Gordon Takes Charge

“Maybe teaching Percy will be fun, then he'll see I'm the biggest and the best.”

― Gordon

Gordon Takes Charge is the twelfth (nineteenth in Australia) episode of the eighth season.

Plot

Percy is taking passengers for the first time in a long time. Gordon tries to teach him how to treat coaches. Things are shaky when Percy accidentally bumps the coaches, lets off steam at the wrong time, and Gordon starts showing off. In the end, Gordon tries to brake so smoothly he slips on the icy rails and runs into a snowdrift, just as Percy puffs in and gently halts. Gordon compliments Percy afterwards, but attributes it to his good teaching.

Characters

Gordon
Percy
Sir Topham Hatt
Edward (does not speak)
James (does not speak)
Toby (does not speak)
Bertie (does not speak)
Thomas (cameo)
Emily (cameo)
Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
Butch (cameo)
Refreshment Lady (cameo)
Cyril the Fogman (cameo)
The Storyteller (cameo)

Locations

Trivia

This episode was originally to be titled "Gordon and the Snow Gala."
Thomas' large-scale model for when he interacts with The Pack is seen at the beginning.
Going by production order, this is the nineteenth episode of the eighth season.
When Percy whistles at Knapford, his whistle sounds the same way it did in Percy's New Whistle.

Goofs

Gordon puts his brakes on but he still makes a puffing sound.
Bertie appears to be smiling when he is stuck in the snow.
In the close-up of Gordon's wheels sliding, he is already heading down the siding but in the next shot, he is heading down it again.
When Gordon and Percy are in the depot, Gordon backs up to only two express coaches, not three like the standard express train. But when Gordon pulls up to Knapford and his stops on his express line, he is pulling a train of three express coaches.
In the US version, Michael Brandon's voice cracks when he says "His face was as red as Bertie the bus."
It is stated that Percy hasn't pulled passengers in a long time, yet he was clearly seen pulling them in the previous season. Interestingly enough, a similar error was made in Henry and the Wishing Tree.
When Gordon is in Tidmouth Sheds his eyes are wonky.

Merchandise

Magazine Stories - Gordon's Snow Show

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Danish	Gordon Lærer Fra Sig	Gordon Learns from Him
Norwegian	Gordon Viser Seg Fram	Gordon Shows Off
Swedish	Gordon Ger Lektioner	Gordon Gives Lessons
German	Gordon Sagt, "Wo's Lang Geht?"	Gordon Says, "Where to Go?"
Dutch	Gordon Neemt de Leiding	Gordon Takes the Lead
Spanish	Gordon al Mando / Gordon el Profesor	Gordon Commanding / Gordon the Teacher
Portuguese	Gordon dá as Ordens	Gordon Gives Orders
Italian	Gordon Assume il Comando	Gordon Takes Charge
Catalan	Gordon es fa Càrrec	Gordon Takes Charge
Flemish	Gordon de Professor	Gordon the Professor
Finnish	Jori Opettajana	Gordon Teaches
Hungarian	Gordon a Példakép	Gordon the Role Model
Romanian	Gordon Preia Comanda	Gordon Takes Command
Polish	Gabryś Rządzi	Gordon Governs
Croatian	Gordan Preuzima Kontrolu	Gordon Takes Control
Czech	Gordon se Ujal Vedení	Gordon Took the Lead
Slovak	Gordon sa Ujal Vedenia	Gordon Took the Lead
Japanese	ゴードン、せんせいになる	Gordon Becomes a Teacher
Chinese	爱炫耀的高登	Pompous Gordon
Greek	αναδοχής	Taking Charge
Russian	Гордон хвастается	Gordon Brags
Korean	선생님이 된 고든	Gordon the Teacher
Thai	กอร์ดอนสอนเอง	Gordon Taught Himself