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- ""Get well back, everybody!"/"Oh, I wish I could!""
- — Billy Shoepack and Sunshine
Up River is the 12th (13th and final in Japan) episode of TUGS.
Plot
It is winter in Bigg City Port. The worst of it is over, and as the snow begins to melt, industry resumes and it is a very busy time. The Star Fleet have temporarily been moved Up River.
One of the big tasks is logging (which under Captain Star’s held contract, the Star Tugs must take thousands of logs from downriver to the sawmills, Captain Star put Big Mac in charge of this operation).
A large log jam has formed (which Big Mac and Sunshine are finding difficult to overcome). Big Mac advises Sunshine to take care and warns him about the wet logs catching fire. Sunshine continues to ram (unluckily causing a chain-reaction which starts the logs to tumble down and trap him). Big Mac tells Puffa (a good friend of the Star Tugs (about Sunshine' accident)), and Puffa puffs away to fetch help from downriver. Big Mac and Sunshine are concerned that the logs are heating up.
Meanwhile, Puffa races to find Ten Cents, once meeting him at another dock, he tells him all about Sunshine. Ten Cents rushes to the rescue.
Back at the log jam, Big Mac tries to shift the logs to free Sunshine (but fails after several attempts). They find that smoke is starting to rise from the logs. When Ten Cents arrives, Big Mac orders him to help try and shift the logs to get Sunshine out (which Ten Cents bravely does so (but to no avail)). Then Billy Shoepack arrives with a load of dynamite. Ten Cents suggests that Billy set off a little blast to free Sunshine. Big Mac hesitates (stating that if Billy uses his dynamite, he would blow Sunshine up as well). In the end, Big Mac reluctantly grants Billy to setup his dynamite. The smoke continues to build up, and the logs are now well on fire. Billy sets up his dynamite. Upon countdown, up the logs go, and Sunshine is free. It is a very big bang though (which causes the whole jam to breakup). The logs charge downriver (breaking down some barges in their way and rolling down towards Uptown). When Puffa pulls up to the dock, Ten Cents tells him to warn Uptown, and he steams off as fast as he can. The tugs set off down the way.
It is difficult to puff along the icy rails (but Puffa pushes on). He whistles warnings all the way down the line, and soon arrives in Uptown Docks (where Top Hat, O.J., Littler Ditcher and Warrior are working). Puffa tells them all about the disaster about to hit the quayside. Warrior comes up with a plan to build a makeshift dam across the river entrance.
Once all are in place (including Little Ditcher), they prepare themselves for the logs.
The logs continue to charge along (demolishing a small quay along the way). Some logs are stopped by the wreckage (but many more still continue). Ten Cents, Sunshine and Big Mac still follow along.
At Uptown, the church bells are ringing to warn everybody about the floating logs. The logs begin to approach (but Warrior is on the wrong side of the dam). O.J. tells the tugs to rev their engines to try and push back the logs (diverting them). The logs glance off and takeout a factory due for demolition in spectacular (“explosive” fashion).
Ten Cents, Sunshine and Big Mac arrive to the others. Big Mac is worried about the factory (but O.J. tells him that at least the owner won't have to pay for the demolition). Warrior is called a hero, and the tugs head to clear up the mess.
Deleted Material
Main Articles: Deleted Scenes
Early Writing Stages
Early during the development stages for episode ideas, the plot of the episode would've had Warrior being sent to take a long line of logs from a massive lake back to the lumber yards Upriver during the spring (drawn into a long mass). As he takes the chained together logs along at two miles an hour, the logs rub against each other (eventually catching fire by the time he reaches the lowlands). Fire tugs and boats race Upriver to the scene, and eventually put out the fire. Warrior continues on his way again (continuing his 2mph speed). Getting bored, he decides to speed up to 5mph (in order to get the job done faster and still control the log flow (in spite of the warnings by other river side vessels)). The logs eventually start going too fast and not turning (forcing Warrior to stay ahead of them). Being evening now, no other ships are about (so he is forced to go out to sea with the logs). Luckily, Hercules is coming back from a long tow, and helps Warrior to stop the logs, and helps him to the lumber yard. When they arrive back at the Star Dock, Captain Star scolds Warrior for his stupidity (with the extra cost of having Hercules help having taken all the profit from the job).
