- "Never mind him, Peter Sam. He'd be frightened if he really saw a ghost."
- ― Rusty explaining Duncan to Peter Sam
Duncan Gets Spooked is the twenty-fourth episode of the fifth series. In the US, it aired with Sleeping Beauty in an episode of Storytime with Thomas.
Plot
The Skarloey Railway engines are busy clearing the tracks of debris. After Peter Sam is helped by Rusty to a water tower with his train, his heavy trucks are bored so they break away from their old couplings and careen onto a bridge, where they derail and plummet into the swamp below. Peter Sam arrives to the scene of the incident and his driver realises that they did not secure the trucks properly, and they will need help to retrieve them, knowing that the Fat Controller will not be happy about the accident.
Peter Sam's driver is correct; that evening, the Fat Controller has Peter Sam working in the yards as punishment until he can be trusted again. Duncan chortles that Peter Sam's trucks will return to haunt him, so Rusty asks him about being scared of ghosts. Despite Duncan brushing them off as rubbish, Rusty attempts to scare him by telling him a ghost story; long ago, there was an engine who was crossing the same bridge over the ravine to return home. Unfortunately, he derailed halfway across and fell over the side and plunged into the ravine below, where he drowned in the swamp, and was never found again. In the light of the full moon, his spirit has since been seen by workmen haunting the bridge trying to get home, but he never reaches the other side. Duncan is dismissive, but Peter Sam's driver devises a trick with Duncan's crew to give him a taste of his own medicine.
The next day, Duncan has to take coal trucks to the slate mines and bring ones filled with slate back. His crew takes him over the bridge as part of the plan. Duncan comments that it does not seem haunted, but he still has Rusty's story on his mind. At the slate mine, Duncan tries to rush his crew to leave, complaining that Skarloey will take his favourite spot in the sheds. His driver tells him that they have to wait until their trucks are collected and he can tell the plan is working as Duncan is nervous.
That night, Duncan is just about finished with his work and is halfway across the bridge when he stops. He begins to see flickering lights that look like an engine in front of him, though it is actually just an engine formed by fireflies. Duncan's driver then secretly throws a large rock from the cab into the ravine below. Duncan, thinking it is the ghost of the engine, freaks out and quickly runs back to the safety of his shed.
Once back at his shed, Duncan closes his eyes tightly. His driver teases him by asking if he has been spooked, but Duncan claims he is asleep and initially refuses to open his eyes. He does, though, when he thinks that his driver is not looking to make sure that he is still there for him.
Characters
- Duncan
- Rusty
- Troublesome Trucks
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Skarloey (does not speak)
- Rusty's Ghost Engine (does not speak)
- Peter Sam (does not speak; speaking role cut)
- Rheneas (deleted scene cameo)
Locations
- Skarloey Slate Quarry
- Old Iron Bridge
- Boulder Quarry
- Skarloey Engine Sheds (mentioned)
- Crovan's Gate Yards (mentioned)
- Rheneas Viaduct (dropped; replaced with Old Iron Bridge in the final cut)
Trivia
- According to a film slate, the hill set was filmed on the 24th of April 1998. It also refers to the episode as Episode Z, indicating that it was the twenty-sixth and final episode of the fifth series as opposed to the twenty-fourth.
- This is the first episode to use the new large scale models of the Skarloey Railway engines, although Duncan, Peter Sam and Rusty's small scale models were used in the shed scene while Skarloey's was used as the Ghost Engine when he fell in the ravine. Interestingly, the large scale model of Duncan from this episode is also completely different from the model used from the sixth series until the end of the model era. It is also the only episode to feature the original large scale model.
- In the US and international dubs, the music is heard when the trucks fall into the ravine, but not in the UK dub.
- In the US dub, when Duncan reverses back from the bridge after thinking it was the ghost, the chuffing sound is different from the UK and international dubs.
- In the French dub, when Duncan teased Peter-Sam by imitating the ghost sound, the "Who-hoo-hoo" doesn't sound like a ghost and can give another sense to the scene, with Rusty who seemed to rebuke Duncan, and Duncan got surprised by Rusty's intervention.
- The ghost engine in Rusty's story uses Skarloey's model. Skarloey's large scale model is used when the engine falls off the bridge and his small scale model is used when it falls into the ravine.
- Rusty's line "It was a misty moonlit night" is a line that was also heard in the Huxley Pig episode, "Huxley Pig and the Haunted House."
- The shed that Rusty, Peter Sam and Duncan were at was really the shed from Rheneas Station from the previous series.
