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- "This is much more like it! No more railways! The buses have finally won!"
- ― Bulgy
Free the Roads is the first episode of the twenty-third series.
Plot
Bulgy is annoyed at the engines always taking the passengers. He attempts to take some that are waiting for Percy to arrive, but they decline his offer to ride on him. Bulgy attempts to block off Percy at the level crossing while trying to express his "free the roads" policy but moves after Bertie tells him to. While fantasying about him and Bertie saving passengers from being taken by Percy by taking them instead, he accidentally knocks into some steel drums that have some tyres on them. One of the tyres rolls off the drums and onto a plank of wood that launches a bag of soil into a water tower.
Thomas fills up with water from the water tower Bulgy catapulted the bag of soil into and breaks down some time later while taking Annie and Clarabel. Bulgy is then asked by the Fat Controller to take Thomas' passengers instead. Some of the other engines also take on water from the same water tower and break down as well, leaving Bertie and Bulgy very busy.
Bulgy initially likes taking passengers, but he soon gets more than he bargained for; Bertie ends up breaking down due to an overload of passengers to take, leading them to ride in Bulgy and causing him to break down with his front right tyre breaking off his axle. When his passengers complain about this, Bulgy states his regrets in getting the soil in the water tower. Unfortunately, The Fat Controller hears this and chastises Bulgy for what he did and for causing confusion and delay. Bulgy is then left broken down while the passengers are picked up by the fully recovered engines. He is then left further dismayed when he is taken back to the garage by Thomas, who tells Bulgy that he can at least agree that there are some things railways are good for. Bulgy does, but he still thinks roads are better.
Characters
- Thomas
- Percy
- Annie and Clarabel
- Bertie
- Bulgy
- Max and Monty
- Sir Topham Hatt
- The Knapford Stationmaster
- The Teacher
- Albert's Wife
- The Great Railway Show Judge
- The Man with the Green Waistcoat and Grey Hair
- The Grumpy Passenger
- Gordon (does not speak)
- Butch (does not speak)
- One of Dowager Hatt's Friends (cameo)
- The Birdwatcher (cameo)
- The Welsh Birdwatcher (cameo)
- Sodor United Football Team (cameos)
- The Lady with the Big Hat (cameo)
- The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (cameo)
- Emily (portrait cameo)
- Rebecca (mentioned)
- George (dropped)
Locations
- Knapford
- Knapford Bus Yard (mentioned)
- Dryaw
- Maithwaite
- Ffarquhar
- Wellsworth (fantasy)
- Crosby (poster)
- Vicarstown (mentioned)
Cast
UK
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Nigel Pilkington as Percy
- Teresa Gallagher as Annie, Clarabel, the Teacher and Albert's Wife
- Keith Wickham as Bertie and the Fat Controller
- Colin McFarlane as Bulgy
- Kerry Shale as Max (uncredited)
- Rob Rackstraw as Monty, the Knapford Stationmaster and a Passenger
- Christopher Ragland as a Passenger
US
- Joseph May as Thomas
- Christopher Ragland as Percy and a Passenger
- Teresa Gallagher as Annie, Clarabel, the Teacher and Albert's Wife
- Keith Wickham as Bertie and Sir Topham Hatt
- Colin McFarlane as Bulgy
- Kerry Shale as Max
- Rob Rackstraw as Monty, the Knapford Stationmaster and a Passenger
Trivia
- Going by production order, this is the first episode of the twenty-third series.
- This episode is one of Michael White's favourite episodes to be written alongside "the one that hasn't been released yet".
- This is Bulgy's final episode with a leading role.
- This episode marks the first of a few things:
- The first time since the seventh series episode, Bulgy Rides Again that Bulgy has had a leading role in an episode.
- The first episode since the twentieth series finale, Over the Hill to be produced by Ian McCue.
- Max and Monty's first speaking roles since the twentieth series episode, Mucking About, their first appearances without any of the other Pack members and their first appearances since the twenty-first series episode, A Shed for Edward.
- The first episode where Thomas, Gordon, Percy, Bertie and Bulgy gain more realistic looks.
- The first time since the fifth series episode, Haunted Henry, in which Gordon has the BR Express Headcodes.
- The first episode dubbed in Võru for Kidzone TV.
- Michael White asked about bringing George back for the episode, but was declined as the crew thought it would be best to work with what they had.[1]
- Bulgy and Bertie in the fantasy sequence were portrayed as Batman and Robin from the 1960s television series Batman. Theme music renditions were played throughout the episode.
- This episode marks Bertie and Bulgy's only appearances and Butch's only non-cameo appearance in the twenty-third series.
- On Nick Jr. in the US, this episode was paired with Heart of Gold, in Mexico, they are paired with Chucklesome Trucks, and in Japan, this episode is paired with Crowning Around.
- Apart from laughing with Monty after saying "Out of the way Bulgy", Max does not have any dialogue in this episode.
- Bertie mentions the events of the twenty-first series episode, Unscheduled Stops.
- This episode is named after a quote on Bulgy's original signboards.
Goofs
- There are several errors for Max and Monty:
- They incorrectly have Sidney and Paxton's horn sounds, respectively.
- They have their US voices in the UK dub. As a result:
- Kerry Shale is not credited in the English end credits for voicing Max.
- Rasmus Hardiker is credited for voicing Monty instead of Rob Rackstraw in the UK end credits.
- When Bulgy arrives at Maithwaite, he clips through the signal box.
- As Percy starts leaving Maithwaite, his last two coaches are not rendered properly as they are merged together.
Merchandise
In Other Languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| Arabic | الطرقات |
| Dutch | Maak de Weg Vrij! |
| Estonian | Teed Vabaks |
| German | Straße frei für die Busse |
| Hebrew | שחררו את הכבישים |
| Hungarian | Utakat felszabadítani! |
| Indonesian | Tolong Beri Jalan |
| Italian | Sono arrivati i Super Autobus |
| Japanese | バルジーだいさくせん！ |
| Korean | 버스 대 기차 |
| Latvian | Atbrīvojiet Ceļus |
| Lithuanian | Laisvi Keliai |
| Polish | Więcej Dróg |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Liberem as Estradas |
| Romanian | Eliberați Drumurile |
| Russian | Свободные дороги |
| Spanish (Latin America) | Liberen los Caminos |
| Spanish (Spain) | ¡Caminos Libres! |
| Turkish | Yolları Kurtarın |
| Vietnamese | Giải Phong Con Đường |
Home Video Releases
UK/IRL/AUS
NL
Reference
| #01 Free the Roads | #09 Diesel Do Right | #17 Lorenzo's Solo |
| #02 Crowning Around | #10 Grudge Match | #18 Deep Trouble |
| #03 Chucklesome Trucks | #11 Panicky Percy | #19 Too Loud, Thomas! |
| #04 The Other Big Engine | #12 Laid Back Shane | #20 Diesel Glows Away |
| #05 Heart of Gold | #13 Rangers of the Rails | Special #01 Steam Team to the Rescue |
| #06 Batucada | #14 Wish You Were Here | Special #02 All Tracks Lead to Rome |
| #07 Gordon Gets the Giggles | #15 Out of Site | Special #03 Mines of Mystery |
| #08 Thomas Makes a Mistake | #16 First Day on Sodor! | |