List of Tugs episodes

This is a list of the thirteen episodes of the British children's television series Tugs which were first broadcast in 1989.

List of episodes

These episode plots are taken from the descriptions in TV Times.

No. Episode title Director(s) Writer(s) Original broadcast date
1"Sunshine"David MittonGloria Tors4 April 1989 (4 April 1989)
Set in the 1920s, this is the story of an upriver tugboat called Sunshine which arrives at Bigg City port to help Ten Cents, a member of the Star fleet. But he apparently causes an accident while the Star Tugs are bringing in a huge liner. Ten Cents can't believe Sunshine was to blame, and sets out to discover what really happened.
2"Pirate"David MittonTarquin Cardona11 April 1989 (11 April 1989)
The tug Ten Cents is blamed by the Z-Stacks for the disappearance of some of their barges. He is in for a surprise when with the help of his friends, Ten Cents discovers the identity of the real pirate.
3"Trapped"Chris TullochChris Tulloch18 April 1989 (18 April 1989)
The Z-Stacks must share the upriver jobs with the Star Tugs. When a tramper which Zorran and Zug are towing goes out of control, blocking the river and trapping the Stars including Zug, Zorran tries to take advantage of the situation by getting more work for the Z-Stacks to do. But his scheme does not go as he planned.
4"Regatta"David MittonDavid Mitton25 April 1989 (25 April 1989)
When Grampus, the naval submarine, saves Lillie Lightship from sinking, he is a hero. But on the day of the Regatta, the Navy have other plans for him. Ten Cents and the Star Tugs set out to upset those plans.
5"Munitions"David MittonDavid Mitton2 May 1989 (2 May 1989)
Once again, the Star Tugs and Z-Stacks have to deliver explosives and petrol to the Naval yard. It is extremely dangerous. To make matters worse, Bluenose, the naval tug, is always needlessly ordering everyone around. However, this time his orders lead to near disaster, which is only just averted by Ten Cents' quick thinking.
6"Warrior"Chris TullochRobert D. Cardona9 May 1989 (9 May 1989)
Warrior finds it difficult to prove he can do important jobs on his own. As he is reported to see Captain Star, he sees Ten Cents in danger of rescuing Izzy Gomez, an old Mexican tramper, from being capsized.
7"High Tide"David MittonDavid Mitton16 May 1989 (16 May 1989)
In their rush to steal away a big contract from the Star Tugs, two Z-Stacks Zebedee and Zak accidentally hit a railway bridge and weaken it. It is left to Top Hat and 'Lord Stinker' to try and prevent a potentially catastrophic accident.
8"Quarantine"Chris TullochTarquin Cardona23 May 1989 (23 May 1989)
Two evil scrap dealers Burke and Blair try to talk Captain Star into getting rid of OJ when the old tug's faulty engine causes an accident. But Captain Star has some hard thinking to do when OJ's wisdom saves Ten Cents from being quarantined.
9"Ghosts"David MittonDavid Mitton30 May 1989 (30 May 1989)
Old sea stories – especially about ghosts – are favourites amongst the tugs of Bigg City Harbour. No one will admit to taking them too seriously. So when Big Mac rushes back to the Star Pier one foggy night, the other tugs laugh when he tells them he actually saw the 'Ghost Fleet', but end up seeing some ghostly white tugs.
10"Jinxed"David MittonDavid Mitton6 June 1989 (6 June 1989)
Ten Cents and Sunshine are in for a shock when they try to rescue a tug. It seems he does not want to be a tug! Not only that, but he warns them to leave, otherwise they're in for trouble - because he's jinxed!
11"High Winds"Chris TullochChris Tulloch13 June 1989 (13 June 1989)
An old dirty tramper suspected of smuggling lurks outside the limits of Bigg City Bay. It is the notorious Johnny Cuba who's up to no good around the harbour. When bad weather suddenly comes, he forces Zebedee, one of the Z-Stacks, to tow him into the safety of the harbour and into hiding.
12"Up River"David MittonDavid Mitton20 June 1989 (20 June 1989)
Tugs are known to be powerful and strong for their size, but Sunshine learns a valuable lesson about logs. Unless they are handled carefully and with great respect they can be unpredictable and very dangerous.
13"Bigg Freeze"David MittonRoy Russell27 June 1989 (27 June 1989)
The beautiful liner, the S.S. Vienna, cannot be docked because Bigg City Harbour is frozen over. So the Star Tugs come up with a plan to make sure she gets her supplies.

Cancelled Series 2

A second series had already been planned well in advance of the shooting of the first. Over 96 scripts had been written by Tugs co-creator/director David Mitton himself and other writers with a regular 13 episodes to be produced. Most of the series would have been set more 'up river' instead of the Bigg City docks area due to difficulty shooting in that area. As well the regular main cast, some new tugs would have been introduced. However, Television South (TVS), which was in charge of producing the series, was in financial instability at the time, which halted the series from being produced.[1]

References
  1. "The David Mitton Interview". Sodor Island – A Thomas Fan Site. 2007. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
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