Baa!

“I'll eat my hat if you don't like it!”

― Sir Topham Hatt to the ram

Baa! is the eighth episode of the fifth season.

Plot

One evening, Percy is tired of the smell of fish after working at the docks all day. He asks his driver to have a washdown, but there is not time because The Fat Controller is waiting for him at the sheds. At the sheds, The Fat Controller announces a festival of flowers, and that a sign saying "Best Dressed Station" shall be awarded to the winner, and he tells the engines to help out with the arrangements.

The next morning, Percy collects trucks loaded with vegetables and flowers. His driver explains that they will be displayed on Maithwaite's platform. On the way, Percy sees Harold, and is curious as to why he is buzzing about. Suddenly, Percy is stopped by a ram on the tracks. Percy's now worried that he will be late, but his driver has just the thing to get him off the line. His driver lures it away with some cabbage and Percy is soon on his way again. When Percy arrives at Maithwaite, the stationmaster tells them the ram has a reputation for always being hungry.

A little while later, Maithwaite is decorated with the flowers and vegetables Percy had delivered. Percy then moves into a siding and is later looking forward to a snooze when he hears a commotion at the station and goes to investigate. He discovers the decorations have been ruined and Percy's driver and the passengers suspect that the mess was the ram's fault. The passengers cannot get into the waiting room because of the ram, but Percy's driver also notices three boys inside, pleading to be let out. The stationmaster and the passengers then realise that the boys were responsible for vandalising the station, and that the ram was taking them hostage in the waiting room, making sure they would do no more damage. The boys apologise for vandalising the station, and promise to put everything back the way it was before.

A few days later, The Fat Controller invites some of the engines to Maithwaite, winner of the best dressed station award. The Fat Controller then gives one more prize for the ram. He hands the ram a pumpkin, but then Harold arrives, and the wind from his blades blow The Fat Controller's hat off, only for it to be eaten by the ram. The Fat Controller laughs and says that it seems he would not be able to eat his hat even he had to. Everyone laughs, and the only sound to come from the ram is a contented hiccup.

Characters

Thomas
Percy
Toby
Sir Topham Hatt
Stephen Hatt (not named)
Farmer Trotter (not named)
Harold (does not speak)
Henry (cameo)
Gordon (cameo)
James (cameo)
Duck (cameo)
Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
Cranky (cameo)
Jem Cole (cameo)
Jeremiah Jobling (cameo)
The Refreshment Lady (cameo)
The Storyteller (cameo)

Locations

Trivia

The magazine story, Summer Fun!, suggests that the man holding the pumpkin is Farmer Collett in the television series. However, it is actually Jem Cole.
Duck's large scale model from Thomas and the Special Letter is used when the Fat Controller makes the announcement at the sheds.

Goofs

Thomas has Edward's whistle sound.
When Thomas passes Maithwaite, Annie and Clarabel are backwards
When Percy reverses into the shed, James' tender is tilted.
Thomas pronounces the first "F" in Ffarquhar.
When Percy passes the ram on his way to Maithwaite, his eyes are wonky.
When Percy backs up to his vegetable trucks, a train beside him has a brakevan in the middle of it.
James has a different whistle sound.
Percy's driver changes appearance several times throughout the episode, as does the Maithwaite stationmaster.
In the close-ups of the Fat Controller giving the announcement, Duck's funnel is shorter and a different shape.
In close-ups of Percy's driver at the docks, a small hair can be seen stuck underneath one of Percy's cab window frames.
Jem Cole, the man standing next to him, and Farmer Trotter are missing their eyebrows in the final shot of all the passengers.
Percy's train at Maithwaite has an unneeded brakevan.

Quotes

Thomas: "My favourite station is Ffarquhar."
Toby: "Mine's Maithwaite. Percy, what's yours?"
Percy: "The Docks."
Thomas: "Pah! We can tell!"
Toby: "The Docks are full of fish, not flowers!"
Percy: "Alright then, Arlesdale End."
Toby: "That's my home!"
Percy: "That's why I like it, especially when you're there and not here saying I'm silly. Good night!"

The Fat Controller: "I'll eat my hat if you don't like it."

(Harold arrives, blowing the Fat Controller's hat away. The ram eats it up)

The Fat Controller: "Well, seems I wouldn't be able to eat my hat, even if I had to!"

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Spanish	¡Beee!	Baa!
German	Määh!	"Maah!"
Japanese	パーシーとひつじ	Percy and the Sheep
Italian	L'ariete	The Ram
Norwegian	Den store konkurransen	The Big Competition

Baa!

Contents