O.J.

**Otis Jones "O.J." the Versatile Paddle-Driven Tug** is one of the main characters in the Seventyverse's TUGS spinoff series and is the third (and oldest) member of the Star Fleet.

## Backstory

(Details regarding the TUGS Prequel series to be added) Becuase of this, O.J. is the only paddle-driven tug left in Bigg City Port. He can be described as slow, but versatile. According to Captain Star, "He'd given many years of good service, but time was catching up on him." Captain Star inherited O.J. from another tugboat company before the series starts.

Prior to an overhaul during the Year of the Heat Wave, O.J.'s aged engine was the cause for a number of mishaps, including an accident that resulted in the sinking of the Fultan Ferry. O.J.'s weakness and age has often placed him on the receiving end of jokes and insults from the Star Fleet and Z-Stacks alike (mostly the Z-Stacks and Top Hat). For a period, he was the primary target of Burke and Blair, the evil-minded scrap dealers who attempted on a number of occasions to persuade Captain Star into selling O.J. and his engine for a cheap price. But after O.J.'s quick thinking prevented Ten Cents from having to enter quarantine, Captain Star sent O.J. to Lucky's Yard and the scrap dealers on their way.

## Personality

As the Star Fleet's wise elder, O.J. possesses unbeatable wisdom. He has extensive knowledge and experience of harbour life and manoeuvres, and because of this, Captain Star often places him in charge of large operations, such as ocean liner docking manoeuvres. On various occasions, O.J. has demonstrated his ability to devise swift and clever strategies to help himself and his fellow Stars out of predicaments. He does not stand for nonsense, and is quick to correct the younger tugs if they make mistakes. Despite his occasionally harsh approach, O.J. cares for his fellow Stars as a grandparent would for their grandchildren. In addition to being wise, O.J. is also quite sharp, like in *Sunshine*, where he admitted that he was suspicious as to why Zorran showed up almost instantly after Sunshine lost control with the Duchess, or in *Heat Wave*, where he suspected foul play when Nantucket lowered his quarantine flag even though there was no coast guard in sight.

## Technical Details

### Livery

O.J. is painted in the Star Fleet's corporate livery. This consists of a black hull, a yellow superstructure and an American flag-styled red, white and blue funnel. He also has a brown mast, red paddle-wheels and white paddle-wheel housings. His name is painted on the sides of his bow in white and he has the number "3" on his funnel. He wears a light brown boater hat with a red band on it.

### Basis

O.J. is based on the Tyne-built paddle tug, Eppleton Hall. Eppleton Hall originally worked in 1914 for the Lambton and Hetton Collieries Ltd. She later worked for France Fenwick, Wear and Tyne Ltd until 1964. After 15 years, when due to be scrapped, she was donated to the USA National Park Service. She was refitted to able to cross the Atlantic Ocean and triumphantly travelled to San Francisco under her own power with a crew of twelve.

She is no longer in steam, but she is still afloat at Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco, to this day.

## Differences between TUGS, Salty's Lighthouse and the Seventyverse

* In the original *TUGS* series, O.J.'s name was short for Old Jones. In *Salty's Lighthouse*, he was renamed Otis, probably because of the O.J. Simpson Case happening around that time. In the Seventyverse, O.J.'s name is short for Otis Jones.

## Trivia

* As O.J.'s original *TUGS* voice actor, Timothy Bateson, sadly passed away in 2009, O.J.'s preferred voice actor is Ian James Corlett, who voiced him in *Salty's Lighthouse*.
* O.J.'s worst nightmare is being scrapped by Burke and Blair - which would never come true as they are now dead (and ironically scrapped) while he's still alive and kicking.