| For other uses, see Double Trouble (disambiguation). |
- "Please, sir. We can't stay long. The children mustn't be late for the party."
"Oh, party, schmarty, Thomas. We have plenty of time! You worry too much!" - ― Thomas and Sir Lowham Hatt
Double Trouble is the fourth episode of the thirteenth series.
Plot
It is the Fat Controller's birthday, and Thomas is sent to Maithwaite to collect him and Lady Hatt to take them to his party. However, Thomas arrives early, and is very surprised to see the Fat Controller already there - and that he has a moustache and calls Thomas his good friend. The Fat Controller is very jolly too and tells Thomas to take him to Whispering Woods. Thomas finds the Fat Controller's behaviour very strange and wants to ask him about his moustache, but does not so as to avoid looking silly.
At the Whispering Woods, the Fat Controller decides to play Hide-and-Seek with the children, much to the confusion of Thomas and Edward as they know the Fat Controller does not usually play with children. Once the Fat Controller is back on board Annie, he tells Edward to let the children have some more play time even though Edward is taking them to the party. Then, when Thomas stops at Kirk Ronan Junction, the Fat Controller jumps out and goes up to the signal box and messes around with the levers, causing Gordon who is taking the important visitors to the party to go on the Kirk Ronan Branch Line. Thomas finds this very strange indeed, but once again, he does not ask the Fat Controller about his behaviour because he does not want to look silly.
Thomas goes back to Maithwaite, where the stationmaster tells him the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt were waiting for him. However, as he did not turn up, they ended up taking Bertie who later broke down. Thomas is very confused, but realises that his passenger cannot be the Fat Controller; so he asks the question that he wanted to ask all day, and, to Thomas' surprise the passenger reveals himself to be the Fat Controller's twin brother named Sir Lowham Hatt who wants to have some more fun, but Thomas knows that this is not the time for playing games, as they are late.
Thomas finds Bertie broken down in the middle of the road. The Fat Controller is cross with Thomas until he sees his brother Sir Lowham and scolds him instead for causing so much confusion and delay. Once the Hatt family are at the party, Thomas finds Edward and Gordon and helps them get to the party just in time. At the party, the Hatt brothers have a lot of fun, which makes Thomas happy.
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- Gordon
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Sir Lowham Hatt
- The Maithwaite Stationmaster
- Lady Hatt (does not speak)
- Annie (does not speak)
- Bertie (does not speak)
- The Ginger-haired Boy (does not speak)
- James (cameo)
- Percy (cameo)
- Clarabel (cameo)
- The Birdwatcher (cameo)
- The Blond-haired Boy (cameo)
- The Dark Uniformed Children (two only, cameos)
- The Lady with the Big Hat (cameo)
- The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (cameo)
- Emily (portrait cameo)
Locations
- Rail Under Road Bridge and Signal Box
- Knapford
- Maithwaite
- Whispering Woods
- Kirk Ronan Junction
- Great Waterton (poster)
- Sodor Suspension Bridge (poster)
- Black Loch (poster)
Cast
UK
- Ben Small as Thomas
- Keith Wickham as Edward, Gordon, the Fat Controller and Sir Lowham Hatt
- Matt Wilkinson as the Maithwaite Stationmaster
US
- Martin Sherman as Thomas
- William Hope as Edward and the Maithwaite Stationmaster
- Kerry Shale as Gordon, Sir Topham Hatt and Sir Lowham Hatt
Trivia
- This episode marks:
- The only appearance of Sir Lowham Hatt in the television series and Bertie's only appearance in the thirteenth series.
- The first appearance of the Rail Under Road Bridge and Signal Box since the eighth series episode, Percy's New Whistle, though it was in a deleted scene from the twelfth series episode, Rosie's Funfair Special. This doesn't count the stock footage from the first series episode, Down the Mine, and the second series episode, The Runaway.
- This episode shares the same title as the US dub of the second series episode, Thomas, Percy and the Coal.
- This is the first episode where Thomas says "Cinders and ashes!" more than once.
Goofs
- Maithwaite is painted in dark brown instead of beige.
- Gordon is sent into the Kirk Ronan Junction siding instead of the branch line, which is on the opposite side.
- Clarabel faces forwards in some shots.
- Bertie's radiator and windows are missing, probably because his model was uncompleted during the series' production until it was completed in the fourteenth series, with the radiator and windows added.
- Gordon's brake coach is in front of his composite coach throughout the episode. This was fixed when some footage of this episode was reused for Thomas and Scruff and O the Indignity.
Merchandise
In Other Languages
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Home Media Releases
UK/IRLDVD BoxsetsUS
AUSFRA
MYSJPNNOR/SWE/DK/FIN/THA/ITACHNGERKORDVD Boxsets |
| #01 Creaky Cranky | #08 Thomas and the Pigs | #15 Splish Splash Splosh |
| #02 The Lion of Sodor | #09 Time for a Story | #16 The Biggest Present of All |
| #03 Tickled Pink | #10 Percy's Parcel | #17 Snow Tracks |
| #04 Double Trouble | #11 Toby's New Whistle | #18 Henry's Good Deeds |
| #05 Slippy Sodor | #12 A Blooming Mess | #19 Buzzy Bees |
| #06 The Early Bird | #13 Thomas and the Runaway Kite | #20 Hiro Helps Out |
| #07 Play Time | #14 Steamy Sodor | |