- “Mole hills! Hundreds of them! It looks like a giant currant bun (chocolate chip cookie in the US dub), only green!”
- ― Buster
Thomas and the Moles, originally titled Buster 1, Moles 0 is the eighth episode of Jack and the Sodor Construction Company. It was released on the DVD Thomas' Trusty Friends.
Plot
Thomas and the Pack have been sent to the football field to clear debris from the car park after a bad storm, but there is no work for Buster and he feels left out. However, when the work is complete, Miss Jenny discovers mole hills on the field and sends Thomas to pick up Buster to flatten the mole hills, which he does successfully.
Characters
- Thomas
- Jack
- Isobella
- Buster
- Miss Jenny
- Dryaw FC coach
- Oliver (does not speak)
- Max (does not speak)
- Ned (does not speak)
- Kelly (does not speak)
- Nelson (does not speak)
- Percy (cameo)
- Alfie (cameo)
- Monty (cameo)
- Toby (stock footage cameo)
- Henry (mentioned)
- Sir Topham Hatt (mentioned)
The moles also speak.
Locations
- Dryaw FC
- Sodor Construction Company Yard
- Henry's Tunnel (mentioned)
Trivia
- A working title or the original title for this episode was Buster 1, Moles 0, although that title is listed on Virgin TV Anytime's website.
- Stock footage from the seventh series episode, Toby's Windmill is used. In the first shot, Toby's eye movement is different and he hits the fallen fence.
- When Buster is flattening the mole hills, some of the same scenes are used twice. However, some are mirrored.
- One of the miniature moles (production made) was sold to the Coffey Man Preservation from the Prop Gallery.
- The miniature model of the football coach is owned by Twitter user IsaacM6991.
- This was the only Jack and the Sodor Construction Company episode of several things:
- The only episode written by Jan Needle.
- The only episode where Toby appears, using stock footage.
- The only episode where Percy appears, but does not speak.
- This is the only instance of real life anthropomorphic animals in the show's history.
Goofs
- In the shots with Kelly, Monty and Buster, Buster's eyes are wonky.
- When Buster watches Kelly, Monty and Miss Jenny leave the yard, he appears to have a piece of tape on his front.
- The title doesn't make much sense as Thomas doesn't play a big role in the episode.
In Other Languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Thomas en de Moles |
| German | Thomas und die Maulwürfe |
Home Media Releases
UK/US/AUS/NL/GER
UK DVD Boxsets
US DVD Boxsets
- Totally Thomas Volume 9
- Thomas' Trusty Friends and On Site with Thomas Double Feature
- Ultimate Thomas Collection
AUS DVD Boxsets
| #02 Alfie Has Kittens | #21 Percy Helps Out | n/a Bossy Byron |
| #03 Jack Owns Up | #22 A Happy Day for Percy | n/a The Importance of Being Patrick |
| #06 On Site with Thomas | #23 Thomas' Trusty Friends | n/a Pop Goes the Diesel |
| #07 A Visit from Thomas | #24 A Tale for Thomas | n/a Jack and the Quack |
| #10 Mud Glorious Mud | n/a No Dozer is an Island | n/a Alfie Has a Secret |
| #13 Thomas and the Moles | n/a All Work, No Play | n/a Isobella Gets Steamed |
| #14 The Tortoise and the Hare | n/a Safety First | n/a The Grass is Greener |
| #15 Percy's Scary Tale | n/a Treasure Hunt | n/a Kelly's Heroes |
| #20 Kelly's Windy Day | n/a Jack's Snow Rescue | |