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"Your Duke is a hero! He stood firm like a bulldog and wouldn't let go."
― The passengers complimenting the manager on Duke's bravery

Bulldog is the third episode of the fourth series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book Duke the Lost Engine.

Plot

One morning, Percy is feeling very impatient. He has a new coat of paint and is very eager to show it off but he is still fuming and complains that his driver is late. However, Gordon, Henry and James remind him the driver is not late, rather Percy is awake early. Thomas assures Percy it will soon be time for work but warns him not to be impatient; otherwise, he may run into danger and Duke will not be there to save him. Toby is surprised to hear their hero mentioned and Thomas decides to tell them a story his driver told him.

Long ago on the Mid Sodor Railway, back when Peter Sam and Sir Handel were still originally named "Stuart" and "Falcon", they worked alongside Duke. One day, the manager came along and told Falcon - who was still new and had a lot to learn - that he was pleased with his work and wanted him to learn about the Mountain Road, which was a difficult part of the line. The next day, Falcon would get a new coat of paint, then go on the Mountain Road with Duke to double-head a train. Falcon was not impressed that he was having to work with Duke, who he considered a fusspot.

The next day, Duke told Falcon he would head the train since the Mountain Road was tricky to travel over. Falcon refused and insisted on going in front, since he needed to learn the line and Duke would block the view. Duke warned Falcon not to admire the view since he needed to watch the track. As they went along the Mountain Road, Duke tried to keep them safe by going slowly but Falcon ignored him, thinking Duke was fussing over nothing.

Soon, the engines approached a curved tunnel, which Falcon disliked. He rushed through the tunnel and, while everything initially seemed normal, he suddenly derailed and dangled precariously near a cliff's edge. Duke held on to Falcon for dear life, as their crews quickly worked to anchor the two engines to the line. However, Duke's fireman found another problem; Duke was low on water. Luckily for them, a workmen's cottage was nearby and all the passengers assisted in fetching water. Duke's tank was soon refilled and he managed to build up enough steam to pull Falcon off the edge and back onto the track.

As they returned to the top station, the manager was waiting for the train. The passengers told him that Duke was a hero who stood firm like a bulldog and did not let go. Falcon thanked Duke for saving him, especially since he had been so rude to him. Duke was modest and told Falcon that it would have been a shame if his new coat of paint had been spoilt.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • The title is a reference to the symbolic dog breed of the United Kingdom. Even the quote "[Duke] stood firm like a Bulldog and wouldn't let go" comes from the stereotype of the type of dogs called bull breeds in which they are said not to let go of something they bite.
  • This episode marks the first of some things:
    • The first appearance of Falcon/Sir Handel's cross face.
    • Falcon/Sir Handel's first accident/derailment.
    • Duncan's first appearance in the television series.
  • This episode marks the last of two things:
  • In the original UK dub:
    • In the scenes when Thomas begins to tell the story about Duke, the music is omitted until the scene of Duke and Falcon starting their journey. Also, the first bit of music is heard earlier than the later UK dub and most international dubs.
    • When Duke pulls Falcon back onto the rails, his chuffing sound is faster.
    • Henry's line, "Rubbish!", sounds less enthusiastic.
    • One line, "But be careful or you might run into danger and Duke is not here to save you," is heard earlier. The music is also heard earlier.
    • Other lines "It was curved and he couldn't see," and "Duke bravely held on with all his strength. 'Stop shaking!' he called. 'I can't hold you if you shake!'" are heard later.
  • The scenes in which the passengers fill up Duke's tank with water using pots and pans from a nearby cottage is possibly inspired by the 1953 film The Titfield Thunderbolt in which passengers do the same.
  • In the Latin American Spanish dub, Thomas is the narrator for the rest of the episode since he tells the story from his point of view.
  • This episode was shown alongside the second series episode Thomas Comes to Breakfast in an airing of Storytime with Thomas.

Goofs

  • Gordon is missing his brake pipe.
  • Henry's face is tilted when he is dozing.
  • Although the engines say the drivers and firemen are not there because it was still early, the drivers and firemen can be seen in the sheds.
  • Toby's face is not positioned correctly when he stutters Duke's name.
  • Falcon's left eye (viewers' right) is misaligned when the manager is talking to him about the Mountain Road.
  • When Duke and Falcon enter the tunnel, Falcon has Smudger's whistle sound. This is paticularly noticeable in the early UK narration.
  • When Falcon crashes through the fence and Duke tries to save Falcon, Duke derails as well.
  • In a close-up of Duke, his face is smaller than usual. This is because his larger scale model was used.
  • In the close-up of Duke before he pulls Falcon back on the track, they are not coupled together.
  • Falcon's nameplate is slightly peeled off when Duke pulls him back onto the rails.
  • When the passengers say, "He stood firm like a bulldog and wouldn't let go," one of the passengers is missing their eyebrows.
  • When Falcon thanks Duke for saving him, his left pupil (viewers' right) is scratched.