- This is the only episode of a few things:
- The only episode when Gullane Entertainment was named The Britt Allcroft Company where the Skarloey Railway is referred to as a "railroad" in the US dub. However, this is the first episode where a railway on the Island of Sodor is referred to as a railroad, which is a rare type of goof in the series since the term railway was usually the more appropriate term for the show.
- The only episode in the fifth series not to feature any standard gauge engines.
- The only appearance of Rusty's Ghost Engine.
- Duncan's only speaking role in the fifth series.
- The only time Peter Sam is reprimanded by the Fat Controller (except the accident wasn't really his fault).
- The only time where it is not confirmed if the Ghost Engine is real or not. This makes Rusty's Ghost Engine possibly the only ghost engine that is actually real.
- The only episode to confirm fatalities in an accident, and thus the only episode where a character perishes onscreen.
- The only episode to feature Duncan's original large scale model.
- In the US dub, Alec Baldwin provided a Liverpudlian accent for Duncan rather than his usual Scottish one.
- The engine formed by the fireflies looks exactly like Rheneas or Smudger.
- Some deleted scenes may have implied that Peter Sam was originally intended to have a speaking role, and one showed him puffing after the trucks while wearing his large scale sad face mask. If those scenes had not been cut, it would have been the first appearance of Peter Sam's large scale sad face mask and his only speaking role in the fifth series.
- The barrel the workmen stand near is the Best Quality Diesel Oil barrel from the fourth series episode, Bowled Out.
- The repainted coal hopper from TUGS appears at the top of the incline.
- This episode marks the last time with two things:
- The last episode written by David Maidment.
- The last time Peter Sam's Giesl ejector is referred to as a 'Special Funnel' until the twenty-fourth series episode, The Great Little Railway Show and the last time it is referred to as such in the model era.
- There are several shots that were left unused in the final episode:
- A clearer view of the ghost engine as it approaches the bridge. It is also shown to have a crew in its cab, which it does not on the bridge.
- Rheneas pulling some trucks of branches and debris.
- Peter Sam complaining about being hot and bothered.
- Peter Sam's driver assuring him that they will go to the Water tower.
- Rusty pushing Peter Sam and his trucks to the water tower.
- The trucks rolling down the hill.
- Peter Sam reversing to catch up with the runaway trucks after they broke free.
- A POV shot of the trucks rolling past the Danger sign.
- An alternate shot of the trucks rolling past the Danger sign.
- Peter Sam reversing out of the bridge.
- Duncan smiling at Peter Sam's dilemma.
- Duncan smirking at Peter Sam.
- Duncan and Peter Sam listening to Rusty's ghost story.
- An extended scene shows a clearer view of Rusty's Ghost Engine approaching the Old Iron Bridge, revealing the engine's black livery.
- Peter Sam crossly stating that Duncan will never learn sense.
- Peter Sam looking cheeky while listening to his crew talking to Duncan's crew about their plan.
- Duncan pulling coal trucks while looking worried while thinking about Rusty's ghost story.
- An alternate shot of the trucks being pulled up and down the incline.
- An extended scene of Duncan leaving the quarry with his slate trucks.
- Duncan's driver seen in Duncan's cab after he threw the rock from the cab into the ravine.
- Duncan frantically reversing with his slate trucks back to the slate quarry on his way back to the shed looking frightened after he thought he saw the ghost engine.
- Duncan's crew laughing at him.
- This is the first episode in the Finnish dub where Peter Sam is called "Pietari"; previously he was called by his original English name.
- This episode aired exactly twelve years after Percy and the Signal and Duck Takes Charge first aired.
- According to David Maidment, the episode was partly inspired by an incident at a colliery between Cymmer Afan and Treherbert when a 650 hp Paxman diesel could not hold 18 loaded coal wagons despite brakes pinned down and ran away, the engine and wagons going through a sand drag protecting the single running line and fell into a stream damming it and causing a minor flood.
Goofs
- When Skarloey passes by in the first scene, a red wire is visible underneath him.
- In the UK dub, the narrator says that Rusty whistled goodbye, but Rusty is a diesel, and does not have a whistle, but he only has a horn. The US dub only leaves this out.
- In the US and in various international dubs, when Rusty leaves Peter Sam at the water tower, he makes puffing noises despite being a diesel.
- When Peter Sam's trucks fall off the bridge, they are connected to each other, but when they hit the water, they are now separated. They also land one on top the other, when the previous shot clearly showed the last trucks getting whipped off the bridge with enough force to reach the opposite side of the swamp. Also, their loads fly out when derailing, but magically return when they hit the swamp.
