Not So Hasty Puddings

"I don't need that silly old thing!" "Stuff and nonsense. You can't be a reliable engine if you can't get through the snow." "You know I'm reliable. I just don't like my snowplow."

- Thomas complaining about his snowplow to Elizabeth.

Not So Hasty Puddings (retitled Not So Hasty Cakes , also known as Thomas and the Avalanche in one North American Release) is the twenty-fourth episode of the seventh series.

Plot
It is Christmas time on the Island and snow is lying heavy on the ground. When Elizabeth delivers Thomas' snowplough, he refuses to wear it and Elizabeth states that he cannot be reliable without it. Thomas grumbles about how rude Elizabeth was and that his snowplough makes his buffers ache.

When Thomas arrives at Maithwaite, he sees the Fat Controller talking to Elizabeth about the Sodor Pudding Factory being snowed in and that the Christmas Puddings must get to the docks before the ship leaves for the Mainland. Thomas volunteers to do it, but the Fat Controller needs Thomas to work on his branch line, and gives the job to Elizabeth because she is very reliable. Thomas states that he is reliable too, but Elizabeth says that he is not reliable enough, making Thomas cross as Elizabeth leaves.

Thomas arrives at every station on time while Elizabeth is having a hard time driving on the slippery road. Thomas arrives at the Docks to pick up Terence and sees that Elizabeth has not returned, so The Fat Controller orders Thomas to find her. Elizabeth is filled with Christmas puddings and is on her way to the docks, but the slippery roads and the weight of the cargo get her stuck in a snowdrift. Thomas and Terence are stopped by her driver and Terence pulls her out. Thomas helps Elizabeth deliver the puddings just in time and Elizabeth understands that Thomas is a reliable engine.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Elizabeth
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Dockyard Manager
 * Terence
 * James
 * Percy
 * Salty
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Mrs. Kyndley
 * Farmer Finney
 * Nancy
 * Big Mickey
 * Henry
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Oliver
 * Duncan

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Wellsworth
 * Maithwaite
 * Brendam Docks
 * Kirk Ronan Road
 * Sodor Pudding Factory
 * The Single-Track Halt
 * Suddery Castle
 * Misty Valley
 * The Viaduct
 * Hawin Ab
 * Rheneas Viaduct
 * Callan Castle
 * The Mainland

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the twenty-sixth episode of the seventh series and the series finale of the seventh series.
 * Edited stock footage from The Flying Kipper, It's Only Snow, Snow Engine and the music video, Winter Wonderland is used.
 * This was the last episode for several things:
 * The final appearance of Terence until the special, The Great Discovery, as well as his last appearance in an episode until the twenty-first series episode, Terence Breaks the Ice, not counting a music video cameo in the tenth series.
 * The final time that Henry is seen in his old shape, which was done via stock footage.
 * James, Salty, Terence, Elizabeth and Big Mickey’s last appearances in the Classic Series.
 * The last episode written by Robyn Charteris until the thirteenth series episode, Percy's Parcel.
 * The last episode to mention the word "Christmas" in the US until the seventeenth series episode, Santa's Little Engine.
 * The last episode to end with a nameboard sequence of its featured characters in Japan.
 * The last episode to air in Japanese broadcast order until a year later in 2006. Fish would be the first episode of the eighth series to air in Japan after the series went on hiatus from Japanese broadcast in 2005.
 * The last appearance of Suddery Castle.
 * The last episode in which Terence appears but does not speak.
 * The last episode to use stock footage from a music video.
 * The last episode of the main show to use stock footage from an episode produced by Clearwater Features.
 * This episode did not come out on home video in the UK and the US until 2008, when it was released on DVD in January in the UK as part of The Complete Series 7, and in May in the US on the Mud Glorious Mud DVD; thus making this the only episode of the seventh series not released on VHS (or home video before the complete series) in the UK, and the only episode from the first eight series not released on VHS in the US. This episode can be seen on VHS in Japan and South Korea.
 * This is the only appearance of Elizabeth in the seventh series.
 * The third shot of the episode features unused footage from the sixth series, although it was used in the song Winter Wonderland from the same series.
 * This episode repeated on Boxing Day in 2004 alongside both Snow Engine and Jack Frost which aired the previous two days.
 * The Sodor Puddings sign is now preserved by The Coffey Man Preservation from the Prop Gallery.

Goofs

 * On the Mud Glorious Mud DVD and the Romanian dub, the episode is titled Thomas and the Avalanche, which is misleading as there is no avalanche in the episode.
 * In the close-up of Elizabeth's wheels, the platform used to make her slide is visible.
 * Because stock footage is used, Henry is in his pre-Flying Kipper shape from the first series, the light bulbs used for his lamps are sticking out, and Thomas is briefly seen with his other snowplough from It's Only Snow, pulling the Christmas tree train with Toby behind him.
 * Although this episode is called "Not So Hasty Cakes" and the baked goods are referred to as such in the American dub, the factory sign still says "Puddings."
 * In a picture, Elizabeth's eyes are wonky and black and red wires are seen in her cab.
 * When Thomas and Terence are flagged down by Elizabeth's driver, Terence's eyes are wonky.
 * The narrator says that Elizabeth's driver "applied the brakes" (plural), despite her being a lorry.
 * The narrator says "Thomas and Terence puffed through the swirling snow," but Terence was on a flatbed at the time, and can't puff even if he was being driven.
 * Thomas gains a brake van when he and Terence search for Elizabeth, even though he did not have one when they left the docks.

Quotes
_______________________________________________
 * Thomas: [about his snowplough] I don't need that silly old thing!
 * Elizabeth: Stuff and nonsense. You can't be a reliable engine if you can't get through the snow.
 * Thomas: You know I'm reliable. I just don't like my snowplough.
 * Thomas: [about the accident] It wasn't your fault, Elizabeth. It's the slippery roads.

Merchandise

 * Magazine Stories - Christmas Puddings

Home Media Releases
{{Scroll box|

UK/AUS

 * The Complete Series 7

UK DVD Packs

 * Classic Collection

AUS DVD Packs

 * Complete Series 1-10
 * Series Seven and Series Eight Double Pack

US

 * Mud Glorious Mud
 * Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 7

CAN

 * Mud Glorious Mud

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Series 7 Vol.1
 * Thomas's Christmas

KOR

 * The Story of Getting to Know Nature
 * Character Special Edition Series Vol. 1

MYS

 * Fergus Breaks the Rules and Other Adventures
 * Something Fishy and Other Adventures
 * Railway Adventures

SWE

 * The Snow Engine

DK

 * Snow Engine and Other Stories

DVD Boxsets

 * Danish DVD Boxset

ITA

 * Hooray for Thomas

ZA

 * The World's Strongest Engine

DVD Boxsets

 * 5 DVD Boxset

THA

 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 26

HK

 * Thomas and Friends Volume 18
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 7

TWN
}}
 * Long Live Thomas
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 17

Los Postres no tan Precipitados קינוחים לא בהולים クリスマス・プディング Świąteczne Wypieki Тяжёлый путь пудингов