Bulgy (episode)

"Yah! Boo! Snubs!" "Come on, let's see what he's up to."

- Bulgy and Duck

Bulgy is the twenty-third episode of the third series. It is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book Oliver the Western Engine.

Plot
A special holiday is being celebrated and many visitors are traveling on Duck's Branch Line. Bertie and the engines are all kept very busy taking them to and from their destinations. One day, Duck is waiting at Tidmouth when he spots a large and unfriendly looking double decker bus. He grumbles as he sees the happy passengers boarding Duck's train and states he would not have brought them had he known they would be traveling on a railway. He bluntly tells Duck that one day, the railways will be torn up and replaced by roads. Duck is shocked by the bus' behaviour; Bertie would have never made such claims. The bus is dismissive of Bertie's opinion, declaring him "too small in size to be of any use."

At Haultraugh, Duck meets Oliver and tells him about the bus. Oliver explains that he calls the bus "Bulgy" and simply laughs off his threats. That afternoon, however, Oliver is much more serious since another equally rude bus has arrived and is taking Bulgy's passengers so Bulgy himself can take those of the two Great Western engines to the big station. Duck insists that the route is quicker by rail, but Oliver explains that Bulgy apparently knows a shortcut.

Later, Duck prepares for the homeward rush, but is surprised to discover he has less passengers. Then, Oliver spots them in Bulgy, who has the rest of them and a sign on his side claiming he is a "Railway Bus". Bulgy leaves and Duck quickly follows after him. Sometime later, he is flagged down at a bridge where the line crosses a narrow road, where he discovers that Bulgy has wedged himself under the bridge. The passengers explain that Bulgy tricked them, as he wanted them to think railways were no good; he claimed to be a "Railway Bus", but would not accept their return tickets. Duck and his crew agree that helping the passengers outweighs the risk of the damaged bridge and cross it carefully. Bulgy begs him to stop as bricks fall from the bridge, fearing it might collapse on top of him. Fortunately, the bridge does not collapse, but Duck states that it would have served him right for lying if it had.

Duck soon arrives back at the big station and all his passengers catch their trains on time. The bridge is eventually repaired, but Bulgy's ways remain unchanged until he is eventually taken out of service. He is now a henhouse in the field beside the bridge and any lies he does tell are ignored by the resident hens.

Characters

 * Duck
 * Oliver
 * Bulgy
 * Mrs. Kyndley
 * Jem Cole
 * Lady Hatt
 * Jeremiah Jobling
 * Farmer Trotter
 * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's Wife
 * Bertie
 * Thomas
 * James
 * Percy
 * BoCo
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Bridget Hatt
 * The Boy
 * One Little Boy
 * The Injured Sailor
 * Bulgy's Friend

Locations

 * Ulfstead
 * The Three Way Road
 * Haultraugh
 * Haultraugh Lighthouse
 * Tidmouth
 * Bulgy's Bridge
 * Bulgy's Field
 * Knapford

Trivia

 * A few scenes were either extended or cut short in the restored version:
 * Thomas and Duck passing each other is extended.
 * Duck leaving Tidmouth is cut short at the end.
 * Duck arriving at Haultraugh is extended.
 * Oliver leaving Haultraugh is extended.
 * Duck leaving Tidmouth a second time is cut short at the end.
 * Duck crossing the bridge at the Three Way Road is extended.
 * The scene after Duck left the bridge is extended.
 * The last few seconds of Thomas leaving the station near the end of the episode is cut off.
 * In the restored version, during Bulgy's final close-up, his eyes move slightly differently compared to the original version.
 * It is never revealed exactly what holiday is being celebrated. A banner in the background of one shot even reads "Special Holiday." In the original story, it is specified as being a bank holiday.
 * In the Greek dub, the opening scene is cut out.
 * This is the only Thomas episode to celebrate a bank holiday.
 * This episode marks the only appearance of Bulgy's nervous face.
 * This episode marks the first time Lady Hatt and Farmer Trotter have speaking roles.
 * In the US, this episode aired on Shining Time Station before the third series episode, Escape. This means that the audience would not have known who Oliver was.
 * This episode marks the only appearance of Haultraugh in the television series to date, as well as Bulgy's only speaking role, let alone starring role, only time he is referred to by name until the seventh series episode, Bulgy Rides Again, which is exactly 100 episodes after this one.
 * This episode marks the last appearance of Tidmouth in the television series, though it was mentioned in the seventeenth series episode Gordon Runs Dry, the twentieth series episode Blown Away, and the twenty-first series episode Terence Breaks the Ice.
 * This episode marks the only third series broadcast on CITV in 1992 not presented by Tommy Boyd. Instead, it was introduced by Glenn Kinsey.
 * This is the third episode named after a single character, the first two being Daisy and Mavis, not counting Terence the Tractor.
 * In the German dub of this episode, Bulgy is referred to as "Pfau" (the German word for "peacock"). Despite this, his original name is mentioned in the German title; while being the only time Bulgy was referred to as "Pfau" in Germany.
 * This episode was never released on DVD in South Korea.
 * Bulgy's line "Yah! Boo! Snubs!" became a popular internet meme.