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Albanian Bulldog
Chinese Mandarin 斗牛犬
Czech Buldok
Danish Bulldog
Dutch Bulldog
Finnish Buldogi
German Wie ein Fels
Greek Η ιστορία του Δούκα
Hungarian A Bulldog
Italian Bulldog
Japanese ブルドッグ
Korean 기관차들의 영웅, 듀크
Latin American Spanish Bulldog
Norwegian Bulldogen
Polish Buldog
Romanian Bulldog
Russian Бульдог
Serbian Buldog
Slovenian Buldog
Swedish Bulldoggen
Thai ดุ๊กมาช่วยแล้ว
Ukrainian Наполеглевий
Welsh Fel Cranc!

Merchandise

Book

Bulldog(BuzzBook) Bulldog (1996 Buzz Book)

Home Video Releases

United Kingdom Australia UK/AUS

Rock'n'Rollandotherstories RocknRollandotherStoriesAUS Rock 'n' Roll and Other Stories (direct-to-VHS, original dub in the UK only)
TheBiggestEverChristmasCollection TheBiggestEverChristmasCollectionAustraliancover The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
TheCompleteFourthSeriesVHS The Complete Fourth Series (UK)/TheCompleteFourthSeriesAustralianDVD Series Four (AUS)

United Kingdom UK DVD Boxset

ClassicCollectionSeasons1-5boxset Classic Collection

Wales WAL

ThomastheTankEngineBumperSpecial2cover Thomas the Tank Engine: Bumper Special 2

Australia AUS DVD Packs

AustralianS1-5Collection Classic Collection: Series 1 - 5
SeriesThreeandFourAustralianDoublePack Series Three and Series Four 2-Disc Collection
CompleteSeries1-10 The Complete Series 1-10

New Zealand NZ

RockNRollNZCover Rock 'n' Roll and Other Stories
TheBestEverChristmasCollectionNewZealand The Best Ever Christmas Collection

USA US

Sing-AlongandStoriesVHS Sing-Along and Stories
Thomas'MagicalMusicalRide Thomas' Magical Musical Ride (Blockbuster-exclusive)
ThomasandFriendsClassicVolume4 Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 4

Canada CAN

Sing-AlongandStoriesVHS Sing-Along and Stories

USA Canada US/CAN DVD Boxset

TotallyThomasVolume5 Totally Thomas Volume 5

South Africa ZA

BulldogSouthAfricanVHScover Bulldog (Volume Seven)

India IND

OliverOwnsUpandOtherStories Oliver Owns Up and Other Stories

Malaysia MYS

FourLittleEnginesandOtherThomasAdventuresMalaysianDVD Four Little Engines and Other Thomas Adventures (Volume 14) (VCD)
OneGoodTurnandotherAdventures One Good Turn and Other Adventures (DVD)

Philippines PHL

Italy ITA

TheSleepingBeauty Sleeping Beauty

Netherlands NL

MerryChristmas!frontcover Merry Christmas!
Dubbeldik4frontcover Double Feature 4
TheGreatestStoriesTheAdventuresofPercyandGordoncover The Greatest Stories: The Adventures of Percy and Gordon

Germany GER

LikeaRockand4OtherAdventures Like a Rock and 4 Other Adventures
ThomasandHisFriendsVol.7VHSCover Thomas & Friends Volume 7

Norway NOR

Anniversary(NorwegianVHS) Anniversary

Denmark DK

FourSmallLocomotivesandOtherStoriesDanishVHScover Four Small Locomotives and Other Stories

Sweden SWE

RockNRollSwedishVHSCover+BackCover Rock 'n' Roll (VHS)
Thomas,PercyandtheDragonSwedishDVD Thomas, Percy and the Dragon and Rock 'n' Roll (DVD)

Finland FIN

Rock'n'RollLocomotiveFinnishVHS Rock 'n' Roll Locomotive

Slovenia SVN

GranpuffSlovenianDVDcover Granpuff

Serbia SRP

ThomastheTankEngine7SerbianDVD Thomas & Friends 7

Greece GRC

ReadyforDepartureGreekVHScover Ready for Departure (VHS)
AdventuresattheRailwayStation2005GreekDVDcover Adventures at the Railway Station (DVD)

Greece GRC DVD Boxset

3DVDBoxset2 3 DVD Boxset 2

Thailand THA

ThomasandFriendsVolume12ThaiDVDCover Thomas & Friends Volume 12

Japan JPN

NewThomasTheTankEngineVol2VHSFrontCover New Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 2: Thomas and the Special Letter (direct-to-VHS)
TheCompleteWorksofThomastheTankEngine2Vol6cover The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Volume 6: Friends to the End Edition
EnginesBigSuccess Engines' Big Success

South Korea KOR

Thomas&FriendsVolume3(Korean) Thomas & Friends Volume 3
StoriestoRaiseCooperationVHSCover Stories that Encourage Teamwork

China CHN

ThomasSeason1-4DVD Thomas & Friends Season 1-4

Hong Kong HK

ThomasandFriendsVolume8HongKongVCDcover Thomas & Friends Volume 8 (VCD)
ThomasandFriendsVolume7ThaiDVD Thomas & Friends Volume 7 (DVD)

Taiwan TWN

Thomas&FriendsVolume1TaiwaneseDVD Thomas & Friends Volume 1

Reference



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