Muddy Matters is the fifteenth episode of the sixteenth season. It first premiered on March 1st 2012 in Australia.
Plot
It is a rainy day on the Island of Sodor, Sir Topham Hatt comes to Tidmouth Sheds to tell the engines' that it is the day of the Farmers Fair, and explains that one of the engines must take Farmer McColl's sheep to the fairgrounds, and whoever does will get their picture in the Sodor Newspaper. James hears this and immediately wants the job in order to get his picture in the paper. James then hurries off to Farmer McColl's to pick up the sheep ass well as Katie the sheepdog. Farmer McColl tells james to take the driest and least bumpy track to the fair, to which James takes a bumpy dry track, in order to avoid the flooded track nearby. James soon arrives at Maron were he tells Emily about his job, when the sheep break open the door and start to run across the station platform. James soon finds the sheep grazing in a field, he decides to take the long track, to again avoid the flooded track. By the time James arrives at the field, most of the sheep have ran off. Again James takes the long dry track in order to locate the sheep. Katie barks at the sheep, and they soon come towards James' until his whistling scares them off. Soon Thomas and Percy come along and tells James that Farmer McColl is waiting for him at the fairgrounds. James then declares to himself that he promised Farmer McColl he would deliver the sheep, and so he cannot let him down and James' realizes it dosen't really matter whether they are dirty or clean in the photograph. Katie then spots the sheep and James hurries along the muddy track to find the sheep, Katie runs to the sheep and leads them to Farmer McColl's farm where James' picks them up and delivers them to the fair. Sir Topham Hatt asks James what has happened to him, were the photographer realizes that James' dirtiness is a sign that he is a hard working engine. James' finally gets his picture taken for the front page of the newspaper, he had never been more happy to be the dirtiest engine on the island.
Trivia
- The Sodor Gazette newspaper appears to be covered in gibberish letters and symbols, the number 86 can be seen at the top of the newspaper, possibly indicating the year in which the episode takes place. What appears to be "W&SR" can also be seen, possibly making a reference to the Wimbeldon and Sutton Railway, which was once a railway in England.
- The episode aired on the PBS broadcast Fun on the Farm.
Videos
