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"Bust my buffers!"
"I think you
have."
― Bill and Ben

Buffer Bother, originally titled Bill and Ben's Excellent Adventure, is the nineteenth episode of the sixth series.

Plot

Bill and Ben have been working hard in the quarry. One day, the Fat Controller comes to inspect the quarry's engines; he discovers Mavis and Bill are in satisfactory condition but that Ben's buffers are damaged and so sends him to the works to have replacement ones fitted. Bill - feeling jealous - believes Ben only needs new buffers because he is clumsy and the two argue. Mavis scolds them for being grouchy and Bill goes back to work while Ben leaves.

Bill - still thinking of Ben's new buffers - becomes careless, slams a truck into buffers mounted on a wall, causing him to knock a pipe into his funnel and sneeze it out. He tries thinking about birds, trees and anything that might make him forget about Ben's new buffers but it is no use. Mavis tells him to be happy that he is in working order and not in need of new buffers, but Bill simply huffs and wheeshes soot all over Mavis by accident.

When the trucks overhear that Bill is angry about Ben getting new buffers, they start teasing him, enraging him even more. Bill tries to stop the trucks from their teasing by bumping them to shut them up and silence them, but accidentally reverses into a ditch with a truck behind him and damages his buffers in the process. Ben arrives from the works with a new pair of shiny buffers and sees his twin's predicament. When the breakdown train arrives to rescue Bill, the Fat Controller scolds him for his misbehaviour and tells him that before he gets new buffers, he must think about what it means to be a responsible reliable engine. Once back on the rails, Bill compliments his twin on his new buffers and the two properly make up for their quarrel.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • The working title for this episode was Bill and Ben's Excellent Adventure, which would have been a reference to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, which happens to star George Carlin. This title is retained in the Danish dub.
  • In several ways, this episode is similar to an episode set earlier in this series Twin Trouble:
    • They are both alliteratively titled episodes with two words.
    • They are both about one of the railway's pair of twins.
    • Bill's accident in the climax of this episode is very similar to Donald's accident in the former episode.
  • This is the first episode to not feature any members of the soon-to-be-established Steam Team nor the Skarloey Railway engines.
  • This episode marks the third time an engine sneezed in a Thomas project after Whistles and Sneezes and Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
  • The LT warehouse from TUGS and Elizabeth's Shed appear at the quarry.
  • Mavis has Derek's horn sound in this episode. Also, this episode marks the first appearance of Mavis' shocked face which would later appear in Calling All Engines! and her angry/cross face since the third series episode Toby's Tightrope.
  • In the UK dub, Mavis scolds Bill and Ben for being grouchy. While in the US dub, she scolds them for being "crab pots". The term is a play on the word "crackpot", which describes a person who acts foolish, but was tweaked most likely to avoid confusing American audiences.
  • Although the Portuguese dub of this episode is available, the Portuguese version of the title is unknown; JimJam aired the episode with the UK footage and the narrator doesn't say what the title is either.

Goofs

  • In the close up of Ben, his face moves and his eyes are also misaligned.
  • A red wire is seen inside Mavis' cab when she tells Bill to be careful and stop thinking about Ben getting new buffers.
  • When the trucks tease Bill, one has misaligned eyes, while the others (except for one) has scratched eyes.
  • Bill passes Mavis twice when he reverses towards the ditch.
  • When Bill falls into the ditch:
    • His eyes are misaligned.
    • He looks cross when he's meant to be shocked when biffing one of the Troublesome Trucks.
  • When Bill talks to the Fat Controller, his eye jolts a few times.

Quotes

Ben: I'm going to get new buffers!
Bill: (envious of his twin) Well, I should get new buffers too. We're twins, we do everything together.
Ben: But you don't need new buffers.
Bill: You're only getting new buffers because you're clumsy!
Ben: No, I'm not!
Bill: Yes, you are!
Ben: No, I'm not!
Bill: Yes, you are!
Mavis: Will you two stop being grouchy?! Now come on, Bill. We've got work to do.

[Ben with his new buffers finds Bill stuck in the pit now with damaged buffers]
Bill: Bust my buffers!
Ben: I think you have.

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Albanian Telashe amortizatorësh
Chinese Mandarin 缓冲区烦恼
Czech Trápení s nárazníky
Danish Bill og Bens fantastiske eventyr
Dutch Nieuwe stootblokken
Finnish Puskuripulmia
Hungarian Ütköző gondok
Italian I respingenti nuovi
Japanese くるまどめのもんだい
Korean 샘이 난 빌
Norwegian Buffer-bråk
Polish Odbojnikowy problem
Romanian Fraţi de amortizoare
Russian Брат по буферу
Slovenian Polomljeni odbijači
Swedish Buffertbesvär
Welsh Byffars Newydd

Merchandise

Home Video Releases

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UK DVD Packs

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  • Percy's Chocolate Crunch and Other Thomas Adventures

US/CAN DVD Boxset

AUS

AUS DVD Packs

MYS

PHL

ITA

NOR

DK

DK DVD Boxset

SWE

SVN

THA

JPN

KOR

HK

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