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“This is absurd! None of us know what job Dowager Hatt wants us to do next!"
"We're all stuck here, waiting for her to finish pruning her pelargoniums!”
― James and Henry

Dowager Hatt's Busy Day is the third episode of the twenty-first series.

Plot[]

In the early morning at Tidmouth Sheds, the engines are ready for work. But then, the Fat Controller arrives with a nasty cold. Luckily, his mother, Dowager Hatt arrives, scolding her son for coming to run the railway whilst he is ill, and despite having no knowledge or experience with running railways, decides to substitute for him.

After Dowager Hatt orders her son's valets to take him home, she starts the day's work by giving the engines their jobs, but she orders Thomas to collect her new hat from Brendam Docks rather than pulling Annie and Clarabel on his branch line, tasking Emily with that job instead of taking scrap to the scrap yard. Dowager Hatt tasks Gordon with Emily's job, sending Edward to collect a cake for her friend Lady Toffington, Percy to pull Gordon's express, and the other engines to do some very strange jobs such as balloons, animals, etc. This creates a lot of confusion and delay, as many of the engines end up stuck at Knapford Station Yard.

Emily tells Dowager Hatt that there are certain engines that have their certain jobs and other engines that do not. With Emily's assisting, Dowager Hatt puts everything right. She first puts Gordon back on express duty and sorts the engines back to their normal duties.

In the afternoon, the Fat Controller soon gets back from resting, feeling a lot better. He is impressed to see that his mother has run his railway very smoothly with Emily's assisting. However, when Thomas arrives with the hat (after waiting at the docks all day), Dowager Hatt pushes her son into his office to have a tea break before he can question Thomas. Emily is glad that everyone is back doing their proper jobs, except for Philip, who is working at the Ulfstead Mine as the lights go off, leaving him in the dark.

Characters[]

Locations[]

Cast[]

UK[]

US[]

Trivia[]

  • Going by production order, this is the sixth episode of the twenty-first series and the 500th episode of the show, as well as the last hundredth episode of the show in production order.
  • A large rail section has been built at Brendam Docks between Cranky and Big Mickey, which foreshadows the arrival of Carly when she is introduced later in the series.
  • Several references to past episodes are made:
  • The episode's plot is similar to the tenth series episode, The Green Controller and the magazine story, The Wrong Work.
  • This episode marks the first of several things:
    • The first episode where Rob Rackstraw gives James a British accent in the UK dub.
    • Sukhmani Kaur's first episode as assistant production manager.
    • Gavin Ebedes' first episode as supervising editor.
    • Eddie Chandler's first episode as associate editor.
    • Alan Kennedy's first episode as director of post-production.
    • The first episode to have the writer's name in all uppercase letters.
    • The first episode since the sixteenth series episode, Thomas Toots the Crows where Den appears without Dart.
    • The first episode since the nineteenth series episode, Salty All At Sea where 'Arry appears without Bert.
    • The first episode since the nineteenth series episode, Two Wheels Good where Annie speaks, but Clarabel does not.
  • Some of the nicknames Dowager Hatt gives Emily could be references to a few characters from certain Disney films:
    • Elinor (which may be a reference to Queen Elinor from the 2012 Disney/Pixar film, Brave).
    • Esmerelda (which may be a reference to the character of the same name from the 1996 Disney film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
  • On the Nick Jr. US broadcast of the episode, it was paired with Stuck in Gear.
  • A shortened version of the episode, narrated by Joseph May as Thomas, can be found on the official YouTube channel and formerly on the Nick Jr. US website.

Goofs[]

  • Both Donald and Douglas do not have footplate crews.
  • Emily's brake pipe changes positions in between shots of her talking to Dowager Hatt and the scene where Percy is pulling the express up Gordon's Hill.
  • When the engines are stuck at the junction, Donald has Duck's whistle sound at one point and Henry is missing his leading wheels.
  • In the Turkish title, Dowager Hatt is incorrectly referred as "Lady Hatt."

In Other Languages[]

View content
Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese O Dia Ocupado da Viúva Hatt
Chinese Mandarin 海特贵妇忙碌的一天
Indonesian Hari sibuk Dowager Hatt
Japanese トップハム・ハットきょうのおかあさん
Korean 햇 여사의 바쁜 하루
Latin American Spanish El Día Ocupado de Dowager Hatt
Polish Ciężki Dzień Mamy Zawiadowcy
Russian Молодец - мама!
Turkish Lady Hatt'in Hareketli Günü
Vietnamese Một Ngày Bận Rộn Của Bà Dowager Hatt

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