Percy's Chocolate Crunch

"Oh be quiet!"

- Percy

Percy's Chocolate Crunch is the eighteenth episode of the sixth season.

Plot
More often than not, Percy gets the dirty jobs involving trucks and longs for a washdown as much as any engine. However, when he goes to the washdown, Percy and the other engines are informed by the Fat Controller that, due to a water shortage, all engines can only have one wash per day. This annoys Percy as he thinks that Gordon only needs a washdown to feel important. Gordon points that he is important as he pulls the express.

Percy goes back to work, determined not to get dirty. However, that is easier said than done as the trucks give Percy a hard time; they pull him right under the coal hopper. On their way to Callan, the trucks tease Percy by calling him "Dirty Percy". At Callan, Percy shunts the coal trucks into a siding, right alongside Harold who is unloading medical supplies. Harold takes off, spreading cinders and ashes all over Percy. His driver reminds Percy that usefulness comes before cleanliness, but Percy wants a clean job more than anything. The driver suggests taking vans of sugar to the chocolate factory, so Percy takes the vans of sugar, feeling happy.

Percy now thinks that he finally has a clean job, but he does not reckon with a patch of oil in the siding leading to the chocolate factory. Percy slips on the oily rails and crashes through the wall right into the chocolate factory and out the other end, covered in sticky chocolate.

When Duck brings Percy back to Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas, James, and Henry tease him saying how chocolatey he is, but Gordon disapproves. The Fat Controller knows how much work Percy had done despite his problems and, as he proved that usefulness comes before cleanliness, Percy is to be rewarded with a washdown and a new coat of paint.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Harold
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Edward (cameo)
 * Toby (cameo)
 * Duck (cameo)
 * Oliver (cameo)
 * Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
 * Henrietta (cameo)
 * Nancy (cameo)
 * The Storyteller (cameo)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Callan
 * Knapford
 * Maithwaite
 * The Scottish Castle
 * Gordon's Hill
 * The Coaling Plant
 * The Viaduct
 * The Windmill
 * Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory
 * The Watermill
 * The Lighthouse
 * The Washdown

Trivia

 * In the American narration, the line "Pudding Percy" is changed to "Bon bon Percy".
 * This is one of the few episodes of the sixth season to be re-narrated by Michael Brandon.
 * Strangely, the phrase "Luckily, no one was hurt" is not stated after Percy crashes through the chocolate factory.
 * In Norway, this episode is called "Percy's Chocolate Crash" and in Czechoslovakia, it is called "Percy's Chocolate Crisis". In Japan it is called "Chocolate Crunch Percy". Its Welsh title is "Very Tasty Percy".
 * This episode was originally to be titled "Puff Puff Pastry".

Goofs

 * At the beginning, Clarabel is facing the wrong way and Oliver has Duck's whistle sound.
 * Look closely at Harold. His expression was quickly repainted to look happy.
 * It was incredibly unwise to put the chocolate factory at the foot of Gordon's Hill.
 * In the US narration, just before the trucks push Percy under the coal hopper, they are called freight cars and then trucks in the same sentence.
 * Nothing is said about Percy's driver, fireman, guard, or the factory workers after the crash.
 * Percy's roof is lifted when Harold blows cinders and ashes all over him.

Quotes

 * Narrator: Back at the sheds everyone thought it was very funny.
 * Thomas: You look good enough to eat!
 * James: Pudding Percy! (Bon Bon Percy! - US)
 * Henry: Choc ice on wheels!
 * Gordon: Disgraceful!

Merchandise

 * Take-n-Play
 * Wooden Railway (discontinued)
 * Motor Road and Rail (UK only; discontinued)
 * TrackMaster (discontinued)
 * Wind-up Trains