Pop Goes Thomas

> If I bounce along the track
> Perhaps that sound will soon come back
> The sound that makes me smile and giggle
> When I puff on tracks that jiggle!
>
> Thomas

**Pop Goes Thomas** is the eighth episode of the fourteenth series.

## Plot

It is the day of the children's summer picnic in the Whispering Woods and Thomas is given the job of taking the lemonade to the picnic. On the way, Thomas puffs over some bumpy tracks which shakes the bottles of lemonade, making the corks fly into the air. Thomas likes the popping noise, but he cannot see what is making the funny noise. So instead of going straight to the woods, Thomas takes a bumpy track in hoping that he will hear the popping noise again.

Then, Thomas sees Mr. Bubbles the clown waiting at a bus stop. Thomas bounces past and one of the popping corks knocks Mr. Bubbles' big red nose off. It rolls down a drain and now Mr. Bubbles will be late for the children's picnic, as he needs to get another one. Next, Thomas puffs down an even bumpier track. The corks come flying out of the bottles once again and land amongst a field of pigs.

Next, Thomas passes the bakery where the bakers are hit by some corks, making them drop the cakes for the children's picnic. Then, Thomas goes over the bumpiest track on Sodor - the Fenland Track. Soon after, he meets James who is taking the children to the picnic. James does not think the popping noise is very amusing when one hits his shiny paintwork. Thomas then causes even more trouble when his corks hit the signalman at a junction. The signalman is so surprised, he accidentally sends James down the wrong track where he hits the buffers with a jolt.

Eventually, Thomas arrives at the Whispering Woods. The Fat Controller is very cross with him and tells Thomas about all the confusion and delay he has caused with the popping corks. To add to that, all the lemonade bottles are empty. Then, the last cork flies through the air and knocks the Fat Controller's hat clean off his head.

Thomas realises his mistake, so he puffs quickly back to the bakery. The bakers had made more cakes and they are quickly loaded onto Thomas' truck. With the cakes loaded, Thomas puffs back to Knapford to collect more lemonade where Mr. Bubbles is. Thomas apologizes to Mr. Bubbles and offers him a lift to the picnic.

While waiting at a signal on the way, Thomas tells Mr. Bubbles about how he thought the rattling and shaking of the bottles of lemonade and the pinging of their corks was the funniest sound he had ever heard. Mr. Bubbles replies saying Thomas will soon hear a sound that makes him feel even happier. Thomas is puzzled. Just then, Thomas' signal changes and Thomas and Mr. Bubbles are on their way again.

When Thomas arrives at the picnic with Mr. Bubbles, the children cheer, clap, and laugh. Mr. Bubbles explains that the children's laughs and cheers are the happiest sounds of all, and Thomas has to agree.

## Characters

* Thomas
* James
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Mr. Bubbles
* The Bakers
* Emily Template:Does not speak
* Edward Template:Cameo
* Sodor Brass Band Template:Cameos
* Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants Template:Cameos
* The Teacher Template:Cameo
* The Bird Watcher Template:Cameo
* The Ginger-haired Boy Template:Cameo
* Gordon Template:Note

A little boy shouts "Hello" to Thomas from James' train.

## Locations

* Maithwaite
* Rail Under Road Bridge and Signalbox
* Whispering Woods
* Knapford
	+ MC BUNN
* Farmer Trotter's Pig Farm
* Sodor Bakery
* The Fenland Track
* Kirk Ronan Junction

## Cast

### UK

* Ben Small as Thomas
* Keith Wickham as James, the Fat Controller, Mr. Bubbles, and the two Bakers
* Matt Wilkinson as the Little Boy

### US

* Martin Sherman as Thomas and the Little Boy
* Michael Brandon as Mr. Bubbles
* Kerry Shale as James and Sir Topham Hatt
* Keith Wickham as the two Bakers

## Trivia

* Going by production order, this is the ninth episode of the fourteenth series.
* Stock footage from Tickled Pink, Slippy Sodor and A Blooming Mess is used, as is a deleted scene from Thomas and the Pigs.
* An instrumental of Go, Go Thomas is heard throughout the episode.

## Goofs

* When Thomas turns onto the first bumpy track, the points are set against him.
* The narrator says that a cork hit James' shiny red paint, but it actually hits his smokebox which is coloured black.
* Because of stock footage, Maithwaite is in its brown colour.
* When Thomas puffs up to James, he is on James' left, but when they go under the signalbox, Thomas is on James' right.