This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the book. |
- "Thank you, Toby. We couldn't have done it without you."
"No, thank you! There's nothing I like better than helping out a friend in need." - ― Farmer McColl and Toby
Toby Had a Little Lamb is the twentieth episode of the sixth series.
Plot
On his way home during a snowstorm, Toby is flagged down by Farmer McColl. His sheep are due to give birth soon and he urgently needs a vet to check on them. Toby goes to the next signal box where his driver telephones for a vet.
Toby arrives at the station where the Fat Controller is waiting with the vet, who climbs aboard Duck's cab and Duck sets off to rescue the sheep with his snowplough. However, the snow is now much thicker and the tracks are obstructed. Duck cannot go on, so he returns to the station. Toby suggests using his old line to get to Farmer McColl's, but the Fat Controller knows that Toby's old line cannot take Duck's weight. Toby insists that he should go himself as he knows the old line and they have got no other choice. So the vet climbs aboard Henrietta, and the Fat Controller warns Toby to be careful.
Toby sets off, full of confidence, while a blizzard starts to howl. However, he soon realises that there is something he forgot about - the rickety old bridge spanning a deep gorge. Slowly, Toby pulls Henrietta across the old bridge, which creaks and groans under his weight. Toby is scared, but determined to cross it just for the sake of the sheep. Once across, Toby soon reaches the farm and Farmer McColl is delighted to see them.
The vet and Farmer McColl check the newly-born lambs, but they need warmth and comfort. Toby offers for Henrietta to provide that, so the sheep and lambs stay inside her until the snow thaws. When spring arrives, Farmer McColl thanks Toby for saving his lambs, and Toby thanks Farmer McColl for giving him a chance to help out a friend in need.
Characters
- Toby
- Duck
- Sir Topham Hatt
- The Vet
- Farmer McColl (not named in original versions)
- Henrietta (does not speak)
Locations
- Callan
- McColl Farm
- The Rickety Old Bridge
- Tidmouth Sheds (stock footage)
- Tidmouth Goods Station (stock footage)
- Toby's Shed (mentioned)
- Tidmouth Hault (mentioned on timetable)
- Knapford (mentioned on timetable)
- Wellsworth (mentioned on timetable)
- Dryaw (mentioned on timetable)
- Brendam (mentioned on timetable)
- Tidmouth Bay (mentioned on timetable)
- Ffarquhar (mentioned on timetable)
- Maron (mentioned on timetable)
Trivia
- This is the 150th episode of the television series overall.
- The title is a play on the nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb.
- Stock footage from Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure is used.
- This is one of the six episodes of the sixth series re-narrated by Michael Brandon in the US dub and Michael Angelis in the UK dub with music composed by Robert Hartshorne.
- Farmer McColl is named in Michael Brandon and Michael Angelis' re-dubs, but not in the original Michael Angelis or Alec Baldwin dubs.
- The close up of Henrietta's interior is actually the interior of a red coach.
- This episode marks Duck's last physical speaking role in the Classic Series, excluding the seventh series episode, James and the Queen of Sodor, in which he groans with the other engines.
- This is the first episode to feature Toby's depressed face.
- This episode marks the only appearance of:
- The vet.
- The Rickety Old Bridge in the model era and it's only appearance until the twenty-fourth series episode, The Inventor's Spectacular Bridge.
- When Duck struggles through the snow, Boulder's theme from the fifth series episode Rusty and the Boulder is used.
Goof
- When Duck tries to push through the snow, his driver is thin-faced and black-haired. But when he returns to Callan, his driver has a chubby face and brown hair.
Quotes
- Toby: Bitter cold, bitter cold. Still, I'll soon be back in my nice, dry shed.
- Farmer McColl: My phone lines are down. All the roads are blocked. And my sheep have just started lambing. They're trapped on the hillsides, cut off by the snow.
Merchandise
In Other Languages
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Home Media Releases
UKDVD Packs
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DVD PacksAUS
DVD Packs
MYSNOR/DKDK DVD BoxsetsJPNSWESVNITAKORHKTHATWN |
#01 Salty's Secret | #10 Twin Trouble | #19 Buffer Bother |
#02 Harvey to the Rescue | #11 The World's Strongest Engine | #20 Toby Had a Little Lamb |
#03 No Sleep for Cranky | #12 Scaredy Engines | #21 Thomas, Percy and the Squeak |
#04 A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter | #13 Percy and the Haunted Mine | #22 Thomas the Jet Engine |
#05 Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry | #14 Middle Engine | #23 Edward the Very Useful Engine |
#06 The Fogman | #15 James and the Red Balloon | #24 Dunkin Duncan |
#07 Jack Jumps In | #16 Jack Frost | #25 Rusty Saves the Day |
#08 A Friend in Need | #17 Gordon Takes a Tumble | #26 Faulty Whistles |
#09 It's Only Snow | #18 Percy's Chocolate Crunch | |