Steam Team to the Rescue

Steam Team to the Rescue! is a double-length episode that makes up the eleventh and twelfth episodes of the twenty-third series.

Plot
The steam engines must work overtime to unload cargo from the docks when a series of accidents puts Porter and all of the diesel engines out of action.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Belle
 * Caitlin
 * Porter
 * Nia
 * Rebecca
 * Diesel
 * Salty
 * Den
 * Dart
 * Sidney
 * Paxton
 * Norman
 * Flynn
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Harold
 * Captain
 * Cranky
 * Big Mickey
 * Carly
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Toby
 * Rosie
 * Stanley
 * 'Arry and Bert
 * Philip
 * Winston
 * Luke
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Butch
 * Owen
 * Merrick
 * Willie
 * The Blue Mountain Quarry Manager
 * Ferdinand

Locations

 * Bluff's Cove
 * Vicarstown Yards
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * The Railway Works
 * Vicarstown Dieselworks
 * Vicarstown Diesel Sheds
 * Diesel 10's Shed
 * Knapford
 * Knapford Station Yard
 * Knapford Yards
 * Crosby Tunnel
 * Blue Mountain Quarry
 * Wellsworth
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Farmer Trotter's Pig Farm
 * Vicarstown
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Sodor Search and Rescue Centre
 * Black Loch
 * Maithwaite
 * The Washdown

UK

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, Salty, Den, Norman, Harold, Captain and Sir Topham Hatt
 * Rob Rackstraw as James, Flynn and Big Mickey
 * Nigel Pilkington as Percy
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Belle, Annie and Clarabel
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Kerry Shale as Diesel
 * Steven Kynman as Porter, Dart and Paxton
 * Bob Golding as Sidney
 * Matt Wilkinson as Cranky
 * Lucy Montgomery as Carly
 * Jules de Jongh as Caitlin

US

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * William Hope as Edward
 * Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, Diesel and Harold
 * Rob Rackstraw as James, Flynn and Big Mickey
 * Christopher Ragland as Percy
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily and Caitlin
 * Teresa Gallagher as Belle, Annie and Clarabel
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * David Menkin as Porter
 * Keith Wickham as Salty, Den, Norman, Captain and Sir Topham Hatt
 * Steven Kynman as Dart and Paxton
 * Bob Golding as Sidney
 * Glenn Wrage as Cranky
 * Lucy Montgomery as Carly

Songs

 * Don't Stop
 * Don't Stop (Reprise)

Trivia

 * This is the first special directed by Joey So.
 * This episode marks the only appearances or speaking appearances of several characters in the twenty-third series:
 * Edward's only physical appearance (not counting his appearance in Thomas' thought bubble in The Other Big Engine) and speaking role in the twenty-third series.
 * Belle, Porter, Carly and Big Mickey's only speaking roles in the twenty-third series.
 * Caitlin, 'Arry and Bert, Captain, Flynn, Merrick and Willie's only appearances in the twenty-third series.
 * A reference to The Great Race is made when Gordon tells Thomas to call him "The Shooting Star" in his sleep. The line is also a reference to the James Bond films.
 * Additionally, Percy's line of "Help me!" in the second fantasy sequence is a reference to the horror film The Fly.
 * Thomas also references Braveheart when he rallies the Steam Team.
 * Two references to The Adventure Begins are made:
 * Thomas calls "wake up, lazybones!" to Gordon.
 * Gordon leaves his coaches behind in a similar manner to Thomas, by mistaking another guard's whistle for his own.
 * This is the first production to have David Stoten as head writer.
 * Yvonne Grundy, who performs Nia's speaking voice, performed her singing lines in this episode instead of Patricia Kihoro, who was her singing double in Big World! Big Adventures!.
 * This marks Caitlin's first speaking role since The Great Race.
 * The scene where the members of the Steam Team are lifting Carly back up is similar to the fifth series episode Cranky Bugs when Thomas and Percy are lifting Cranky back up.
 * The logo of the series overall was replaced by a stylized version of the episode's title, due to being the new special.

Goofs

 * Several characters and cast members were not credited in the UK end credits.
 * Edward is not listed in Keith Wickham's characters.
 * Annie and Clarabel are not listed with Teresa Gallagher's characters.
 * 'Arry is seen travelling on narrow gauge track at the Blue Mountain Quarry, despite being a standard gauge engine.
 * In the overhead shot of the docks becoming cramped, Big Mickey is not in his correct spot and appears to be clipping through the rails beneath him.
 * When Harold says "Belle and Flynn are already on their way", the scene is not cut properly; Harold speeds up for a split second, and when the scene cuts back to both him and Thomas, they are both moving faster than before.