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- “Hello Duck! Going fishing? I'd take care If I were you."
"Why?"
"Well for one thing, if fish get into an engine's boiler, they always cause trouble. And for another, fish can be awfully smelly. And I know what I'm talking about. Good night.” - ― Thomas advising Duck
Fish is the twenty-fourth episode of the fourth series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Really Useful Engines.
Plot
A special load of fish is ordered, for which extra vans are needed for The Flying Kipper. To Henry's frustration, the only ones available are old and unused. Duck shunts them into position and moments later, Thomas arrives with the post train. He warns Duck to take care, telling him of his own experience with fish. Henry is still complaining about his extra load, but his driver tells him that at least another engine will be helping them.
At Wellsworth, Duck is waiting for Henry. When he arrives, he moves to the back to help him to the top of Gordon's Hill without getting coupled up. As the train nears the top of the hill, Henry begins to inadvertently pull away from Duck while the tail lamp on the last van falls off in the process. Worse still, Henry slows down while Duck suddenly loses sight of the train and tries to catch up. Unfortunately, Duck accidentally crashes into the last van causing loads of fish to spill out and derails himself in the process.
The mess is cleaned up later that morning and the fallen tail lamp is found at the bottom of the hill. The Fat Controller tells Duck that the accident was not his fault and that the crew should have fitted the tail lamp on properly, and assures him that he will be in working order again. Duck reflects that Thomas' earlier advice about fish was right.
Characters
- Thomas
- Henry
- Duck
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Edward (does not speak)
- James (cameo)
- Percy (cameo)
- Skarloey (stock footage cameo)
- Rheneas (stock footage cameo)
- Gordon (mentioned)
Locations
- Tidmouth Beach
- Mountainside Runby
- Road Beside Rail and Canal Runby
- Knapford Harbour
- Wellsworth
- Gordon's Hill
- Lakeside (stock footage)
- Lakeside Bridge (stock footage)
- Lakeside Junction (stock footage)
- Neptune Refreshments (stock footage)
Trivia
- In this episode, the set for Brendam Docks is slightly rearranged to represent Knapford Harbour.
- This episode marked the last of a few things:
- Duck's last leading role until the seventeenth series episode, The Thomas Way.
- The last time the music first heard at the start of Thomas, Percy and the Post Train is used; it is played at the start of this episode as the narrator introduces the story similar to the said episode.
- Stock footage from A Bad Day for Sir Handel is used.
- On PBS Kids Sprout airings, when The Fat Controller says “We should’ve checked that this tail lamp was fixed on properly“, it does not show a big zoom in on the tail lamp, it shows a wide out zoom (which was seen before Sir Topham Hatt’s appearance).
- A Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Van used in this episode is currently owned by Twitter user ThomasTankMerch.
- Crates labelled "Fulton's" can be seen during the episode. These are used as either a reference to Fulton's Fish Market in New York City or set dressing props from the sister television series TUGS. O.J.'s model, Lakesider III, from said series also appears in the episode.
- A reference to the first series episode, Thomas Goes Fishing, is made.
- This is the first episode in the series to use deep chuffing sound effects for big engines.
- This is the first appearance of Henry's unused surprised or spooked face mask from Series 2.
Goofs
- Duck's eyes are wonky in some scenes.
- Throughout the episode, Thomas has Edward's whistle sound.
- Thomas' eyes are wonky in the first close up shot of him.
- When the narrator says, "Henry was pulling his train harder than he realised," Henry's eyes are wonky.
- Henry's lamp is not on his lamp iron.
- In a close-up shot of Duck, his lamp has no light.
- In the Finnish dub, Gordon's English name is used by accident.
- As Duck is shunting the vans, two of them switch places.
- When they reach Gordon's Hill, one of the old vans switches direction.
Quotes
- Thomas: Hello, Duck. Going fishing? I'd take care if I were you.
- Duck: Why?
- Thomas: Well, for one thing, if fish get into an engine's boiler, they always cause trouble. And for another, fish can be awfully smelly. And I know what I'm talking about. Good night.
- [after Duck's unexpected mishap with the train the night before]
- The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt: The accident wasn't your fault; we should have checked if this tail lamp was fixed on properly. We'll soon have you in working order again.
- Duck: Thank you sir, Thomas told me to be careful about fish. They got me in a right pickle, didn't they?
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Home Media Releases
| #01 Granpuff | #10 Rock 'n' Roll | #19 Henry and the Elephant |
| #02 Sleeping Beauty | #11 Special Funnel | #20 Toad Stands By |
| #03 Bulldog | #12 Steam Roller | #21 Bulls Eyes |
| #04 You Can't Win | #13 Passengers and Polish | #22 Thomas and the Special Letter |
| #05 Four Little Engines | #14 Gallant Old Engine | #23 Paint Pots and Queens |
| #06 A Bad Day for Sir Handel | #15 Rusty to the Rescue | #24 Fish |
| #07 Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady | #16 Thomas and Stepney | #25 Special Attraction |
| #08 Trucks | #17 Train Stops Play | #26 Mind that Bike |
| #09 Home at Last | #18 Bowled Out | |