Apology Impossible

*"I fell in the water!”*
―Paxton.
***Apology Impossible*** is the fourteenth episode of the twenty-second series.

## Plot

On a morning on the Island of Sodor, James stops quickly at the Docks and bumps into a flatbed of crates. This scares Philip, causing him to bump his trucks and accidentally knocks a barrel of oil on the tracks. James runs over it, spilling it and covering the both of them in oil. Annoyed, Philip tells James he should say sorry, but James refuses to care. Later, Philip is waiting at the washdown when James cuts in front of him. When the Fat Controller wants an engine to deliver a train of sardines, Philip tries to trick James into taking it, but he leaves, so Philip is forced to take it instead.

The Fenland Track is under repair, and Philip makes sure his track is clear before going on. Meanwhile, James ignores the workman waving a flag, and James and Philip end up on the same line. Philip refuses to give way, but so does James, leaving them at a standstill. As Philip lists James' mistakes, Thomas, Paxton and Rebecca stack up behind Philip. Paxton realises there are a lot of engines on the bridge and worries it could collapse. Philip decides he does not want an accident to happen, so he, Thomas, Paxton and Rebecca make way for James. However, the engines are cross at James for holding them up, and James starts to feel guilty. Later, the Fat Controller makes James apologise to Philip and the other engines for the delay, and Philip accepts his friend's apology. Despite this, James still has to take trucks to the Waste Dump as punishment.

## Characters

* Thomas
* James
* Rebecca
* Paxton
* Philip
* Annie and Clarabel
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Henry (*cameo*)
* Nia (*cameo*)
* Cranky (*cameo*)
* Carly (*cameo*)
* Big Mickey (*cameo*)
* Diesel (*stock footage*)
* Daisy (*stock footage*)
* Porter (*stock footage cameo*)
* Salty (*stock footage cameo*)

## Locations

* Brendam Docks
* Sodor Shipping Company
* The Washdown
* Knapford
* Knapford Station Yard
* Road and Rail Runby and Road Bridge
* The Fenland Track
* Arlesburgh Yard (*stock footage*)
* Vicarstown Dieselworks (*stock footage*)
* Whiff's Waste Dump (*mentioned*)

## Cast

### UK

* John Hasler as Thomas
* Rob Rackstraw as James and a Dock worker
* Rachael Miller as Rebecca
* Steven Kynman as Paxton and a Rail Worker
* Rasmus Hardiker as Philip and a Rail Worker
* Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
* Keith Wickham as the Fat Controller

### US

* Joseph May as Thomas
* Rob Rackstraw as James and a Dock Worker
* Rachael Miller as Rebecca
* Steven Kynman as Paxton and a Rail Worker
* Rasmus Hardiker as Philip and a Rail Worker
* Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
* Keith Wickham as Sir Topham Hatt

## Trivia

* At the end of the episode, Thomas mentions the events of the nineteenth series episode, Who's Geoffrey?, and the twenty-first series episode, Springtime for Diesel. Stock footage from both episodes are used.
* Apart from Thomas reading the title aloud and talking directly to the audience before and after the story, this episode does not include any narration.
* In the US dub, quite a few audio bits were taken from previous episodes:
	+ The audio of James gasping before he almost crashes into Philip in the US dub is taken from the twenty-first series episode, The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor.
	+ The second, shorter gasp is, in turn, taken from the twentieth series episode, Pouty James.
	+ The audio of James laughing in the end is taken from the twentieth series episode, All in Vain.

## Goofs

* When Paxton begins to back up, his lamp goes missing. It then returns in the next scene.