Thomas the Tank Engine "The Missing Coach" (partially found footage from cancelled British children's TV series episode; 1986): Difference between revisions

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Partially shot and later scrapped in 1986 was an episode of ''Thomas the Tank Engine'' titled '''"The Missing Coach"''' (now aptly-named, in an ironic turn of events); the episode was based on the 1960 Railway Series story of the same name.<ref>[http://www.sodor-island.net/sodorislandessayannex/themissingcoachessay.html Sodor Island fansite article on "The Missing Coach".] Last retrieved 09 Nov 2014.</ref><ref>[http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/The_Missing_Coach_(episode) Thomas & Friends Wikia article on "The Missing Coach".] Last retrieved 09 Nov 2014.</ref>
Partially shot and later scrapped in 1986 was an episode of ''Thomas the Tank Engine'' titled '''"The Missing Coach"''' (now aptly-named, in an ironic turn of events); the episode was based on the 1960 Railway Series story of the same name.<ref>[http://www.sodor-island.net/sodorislandessayannex/themissingcoachessay.html Sodor Island fansite article on "The Missing Coach".] Last retrieved 09 Nov 2014.</ref><ref>[http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/The_Missing_Coach_(episode) Thomas & Friends Wikia article on "The Missing Coach".] Last retrieved 09 Nov 2014.</ref>


The episode (which was intended as Season 2's opener) saw the arrival of twin engines Donald and Douglas, having been ordered from Scotland by the Fat Controller; the twins soon discover that only one engine was sent for and that the other would not be needed (and would likely be sent back). Douglas and his driver, after realising that Douglas is, in fact, the extra, unneeded engine and after mistakenly misplacing Thomas' Special Coach, prompting complaints from passengers (Douglas fearing that his error would give the Fat Controller more reason to get rid of him), hatch a plan with Donald and his driver to switch tenders (on which their numbers had been respectively painted), effectively swapping identities and giving Douglas a chance to temporarily avoid being scolded by the Fat Controller (who ultimately decides to keep both engines, but only uncovering their charade).
The episode (which was intended as Season 2's opener) saw the arrival of twin engines Donald and Douglas, having been ordered from Scotland by the Fat Controller; the twins soon discover that only one engine was sent for and that the other would not be needed (and would likely be sent back). Douglas and his driver, after realising that Douglas is, in fact, the extra, unneeded engine and after mistakenly misplacing Thomas' Special Coach, prompting complaints from passengers (Douglas fearing that his error would give the Fat Controller more reason to get rid of him), hatch a plan with Donald and his driver to switch tenders (on which their respective numbers had been painted), effectively swapping identities and giving Douglas a chance to temporarily avoid being scolded by the Fat Controller (who ultimately decides to keep both engines, but only uncovering their charade).


Halfway through the episode's production, it was decided that it was somewhat lacking in action and that the plot was a bit too complex for children to comprehend; as such, the episode was cancelled outright, instead being replaced by an entirely different episode, "Thomas, Percy and the Coal". Donald and Douglas' official series debut took place in the later Season 2 episode "Brake Van", in which they were hurriedly introduced through a short piece of opening dialogue; it has been speculated that the opening scene from the episode may have been retooled footage originally shot for "The Missing Coach".
Halfway through the episode's production, it was decided that it was somewhat lacking in action and that the plot was a bit too complex for children to comprehend; as such, the episode was cancelled outright, instead being replaced by an entirely different episode, "Thomas, Percy and the Coal". Donald and Douglas' official series debut took place in the later Season 2 episode "Brake Van", in which they were hurriedly introduced through a short piece of opening dialogue; it has been speculated that the opening scene from the episode may have been retooled footage originally shot for "The Missing Coach".

Revision as of 11:36, 9 November 2014

One of six released screenshots from the episode (taken from the 1989 Thomas annual).

Status: Lost


Partially shot and later scrapped in 1986 was an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine titled "The Missing Coach" (now aptly-named, in an ironic turn of events); the episode was based on the 1960 Railway Series story of the same name.[1][2]

The episode (which was intended as Season 2's opener) saw the arrival of twin engines Donald and Douglas, having been ordered from Scotland by the Fat Controller; the twins soon discover that only one engine was sent for and that the other would not be needed (and would likely be sent back). Douglas and his driver, after realising that Douglas is, in fact, the extra, unneeded engine and after mistakenly misplacing Thomas' Special Coach, prompting complaints from passengers (Douglas fearing that his error would give the Fat Controller more reason to get rid of him), hatch a plan with Donald and his driver to switch tenders (on which their respective numbers had been painted), effectively swapping identities and giving Douglas a chance to temporarily avoid being scolded by the Fat Controller (who ultimately decides to keep both engines, but only uncovering their charade).

Halfway through the episode's production, it was decided that it was somewhat lacking in action and that the plot was a bit too complex for children to comprehend; as such, the episode was cancelled outright, instead being replaced by an entirely different episode, "Thomas, Percy and the Coal". Donald and Douglas' official series debut took place in the later Season 2 episode "Brake Van", in which they were hurriedly introduced through a short piece of opening dialogue; it has been speculated that the opening scene from the episode may have been retooled footage originally shot for "The Missing Coach".

In a 2008 interview with the late David Mitton (who co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed the show up until his retirement in 2003), he confirmed that he was still in possession of the scrapped footage, although, as of his death in the same year, the fate of the footage has not been revealed (though it has likely been passed down to his heirs); it seems unlikely that the footage will ever receive a release of any kind.

References

External links