- "Oliver's no use at all; thinks he's very clever.
Says that he can manage us; that's the best joke ever!
When he orders us about with the greatest folly,
We just push him down the well… Pop goes Old Ollie!" - ― S.C. Ruffey and the trucks singing
Toad Stands By is the twentieth episode of the fourth series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Oliver the Western Engine.
Plot
Oliver returns from the Works after an earlier accident when some trucks pushed him into a turntable well. Now, he is as good as new but is still worried about trucks, preferring not to use them. The trucks, prompted by their ringleader, S.C. Ruffey, sing a rude song to spite him. Thomas, Percy and Duck are shocked and angrily order them to be quiet but they cannot be everywhere at once and the trucks start singing again and again, whenever and wherever the engines are not around.
At last, Thomas, Duck and Percy give up and apologise to Oliver about what happened, who insists he is the one at fault. The next morning, Toad, feeling sorry for Oliver and worried about the trucks' disrespect for the engines, asks Douglas if he may stay in the yard to help Oliver, to which Douglas agrees. Later, Toad explains his plan to the two Great Western engines, with Duck believing he shouldn't suggest it to Oliver. However, Oliver agrees to the plan as he feels that the trucks' behaviour is his own fault and wants to put it right. Oliver's driver arranges it with the stationmaster and the plan is soon set in motion, while Duck concedes and goes to pick up his passengers.
Following Toad's advice, Oliver marshals the worst trucks two by two and handles S.C. Ruffey last, leaving the ringleader directly behind him. As Duck arrives at the Station with his passenger train, S.C. Ruffey is shunted in front of the other trucks and whispers to them to hold back and pass the word around, which they do. However, due to plenty of sand on the rails, Oliver has a perfect grip and gives a great heave. With Oliver pulling forward and all of the other trucks pulling back, S.C. Ruffey is stretched in two opposite directions and begins to feel very strained, while Duck encourages Oliver to keep going. Within a short time, S.C. Ruffey is stretched to his limit and breaks apart, to the horror of the other trucks and to the delight of Toad and Duck.
The Fat Controller arrives and asks Oliver if he doesn't know his own strength, to which Oliver nervously replies in the negative. The Fat Controller inspects S.C. Ruffey's remains, attributing the truck's broken state to rotten wood and rusty frames and decides to have him rebuilt. The other trucks become fearful of Oliver and whisper to each other not to anger him as they fear he will pull them apart. S.C. Ruffey, on the other hand, after having been rebuilt, has learned his lesson and says nothing at all.
Characters
- Thomas
- Percy
- Duck
- Douglas
- Oliver
- Troublesome Trucks
- Troublesome Vans
- Toad
- Troublesome Tankers
- S. C. Ruffey
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Henry (cameo)
- James (cameo)
- Märklin Engine (scrapped model cameo)
Locations
Trivia
- Going by production order, this is the twenty-third episode of the fourth series.
- Despite its placement in the fourth series, this episode picks up right where the third series episode Oliver Owns Up leaves off as it did in The Railway Series. Stock footage from said episode is used, as a flashback to that episode is seen at the beginning of this episode as well.
- This episode marks the fifth time in which Douglas appears without Donald, the first being in the third series episode Escape and the others being in the previous fourth series episodes Four Little Engines, Rusty to the Rescue and Thomas and Stepney. This is also the final episode in which Douglas speaks without Donald.
- At the beginning of the episode, the scrapyard Oliver passes is really the Skarloey Engine Sheds set redressed with scrap models of Thomas, Gordon, the Märklin Engine and one of the Scottish twins.
- This episode marks the first occurrences of a few things:
- This is the first time tankers have faces. The faces are the same ones used on the Skarloey Railway's slate trucks.
- This is the first episode to feature LNER 12 Ton Vans with faces.
- Toad's first speaking and leading roles in the television series.
- The first episode the trucks are called "Troublesome Trucks", although only in the UK dub. It would not be until the sixth series episode The World's Strongest Engine until this term is used in the US dub. However, in the fifth series episode Rusty and the Boulder, the British term "trucks" was first used in the US dub.
- This episode marks Oliver and Toad's only speaking roles in the fourth series.
- This episode also marks Toad's only speaking role to be narrated by George Carlin.
