivia

 * Stock footage from Henry's Forest is used.
 * Big Mickey, S.S. Vienna and Izzy Gomez from TUGS can be seen.
 * This is the first episode of a few things:
 * The first episode narrated by Alec Baldwin in the US, Tommy Kenter in Denmark and Gro Solemdal in Norway.
 * This was David Maidment's first episode as the railway consultant.


 * In the first shot of Brendam, there is a truck that has "N. E." written on it. It has the number 8 on it as well.
 * The barrel the Fat Controller stands on near the end of the episode is the "Best Quality Diesel Oil" barrel from Bowled Out.
 * Concept art shows that Edward was originally going to be in the episode during the tramp steamer scene.

Goofs

 * In one of the close-ups of Thomas and Percy looking at Cranky, Thomas' buffers are misplaced.
 * When Cranky complains about the load and the engines, Thomas and Percy both have flatbeds in front of them. But when Cranky bangs the load down and the camera turns to Thomas and Percy, the flatbeds are not coupled to them.
 * When Gordon says "Cranes are airy fairy things...", one of his buffers is bent.
 * In the UK version, Duck is mistakenly referred to as a big engine.
 * In some close-ups of Cranky, his eye mechanism is visible through his windows.
 * When Gordon says, "Thank you. What would I have done without you?", his lamp is not attached to the lamp iron.
 * Cranky's position at the docks changes between the day and night sequences.
 * When Cranky says "I'll never be rude again..." the previous close up shot of Cranky is mirrored.

UK

 * Rescues on the Railways
 * My Little Thomas and Percy Adventures
 * The Very Best of Thomas and Friends
 * The Complete Fifth Series
 * The Best of Thomas

US

 * Cranky Bugs and Other Thomas Stories
 * The Greatest Stories

AUS

 * Happy Ever After
 * The Very Best of Thomas and Friends
 * The Complete Fifth Series
 * The Best of Thomas and Friends - Volume 1

GER

 * Show What You Can!

NOR

 * Fleas and 15 and other Stories
 * Songs and Tales (Norwegian VHS/DVD)

JPN

 * New Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.1
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.2
 * Welcome Aboard! Pleasant Fellow First Appearance On Sodor Island