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This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the vinyl record, the Slovenian VHS/DVD, the South African VHS or the magazine story.
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Bertie's Chase is the third episode of the second series. It is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book Edward the Blue Engine.

Plot

One morning, Edward is waiting at Wellsworth to pick up passengers from Thomas' train and is growing impatient. His fireman gets up on the cab roof, but says he can only see Bertie, who he assumes is carrying tourists. With no sign of Thomas, they leave the station. As they pass a level crossing, Bertie pulls up, shouting that he has Thomas' passengers on board since Thomas' fireman was absent, but neither Edward nor his crew hear him. Bertie's driver tells him that they must keep their promise to Thomas, so they continue to chase Edward.

Bertie'sChase18

"I'll catch Edward or bust!"

Bertie tries to catch up with Edward, but to no avail. He soon finally reaches the top of a hill and sees Edward stopped at the level crossing at Lower Suddery. Bertie tears down the hill at top speed, but the crossing gates open for Edward, who puffs away just as Bertie comes into the yard.

Bertie is now both very upset and tired. He apologises to the passengers, who tell him not to worry and encourage him to start after Edward again. The passengers ask Bertie's driver if they will be able to make it to Edward at the next station and his driver says that there is a good chance of catching Edward since Bertie can climb hills better than him. After checking with the stationmaster, Bertie sets off again.

As they carry on, Edward comes to a hill. The coaches start grumbling, but soon they reach the top. Still oblivious about Bertie, they run smoothly into Upper Brendam. The guard blows his whistle, but as the driver looks back, he cannot see a green flag. Suddenly, Bertie rushes into the station, and the stationmaster, having been telephoned by Lower Suddery's stationmaster and told about the change, tells Edward's driver and guard what happened. As the passengers disembark from Bertie and climb aboard Edward's train, Edward apologises to Bertie, who understands that Edward did not know about the situation. Once all the passengers are onboard, Edward says goodbye and continues with his journey, while the passengers cheer for Bertie for getting them to Edward's train. Bertie goes to find Thomas at Tidmouth and Thomas thanks him for being a very good friend.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • Stock footage from Thomas and Bertie is used.
  • In the original Shining Time Station airing of this episode, the episode opened with Bertie arriving at the crossing, possibly due to time constraints. This same thing occurs in the James in a Mess book released in 1993. The full episode was first released in the US and Canada on the James Goes Buzz Buzz VHS on February 23, 1994 and first aired on TV as part of Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales in 1996.
  • A filmed alternate shot of the episode's ending was used in Better Late than Never. Thomas and Bertie are in the same positions at Tidmouth in both shots.
  • In a deleted scene of Bertie at the level crossing, he has his tired face mask with eyebrows.
  • Edward's fireman sings a part of the famous nursery rhyme "Oh Dear! What Can the Matter Be?" originally from the 1770s, which was composed in England, United Kingdom.
    • In the Finnish dub, Edward's fireman instead sings a part of the Finnish song called "Emma" by Tapio Rautavaara.
  • In the restored version:
    • An alternate take of Bertie passing under the bridge is used, as he is moving at a much slower pace and enters the shot earlier than in the original.
    • The footage of Edward going down the hill is played slightly some frames ahead of the original version.
  • Mrs. Kyndley's Cottage appears somewhere on the road between Wellsworth and Suddery.
  • This episode marks the first appearance of Jem Cole.
  • This is the first episode to feature Edward's tired face, as well as Bertie's sad/worried, tired faces and the only appearance of his laughing one.
  • This is the last episode for a couple of things:
  • This episode aired on 28 May 1991 as the second episode, the second season premiere was the first episode that aired on 21 May. The third episode aired after this episode was Saved from Scrap. The previous episode never aired and was replaced with this episode.
  • This episode and the following one, were the first two episodes to air as double repeat bills from 6 March 1989, ending with The Diseasel and Wrong Road on 22 May 1989.
  • When this episode aired on Cartoon Network, the music and sound effects overlapped the original audio.

Goofs

  • In the beginning, when Edward's crew are talking, there is a gash on one of their foreheads.
  • Whilst the fireman is climbing out of the window, a gap can be seen where the cab roof has come loose.
  • When the fireman is on Edward's roof, paint chips on the cab are visible and Edward's whistle is out of scale. Also, the windows are dirty, while in the previous scene, they were clean.
  • When Edward leaves the station, smoke rises in between the coaches.
  • In some scenes, Bertie drives in the middle of the road.
  • In the restored version, studio equipment can be seen at the top of the screen when Bertie passes the village and at the top left corner of the screen in the stock footage of Thomas and Bertie.
  • When Bertie reaches the top of the hill, his wheel is crooked.
  • When Bertie is going downhill, he passes Edward twice by the side.
  • A woman's hat changes from green to brown.
  • Blu-tack can be seen under one of the passengers when Bertie's driver speaks to the stationmaster.
  • In the original version, when Bertie passes Edward under the bridge, Edward's coaches comes to a stop at the end of the screen.
  • In the close-up of Edward after Bertie brings him the passengers, a speck of dirt is on his face.
  • When Edward reaches the last station, his whistle is tilted. Also, the coaches stop before he does.
  • Thomas' eyes are misaligned when Bertie sees him.

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese A ajuda
Chinese Mandarin 柏蒂巴士的追赶
Croatian Berislavova potjera
Czech Bertieho honička
Danish Berties jagt
Dutch Berties achtervolging
Finnish Lassin takaa-ajo
French À la poursoite de Bertrand
German Berties Jagd
Greek Το κυνήγι του Μπέρτι
Hungarian Bertie nagy hajszája
Italian La folle corsa
Japanese おいかけるバーティー
Korean 버티와 에드워드
Latin American Spanish Bertie al rescate
Norwegian En ven i nøden
Polish Berta goni Edwarda (Original)
Pościg Berci (Alternate)
Romanian Urmărirea lui Bertie
Romansh La persecuziun da Berta
Russian На всех парах
Serbian Bertijeva jurnjava
Slovenian Bertijeva dirka
Swedish En vän i nöden
Ukrainian Берті доганяє
Welsh Berti'n Rhedeg Râs

Home Media Releases

UK

UK DVD Boxset

WAL

US

CAN

  • James Goes Buzz Buzz and Other Thomas Stories
  • Thomas and His Friends Help Out

US/CAN DVD Packs

AUS

AUS DVD Packs

NZ

ZA

IND

MYS

PHL

LATAM

BRA

ITA

ROM

ROM DVD Pack

FRA

NL

GER

GER DVD Boxset

NOR

DK

SWE

FIN

ICE

  • Thomas the Tank Engine 3

SVN

HRV

SRP

GRC

GRC DVD Boxset

TUR

  • It's Good to Be a Train (VCD)
  • It's Good to Be a Train and Full Speed Ahead (DVD)

THA

JPN

JPN DVD Boxset

KOR

CHN

HK

Episode

Reference



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