Thomas, Percy and the Dragon

Thomas, Percy and the Dragon is the seventh episode of the third series. It is based on the two Andrew Brenner magazine stories, Percy's Night Out and Percy and the Dragon.

Plot

Percy is still ribbing Thomas about the time he thought Percy was a ghost. Thomas pays no attention, pretending to have known it was him all the time and, the next morning, Thomas is asked by The Fat Controller to collect a special load from Knapford Harbour. 

Meanwhile, Percy is stuck in a siding while shunting and has to stay there for the night due to jammed points while waiting for Henry to pass. His driver and fireman go home for tea and Percy watches the other engines heading back to Tidmouth. He gets scared when he hears a shrieking noise, not knowing it is only an owl and wishes Thomas was with him.

When Thomas is waiting for his load at the harbour, he is horrified to find it is a dragon, but his driver tells him it is made of paper and is needed for a carnival. Workmen put lights on the dragon for Thomas to travel safely and he sets off for the carnival. Percy is sleeping until Thomas passes by with the dragon, causing Percy to get so terrified that he refuses to open his eyes until his driver returns.

The next day, Percy tries to tell Gordon, only for him to think Percy is joking, which soon leads to the other engines teasing Percy about it. He begins to think he might have imagined the dragon, but later, he sees it again but is indignant when he sees Thomas pushing it. Thomas explains what happened and the two make up for their teasing.

Characters

• Thomas
• Gordon
• James
• Percy
• Sir Topham Hatt
• Henry (does not speak)
• Duck (cameo)
• Diesel (cameo)
• Bertie (cameo)
• Big Mickey (faceless; cameo)
• Percy's Ghost Engine (mentioned)

Locations

• Tidmouth Sheds
• Elsbridge
• Knapford Harbour
• Knapford
• Suddery
• Suddery Yard
• The Valley Bridge

Trivia

• Going by the Shining Time Station airings, this was the first Series 3 story told by George Carlin alongside Ghost Train.
• A deleted scene shows Gordon passing Percy in the siding.
• This is the first episode to air in the US via Shining Time Station before airing in the UK. However, the first sixteen episodes of this series were released on home media in the time before airing a year later in 1992 for British audiences.
• In the early narration, the music played when Percy waits for Henry to pass by, Percy at Knapford, and the other engines laughing is omitted. The music played when James teased Percy is omitted in both UK narrations and most international versions.
• The owl's shrieking noise is heard twice in the UK and international versions.
• Big Mickey and S.S. Vienna, from Thomas & Friends sister show, TUGS, make their first appearances in the show as background characters. Big Mickey continued to be a background character, even making it into CGI Series, until he gained a face in the twenty-first series episode, New Crane on the Dock. S.S. Vienna would be repainted and named the S.S. Roxstar from the fourth series onwards.
• A reference to the second series episode, Ghost Train is made.
• The episode can be seen in a Japanese game, Magical Adventure.
• When repeated on CITV in 1993, the end credits were entirely removed, save for the Britt Allcroft endboards.
• The events of this episode were mentioned by Thomas in the twenty-third series episode Wish You Were Here.

Goofs

• In the restored version, in the last shot of Thomas and Percy in the shed, the narrator says Thomas went to sleep, but he looks cross. This is because the original shot of Thomas going back to sleep is replaced.
• The dragon was said to be covered in lights, but it was actually lit up from underneath.
• The steam vent goes off too early when Thomas blows steam at Percy.
• In the shot of Henry, James and Duck, Henry's front wheels are derailed and his brake pipe is wonky.
• The end of the set is visible behind Thomas in the shot where he goes under the bridge and the track he was on ends behind him.
• In the overhead shots of the jammed points, a truck next to Percy is derailed.
• In the scene of Thomas and Percy in Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas is in a middle berth. The morning after, however, Thomas has moved to the berth on the far right.
• Wires can be seen under the tarpaulin on the flatbed in front of the dragon when Thomas passes Percy. These are most likely wires connecting the power source to the dragon's lights. In addition, when it becomes daylight, Thomas loses this flatbed.

Quotes

• Gordon: "You've been in the sun too long! Your dome has cracked!"
• James: "Look out, Percy! Or the dragon may gobble you up!"
• Percy: "No one believes me! Maybe I did imagine the dragon after all."

Merchandise

• Motor Road and Rail (discontinued)
• TrackMaster (UK only; discontinued)
• Books - Thomas and Percy and the Dragon
• Buzz Books - Thomas, Percy and the Dragon
• Magazine Stories - Thomas, Percy and the Dragon!

In Other Languages

Home Media Releases

Video Games

• Magical Adventure