The Kite

**The Kite** is the first episode of the first series and also the premiere episode of the *Fireman Sam* series.

## Plot

The first episode begins with Trevor Evans, driving his bus down a road on a windy day. The wind knocks down a telegraph pole as he passes it. Meanwhile, at Fireman Sam's house, Sam tries to ring Sarah and James, his niece and nephew, to invite them to the park, but his phone is dead. Sam then goes to Bella's café to get his sandwiches, but Bella can't give him any because she has no bread, and she can't order more because her phone is dead too.

Trevor goes to pick up Sarah and James to take them to the park, with their kite. At the fire station, Sam and Elvis are having tea when the alarm goes off - a fallen telegraph pole has fallen down on the Newtown Road, where Trevor was driving. They drive off in Jupiter with Station Officer Steele, and arrive at the scene of the trouble.

At Price's General Store, Dilys Price is making a protesting Norman go and play in the park. Reluctantly, he leaves on his skateboard. At the park, Trevor is showing Sarah and James how to fly their kite. However, the string snaps, and as Trevor runs after it, he is knocked over by Norman on his skateboard. Meanwhile, out on the road, Elvis attaches a rope from the telegraph pole to Jupiter, and Sam uses Jupiter to pull the pole off the road.

Outside Dilys' shop, Dilys and Bella notice Sarah and James's kite fly up onto Dilys' roof. On the way back to the fire station, Sam gets out to tell Bella that they have moved the telegraph pole, but before he can tell her, he spots the kite on the roof. He gets it down for Dilys, nearly falling off the roof in the process, but managing to get the kite off the roof. Afterwards, Sarah and James run out, and tell Sam that Trevor has injured his arm.

In the park, Officer Steele bandages Trevor's arm and Trevor apologises to Sarah and James for losing the kite. However, Sam points out the kite tied to a nearby fence. Sarah and James thank him and the episode ends.

## Characters

* Fireman Sam
* Elvis Cridlington
* Station Officer Steele
* Sarah and James
* Dilys Price
* Norman Price
* Bella Lasagne
* Trevor Evans

## Trivia

* Trevor Evans is the first character to appear onscreen.
* This episode marks the first appearances of Fireman Sam, Elvis Cridlington, Station Officer Steele, Sarah, James, Trevor Evans, Norman Price, Dilys Price, Bella Lasagne and Jupiter.
* A can of Coca-Cola can be seen at the beginning of the episode.
* Recording date: January 8, 1985 and March 2, 1987.
* In the English version, when Trevor is preparing James and Sarah's kite before it flies off, the music that plays in all other versions doesn't play, and instead uses a fade effect.
* When Sam attempts to call Sarah and James, it could be argued that this is the first reference (although a very tenuous one) to the Wholefish Cafe, which would have been the location that Sam was calling. However, as Pontypandy is not located by the sea in the first five series, and as the song Sarah and James states they live in a black and white house, it might not be the case.

## Goofs

* When Station Officer Steele leaves his office, the objects in the pen/pencil pot on his desk fall forwards.
* When Fireman Sam and Station Officer Steele go to look at the fallen telegraph pole, they stop and freeze, as if they are two cardboard cutouts.
* At the beginning of the episode, Bella's voice did not sound as lady like as it sounded during the rest of the episode.
* The fallen telegraph pole is placed on the inside of the wall while the rest are on the outside. This may have been deliberately done so as to make it easier for the pole to fall across the road for this episode.

## Home Media Releases

### UK

* Fireman Sam - The Hero Next Door
* The Very Best of Fireman Sam 2
* Treasure Hunt and Five Other Stories
* 2 on 1
* Fireman Sam - Biggest Video Ever!
* NSPCC Children's T.V. Favourites
* 3 Fantastic Episodes
* Norman's Tricky Day
* The Kite
* Greatest Rescues

## Video

Fireman Sam - The Kite (1987)English versionSam Tân - Pennod 1 - 'Y Barcud' - RESTORED - First Ever Episode - S4C (Fireman Sam)Wales version