- The song the trucks sing when Oliver arrives at the yard is sung to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel". "Pop Goes the Diesel" from the episode of the same name and "Dirty Work" is also sung to this tune.
- This is the first appearance of Toad's worried and laughing faces.
- In the UK dub and the Ukrainian voice-over, the voice clip of Oliver saying "It's really my fault," when speaking to Thomas, Percy and Duck is reused when he tells Duck that Toad's plan should be carried out.
- The loud crashing sound effect heard when S.C. Ruffey falls apart would be reused in several other episodes, notably in the fifth series episode Rusty and the Boulder, up until the twelfth series episode Mountain Marvel.
- A scrap piece of the Goods engine and the steel company from Tugs appears.
- Starting from this episode, two of the engines' whistles have changed:
- From the ending scene until Thomas and the Special Letter, Douglas' whistle sound is Thomas' but a seventh lower in pitch and it would later be reused for Donald in the mobile game app Read and Play! and Fun Cubes only and Thomas in Thomas and the Birthday Picnic when he gives a sad low toot on his whistle.
- Oliver's whistle sound is Duck's but a tone lower in pitch.
- Not counting the mention in Duncan Gets Spooked, this episode marks the last appearance of Crovan's Gate Yards.
Goofs
- In a deleted shot of the trucks singing, one of the trucks has lost its left buffer.
- In the UK version, as the trucks begin to sing their song, the narrator uses the American term "cars". Interestingly, a similar terminology error would occur in the UK version of the Jack and the Sodor Construction Company episode Percy's Scary Tale.
- Before the trucks start singing, there are two trucks in-between Duck and Thomas. However when the trucks stop singing and are told to be quiet, they disappear.
- When the trucks sing "We just push him down the well," a spider crawls on the van on the right, which also has a crooked face. Also, the van on the left has a slightly misaligned face and a scratched right eye.
- When Oliver stops after going in between two rows of trucks, in one shot he is stopped just before two vans on either side. But, then, in the next shot, he is between the two vans on either side.
- When Oliver says "It's really my fault. I shouldn't have fallen in the turntable well," Henry's trucks wobble and, then, derail.
- Douglas has Duck's whistle sound when he agrees to Toad's plan. At the end of the episode, Douglas has a different whistle sound starting from this episode throughout the rest of the series.
- In the close-up shots of Oliver when he is talking to Duck and Toad, plastic bases can be seen under his driver and fireman's feet.
- When Oliver starts pulling the trucks, S.C. Ruffey is right next to Toad. But in the head-on shot of him groaning, he is several meters ahead of Toad.
- During the head-on shots of S.C. Ruffey when Oliver attempts to pull the trucks, the number of chain links on his coupling doubles.
- The Fat Controller is missing his eyebrows when he speaks to Oliver and S.C. Ruffey.
- In the US dub, when Oliver says "N-n-no, sir," George Carlin accidentally says "said" twice.
- When the Fat Controller goes to inspect S.C. Ruffey, the coal load in Oliver's bunker is not correctly fitted.
- In the German dub, Toad refers to himself as a Great Western engine.
- A chunk of Percy's face is missing when the narrator said, "At last the engines gave up."
- Some of the trucks have very misaligned eyes, or titled faces.
- Oliver's right lamp iron (viewers' left) is crooked.
- Duck suddenly gains a lamp about halfway into the episode.
- In the close up of a tanker laughing after S.C. Ruffey tells them to hold back, his eyebrows are fading away.
- A cattle truck has a damaged roof.
In Other Languages
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Merchandise
S.C. Ruffey with open sides (Capsule Plarail toy)
Home Video Releases
Episode
Reference
#01 Granpuff | #10 Rock 'n' Roll | #19 Henry and the Elephant |
#02 Sleeping Beauty | #11 Special Funnel | #20 Toad Stands By |
#03 Bulldog | #12 Steam Roller | #21 Bulls Eyes |
#04 You Can't Win | #13 Passengers and Polish | #22 Thomas and the Special Letter |
#05 Four Little Engines | #14 Gallant Old Engine | #23 Paint Pots and Queens |
#06 A Bad Day for Sir Handel | #15 Rusty to the Rescue | #24 Fish |
#07 Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady | #16 Thomas and Stepney | #25 Special Attraction |
#08 Trucks | #17 Train Stops Play | #26 Mind that Bike |
#09 Home at Last | #18 Bowled Out | |