The Frozen Turntable

"I am not sleeping at a smelly waste dump. It's simply out of the question."

- Gordon

The Frozen Turntable, also known as Frozen Turntable is the twentieth (twenty-first in Australia) episode of the seventeenth season.

Plot
One cold evening, the steam engines return to Tidmouth Sheds, only to discover the turntable is frozen solid. Only one berth is accessible and Gordon quickly demands that he uses it. Thomas and Edward, however, believe Percy should use it, as he is pulling the mail that night and will need somewhere to sleep when he finishes. The rest of the engines decide to look elsewhere.

Flynn offers them two berths in the shed at the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre. Gordon is not pleased with this; the noise made in the case of an emergency would keep him awake. James and Emily sleep at the Rescue Centre, whilst the other engines go to the Steamworks instead. Victor explains there is only room for two engines, but Gordon states he would not get any sleep, as being at the Steamworks makes him think about breaking down. Victor suggests sleeping at Whiff's Waste Dump, but Gordon outright refuses.

Edward and Henry choose to stay at the Steamworks, leaving only Thomas and Gordon. Norman explains that one of them can sleep at the Dieselworks, but once again, Gordon refuses to accept the offer, claiming he does not like the smell, so Thomas goes to the Dieselworks instead. Despite his best efforts, Gordon is unable to think of anywhere else suitable for him to sleep, until he remembers Tidmouth Sheds. He heads back, thinking the workmen will have fixed the turntable, only to find it is still frozen.

However, Gordon has another idea. As Percy has not yet returned from his mail run, he decides to sleep in the available berth instead. When Percy finally does arrive, there is no longer any room for him and he is forced to go to Whiff's Waste Dump. However, Gordon's hopes for a peaceful night's sleep are quickly shattered when work begins on the turntable, keeping him up all night.

By morning, the turntable is finally unfrozen. Before Gordon can leave though, a test-run goes wrong and the turntable freezes again, away from Gordon's berth, preventing him from leaving the shed. The Fat Controller soon learns about what happened and assigns Percy to pull James' passenger train and James to pull the Express instead. Gordon is horrified, but there is nothing he can do about it.

It is getting dark by the time the turntable is finally unfrozen again. Gordon is relieved to be able to leave the shed, but unhappy about the fact he has not been able to do any work. The Fat Controller decides to give him Percy's mail duties that evening, much to Gordon's dismay.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Norman
 * Flynn
 * Victor
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Some Workmen
 * Henry (does not speak)
 * Emily (does not speak)
 * Whiff (mentioned)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * Sodor Search and Rescue Centre
 * Sodor Dieselworks
 * Whiff's Waste Dump (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the twenty-first episode of the seventeenth season.
 * This is the last episode where Flynn is voiced by Ben Small in the UK and US. Rob Rackstraw later took over this role in the nineteenth season.
 * This marks Norman's last speaking role until The Great Race.

Goofs

 * In the shot of Gordon, Edward, Thomas and Victor, while the latter is advising the engines to find another shed, Gordon's front bogie wheels are not properly positioned under his frame.
 * In a close-up shot of Gordon at the Steamworks, his frame extensions appear to be unrendered until Gordon says, "I'm quite sure I wouldn't get any sleep at all!" at which point they suddenly become rendered.
 * When Gordon reverses out of the sheds towards the turntable, his tender wheels appear to be missing in one scene.
 * When all the engines arrive at Tidmouth Sheds, Henry is a few centimetres away from the turntable. But when the camera zooms in, Henry has moved back a noticeable distance.
 * When the engines leave Tidmouth Sheds to find somewhere else to sleep, Henry is seen closing his eyes as if he is whistling, but his whistle is not heard.
 * When the camera shows the frozen turntable, the tracks that are in the platform do not synchronise with the ones that lead to the sheds.

Merchandise

 * Magazine Stories - Frozen Turntable

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * The Complete Seventeenth Series
 * Santa's Little Engine

DVD Boxsets

 * Festive Favourites

AUS

 * Santa's Little Engine

US

 * Santa's Little Engine
 * Season 17 (Digital Download)

Thailand

 * Santa's Little Engine
 * No Snow for Thomas

CHN
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 * No Snow For Thomas