Air date: September 1st, 1998
Thomas and Percy are enjoying working at the docks, but this all changed when a new crane named Cranky pushes his weight around and ruins their work up. Thomas and Percy go up to James and Gordon about Cranky. Gordon believes that cranes need a lot of attention like himself, and James tells Thomas and Percy that they should see the situation from Cranky's point of view - high up in the air and looks down on the two tank engines being annoying.
Cranky finds out Gordon and James agree with his ways, which causes him to be even more bossy. He tells Percy to shunt some trucks closer to him. Too upset to concentrate, Percy pushes the trucks too far, leading Cranky to drop a crate on Percy's Smokebox. Next, Cranky plays a trick on Thomas by telling him to shut his flatbeds to the outside line, so that it's easy for Cranky to load up. Thomas does so, but Cranky leaves the loads beside the trucks, not in them. Just then, The Fat Controller is displeased with Thomas and Percy, and sends the two to the sheds to consider how they will improve themselves the next day.
Later that night, a storm traps Henry, Gordon, James, and Duck in the harbor shed. Duck hopes that they'll be safe, but unfortunately, a tramp steamer crashes into the quayside, knocking down the shed, which also causes Cranky to land on his Side. When the storm clears, The Fat Controller tells Cranky that Thomas and Percy are coming to help him, so he can help the other engines. Cranky tells The Fat Controller he was rude to them, which made The Fat Controller to find out that Cranky caused a lot of trouble in the docks, and owes the two engines an apology.
Thomas and Percy come to the rescue, and Cranky is set upright again. Cranky then release the engines from the remains of the sheds, and then mistakenly calls the two tank engines "mites". Offended, Percy puffs away, but he doesn't notice he is still attached to Cranky and pulls him down again.
Cranky still looks down on Thomas and Percy, but because of the stormy night, he decides not to cause anymore trouble for them again, because he knows "bugs and mites can bite back".
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Cranky takes his bossy attitude up to eleven after hearing remarks from Gordon and James.
- Attention Whore: Gordon's opinion about Cranky, which also applies to him.
- Big Storm Episode: Midway through this episode, a storm rages across Sodor, and Gordon, James, Henry, and Duck are trapped in a shed at the docks, which gets knocked down by an out-of-control tramp steamer, along with Cranky.
- Darker and Edgier: This episode marks the beginning of the fifth season, which is noted for being by far the darkest season. A shipwreck, a damaged crane, and a destroyed shed are all present in the climax; according to concept art, there was also supposed to be a fuel explosion.
- Dawn of an Era: This episode marks the beginning of the series to not have any stories adapted from The Railway Series until Season 20's "Tit for Tat". This episode also marks beginning of episodes being made without the involvement of the Rev. W. Awdry who had died a year prior to season 5's airings. It was also the first episode to be narrated by Alec Baldwin in the US dub.
- Distressed Dude: The tramp steamer traps the engines in the wreckage and Cranky is knocked over.
- Go to Your Room!: A railway variant; when Sir Topham Hatt thinks that Thomas and Percy were being rude to Cranky, rather than the other way around, he punishes them by sending them to their sheds so they can think about how they can improve themselves the next day.
- Hypocritical Humor: Cranky swears that he will never be rude to Thomas and Percy again... right before he calls them "mites" and rudely orders them to move over.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Cranky becomes this after helping clear the storm and thanking Thomas and Percy for lifting him back up just before calling them "mites".
- Large Ham:
- Alec Baldwin, especially when he portrays James with a very flamboyant-sounding voice and Gordon with deep and yet puffed up voice.
- Also, when Cranky falls over the first time, Baldwin portrays him as screaming, "I CAN'T!" in response to the engines who cry out for help, especially jarring when compared to Michael Angelis' reading of the line which is sadder and more pathetic.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Cranky gets one when he was knocked off by the tramp steamer. He was a repentant of his rudeness towards Thomas and Percy, and helped cleared the mess, although he's still behaves rudely.
- Last-Second Word Swap: When thanking Thomas and Percy for rescuing him, Cranky was going to call them "bugs", but corrected himself by saying "small engines".
- No Sympathy: Gordon and James didn't care much for Thomas and Percy being mistreated by Cranky and agree with Cranky's ways of ordering the two tank engines around. Justified in that the two engines often look down on those smaller than them.
- Stock Footage: When a storm rages across Sodor, footage of Tidmouth Sheds' doors flapping in the wind from "Henry's Forest" is used.
- Tempting Fate: Duck assures the other engines the shed will protect them from the storm. He was wrong.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Even after Thomas and Percy help him out, Cranky continues to mistreat them. Of course, Laser-Guided Karma immediately hits him afterwards.
