- "I'll go get help! Oh wait. I can't!"
- ― Philip
Philip to the Rescue is the eighteenth episode of the nineteenth series.
Plot
Philip, the new diesel boxcab on the North Western Railway, continues to boast about how he won a race against Gordon. Little did Philip know, however, was that Gordon did not actually participate in the race. Gordon simply sent him racing off just so he could be left alone to rest.
One day, as he is showing Thomas how fast he can shunt in the yard, James arrives to collect a goods train, which are not the type of trains he favours pulling. Philip asks James if he saw how fast he shunted, which James was not watching. Thomas likes little Philip, but James thinks that he is just a "show-off", which Thomas finds funny that James should say such a thing.
James, completely annoyed and determined to show Philip how strong he is, assembles a long train of trucks, flatbeds carrying steel girders and diesel tankers: seventeen in total. At Knapford Station, Thomas sees Philip pulling a longer train than James', though he is only pulling empty trucks. Thomas tells Edward that Philip is really cheeky, to which Edward says that reminds him of a little tank engine who wanted to see the world. Thomas blushes at this.
James now feels sorry for taking so many trucks, as they are hard to pull, especially up Gordon's hill. At last, he barely reaches the top, but as it turns out, it is harder to control them downhill. The trucks bash and bump into James and push him down the hill and around a bend. James, now balancing on the single sleepers, is in a state of panic, and soon, his massive balancing act comes to an end, hurtling him into a bridge. He finds himself wedged against the undamaged rocks, rocking back and forth over the bottom rails.
Philip is on his way back from the quarry when he sees James, who begins to lose his balance. James warns Philip not to come any closer, but tells him to go get help. However, he slips and Philip rushes just in time to catch him with his particularly strong roof. While James is thankful, he cannot get back on the tracks on his own. Philip offers to get help, but then realises that he cannot move, not without the risk of James falling on the ground. In any case, they are both stuck.
Fortunately, James' guard telephones the Fat Controller, who sends help right away. Soon, Percy and Rocky arrive to lift James onto a well wagon. James is upset about his paint being all scratched. Once again, he thanks Philip, then apologises for accusing him of being a show-off, something that catches Philip off guard. The Fat Controller points out to James that he was in over his head with taking too many trucks and soon, Percy takes James over to the Steamworks.
Before being sent for repairs, Philip tells the other engines at Tidmouth Sheds about what happened. He tells them that the Fat Controller said James was being a show-off, to which Edward tells him that right now, he is being a show-off. Philip agrees, but cannot help adding that he is not as much as James, though. This makes all the engines laugh, except Gordon, who thinks Philip needs to get his own shed.
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Emily
- Philip
- Annie and Clarabel
- Rocky
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Duck (cameo)
- Rosie (cameo)
- Stanley (cameo)
- Charlie (cameo)
- Diesel (cameo)
- Paxton (cameo)
- Stafford (cameo)
- Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants (cameos)
- The Teacher (cameo)
- The Birdwatcher (cameo)
- One of Dowager Hatt's Friends (cameo)
- The Lady with the Big Hat (cameo)
- The Great Railway Show Judge (cameo)
- The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (cameo)
Locations
- Knapford
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Gordon's Hill
- Bridge Over Double-Track Tunnel
- Sodor Steamworks (mentioned)
- Ffarquhar Quarry (mentioned)
- Wellsworth Sheds (indirectly mentioned)
Cast
UK
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, James and the Fat Controller
- Nigel Pilkington as Percy
- Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Annie and Clarabel
- Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
- Matt Wilkinson as Rocky (uncredited)
US
- Joseph May as Thomas
- William Hope as Edward and Rocky
- Kerry Shale as Henry and Gordon
- Rob Rackstraw as James
- Christopher Ragland as Percy
- Jules de Jongh as Emily
- Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
- Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
- Keith Wickham as Sir Topham Hatt
Trivia
- Going by production order, this is the twentieth episode of the nineteenth series.
- Flashbacks from the previous episode, as well as stock footage from previous episode are used, and references to said previous episode, the first series episode, Thomas and the Trucks and the special, The Adventure Begins are made in this episode too.
- A brief instrumental of Really Useful Engine is heard.
- The plot and events of the episode are similar to the sixth series episodes, The World's Strongest Engine and Gordon Takes a Tumble.
- The way James derails is similar to the first series episode, Thomas and the Breakdown Train in its retelling in The Adventure Begins.
- The events of the episode are later mentioned by Philip in the twenty-first series episode, A Shed for Edward.
- This episode marks Charlie's only appearance in the nineteenth series and also his last appearance in an episode until the twenty-first series episode, The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor.
- Apart from laughing and gasping, Henry, Percy and Emily do not have any dialogue in this episode.
- This is the last episode (with the special The Great Race being the last time) where Rosie is seen in her original lavender livery, as starting from her next appearance onwards, her paint changes to her cherry red livery. This could be the reason why she did not appear in the next series.
- In the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Baltic Russian and Vietnamese dubs, the UK dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.
Goofs
- In the first shot, one barrel is missing its shadow.
- Matt Wilkinson is not credited in the UK credits for voicing Rocky.
- Stafford is missing his doors.
- In the flashback, it takes a while for Gordon to act surprised after Philip interrupts his nap.
- When James puffs up the hill, James' leading wheels are moving slower than the speed James is actually moving at.
- The position of James' trucks changes between the first and second shots of his accident.
- In one shot of James going down the hill, his tender is merged with the truck behind him.
- In the UK dub, James screams: "No!!! Ahh!!!", but his mouth moves to say "Oh, no!!!" instead.
Merchandise
- Wooden Railway - Speedy Surprise Drop (discontinued)
In Other Languages
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Home Media Releases
UK
- Start Your Engines!
- The Complete Series 19 (Start Your Engines! Bonus Disc)
US
- Start Your Engines!
- Season 19
AUS
- Start Your Engines!
CHN
#01 Who's Geoffrey? | #10 Salty All at Sea | #19 Diesel's Ghostly Christmas Part One |
#02 The Truth About Toby | #11 Den and Dart | #20 Diesel's Ghostly Christmas Part Two |
#03 Lost Property | #12 Helping Hiro | #21 Thomas the Babysitter |
#04 Henry Spots Trouble | #13 Slow Stephen | #22 Rocky Rescue |
#05 A Cranky Christmas | #14 Two Wheels Good | #23 The Other Side of the Mountain |
#06 Snow Place Like Home | #15 Reds vs. Blues | #24 No Help at All |
#07 The Beast of Sodor | #16 Best Engine Ever | #25 Goodbye Fat Controller |
#08 Toad and the Whale | #17 The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead | #26 Wild Water Rescue |
#09 Very Important Sheep | #18 Philip to the Rescue | |