U.S. Title: Thomas Breaks the Rules
Air date: December 18th, 1984
Adapted from: Toby the Tram Engine, "Thomas in Trouble"
"But I don't catch cows, sir."
One day, Thomas is leaving the quarry at the end of his branch line. The rails here run alongside the road, so Thomas is always careful at this point in his run and whistles to make sure no-one gets hurt. Thomas sees a new policeman on his bike and, having been friends with the previous policeman who had just retired, he whistles good morning to him. Unfortunately, this policeman isn't in the mood to be friendly.
The policeman first complains about Thomas' whistling, and then tells Thomas that he is breaking the law by not wearing cowcatchers and sideplates on the road. Thomas gets angry, and his driver argues that they have never had an accident before. But this just makes things worse, and the policeman brands Thomas a "regular law breaker". Thomas then continues sadly to the station.
In his dining room, the Fat Controller is having breakfast when he is phoned about Thomas' incident with the police. Rushing to the station, the Fat Controller is told what happened, and starts arguing with the policeman. The policeman won't back down however, and the Fat Controller concedes that Thomas will need to be fitted with cowcatchers and sideplates.
Thomas is distraught by this, saying that he will be laughed at for looking like a tram. The comment causes the Fat Controller to be reminded of Toby. Knowing that the tram engine is losing a lot of his work, the Fat Controller writes a letter to Toby's controller asking if he can be sent to Sodor.
A few days later, Toby arrives, and is greeted by the Fat Controller, who notices that Toby has brought Henrietta with him and he is more than happy to allow her to stay as well.
Toby soon proves to have a talent for handling the trucks. Although Thomas is jealous at first, he quickly becomes good friends with Toby, especially when Toby uses his bell to frighten the policeman.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Break the Cutie: Thomas leaves dejected after the Policeman labels him a "regular law breaker".
- Digital Destruction: In the restored version:
- Instead of using Stock Footage from "Thomas' Train", the first closeup of Thomas uses an outtake from "Thomas and the Guard" where his wheels don't move right away. This accidentally causes the effect that he is sliding down the line.
- The policeman's notebook was originally blurred in some shots to hide the fact that "REGULAR LAW BREAKER" was written down too early. The restored version forgets this detail, creating a Plot Hole.
- Deadpan Snarker: When the policeman asks Thomas about his cowcatchers, Thomas replies cheekily that he doesn't catch cows, which the policeman didn't take kindly to.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Thomas bemoans that if he gets sideplates, everyone will say he looks like a tram. Side plates vaguely resemble a kind of skirt. Just swap out "side plates" with "skirt" and "tram" with a "fag".
- "Eureka!" Moment: This is how The Fat Controller brought in Toby to his railway:Thomas: "Everyone will laugh, sir. They'll say I'll look like a tram."
The Fat Controller: *ponders, then laughs* "Well done, Thomas! Why didn't I think of it before? We want a tram engine." - Green-Eyed Monster: In the end, it is mentioned that Thomas was initially jealous of Toby before the two became friends.
- Inspector Javert: The policeman.
- Jerkass: The new policeman is aggressively authoritarian and harasses Thomas for not having a cowcatcher or sideplates, compared to the old, retired policeman who Thomas had befriended.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Considering how harsh the policeman is, he gets frightened when Toby rings his bell at him.
- Lawful Stupid: The policeman to a mild extent. He didn't seem concerned about the fact Thomas went on the line many times without a cowcatcher and never had an accident, and just wrote "REGULAR LAW BREAKER" in his notebook.
- Sixth Ranger: As of this episode Toby is officially purchased for use on the Fat Controller's Railway.
- Stock Footage: Stock footage from "Thomas' Train" was used early in the original version. However, the restored version uses an outtake from "Thomas and the Guard" where Thomas has a different happy face.
- Synchronous Episodes: With the previous episode "Toby and the Stout Gentleman". When Thomas is not allowed on the Quarry Tramroad, the Fat Controller writes a letter to Toby for help which he receives at the end of said episode.
