Thomas & Friends: Bye bye BoCo

Before I begin, you’re probably wondering how I know about this episode’s existence. Well, during my college years, from 2001 to 2004, I worked as an intern at HiT entertainment for my degree in TV and Film Production. One of the benefits of this job, other than the sweet paycheck (most internships weren't paid), was being able to watch new episodes of all their shows before they were finished as a part of the test audience. I didn’t actually like most of the shows I had to watch, but it made me feel important to be able to watch these episodes before anyone else. Sometimes I’d get to see things like deleted or unfinished scenes, and on rare occasions I’d get to watch unreleased episodes. One of these episodes was an episode of the 6th season of Thomas & Friends. Thomas was pretty much the only HiT entertainment show I liked, aside from Bob the Builder, so being able to watch new episodes was always exciting. This specific episode had been created to write BoCo out of the series, since he wasn’t that popular of a character. The episode was nearly finished when the writers showed it to us, but most of the other test audience people thought it to be too dark, and so it was cancelled and a new episode called Buffer Bother was quickly made to replace it. I only saw the episode once, and no copies or footage outside of two screenshots posted to an obscure and now defunct online forum exist online, but I distinctly remember everything about it. 
The episode started with the same intro as every other Season 6 episode. The only notable thing about the intro was that towards the end, when the text that normally said who directed the episode appeared, the text just said “Directed by (placeholder text)”. This appeared in lots of the unfinished episodes I watched. The episode began with footage of BoCo pulling freight across different sets. The music playing was an upbeat, slightly slower remix of the Dieseasal theme from Season 2, but with newer instruments.
Michael Angelis, the narrator, began speaking. “'BoCo the Diesel Engine is one of the hardest working engines on The Fat Controller’s railway.' he said, 'He doesn’t say much and usually keeps to himself while working, but still makes friends with everyone he meets.'” 
The scene faded to a scene of BoCo, Edward and Henry at Tidmouth Sheds, as The Fat Controller stood in front of BoCo. 
The narrator spoke again: “'One morning The Fat Controller came to visit BoCo.' 'BoCo', announced The Fat Controller, 'Today you are to collect some new trucks from Brendam Docks.'” 
“'Thank you sir!' replied BoCo, excitedly. 'That sounds like a very important job!'” 
“'Be careful when handling new trucks!” warned Henry, “They're usually the most naughty ones of them all. They got me into an accident not long ago!'” The scene faded to a flashback of the episode, "The World's Strongest Engine", where Henry had an accident with some coal trucks. 
“Thanks for the tip!” BoCo replied. 
The narrator continued: "Soon, BoCo was off on his way to collect the new trucks.” as it showed BoCo making way to the docks. 
The scene cut to BoCo at Brendam Docks backing onto his long train of trucks. 
"What's this green caterpillar doing here?" said one truck. 
"We want a proper engine, not a bug on wheels!" said another. 
"'Come on now!' said BoCo, as he backed onto the train. 'I want no nonsense from all of you!'" 
"'That's a very rude way to speak to us!' said a truck. 'Let's pay him out then!'" said another. 
It shows shows BoCo traveling on the line with the trucks as he said "The trucks however remained so quiet that BoCo thought he had them under control. That is until they reached Gordon's Hill" 
Then it shows BoCo going up Gordon's Hill. As he reached the top, the trucks finally carried out their plan. 
"Now!" they yelled, bumping into each other, pushing BoCo down the hill. 
The Runaway Theme used in Season's 5 and 6 played as it showed BoCo and the trucks careering down the hill, as BoCo struggled to control the runaway train. 
"Stop!" BoCo yelled. 
"Faster! Faster! The ride isn't over!" yelled the trucks. 
As BoCo is shown still struggling to control the runaway trucks, The Narrator reappears, stating "Then there was trouble. Workmen were working on a bend, so trains could only go slowly around it, but BoCo was going much too fast!" 
It showed BoCo approaching the bend, terrified. It then showed him applying his breaks as the narrator said, "BoCo's driver applied his breaks as hard as he could, but it was too late. He came off the tracks and rolled down a hill." 
It then showed BoCo and trucks coming off the tracks, where BoCo was shown rolling helplessly down a hill, and the trucks were shown tumbling after him like in the episode "Gordon Takes a Tumble".
