Crowning Around

**Crowning Around** is the second episode of the twenty-third series.

## Plot

Rajiv loves his crown, as it makes him feel like royalty and gets it newly polished. Although he, Thomas and Ashima are very cheerful, Noor Jehan isn't as she has achy breaks. Shankar criticizes Rajiv for obsessing over his crown instead of working, to which Rajiv claims that he can be very useful with his crown.

While pulling his train, Rajiv attempts to avoid some troublesome Monkeys to stop them getting to his crown when it gets knocked off by the Breakdown Train, tossed around by the Monkeys and then thrown into a truck. This makes him devastated and feel not very useful, despite Ashima attempting to tell him he doesn't need it. Rajiv all the same says that he does and refuses to get back to work until it's returned to him.

Ashima and Thomas attempt to find Rajiv's crown while also doing his jobs, unaware that it's being tossed around their trains. A workman even finds it in a muddy puddle and not knowing what it actually is, throws it into Shankar's trucks for the scrapyard. When Thomas, Ashima and Shankar return to the sheds, tired after having to do Rajiv's jobs as well as their own, they attempt to tell Rajiv that he doesn't need his crown and that he's still really useful.

With the other engines asleep, Rajiv sees Noor Jehan - still with her achy breaks - out of control and set on a collision course for Shankar. Reacting quickly, Rajiv charges into Shankar, with Noor Jehan crashing into the back of the sheds. After being praised for what he did, this makes Rajiv realise that he doesn't need his crown. As Charumbala is chastising Rajiv for being very silly, she tells him that she also heard that he was a hero and offers him his crown back. Rajiv all the same can't help by be pleased by it and complimenting himself.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Ashima
* Rajiv
* Shankar
* Noor Jehan
* Troublesome Trucks
* Charubala
* A Diesel Shunter (cameo)
* The Indian Breakdown Cranes (one only; cameo)
* Percy (stock footage)
* Bill and Ben (stock footage cameo)
* Stephen (stock footage cameo)

## Locations

* India
	+ Indian Railway Sheds
	+ Indian Railway Shunting Yard
	+ Indian Bridge Over Tunnel Runby
	+ Varkala Railway Station

## Voice Cast

### UK and AUS

* John Hasler as Thomas
* Tina Desai as Ashima
* Nikhil Parmar as Rajiv and the Indian Troublesome Trucks
* Sheena Bhattessa as Noor Jehan and Charubala
* Sanjeev Bhaskar as Shankar

### US and CAN

* Joseph May as Thomas
* Tina Desai as Ashima
* Nikhil Pamar as Rajiv and the Indian Troublesome Trucks
* Sheena Bhattessa as Noor Jehan and Charubala
* Sanjeev Bhaskar as Shankar

### Brazil

* Daniel Figueira as Thomas
* Patt Souza as Ashima
* Andre Sauer as Rajiv
* Adna Cruz as Noor Jehan
* Clara Rocha as Charubala
* Fadulli Costa as Shankar

### Denmark

* Caspar Phillipson as Thomas
* Trine Lizette Glud as Ashima and Noor Jehan
* Sigurd Holmen Le Dous as Rajiv
* Jette Sophie Sievertsen as Charubala
* Sune Svanekier as Shankar

### Finland

* Juha Varis as Thomas
* Jenni Sivonen as Ashima
* Petrus Kähkönen as Rajiv
* Susa Saukko as Noor Jehan and Charubala
* Markus Bäckman as Shankar

### Germany

* Christian Stark as Thomas
* Franziska Lessing as Ashima
* Mark Bremer as Rajiv
* Ines Nierstenhöfer as Noor Jehan
* Anne Hoth as Charubala
* Erik Schäffler as Shankar

### Japan

* Kumiko Higa as Thomas
* Misa Ishii as Ashima
* Yuta Odagaki as Rajiv
* Chiaki Mori as Noor Jehan
* Erina Yamazaki as Charubala
* Kōichi Sakaguchi as Shankar

### Poland

* Janusz Zadura as Thomas
* Julia Kołakowska-Bytner as Ashima
* Tomasz Borkowski as Rajiv
* Anna Apostolakis as Charubala
* Maksymilian Bogumił as Shankar

### Russia

* Prokhor Chekhovskoy as Thomas
* Olga Golovanova as Ashima
* Anton Savenkov as Rajiv, Shankar and the Indian Troublesome Trucks
* Olga Kuznetsova as Noor Jehan and Charubala

### Latin America

* Héctor Ireta de Alba as Thomas and Percy
* Annie Rojas as Ashima
* Diego Becerril as Rajiv
* Alina Galindo as Noor Jehan
* Diana Pérez as Charubala
* Alejandro Bautista as Shankar

## Plot

* At the end of the episode, Thomas mentions the events of the seventeenth series episode, Percy's Lucky Day. Stock footage from said episode was also used.
* Going by production order, this is the fifth episode of the twenty-third series.
* This is the first episode of a few things:
	+ The first episode written by Camille Ucan and Rose Johnson.
	+ The first episode set outside Sodor in which Thomas is not the main character.
	+ The first time two fantasy sequences are featured.
* This currently marks Rajiv's only appearance in the twenty-third series.
* The title is a pun of the phrase "clowning around."