Recap / Thomas And Friends S1 E25 "Down the Mine"

aka: Thomas The Tank Engine S 1 E 25 Down The Mine

Air date: January 8th, 1985

Adapted from: Gordon the Big Engine, "Down the Mine"

Thomas' life as a mining engine was a short one.

One day while Thomas is waiting at the junction, Gordon, who is in disgrace after causing trouble and falling into a ditch, pulls in with some trucks. As soon as Gordon stops, Thomas cracks a joke about ditch water. Before Gordon can respond, Thomas leaves with his coaches.

Annie and Clarabel are shocked at Thomas' behavior, and scold him for it. Thomas is pleased with his clever joke though and runs off to go to the lead mine. The mine was made a long time ago by miners who made tunnels under the ground. The roofs of the tunnels are strong enough to hold up trucks but not engines. At the points, there is a board warning engines not to enter the area.

Thomas has often tried to pass the board, but has always failed. This time however, he has made a plan. When Thomas' fireman leaves the cab to change the points, Thomas bumps the trucks hard and knocks his driver off the footplate allowing him to pass the board. Then he moves over the unsafe rails which collapse and leave him teetering into a chasm, and feeling very silly.

Then the Fat Controller arrives, having seen everything. After telling Thomas off for his naughtiness, he begins to think about how to get Thomas out. A crane would be too heavy for the ground to support, so he decides to call in Gordon to pull Thomas out. Thomas feels uneasy about this, thinking that Gordon may still be cross with him.

Shortly afterward with a winch attached to his buffer beam, Gordon heads to the rescue and surprisingly laughing at the situation. Arriving at the mine, Gordon promises to get Thomas out "in a couple of puffs". A long cable is fastened between them and after a lot of hard work and pulling, Gordon is able to finally get Thomas out of the chasm.

Thomas tells Gordon how sorry he is for his cheekiness earlier. Gordon accepts Thomas' apology and tells him that he found his joke very funny. Now both engines are in disgrace, so they agree to form an alliance and help each other in the future. With that, the two engines are coupled together and head back to the shed.

Tropes featured in this episode:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Gordon states to Thomas that he made him laugh with his joke about the ditch water.
  • Similarly, Sir Topham Hatt appears to be laughing after seeing that Thomas has fallen down a mine.
• Anarchic Order: In The Railway Series, this story takes place after "Leaves" and before "Paint Pots and Queens". "Leaves" would be adapted two seasons later as "The Trouble With Mud", and "Paint Pots and Queens" would be adapted three seasons later. The former is reimagined into a standalone story, though the latter continues right after this episode despite the three season gap.
• Bittersweet Ending: Both Thomas and Gordon are in disgrace for their misbehavior, though Gordon offers a pact to Thomas and sympathetically takes him home.
• Bowdlerise: In the UK version, after the Fat Controller tells Thomas off for falling down the mine, Thomas says, "Please get me out, I won't be naughty again." In both US versions he says, "Please get me out, I won't do it again."
• Break the Haughty: This happens to Thomas after he teased Gordon about ditch water.
• Broken Pedestal: Annie and Clarabel were shocked that Thomas teased Gordon for smelling like ditch water and had sympathy for Gordon.
  Annie & Clarabel: He's dreadfully rude! I felt quite ashamed! I feel quite ashamed! He's dreadfully rude!
• Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Thomas ignoring the danger sign and falls into a mine.
• Deadpan Snarker: Thomas was pretty cheeky to Gordon after noticing the smell of ditch water coming from him.
  Thomas: Phew! What a funny smell. Can you smell a smell?
  Annie: I can't smell a smell.
  Thomas: A funny musty sort of smell.
  Gordon: No one noticed it until you did. It must be yours.
  Thomas Annie, Clarabel? You know what I think it is? It's ditch water.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Despite Thomas' fears, Gordon was quite amused by his accident and eagerly helps him out.
• Fire-Forged Friends: At the end of the episode, Thomas and Gordon became this after the latter helped the former from the mine.
• Mirror Character: Gordon states that he is in disgrace after he fell into a ditch and Thomas says the same thing about himself when he fell into a mine. This is what made both engines decide to "form an alliance".
• Poor Communication Kills: The danger board does not explain what said danger actually is^note Miners once dug underground tunnels which weakened the roofs, which can withstand the weight of trucks, but not engines. This is explained by the narrator., instead saying the equivalent of "Don't pass me Because I Say So". As a result, Thomas thinks the board is just for show and ignores it.
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: Annie and Clarabel try to reel Thomas in when they feel that his mocking of Gordon goes too far.
• Stock Footage: Footage from "Thomas and the Guard" and "Thomas and Bertie" is used.
• Tears of Remorse: Thomas shows these after his accident on the mine and after being lectured by The Fat Controller.
• Title Drop: Sort of. Gordon does this after hearing that Thomas fell down the mine.
  Gordon: Down a Mine, is he? *laughs* What a joke!
• Too Dumb to Live: Thomas when he ignored the danger sign, which results in him falling down a mine.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Shocked about Thomas' joke about Gordon smelling like ditch water, Annie and Clarabel tell him that he shouldn't be rude and his behavior made them ashamed, although Thomas didn't care.
  • The Fat Controller also tells Thomas off for his mishap in the mine.

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