As BoCo was shown rolling helplessly down the hill, the narrator's voice appeared again saying "He couldn't imagine what was coming next. At the bottom of the hill, there was a small cliff." It then showed a small cliff that BoCo was heading towards.
"Oh horrors!" BoCo yelled as he saw the cliff ahead, but there was nothing he could to avoid it. It then showed BoCo falling off the cliff, landing face first on the ground, before landing upside down on the ground. It then showed a close up of BoCo upside down, with smoke coming out of him.
The next scene showed BoCo being shunted by Edward back at the sheds in the evening, with The Fat Controller being present. BoCo was shown to have been badly damaged from the crash.
The narrator started talking again: "'Well BoCo, it is a miracle you survived the incident.' The Fat Controller declared. 'However, I don't know if it's going to be possible to repair you. I'll have some workmen come tonight and see what they think.'" 
“Thank you sir.” sighed BoCo.”
It then faded to night. BoCo was being inspected by the workmen. 
The narrator then said: “BoCo couldn’t sleep at all that night. He was far too worried about what would happen if they couldn’t fix him. Sadly, the worst was yet to come.” 
It faded back to daytime, and Bill, Ben, Edward and The Fat Controller were now there, all looking very worried. 
The narrator continued: “The Fat Controller walked very slowly up to BoCo, his head hanging down. 
“'BoCo, there’s no easy way to say this,' he began 'but the damage you have is beyond repair. It pains me greatly to tell you this, but I’m afraid our only choice now is to send you to be scrapped.'”
Bill, Ben and Edward were devastated by this news. 
“Please don’t scrap him!” cried Bill. 
“'If it were up to me I wouldn’t' explained The Fat Controller, 'but there is simply no other option.'”
It cut to BoCo. He looked sad, but not as sad as the other engines. He just looked tired. The narrator kept speaking: 
“BoCo was silent at first, clearly still processing this news." 
Eventually, he spoke: “'It’s alright.' he said at last. 'I accept my fate.'”
“Are you sure?” asked Edward. 
“There’s no other option.” he replied solemnly. 
“'He's right;' declared the Fat Controller. 'BoCo, you will be sent to the scrapyard first thing tomorrow morning.'” 
The narrator then stated "BoCo spent the rest of the day saying his goodbyes to all his friends, but before he knew it, the next morning had arrived, and he was sent away.” While this was happening, it showed a montage of BoCo having conversations with various engines.
It then showed BoCo in the scrapyard, being picked up by the big grabber from the Season 5 episode "Stepney Gets Lost". To my surprise, it actually showed the grabber carry him all the way to a melting pot and drop him in it.
The screaming of the Narrator could be faintly heard as it faded to Edward, Bill and Ben. They were at the docks, staring out into the sun rising on the horizon. The narrator finished the story:
“Why do engines have to be scrapped, Edward?” asked Ben quietly. 
But Edward just sighed. “I wish I could tell you, but sometimes, these things just happen.” 
There was a long silence. 
“'Still,' Edward went on, 'He wouldn’t have wanted us to be so sad forever. He’d want us to remember all the memories we made together!'” 
“'I think that’s right.' said Bill. 'And besides, this isn’t the end for us yet; it’s just the beginning of a new chapter!'” 
“'That reminds me!' said Ben. 'A new Diesel is supposed to be coming to the quarry today. Come on, Bill! Let’s go see if he’s here yet.'” 
And Bill and Ben ran off, feeling better. Edward smiled as he look at the sky. “BoCo, I hope you're in a better place now, wherever you are...”.
As the narrator finished saying this, the ending theme from the episode "James & The Red Balloon" played as the camera panned upwards to the sky, where a picture of BoCo faded in.
It cut to the credits, and as I looked around I could tell a lot of the other people in the audience were confused or even angered about the episode. Personally, I thought the episode had a good message, in spite of it’s dark tones. Unfortunately, not a lot of other people felt the same way, and so, as I said before, the episode was cancelled. Where is the episode now? If I were to guess, I’d say somewhere very deep within Mattel’s archives, never to be released, outside of those screenshots that I posted. But, even if I never see the episode again, at least I still have the memories of it.
Category:Lost Episodes
Category:Thomas & Friends
Category:Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
Category:Death
Category:Hit entertainment