Goofs

 * At the beginning of the episode, Duck is seen crossing a bridge indicating it is a rail bridge, but later in the episode, Bulgy is seen crossing the same bridge despite being a road vehicle. However, it is possible that this bridge is actually a tramway, which both road and rail vehicles can ride on.
 * When the camera cuts to Duck, James and BoCo, Duck is seen to take red branch line coaches, but in the next scene, he was instead seen taking express ones.
 * When Duck first talks to Bulgy, Bulgy's eyes are wonky, and his eyes do not move a the same time.
 * Oliver's right lamp iron (viewers' left) is crooked in some scenes.
 * Throughout this episode, Oliver has Edward's whistle sound.
 * Oliver's coaches have damaged roofs, especially the brake coach.
 * The Express Coaches Duck takes are red, but are green when he meets Oliver the second time. But turn back to red for the remainder of the episode.
 * When Duck first meets Bulgy, his ANTI-RAIL sign is on his right-hand side and the RAILWAY BUS sign is on his left. When Bulgy steals Duck's passengers, the signs have swapped sides.
 * Oliver tells Duck that only he calls the bus Bulgy, but when Duck is talking with Bulgy at Tidmouth Station, the name Bulgy can be clearly seen placed on the bus' left side.
 * The narrator says that Duck is taking his passengers to the Big Station clearly meaning Knapford, but in the end, he takes them back to Tidmouth.
 * When the passengers were complaining about Bulgy's lies, two of the passengers, Farmer Trotter and Jeremiah Jobling are looking happy when they should be cross.
 * In the final scene at the station, Percy has James' whistle sound. In the restored version, the sound was heard before the scene of the engines at Tidmouth station appeared because the scene after Duck crossed the bridge was extended.
 * In the German dub, Bulgy's line "I wouldn't have brought them if I'd known. I'd have had a breakdown or something," was misheard and mistranslated to "I would not have brought them here if I had known I had a breakdown or something."

Quotes

 * [Bulgy stares at Duck's passengers]
 * Bulgy: Stupid nonsense. I wouldn't have brought them if I'd known. I'd have had a breakdown or something.
 * Duck: I'm glad you didn't. You'd have spoiled their fun.
 * Bulgy: Bah! Enjoyment is all you engines live for. One day, railways will be ripped up!
 * Duck: We have a friend called Bertie and he's a bus, but he likes the railway. Sometimes he teases us about it, but he'd never wanna see it ripped up!
 * Bulgy: Huh! I know Bertie. He's too small in size to be of any use. [leaves]
 * Duck: That bus is silly.




 * Oliver: [laughs] I call him 'Bulgy'! [leaves, but returns no longer laughing] Bulgy's friend has come. He's rude too! He's taking Bulgy's passengers home, (and) leaving Bulgy free to steal ours!
 * Duck: But he can't!
 * Oliver: Bulgy says he can get them to the big station before us!
 * Duck: Rubbish! It's much farther by road!
 * Oliver: Yes/Yeah, but Bulgy says he knows a shortcut!




 * [Duck and Oliver are preparing for the evening homeward rush]
 * Both: Where are the passengers?
 * Oliver: Look! Look at Bulgy! He's a mean scarlet deceiver!
 * [it is revealed that Bulgy has been fitted with a large sign reading "Railway Bus"]
 * Bulgy: Yah, boo, snubs!




 * Duck: [to his coaches before giving chase after Bulgy] Come on! Let's see what he's up to!




 * [Duck has chased Bulgy to a bridge that the latter is now stuck under]
 * Duck: So this was his shortcut.
 * Passengers: He tricked us! He said he was a railway bus, but he wouldn't accept our return tickets! He wanted us to think railways are no good!
 * Duck's crew: [after examining the bridge] It's risky, but we must help the passengers.
 * Duck: Passengers are urgent.
 * [Duck crosses the bridge, which quivers]
 * Bulgy: Stop! It might fall on me!
 * Duck: That would serve you right for telling lies.

Merchandise

 * My Thomas Story Library Books - Bulgy

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * Escape and other stories
 * Thomas Gets Bumped and 17 Other Stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Complete Series 3
 * My Little Thomas and Bertie Adventures
 * Seasonal Scrapes

DVD Packs

 * Classic Collection

WAL

 * Help and 15 other stories

US

 * Shining Time Station Vol. 3: Bully for Mr. Conductor
 * James Goes Buzz Buzz and Other Thomas Stories
 * Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 3

CAN

 * James Goes Buzz Buzz and Other Thomas Stories

DVD Packs

 * James Goes Buzz Buzz/Thomas and the Special Letter Double Feature
 * Ultimate Thomas Collection
 * Totally Thomas Volume 7

AUS

 * Escape and other stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Complete Series 3

DVD Boxsets

 * Complete Series 1-10
 * Classic Collection
 * Series Three and Series Four Double Pack

NZ

 * Escape and other stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * Bumper Video Collection Volume 5

ZA

 * Buzz, Buzz

GER

 * It Goes Around on the Turntable and 4 Other Adventures

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 17
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.2
 * Engines’ Big Success
 * The Complete DVD Box 1

NL

 * The Greatest Stories: The Adventures of Thomas, Percy and Gordon
 * Merry Christmas!

GRC

 * The Twin Engines Were Confused!

DVD Boxsets

 * 3 DVD Boxset 2

DK

 * The Great Escape and Other Stories

NOR/FIN

 * Edward, Trevor and the Useful Party

MYS

 * Percy, James and the Fruitful Day and Other Thomas Adventures
 * One Good Turn and Other Adventures

UKR

 * A Train Thomas and Friends

ITA

 * Locomotive in Trouble

IN

 * Oliver Owns Up and Other Stories

SER

 * Thomas the Tank Engine 7

CHN

 * Thomas and Friends Season 1-4

KOR

 * Thomas and Friends Volume 2

THA

 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 11

HK
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 * Thomas and Friends Volume 8
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 1

Bulgy (episodio) בולג'י (פרק) 2かいだてバスのバルジー Smrodek (odcinek) Балджи (эпизод)