- When Duncan tells Peter Sam his trucks will come back and haunt him, Peter Sam's crew have several chips paint missing, and one also has black glue around his neck.
- Duncan's face moves when he makes a ghost sound. This also happens to the other engines in this scene as their eyes move around.
- When the ghost engine falls off the bridge, he is rotating, but when the shot changes to him landing in the swamp, he has stopped rotating, which is physically impossible if Newton's first law of motion is applied.
- Because both scales of models were used, Rusty's face changes size in the shed scene.
- When the narrator says that Duncan keeps thinking about Rusty's story, Duncan jolts up for a second.
- When the fireflies form the engine, the end of the tracks is visible in the distance.
- In the shot of Peter Sam's driver speaking to Duncan's crew about the trick, a workman next to Peter Sam is missing his legs. This is more clearly shown in a promotional picture.
- When Peter Sam's driver speaks to Duncan's crew about the trick, his eyes are misaligned.
- Due to a film cut, when Duncan's face fades from wincing to looking sad, his cab moves slightly.
- In the US dub, when Duncan crosses the old iron bridge, he says "It's as tame as a pet rabbits," adding an s at the end.
Quotes
- Trucks: Let's break away!
- Narrator: Their loads were heavy, and the couplings old. One snapped.
- (a coupling snaps, punctuated with a "boing" sound effect; the trucks break away from Peter Sam)
- Truck: Faster, faster!
- (Peter Sam arrives at the Old Iron Bridge to the scene of the trucks' accident)
- Peter Sam's driver: This was our fault. We didn't secure them properly. We have to get help to pull them out. The Fat Controller will be very annoyed.
- Narrator: (cut to the sheds later that evening) And he was.
- The Fat Controller: You will shunt trucks in the yards until I can trust you again.
- Duncan: [to Peter Sam] Fancy not securing your trucks on a hill. They'll come back to spook you and your special funnel. Who-hoo-hoo!!
- Rusty: And who's to say you're not afraid of ghosts?!
- Duncan: Ghosts? Things that go bump in the night? Rubbish!
- Rusty: Well, I'll tell you a story that'll make your funnel quiver. [cut to the Old Iron Bridge one night] A long time ago, a little engine was returning home. It was a misty moonlit night. As the engine crossed the Old Iron Bridge, he suddenly lost control, and plunged over the side, into the swamps below. [the engine falls into the ravine] He was never found again, but many a workman will tell you that when the moon is full, they have seen the little engine trying to get home. But he never reaches the other side. [cut back to the present] So, what do you think of that, Duncan?
- Duncan: Pah! Nonsense!
- Rusty: Never mind him, Peter Sam. He'd be frightened if he really saw a ghost.
- Peter Sam's Driver: Let's play a trick on Duncan.
- Duncan: Haunted bridge. Pah! It's as tame as a pet rabbit!
- Duncan: If we don't go now, Skarloey will take my favourite place in the sheds.
- Driver: We can't go back until we've collected all the trucks.
- (Duncan gives a nervous look)
- Duncan: It's the ghost! Take me back! Take me back, please!
- (Duncan reverses and reaches the safety of his shed, and closes his eyes tightly)
- Narrator: When Duncan reached the safety of his shed, he closed his eyes tightly.
- Driver: Spooked, are you, Duncan?
- Duncan: No, I'm asleep!
- (Duncan initially refuses to open his eyes, but does, realising that his driver was making sure he was alright)
- Narrator: And refused to open his eyes. He did though when he thought his driver wasn't looking, just to make sure that he was still there.
In Other Languages
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Home Video Releases
UK
DVD BoxsetsUS
CAN
DVD Packs
JPN
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DVD Packs
NZ
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THATWN |
| #01 Cranky Bugs | #10 Toby and the Flood | #19 Happy Ever After |
| #02 Horrid Lorry | #11 Haunted Henry | #20 Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday |
| #03 A Better View for Gordon | #12 Double Teething Troubles | #21 A Surprise for Percy |
| #04 Lady Hatt's Birthday Party | #13 Stepney Gets Lost | #22 Make Someone Happy |
| #05 James and the Trouble with Trees | #14 Toby's Discovery | #23 Busy Going Backwards |
| #06 Gordon and the Gremlin | #15 Something in the Air | #24 Duncan Gets Spooked |
| #07 Bye George! | #16 Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach | #25 Rusty and the Boulder |
| #08 Baa! | #17 Thomas and the Rumours | #26 Snow |
| #09 Put Upon Percy | #18 Oliver's Find | |