History Recap / ThomasTheTankEngineS3E17BuzzBuzz

'''U.S. Title''': James goes Buzz Buzz

'''Air date''': May 12th, 1992 (UK), March 25th, 1993 (US)

'''Adapted from''': ''[[Recap/TheRailwaySeriesB21MainLineEngines Main Line Engines]]'', "Buzz, Buzz"

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/280px-buzzbuzz44_9847.png]]

James feels insulted when [=BoCo=] advises him to be careful with bees that the Vicar is taking care of and he overhears Duck referring Bill and Ben as "bees". He interrupts the conversation rudely and brags about how he would make the bees go away, only to get a retort from Duck with "buzz, buzz, buzz."

Preparing to take the express, James notices that a beehive was knocked over and people quickly left the station. The bees fly over to James' driver and fireman and then turn their attention to the big red engine. They all lay on his boiler, which irritates James. One of the bees burnt their feet and then turns to James, stinging him right on his nose. James runs off and tries many ways to get rid of the bees by spinning around the turntable, pouring water from the water tower, and blowing smoke through a tunnel. They arrive to the Wellsworth vicarage, and finally, the bees went inside the beehive.

Later at the sheds, James was thanked by the Vicar for saving his beez and gave him a nickname "James the Red-Nosed Engine". (James didn't mind). Instead, they prefer to call him the "bee's knees" as a sign that he's more useful than ever.

!!Tropes featured in the episode:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: James, who was still irritable of the bee incident, actually finds it humorous of the Vicar calling him "James the Red-Nosed Engine".
* AdaptationExpansion: Of ''[[Recap/TheRailwaySeriesB21MainLineEngines Main Line Engines]]''. This episode adds a side plot involving the vicar's beehives, and an earlier scene explaining James' rudeness towards [=BoCo=]. Inverted in that it omits the opening in which friendly [=BoCo=] remedies [[FantasticRacism Duck's wariness towards Diesels]].
* BeeAfraid: James gets a taste of the bee's sting.
* {{Bratty Half Pint}}s: How Duck best describes Bill and Ben as "bees".
* ContinuityNod: [=BoCo=] converses with Duck about how Bill and Ben used to annoy him in [[Recap/ThomasTheTankEngineS2E21TheDiseasal "The Diseasal"]], which in the continuity was supposed to take place after said episode in the novels.
* {{Determinator}}: The bees stay on James through spinning on the turntable, water from the water tower and being smoked out through a tunnel.
* {{Disneyfication}}: A few examples:
** The episode omits the mention of Duck's wariness towards diesels until he realized how friendly [=BoCo=] was. In this adaptation, both engines are already friends.
** In the book's ending, James is [[HumiliationConga the butt of all jokes after the bee incident]]. In this adaptation, he is thanked by the Vicar for returning the bees into the beehive and was given the nickname the "bee's knees" for being useful.
* FantasticRacism: James ignores [=BoCo=]'s advice about bees with the narrator hinting it to be due to him "not liking being told what to do by a diesel".
* MediumBlending: The bees are rendered in 2D hand-drawn animation.
* NarrativeProfanityFilter: This exchange after James' numerous unsuccessful attempts to shoo the bees off his boiler:
-->'''James' Driver:''' It's no good, James. We'll just have to go back to the orchard and fetch another hive.\\
'''Narrator:''' James' reply was drowned by the sound of buzzing.
* RogerRabbitEffect: At least if you count {{UsefulNotes/supermarionation}} as a form of live-action. As pictured above, the bee who stings James on the nose is drawn in a deliberately "cartoony" style.
* RuleOfThree: James' crew tries three times to get the bees off by spinning on the turntable, hosing them off and smoking them out through a tunnel, before finally giving up and heading back to the orchard for a new hive.
* ScaryStingingSwarm: James gets attacked by a swarm of bees in the episode.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After being stung, James runs off, deserting the train he was supposed to pull.
* SeriesContinuityError: Contrary to ''Main Line Engines'', this episode doesn't take place between [[Recap/ThomasTheTankEngineS2E21TheDiseasal "The Diseasal"]] and [[Recap/ThomasTheTankEngineS2E22WrongRoad "Wrong Road"]].
* ShoutOut: The Vicar of Wellsworth says it's a pity it's not Christmas, then they could call James "[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer James the Red-Nosed Engine]]"
* TeamDad: Duck acknowledges Edward for being the only one to keep [[TricksterTwins Bill and Ben]] in order.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Express is seemingly abandoned after James is stung (in the novel it is explained that [=BoCo=] pulled it instead). To be fair, all the passengers cleared out when the beehive broke.
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