| For other uses, see Bulgy. |
- “Yah! Boo! Snubs!"
"Come on, let's see what he's up to.” - ― Bulgy and Duck
Bulgy is the twenty-third episode of the third series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book Oliver the Western Engine.
Plot
A special holiday is being celebrated on the Island of Sodor and many visitors are traveling on Duck's Branch Line. Bertie and the engines are all kept very busy taking them to and from their destinations. One day, Duck is waiting at Tidmouth when he spots a large and unfriendly looking double-decker bus. He grumbles as he sees the happy passengers boarding Duck's train and states he would not have brought them had he known they would be traveling on a railway. He bluntly tells Duck that one day, the railways will be torn up and replaced by roads. Duck is shocked by the bus' behaviour and states that Bertie would have never made such claims. The bus is dismissive of Bertie's opinion, declaring him "too small in size to be of any use."
At Haultraugh, Duck meets Oliver and tells him about the bus. Oliver explains that he calls the bus "Bulgy" and simply laughs off his threats. That afternoon, however, Oliver is much more serious since Bulgy's friend, another equally rude bus, has arrived and is taking Bulgy's passengers so Bulgy himself can take those of the two Great Western engines to the big station. Duck insists that the route is quicker by rail but Oliver explains that Bulgy apparently knows a shortcut.
Later, Duck prepares for the homeward rush but is now surprised to discover he has less passengers. Then, Oliver spots them in Bulgy, who also has a big sign on his side claiming he is a "Railway Bus". Bulgy leaves and Duck quickly follows after him. Sometime later, he is flagged down at a bridge where the line crosses a narrow road, where he discovers that Bulgy has wedged himself under the bridge. The passengers explain that Bulgy tricked them, as he wanted them to think railways were no good; he claimed to be a "Railway Bus" but would not accept their return tickets. Duck and his crew agree that helping the passengers outweighs the risk of the damaged bridge and cross it carefully. Bulgy begs him to stop as bricks fall from the bridge, being worried it might collapse on top of him. Fortunately, the bridge does not collapse, although Duck tells Bulgy it would have served him right for lying if it had.
Duck soon arrives back at the big station and all his passengers catch their trains on time. The bridge is eventually repaired but Bulgy's ways remain unchanged until he is eventually taken out of service. He is now a henhouse in the field beside the bridge and any lies he does tell are ignored by the resident hens.
Characters
- Duck
- Oliver
- Bulgy
- Red Express Coaches
- Lady Hatt (not named)
- Jeremiah Jobling (not named)
- Mrs. Kyndley (not named)
- Jem Cole (not named)
- Farmer Trotter (not named)
- The Tidmouth Stationmaster's Wife (not named)
- Bertie (does not speak)
- Thomas (cameo)
- James (cameo)
- Percy (cameo)
- BoCo (cameo)
- Annie and Clarabel (cameos)
- Bridget Hatt (cameo)
- The Boy (cameo)
- One Little Boy (cameo)
- The Injured Sailor (cameo)
- The Daughter (cameo)
- The Ulfstead Villagers (cameos)
- Bulgy's Friend (mentioned)
Locations
- Ulfstead
- The Three Way Road
- Haultraugh
- Tidmouth
- Bulgy's Bridge
- Knapford (mentioned)
Trivia
- Lady Hatt is depicted with her first series model's head, used on Mrs. Kyndley's first series body.
- A few scenes were either extended or cut short in the restored version:
- Thomas and Duck passing each other is extended.
- Duck leaving Tidmouth is cut short at the end.
- Duck arriving at Haultraugh is extended.
- Oliver leaving Haultraugh is extended.
- Duck leaving Tidmouth a second time is cut short at the end.
- Duck crossing the bridge at the Three Way Road is extended.
- The scene after Duck left the bridge is extended.
- The last few seconds of Thomas leaving the station near the end of the episode is cut off.
- In the restored version, during Bulgy's final close-up, his eyes move slightly differently compared to the original version.
- It is never revealed exactly what holiday is being celebrated. A banner in the background of one shot even reads "Special Holiday". In the original story, it is specified as being a bank holiday.
