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- "Hey there, number four."
"Huh, she's already forgotten our names."
"No she hasn't, Gordon."
"She's just practicing her numbers." - ― Nia, Gordon, Annie and Clarabel
Counting on Nia is the twenty-fifth episode of the twenty-second series.
Plot
Nia is a really clever engine and knows all sorts of things, including the names of all the stations and how to deal with problems. She helped to shunt some trucks at Brendam Docks into their right places. One day, the Fat Controller asks her to take Thomas' coaches, Annie and Clarabel, to pick up passengers at Knapford Station. Unfortunately, she constantly keeps going to the wrong platform until Annie and Clarabel direct her to the right one.
While taking her passengers, Nia goes past some speed limit signs without slowing down and comes off the tracks at a digger site. It is not long before Emily brings Rocky so that Nia can be lifted back onto the rails. The Fat Controller was there. He told Nia that she should have taken notice of what the speed limit signs said and slowed down. This upsets Nia at the thought of having let the Fat Controller down. When Annie and Clarabel attempt to cheer Nia up, she confesses to them that she cannot read numbers (which was why she had trouble getting to the right platform and could not slow down at the speed limits).
With Annie and Clarabel's help, Nia begins learning numbers and starts seeing them all around her. She even begins calling some of the other engines by their numbers. She called Thomas "Number one engine", Toby "Number seven", and Gordon "Number four". Gordon thought that Nia had already forgotten the engines' names. But, Annie and Clarabel correct him by telling him the she was just practicing her numbers.
Characters
- Gordon
- Nia
- Rebecca
- Salty
- Philip
- Annie and Clarabel
- Rocky
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Thomas (not named; speaks only in narration)
- Carly (does not speak)
- Toby (not named; does not speak)
- Mr. Bubbles (not named; does not speak)
- Marion (does not speak; fantasy)
- Henry (cameo)
- Emily (cameo)
- Stanley (cameo)
- Charlie (cameo)
- Porter (cameo)
- Skarloey (cameo)
- Peter Sam (cameo)
- Duncan (cameo)
- Henrietta (cameo)
- Big Mickey (cameo)
- Cranky (cameo)
- The Third Mayor of Sodor (cameo)
- Sodor United Football Team (cameos)
- The Lady with the Big Hat (cameo)
- Albert's Wife (cameo)
- The Man with the Green Waistcoat and Grey Hair (cameo)
- The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (cameo)
- Woodsmen (cameos; fantasy)
Locations
- Island of Sodor
- Misty Island (newspaper only)
- Brazil (stock footage)
Cast
UK
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Keith Wickham as Gordon, Salty and the Fat Controller
- Yvonne Grundy as Nia
- Rachael Miller as Rebecca
- Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
- Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
- Matt Wilkinson as Rocky
US
- Joseph May as Thomas
- Kerry Shale as Gordon
- Yvonne Grundy as Nia
- Rachael Miller as Rebecca
- Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
- Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
- Keith Wickham as Salty and Sir Topham Hatt
- William Hope as Rocky
Trivia
- Going by production order, this is the twenty-sixth episode of the twenty-second series and the series finale of the twenty-second series.[1]
- This was Yvonne Grundy's favourite episode.
- This episode marked the last of a few things:
- The last episode written by Lee Pressman before he left the production team.
- The last episode to feature Emily without her twenty-third series details.
- The last episode until the twenty-fourth series episode, James the Super Engine, in which Thomas appears, but does not speak.
- Marion's last appearance until the twenty-fourth series episode, Emily's Best Friend.
- Henrietta's last appearances until the twenty-fourth series episode, The Inventor's Spectacular Bridge.
- Charlie's last appearance in the original series.
- There are many references made throughout the episode:
- Gordon being held up by a cow is a reference to the second series episode, Cows.
- Nia's line, "This is so exciting!", is a line that she also said in Big World! Big Adventures!
- Clarabel mentions the time that Nia used leaves to catch rain water in Big World! Big Adventures. Stock footage from the movie is also reused.
- Clarabel saying to Gordon that Nia is just "practicing her numbers" is a reference to the film, Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
- Philip asking about his number being 68 and the football players at Knapford are references to the twenty-first series episode, Philip's Number.
- This is the only episode of a few things:
- The only episode in the series where Annie and Clarabel speak, but Thomas does not (not counting the latter's narration).
- Charlie, Peter Sam, Duncan, and Rocky's only appearances in the twenty-second series.
- This episode marks the first appearances of a few things:
- The first appearance of the Glyn Valley Tramway Coaches on the Skarloey Railway.
- From this episode onwards, Skarloey gains a funnel-mounted lamp and also regains the brass ring around his funnel for the first time since the fifth series episode, Snow.
- An ad for Misty Island can be seen in Mr. Bubbles' newspaper.
- On the Nick Jr. US airing of this episode, it was paired with Banjo and the Bushfire.
Goofs
- In the aerial shot of Brendam Docks, Carly's base extends in length.
- In the US dub, Clarabel uses the UK term "trucks" when she recaps how Nia sorted out the trucks at Brendam Docks.
- During the sequence when Annie and Clarabel teach Nia about the looks of numbers, Nia refers to Marion's shovel as a crane.
Merchandise
In Other Languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| Croatian | Računajući na Niju |
| Czech | Na Niu je spoleh |
| Danish | Bed Nia at tælle |
| Dutch | Iedereen Rekent op Nia |
| Estonian | Nia ja Numbrid |
| Finnish | Nia laskee |
| German | Nia lernt schnell |
| Greek | Μετρώντας με τη Νία |
| Hebrew | לסמוך על ניה |
| Hungarian | Nia számol |
| Italian | Uno, Due, Tre, Nia |
| Japanese | ニアとすうじ |
| Korean | 니아의 숫자 공부 |
| Norwegian | Regn med Nia |
| Polish | Nia i Liczenie |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Contando com Nia |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | A contar com a Nia |
| Russian | Весёлый счёт |
| Serbian | Računajući na Niju |
| Spanish (Latin America) | Contando con Nia |
| Spanish (Spain) | Cuenta con Nia |
| Swedish | Räknar med Nia |
| Thai | การนับเลขของนีอา |
| Vietnamese | Trông cậy vào Nia |
Home Media Releases
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References
| #01 Number One Engine | #10 Outback Thomas | #19 Cyclone Thomas |
| #02 Forever and Ever | #11 School of Duck | #20 Kangaroo Christmas |
| #03 Confusion Without Delay | #12 Tiger Trouble | #21 Thomas and the Dragon |
| #04 Trusty Trunky | #13 Seeing Is Believing | #22 Rosie is Red |
| #05 What Rebecca Does | #14 Apology Impossible | #23 The Case of the Puzzling Parts |
| #06 Thomas Goes to Bollywood | #15 The Water Wheel | #24 Banjo and the Bushfire |
| #07 Thomas in the Wild | #16 Samson and the Fireworks | #25 Counting on Nia |
| #08 Thomas and the Monkey Palace | #17 Runaway Truck | #26 Hunt the Truck |
| #09 An Engine of Many Colours | #18 Thomas' Animal Ark | |