Terence Breaks the Ice

Terence Breaks the Ice is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-first series.

Plot

Terence is helping to cut down trees for the Christmas market at Tidmouth. Thomas arrives to collect them and Terence comments that he is wearing his snowplough, which he originally refused to do when he first met Terence. Since being rescued from a snowdrift by Terence, Thomas has learned the importance of wearing a snowplough. After reminiscing about when they first met, Thomas leaves with the trees.

Thomas stops at Knapford on the way to Tidmouth to speak to the Fat Controller, who asks him where the huge tree he was meant to get for the Earl's Christmas fair at Ulfstead Castle is. As it turns out, the Fat Controller never asked Thomas to get a huge tree, having forgotten to do so. Thomas promises to get a big tree once he has dropped off the load he already has.

Thomas returns to the forest and asks Terence for a large tree. Terence knows where the ideal tree is, but it is on the other side of a nearby pond that has been frozen over. Thomas advises against going over the pond, but Terence is not worried because of his caterpillar tracks. He gets to the other side of the pond but leaves a huge crack in the ice.

After the tree has been chopped down, Terence goes back over the frozen pond. Thomas notices the ice cracking, but Terence chooses not to stop, as he is almost to the other side. He runs over the crack he left earlier and the ice breaks, leaving both Terence's rear end and the front of his trailer in the pond, to the horror of Thomas and the woodsmen. After Farmer Finney gets out of Terence's seat and carefully makes his way to safety, he yells for Thomas to go get help, but Thomas knows that this will take too long. He decides to pull Terence out on his own and has his driver and fireman attach chains to his plough while Farmer Finney and the woodsmen carefully hook the other end up to Terence. Thomas pulls Terence free of the water, but the trailer's hitch breaks and it sinks to the bottom of the pond, taking the tree with it. Terence apologises to Thomas for his recklessness, but Thomas is not at all upset.

At the Christmas fair at Ulfstead, Terence apologises to the Fat Controller for losing the tree, but he is just happy that Terence is safe. Sir Robert Norramby arrives to unveil the replacement tree and anticlimactically, turns on the lights to reveal that he only has a small tree, which has been put amid a stack of presents to give the illusion that it is massive in size. Nonetheless, he thanks Thomas and Terence for the tree and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas.

Characters

• Thomas
• Annie and Clarabel
• Terence
• Sir Topham Hatt
• Lady Hatt
• Sir Robert Norramby
• The Tree Specialists
• Farmer Finney (not named)
• Dowager Hatt (cameo)
• The Bird Watcher (cameo)
• The Ginger-haired Boy (cameo)
• The Blond-haired Boy (cameo)

Locations

• Duck Pond
• Knapford
• Terence's Field
• Crosby Tunnel
• Hackenbeck Tunnel
• Ulfstead Castle
• Tidmouth (mentioned)

Cast

UK and AUS

• John Hasler as Thomas
• Teresa Gallagher as Annie, Clarabel, Lady Hatt and the People
• Tom Stourton as Terence
• Keith Wickham as The Fat Controller, Farmer Finney, the Woodsman and the People
• Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby

USA and CAN

• Joseph May as Thomas
• Teresa Gallagher as Annie, Clarabel, Lady Hatt and the People
• Tom Stourton as Terence
• Keith Wickham as Sir Topham Hatt, Farmer Finney, the Woodsman and the People
• Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby

Trivia

• Going by production order, this is the third episode of the twenty-first series.
• This episode marks the first of a few things for Terence:
  • His first appearance in full CGI.
  • His first appearance overall since the special, The Great Discovery.
  • His first speaking role since the fifth series episode, Happy Ever After.
  • His first appearance in an episode since the seventh series episode, Not So Hasty Puddings.
  • His only appearance in the twenty-first series.
  • This episode also marks the first time that he has been the main character in an episode since his debut in the first series episode, Thomas, Terence and the Snow.
• A recreated CGI flashback of the first series episode, Thomas, Terence and the Snow was made and referenced along with a recreated music cue of Thomas crashing into the snow. Unlike the original episode where Terence pulled Annie and Clarabel first when they were uncoupled from Thomas, he pulls them all out at the same time in the flashback.
• This episode also marks the first of a few things:
  • Farmer Finney's first and only speaking role in the television series to date.
  • The first appearance of Hackenbeck Tunnel since the fourth series episode, Train Stops Play and its first appearance in CGI.
  • The first episode in the CGI Series to feature only one engine and the first to do so since the Jack and the Sodor Construction Company episode, Alfie Has Kittens. It is also the first episode since the sixth series episode, A Friend in Need, to feature one engine as well. In all three cases, the engine is Thomas.
  • The first appearance of Terence's Field since the first series episode, Thomas and Bertie, not counting stock footage in the second series episode, Better Late Than Never.
• At the beginning of the episode, a fawn and a rabbit are seen slipping and skiing on the ice. This is a reference to the 1942 animated Disney film, Bambi.
• The music in the scene where the tree sinks to the bottom of the lake and Terence apologises for it sounds very similar to the soundtrack of the 1997 romantic drama, Titanic. Terence is also wrapped in a blanket afterwards, much like Rose, the film's main character.
• When this episode first aired on Nick Jr., it was paired with The Christmas Coffeepot.
• A shortened version of the episode, narrated by Joseph May as Thomas, can be found on the official YouTube channel and the Nick Jr website.

Goofs

• As Thomas enters Hackenbeck Tunnel, which reuses the model for Crosby Tunnel, the tunnel has three lines, but when he exits, it has two lines.
• When Terence pulls Thomas, Annie and Clarabel back into the tunnel, his caterpillar wheels clip through the rails.
• Thomas claims he has always worn his snowplough in snowy weather since Terence rescued him, forgetting about the events of Thomas, Emily and the Snowplough and No Snow for Thomas.
• When the giant tree falls into Terence's cart, the tree changes size.
• On the Nickelodeon end credits, Terence's name was misspelt "Terrence".
• In a couple of the scenes, when Terence is trying to, or is going forward, his caterpillar tracks are actually moving backwards. You can tell more from the snow markings on his caterpillar tracks later into the episode.
• When Terence moves his caterpillar tracks after Farmer Finney tells Thomas to get help, no one is in the driver's seat.

In Other Languages

Home Media Releases

UK

• Christmas on Sodor (Direct-to-Home Video)
• The Complete Series 21 (coming soon)

US/AUS

• Christmas on Sodor