No Joke for James

"Some jokes are funny but not this one, James!"

- The Fat Controller

No Joke for James is the eleventh episode of the third season. It first aired on Shining Time Station in the episode, Oh, What a Tangled Web in 1991.

Plot
One morning, James is boasting to Thomas and Percy that he is the smartest and most useful engine on the line. Thomas disagrees and thinks that all of The Fat Controller's engines are useful, and Percy tells James that he's getting all puffed up. Later, James boasts to Gordon that he's the pride of the line, but Gordon tells him that he saw him pulling trucks this morning, and that he's only a goods engine. James then tells Gordon that The Fat Controller has plans for him, but he is only making it up, as Gordon believes him.

Later, Thomas is shunting new coaches in the yard. James asks if the coaches are for him, but Thomas tells him that they're for Gordon's express, and that he'll fetch James' trucks next. James then tells Thomas that The Fat Controller told him that he's to take the coaches, and that Gordon is to pull the trucks. James is then coupled to the coaches, and he steams out of the yard, just as Thomas arrives with Gordon's trucks, leaving Gordon and his driver cross when Thomas tells them what James had said.

James is enjoying himself enormously, but when James sees The Fat Controller at Elsbridge, The Fat Controller scolds him for his trick, and that he is to go straight to his shed until he is wanted. Gordon and Henry tease James by asking each other who will pull the express, and they tell each other that James is stuck in the shed for being silly. A few days later, James apologizes to Thomas, and Thomas tells him that the trucks are pleased to have him back. James then shunts trucks in the harbour for the rest of the day.

As James and his crew are ready to head home, a railway inspector arrives and tells James' driver that he's to attend an important meeting with The Fat Controller and that he mustn't be late and he asks for a ride in James' cab. James then takes the inspector to Knapford just in time. The inspector tells The Fat Controller that James gave him a spendid ride, and that he must be proud of him. The Fat Controller agrees and calls James a Really Useful Engine.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Jeremiah Jobling (not named)
 * Edward (cameo)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Knapford
 * Knapford Yards
 * Brendam
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Henry's Forest
 * Wellsworth
 * Wellsworth Vicarage Orchard
 * Elsbridge
 * The Watermill (deleted scene)

Trivia

 * In the first shot of James shunting at the harbour, he is pushing a truck that has N. E. written on it.
 * The man who was late for a meeting with Sir Topham Hatt is Jeremiah Jobling.
 * In a few rare photos, Gordon arrives next to Thomas on his left rather than his right. Also, in one of them, he is smiling rather than frowning.
 * The models of Izzy Gomez and Big Mickey from TUGS can be seen.
 * This episode was adapted from the magazine stories The Express and A Passenger for James.

Goofs

 * In the first scene and the scene where James pulls up beside Gordon, studio equipment is slightly visible in the top centre.
 * When James talks to Gordon, James' eyes are wonky.
 * When James first arrives at the Sodor Shipping Company building, Thomas is seen shunting two salt wagons and a tanker. Then, red express coaches can be seen coming down the line two shots later. Then, the salt wagons Thomas was shunting is coming backwards, and Thomas is gone.
 * When James wheeshes steam at the Fat Controller, the latter shakes a bit.
 * In the shot of Henry teasing James, both of his brake pipes are facing upwards. One should be facing downwards.
 * When James tricks Thomas, the lining on Thomas' tank is slightly crooked.
 * Studio equipment can be seen when James arrives at the Sodor Shipping Co.
 * When James says "Actually Thomas", the smoke coming from the chimney in the background disappears and reappears.
 * James' driver says that he and James ("just we two", in his own words) will go home after James shunts at the harbour. He was obviously forgetting the fireman.
 * In the restored version, the first shot at the harbour shows James pushing three trucks. Two of them are derailed as they are seen bumping across the sleepers.
 * When Thomas and James are talking, Edward is seen pulling a goods train on another line, then in the next shot, he is nowhere to be seen.
 * In a deleted scene, James is seen pulling the express past the watermill, but that is on Thomas' Branch Line.
 * When Thomas is shunting Gordon's trucks into place, the line next to him is clear. Then, in the next shot, express coaches appear. Then, when Thomas says "And so here are your cars!", Percy can be seen shunting some trucks on the same line. Then, in the next shot, Percy and his trucks disappear.
 * James takes the express to Elsbridge, however the express route is supposed to go via Vicarstown and Crovan's Gate.

Quotes

 * James: "Look at me! I am the smartest, most useful engine on the line."
 * Thomas: "Rubbish! We're all useful. The Fat Controller says so and he's Sir Topham Hatt, head of the whole railway!
 * Percy: "You know what, James?"
 * James: "What?"
 * Percy: "You're getting all puffed up!"