- This is the only episode of a few things:
- The only Thomas episode to celebrate a bank holiday.
- The only appearance of Bulgy's nervous face.
- The only appearance of Haultraugh in the television series.
- Bulgy's only speaking role and let alone starring role until the seventh series episode, Bulgy Rides Again, which is exactly 100 episodes after this one, the only time he is referred to by name until the sixth series episode, Harvey to the Rescue and his only appearance in the third series.
- The only third series broadcast on CITV in 1992 not presented by Tommy Boyd. Instead, it was introduced by Glenn Kinsey.
- This episode marks the first time Lady Hatt and Farmer Trotter have speaking roles.
- In the US, this episode aired on Shining Time Station before the third series episode, Escape. This means that the audience would not have known who Oliver was.
- This episode marks the last appearance of Tidmouth in the television series, though it was mentioned in the seventeenth series episode Gordon Runs Dry, the twentieth series episode Blown Away and the twenty-first series episode Terence Breaks the Ice.
- This is the third episode named after a single character, the first two being Daisy and Mavis, not counting the US title Terence the Tractor.
- In the German dub of this episode, Bulgy is referred to as "Pfau" (German for "peacock"). Despite this, his English name is used in the German episode title. The German dubs of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth series use Bulgy's original English name, making this the only episode in which Bulgy uses the name "Pfau".
Goofs
- At the beginning of the episode, Duck is seen crossing a bridge indicating it is a rail bridge but, later in the episode, Bulgy is seen crossing the same bridge despite being a road vehicle. However, it is possible that this bridge is actually a tramway, which both road and rail vehicles can ride on.
- When the camera cuts to Duck, James and BoCo, Duck is seen to take red branch line coaches but, in the next scene, he was instead seen taking red express ones.
- When Duck first talks to Bulgy, Bulgy's eyes are misaligned and his eyes also do not move a the same time.
- In the German dub, Bulgy's line "I wouldn't have brought them if I'd known. I'd have had a breakdown or something," was mistranslated as "I would not have brought them here if I had known I had a breakdown or something."
- Oliver's right lamp iron (viewers' left) is crooked in some scenes.
- Throughout this episode, Oliver has Edward's whistle sound.
- Oliver's coaches have damaged roofs, especially the brake coach.
- The Express Coaches Duck pulls are red but are green when he meets Oliver the second time. They later turn back to red for the remainder of the episode.
- When Duck first meets Bulgy, his ANTI-RAIL sign is on his right-hand side and his RAILWAY BUS sign is on his left. When Bulgy steals Duck's passengers, the signs have swapped sides.
- The narrator says that Duck is taking his passengers to the Big Station clearly meaning Knapford but, in the end, he takes them back to Tidmouth.
- When the passengers were complaining about Bulgy's lies, two of the passengers, Farmer Trotter and Jeremiah Jobling are looking happy when they should have been cross.
- In the final scene at the station, Percy has James' whistle sound. However, in the restored version, the sound was heard before the scene of the engines at Tidmouth station appeared because the scene after Duck crossed the bridge is extended.
In Other Languages
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Merchandise
Bulgy (2003 My Thomas Story Library book)
Home Video Releases
Episode
Other Languages
Russian dubReferences
| #01 A Scarf for Percy | #10 The Trouble with Mud | #19 One Good Turn |
| #02 Percy's Promise | #11 No Joke for James | #20 Tender Engines |
| #03 Time for Trouble | #12 Thomas, Percy and the Post Train | #21 Escape |
| #04 Gordon and the Famous Visitor | #13 Trust Thomas | #22 Oliver Owns Up |
| #05 Donald's Duck | #14 Mavis | #23 Bulgy |
| #06 Thomas Gets Bumped | #15 Toby's Tightrope | #24 Heroes |
| #07 Thomas, Percy and the Dragon | #16 Edward, Trevor and the Really Useful Party | #25 Percy, James and the Fruitful Day |
| #08 Diesel Does It Again | #17 Buzz, Buzz | #26 Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure |
| #09 Henry's Forest | #18 All at Sea | |