Later on, during the early scripting stages, the plot would seem to have been largely the same (although it's important to note O.J. being out of his depth Upriver (being more 'dock smart' (implying he was to have a role within said draft))).
Another version plotted out sometime afterwards was to involve the turmoil caused by floating debris down river damaging buildings of the Upriver community. It was also intended to show off the activities of the industrial and commercial companies that lay Upriver.
In the latest version of the story known pre-filming, the ice Upriver has finally melted enough by the late Spring weather for Big Mac to bring the first string of logs downriver and into the Port. Unfortunately, the ice flows get dislodged and career downriver (causing destruction to the industrial areas Upriver). The Star Tugs manage to escape it (but Sunshine is put in grave danger of being crushed as Big Mac guides the logs through the bends). He ends up being saved thanks to old O.J.'s experience and shallow draft.
Rewritten shortly before filming?
It should also be noted that Billy Shoepack was a character that originally was not going to exist until very late into production (having been built sometime shortly before the filming of Trapped (the 11th episode filmed) (but left incomplete by the time filming started)). This therefore hints that at some point between the previous draft mentioned and the final episode script used for filming being written (that Billy Shoepack was likely worked into the episode (being rewritten from what was likely originally intended to be filmed before Chris Tulloch reworked Trapped and invented the character)).
Characters
- Ten Cents
- Big Mac
- O.J.
- Top Hat
- Warrior
- Sunshine
- Billy Shoepack
- Puffa
- Little Ditcher
- Captain Star (narration only; mentioned)
- Boomer (cameo)
- Little Owl (cameo)
- Shrimpers (cameos)
- Mighty Mo (cameo)
- Zak (20 minute cut only)
- Zug (20 minute cut only)
- Zip (20 minute cut only)
- Hercules (early outline only)
- Fire Tugs (early outline only)
Cast
- Patrick Allen as Captain Star
- Simon Nash as Ten Cents
- Shaun Prendergast as Sunshine
- John Baddeley as Top Hat and Puffa
- Timothy Bateson as O.J. and little Ditcher
- Mike O'Malley as Warrior
- Sean Barrett as Big Mac
- Lee Cornes as Billy Shoepack
Trivia
- This episode marks the first time Billy Shoepack moves his head and eyes, and has an alternate face mask; in his debut episode (Trapped), his features stay immobile.
- This episode marks the final appearances of Billy Shoepack, Boomer, Little Ditcher, Mighty Mo, and Puffa.
- This episode marks Puffa's first and only speaking role.
- Hercules and the Z-Stacks do not appear in this episode.
- This is also the only episode to not feature any of the Z-Stacks (although Zak, Zug, and Zip were in a deleted scene in the 20 minute cut).
- The Star Dock building can be seen in Up Town when Puffa arrives to warn the tugs.
- Tyne Tees Television developed a 6-minute behind the scenes section for the series whilst this episode was being filmed (for their documentary ("Movie Magic")).
- The truck Puffa was pulling was used in the second series of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.
Goofs
- The Goods Engine has Puffa's whistle sound when he is seen banking a goods train leaving Uptown. In that same shot, Boomer (as a tug) seems to be seen working in the background (even though he was turned into a houseboat in "Jinxed").
- There is a film cut when Big Mac says "Logs have got to be roped just right."
- Puffa is shown hauling an extra flatbed whenever he interacts with the Star Tugs at the logging camp (but that flatbed disappears in every other scene he is featured in).
- In the first scene of the logs after Billy Shoepack's explosion, a fly flies past the camera.
- Warrior's body comes loose from his hull in one scene when the logs scrape him.
- Because of film cuts, the logs move when the factory explodes.
| Tugs | Series 2 >> |
| #01 Sunshine | #05 Munitions | #10 Jinxed |
| #02 Pirate | #06 Warrior | #11 High Winds |
| #03 Trapped | #07 High Tide | #12 Up River |
| #04 Regatta | #08 Quarantine | #13 Bigg Freeze |
| #09 Ghosts |