| For other uses, see Thomas Goes Fishing (disambiguation). |
- “I want to fish."
"But they all had the same answer."
"Engines don't go fishing."
"Silly stick-in-the-muds.” - ― Thomas, the narrator and James
Thomas Goes Fishing is the twelfth episode of the first series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book Tank Engine Thomas Again.
Plot
"Engines don't go fishing".
Along Thomas' branch line, he often looks forward to the sight of the river near the bridge and the people that fish there. He often wants to stay and watch but his driver will not let him; telling him to think about what the Fat Controller would say if they fell behind schedule. Whenever Thomas meets another engine, he shares with them his longing to fish. In response, they all say that "Engines don't go fishing", which he does not take seriously.
One day, Thomas arrives at Elsbridge and is annoyed to find the water column is out of order so his driver suggests that they fetch water from the river instead. The crew finds a bucket and some rope and they hurry to the bridge. Once there, they lower the bucket down to the river. Unfortunately, the bucket is old and has five holes, so they have to hurry and pour the water into Thomas' tank before it drains out. They repeat this several times until, at last, Thomas' thirst is quenched.
Before long, Thomas develops a sudden pain in his boiler. Steam rushes from his safety valve and Thomas is alarmed that he may burst. The crew dampens the fire and they struggle on to Ffarquhar. Annie and Clarabel are uncoupled and Thomas, still aching, limps onto a siding right out of the way. While Clarabel's guard phones for an inspector and the Fat Controller, workmen put signs saying "DANGER KEEP AWAY" all around Thomas. The Fat Controller arrives with the inspector and they console Thomas over the situation. The driver explains what happened and the inspector determines that the feed pipe is blocked.
When the inspector looks inside Thomas' tank, he notices something then climbs down and asks the Fat Controller to take a look in the tank as well. The Fat Controller agrees and when he looks up, he is shocked at what he sees; they agree that what they saw were fish and the driver deduces that they were collected in the river while in the process of filling the tank. The Fat Controller jokes that Thomas got to go fishing after all but as fish do not suit him, they must be removed at once. Thomas' crew and the inspector carefully fish them out with instructions from the Fat Controller and, afterwards, they have a meal of fish and chips. The Fat Controller hopes that Thomas has learned his lesson, to which Thomas wearily replies that he now understands why engines do not go fishing: it is too uncomfortable.
Characters
- Thomas
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Engine Inspector
- James (not named)
- Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
Locations
- Elsbridge
- Elsbridge Viaduct
- Elsbridge Signal Runby (deleted scene)
- Terence's Field
- Ffarquhar
Trivia
- This is Wilbert and Christopher Awdry's favourite story.
- Extended stock footage from Thomas and the Trucks is used.
- The events were referenced in the fourth series episode Fish.
- This is the first episode of a few things:
- The first episode to have the same title in both the UK and US.
- The first episode to not be dubbed in Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.
- The first episode to introduce Thomas' scared face.
- The first episode where an engine suffers from pain as well as the first episode to feature a serious dreadful experience for an engine.
- When Thomas is uncoupled from his coaches and struggles onto the siding, a remixed sadder version of his theme combined with the Breakdown Train theme plays.
- This was the last episode to air on Thursdays on 22 December 1988 and also the final episode to air in 1988 before airing the other remaining episodes on Mondays from 9 January to 22 May 1989.
- In 2010, Thomas' aghast face, also known as the infamous "O" face, when the Fat Controller asks the inspector if he saw fish, along with the musical note that went with the shot, became an internet meme.
Goofs
- Some of the gold paint on James' dome is faded when he tells Thomas about engines never going fishing.
- When Thomas leaves Elsbridge station, Clarabel is facing forward.
- The old bucket is said to have five holes but a close-up shot of the bucket shows an extra one. Also, no water is seen leaking in the next two shots.
- When the bucket is lifted from the river, the water is shown to be brown and muddy. However, when the water is poured into Thomas' tank, the water appears to be clean.
- When Thomas begins to feel a pain in his boiler, he passes by the spot he ends up stopping in.
- Thick pencil marks are visible on the "DANGER KEEP AWAY" signs.
- In the US and other dubs, When The Fat Controller says "Mmm", Ringo Starr's voice can be faintly heard in the background.
- When the men are first seen with the "DANGER" signs, the red lining around Thomas' number is peeling away.
- The narrator says they put the signs in front and behind Thomas but in one shot of Thomas, a sign that is supposed to be behind him is on his left side (viewers' right).
- When the Fat Controller and the inspector are looking in Thomas' tank, the light pole behind Thomas is missing.
- In the restored version, studio equipment can be seen when Thomas says "Bother! I'm thirsty!" and when the inspector looks inside Thomas' tank.
- When Thomas puffs onto the siding, steam continues to vent from the tracks even after he leaves but in the next shot, it all disappears. Later, when the inspector clambers up to check Thomas' tanks, Thomas abruptly stops hissing steam but when the inspector comes down, he is hissing steam again and once the Fat Controller climbs up, the steam vanishes. Then, when the Fat Controller asks Thomas' driver how the fish got there, the steam reappears. Throughout all of this, the hissing sound continues even when Thomas is not letting off steam.
- When Thomas is at Elsbridge, the siding usually seen at the water column is not there, except in the close-up of the out of order sign. When it is seen, it ends in the grass.
- There is a tiny hole in Thomas' smokebox when the Inspector looks into his tank.
- When the bucket is pulled in and out of the water, the string attached to it leading into Thomas' cab is visible.
- When Thomas got a boiler pain, he is wearing Percy's tired face mask in two shots.
- In the Welsh dub, only one of the "DANGER KEEP AWAY" signs is translated into Welsh, while the others remain printed in English.
In Other Languages
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Merchandise
- Ladybird book - Thomas Goes Fishing and James and the Troublesome Trucks
- Octopus book - Thomas Goes Fishing
- Pop-Up book - Thomas the Tank Engine Goes Fishing
- Buzz Book - Thomas Goes Fishing
- Step into Reading book - Thomas Goes Fishing
- Activity book - Thomas Goes Fishing
- Engine Adventures book - Thomas
Home Video Releases
PC Game
Episode
References
| #01 Thomas and Gordon | #10 James and the Express | #19 The Flying Kipper |
| #02 Edward and Gordon | #11 Thomas and the Guard | #20 Whistles and Sneezes |
| #03 The Sad Story of Henry | #12 Thomas Goes Fishing | #21 Toby and the Stout Gentleman |
| #04 Edward, Gordon and Henry | #13 Thomas, Terence and the Snow | #22 Thomas in Trouble |
| #05 Thomas' Train | #14 Thomas and Bertie | #23 Dirty Objects |
| #06 Thomas and the Trucks | #15 Tenders and Turntables | #24 Off the Rails |
| #07 Thomas and the Breakdown Train | #16 Trouble in the Shed | #25 Down the Mine |
| #08 James and the Coaches | #17 Percy Runs Away | #26 Thomas' Christmas Party |
| #09 Troublesome Trucks | #18 Coal | |