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Thomas & Friends S1 E19 "The Flying Kipper"
(aka: Thomas The Tank Engine S 1 E 19 The Flying Kipper)

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Thomas & Friends S1 E19 "The Flying Kipper" Recap
"The Kipper is due!"
"Who cares? This is good cocoa."

Air date: December 11th, 1984

Adapted from: Henry the Green Engine, "The Flying Kipper"

One winter night, after his day's work is done, Henry is told by his driver that they'll be leaving earlier than usual in the morning to pull "The Flying Kipper", a goods train that carries fish from the harbour to the mainland. The driver tells Henry that his special Welsh coal is working so well that if he pulls the Flying Kipper nicely the Fat Controller will let him pull the Express, a thought that makes Henry very happy.

Early next morning, Henry arrives at the quay ready to pick up the Flying Kipper. Everything goes very smoothly, and Henry leaves the harbour without a hitch. After getting the vans to come along quickly and quietly, Henry quickly begins to enjoy his journey through the snow-covered countryside as the sun rises.

Soon Henry comes to a yellow signal indicating "caution". His driver initially prepares to stop, until he sees the home signal is down. Assuming that the line ahead is clear, the driver allows Henry to continue at full speed. What Henry and his crew don't know however is that ahead of them, the points to the main line have frozen towards a siding, and the home signal, which is supposed to be set at "danger", had been forced down by snow.

In the siding is a goods train waiting to let Henry pass. The engine's crew are enjoying hot cocoa with the guard in the brake van. When they learn that the Flying Kipper is due, they decide to head back to their engine. Their exit comes just in time as Henry rushes into the siding and, unable to stop in time, crashes straight into the back of the train, destroying the brake van and landing on his side, while his crew manage to jump clear before the collision.

When daylight comes, the Breakdown Train is brought in to clean up the mess, while a distraught Henry is left on his side dazed. The Fat Controller comes to talk to Henry and kindly reassures him that the accident wasn't his fault, it was caused by the weather. He then tells Henry that he is going to be sent to Crewe, where he will be given a brand-new shape and a larger firebox. As a result, Henry will feel much better and won't need special coal anymore.

Henry is doubtful, but when spring arrives, he returns from Crewe looking and feeling better than ever. Everyone is delighted to see Henry in his new shape, and he looks so splendid and strong that the crowd gives him three cheers. A lot of children are now often late for school as they want to wait to see Henry ride by and often see him pulling the Express. He can pull it so well that Gordon feels jealous, but that's another story.

Tropes featured in the episode:

  • Another Story for Another Time: The narration does this after mentioning Gordon's jealousy towards Henry for doing so well with the Express.
  • As You Know: At the docks, the narrator takes the time to explain exactly what the Flying Kipper service is for:
    Narrator: All kinds of ships use the harbour at the big station by the sea. There are passenger ships, cargo ships, and fishing boats also come here; they unload their fish on the quay. Some of it goes to shops in the towns, and the rest in a special train to other places far away. This is the train that the railwaymen call the Flying Kipper!
  • Creator Cameo: One of the workers at the harbour was modelled after series narrator Ringo Starr.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Henry teeters dangerously close to this after getting into a violent crash with a stationary goods train while pulling the Flying Kipper. Badly damaged and seemingly having blown his last chance to prove himself, he believes it's the end for him. Fortunately, the Fat Controller arrives to reassure Henry that it wasn't his fault, and sends him off to Crewe to be repaired and upgraded into a new shape.
  • Disneyfication: Inverted. In Henry the Green Engine, the crew in the brake van don't escape in time and Henry's crash sends them shooting into the air, albeit comically; with the fireman getting stuck headfirst in the snow and the goods train fireman complaining about his lost cocoa afterward. In the show proper, the accident is played entirely seriously, and both crews in Henry's cab and the brake van barely escape with their lives.
  • Drone of Dread: An awful, sustained, low note plays as Henry smashes into the goods train at full speed, to drive home the severity of the crash. It looks like it's the sad end of the big green engine, and had the other train's crew not got out of the brake van moments earlier, they would have perished in the accident.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Henry's accident with the Flying Kipper leaves him in an even sorrier state than before, though the Fat Controller is more than convinced that Henry is worth a full rebuild, and he comes back from Crewe a well and strong engine that doesn't need special coal to work properly anymore.
  • Emergency Transformation: Henry gets a massive rebuild into practically a new engine, after surviving a bad accident with a goods train in a siding. When he returns from Crewe, his new build gives him far more strength and eliminates his previous dependence on Welsh coal.
  • Failsafe Failure: A fairly realistic one that was actually based on a real-life rail disaster. Ice froze a set of points into an occupied siding; the corresponding home signal should have been set at danger, but the weight of the snow on it had forced the semaphore arm down (or prevented it from returning to danger).
  • Five-Second Foreshadowing: The build-up to Henry's accident:
    Guard: The Kipper's due.
    Fireman: Who cares? This is good cocoa.
    Driver: (stands up) Come on, fireman. Back to our engine.
    Narrator: They got out just in time.
    (Cue Henry coming down the track blowing his whistle, before crashing into and destroying the other train's brake van).
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: If you look closely just before Henry gets closer to the brakevan, you can see the engine pulling the goods train looks like James.
  • Grimmification: In an odd blend between this and Disneyfication, Henry's crash scene. In the book, the crash is somewhat Played for Laughs, with his fireman getting stuck headfirst in the snow in the background and the goods train's fireman complaining that he's just spilled his cocoa. Here, although both trains' crews escape just in time, Henry's crash is played dead serious, with him lying in the snow worrying that this is the end for him.
  • Leitmotif: Probably the most variations of one in an episode. The Flying Kipper theme starts off as a Triumphant Reprise of Henry's theme, and then turns into a Dark Reprise as he's led into his accident with the brake van. Henry's sad theme plays following his crash, and then the original one following his rebuild.
  • Lemony Narrator: The narrator is sorry to say a lot of little children are now late for school because they wait to see Henry pulling the Express.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: A badly-damaged Henry gets one during his time at Crewe. As the Fat Controller explains:
    Henry: (sadly, from the wreckage) The signal was down, sir.
    Fat Controller: (reassuringly) Cheer up, Henry, it wasn't your fault. Ice and snow caused the accident! I'm sending you to Crewe, a fine place for sick engines — they'll give you a new shape and a larger firebox. You'll feel a different engine, and won't need special coal any more! Won't that be nice?
  • Mood Whiplash: As Henry pulls his train through the wintry countryside, it has such a magical, almost "Christmassy" atmosphere to it. Then a yellow caution signal appears followed by a green clear one. It was okay just until the music turns threatening an impending disaster. Ice and snow have respectively frozen the points towards an occupied siding and forced the home signal down, taking Henry straight into the back of a goods train.
  • Oh, Crap!: There's nothing Henry can do to stop himself crashing, except frantically whistling to warn the other train's crew.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Poor Henry can't understand how everything went so wrong when he and his crew obeyed the signal that led to his collision, especially when it was all going so well beforehand. Fortunately, the Fat Controller kindly reassures Henry it wasn't his fault — since the heavy ice and snow caused the crash — and that for his troubles, he is being sent to Crewe for a much-needed rebuild.
  • Scenery Porn: Fittingly for an episode that takes place in the Winter, there are a lot of beautiful early morning shots of the snowy Sodor countryside as Henry pulls the Flying Kipper through them.
  • Shoo Out the Clowns: An adaptational variation. In the original story, the crew of the goods train is catapulted into the snow when Henry collides with the brake van. There are two humorous moments involving the two trains' firemen: first when Henry's gets stuck headfirst in the snow, and the one to the other goods train furiously complaining about his spilt cocoa. This episode has no levity as Henry's crash is played entirely seriously.
  • Shown Their Work:
    • Not many people outside of the railway industry would know what a "home signal" is.
    • The headlamps carried by Henry show the correct indication for a fast perishables train.
    • When Henry first pulls into the harbour, he is carrying a single headlamp on his port side to indicate he is a 'pick-up' (although in a goof, he sets off with this lamp still in place before it changes in the next scene to the center and starboard configuration for 'fast perishables').
  • Title Drop: The nickname among the Sodor railwaymen for the train itself.
  • Too Fast to Stop: Poor Henry isn’t able to stop himself in time when he notices the goods train directly in front of him. All he can do is whistle frantically to warn the other train's crew.
  • Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Henry's crash draws a lot of influence from the 1876 Abbots Ripton rail accident (snow forcing down the signals' semaphore arms) and, to a lesser extent, the 1937 Castlecary rail accident (frozen points and possibly a malfunctioning signal, although in this case it was the distant signal rather than the home signal).
  • We Can Rebuild Him: After crashing into a stationary goods train, a distraught and badly-damaged Henry muses to himself that he's "only good for scrap". However, the Fat Controller reassures Henry that the accident wasn't his fault, and sends him off to Crewe where he gets a full rebuild; including a bigger, better firebox that means he no longer has to rely on special Welsh coal to work well.

 
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Alternative Title(s): Thomas The Tank Engine S 1 E 19 The Flying Kipper

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Henry's New Shape

The Fat Controller sends Henry to Crewe to give him a new shape following his crash with a goods train during the episode "The Flying Kipper". This came at an advantage for him, as he didn't need Welsh Coal and he can now easily pull the express single handed.

How well does it match the trope?

5 (11 votes)

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Main / EmergencyTransformation

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