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Theodore Tugboat

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Theodore Tugboat is a television show for children about a little tugboat, his friends, and their adventures in the Big Harbour. Produced in Canada by CBC Television and Cochrane Entertainment from 1993 to 2001, it is no longer in production. At one time appearing in as many as 80 countries, it is still believed to appear in syndication in various parts of the world. It aired on PBS and the Noggin channel in the United States. The show dealt with events (such as the arrival of a superliner), or feelings like loneliness. The show was filmed on a model set with radio-controlled tugboats, ships, and machinery.

Characters

Principal characters

  • Theodore Tugboat: The main character, Theodore wears a red baseball cap and enjoys harbour life. Probably meant to represent the average child, Theodore's personality is kind and funloving, but he is inclined to misbehave on occasion. Also, he is provoked to wrath when others label him as "small", "cute", or "too little".
  • Hank: Hank is assumably the youngest tug of the fleet. Recognizable in his blue toque, Hank is the only tugboat who has not become an "ocean tug" (a tug that is eligible to work outside the harbour). He has brittle and delicate feelings, and is more sensitive than the other tugs.
  • Foduck "the Vigilant": The fleet's fire and rescue tug, Foduck is the second largest tuboat. He carries additional spotlights, a fire nozzle, and a rotating transceiver. He wears a dark red firehat as well. Foduck has a self-centred, overconfident, and proud air that can annoy his comrades and get him into trouble. He tries to assume leadership most of the time, but has a soft spot or two in his heart.
  • Emily "the Vigirous": The single female in the fleet, Emily wears a turqoise fishing hat and is a good friend of Theodore. She often gets herself into trouble by biting off more than she can chew, or straying out of bounds. But Emily is willing to help out in any situation, and every lesson she learns, she takes to heart.
  • George "the Valiant": George is the largest tugboat, and has two funnels instead of one. He is pompous, prideful, and haughty most of the time. He wears a purple baseball cap backwards, and is the strongest of the group. George is also blunt, and gets himself into trouble by being reckless and careless and putting down other tugs. But depsite his mostly bad character, George can be quite serious about his work.
  • The Harbourmaster: The narrator of the series, he is portrayed by Denny Doherty, formerly of The Mamas & the Papas, in the Canadian and US version and by other performers internationally.

Other characters

  • The Dispatcher: A rotating building on the Ocean Salvage Company Dock (the place in the harbour where the tugs live). A fatherly figure, The Dispatcher assigns the tugs to one or more tasks that are carried out through the course of the episode. He rebukes the tugs when need be, but he gives them counselling practical advice.
  • Owen the Oil Rig: Owen is a loudmouth, boisterous oil rig outside of the harbour who always yells instead of talks. He is anchored by twelve columns and several cables, but the tugs frequently tow him around the water to drill in new locations. In one of the last episodes, Owen sinks when his old cables fail to hold him. The episode does not reveal whether he is raised or not.
  • Northumberland Submarine: Northumberland is a black submarine who usually sleeps while off duty. He was once trapped under the surface when he was caught in an underwater rockslide with a broken propeller.
  • Digby the Cable Ship: Digby is an old cable-laying ship who is always getting stuck somewhere out on the job. He has a mild East Coast accent. He also says whatever is on his mind even if it is about himself.
  • Brunswick: Brunswick is a barge always looking for thrills and chills.
  • Constance the Coast Guard Ship: Constance is a coast guard ship who takes almost everything seriously, and whenever her name is mentioned she is noted as an important ship.
  • Guysborough the Garbage Barge: Guysborough has a grumpy personality and calls everyone else "rotton". The only ones who can stand him are Theodore and Digby.
  • Rebecca the Research Vessel: Rebecca is a research vessel who goes out to sea to find information. She is a research vessel who helps her fellow boats find lost artifacts. She is a good friend of Theodore.
  • Bedford Buoy: A buoy who lives just outside the harbor near Willy's Island.
  • Sigrid the Supply Ship: A supply ship who helps Owen work. Sigrid also wants to be a tugboat.
  • Carla the Cool Cabin Crusier: A zany cabin cruiser who runs out of control and causes peer presure.
  • Pugwash the Mini-Submarine: A mini submarine who once scared Northumberland by bumping him but now she knows better and travels the world with Stewiake.
  • Stewiake the Salvage Ship: A ship who loads Pugwash onto him with a cradle.
  • Baddeck the Buoy Boat: A buoy boat who brings new buoys into the harbor.
  • Shelburne the Giant Sea Barge: Shelburne is the harbour's biggest barge, and also the slowest barge ever.
  • Millie: A fishing trawler who wears glasses.
  • Truro: A fishing trawler who lives and cares for Dorothy in Ceiligh's Cove.
  • The Ferry Twins: These twins delivers goods while traveling parallel. Their names are Phillip and Philmore. They are modelled after twin ferries that cross Halifax Harbour.
  • Walter: A whale character. He is seen in the book "Theodore and the Whale". Walter was sparated from his pack by a strong current. Theodore had been babysitting him until George found his family and was let go before he grew to a tremendous size.
  • Donald Dock: A dock who lives next to the Dispatcher and only says "uh huh".
  • Jasper: The junk dock who only says "nope".
  • Dorothy the Dory: A dory who lives in Ceiligh's Cove with Truro. Looks to both Truro and Theodore as older siblings.
  • Queen Stephanie: The greatest and grandest ocean liner in the world, also the nicest. Occasionally visits the harbour after getting stuck under Benjamin Bridge by accident the first time she appeared in the series. She also helped Emily escape from Carla's peer pressure.
  • R. Boat: Short for Row boat, R. Boat is a gloomy little boat.
  • Kulu: A story-telling canoe.
  • Blandford Buoy: A buoy who lives right outside the harbour.
  • Barrington: A little barge Theodore usually pulls in the harbour.
  • Bonavista: A little barge sometimes pulled by Hank.
  • Lilly the Lighthouse: A lighthouse on Willy's Island, found in the middle of the harbour. Warns visiting ships away from the sharp dangerous rocks on the island.
  • Fundy the Fishing Boat: A little fishing boat who says strange things. It is really his way of giving advice.
  • Shamus: A fishing trawler that was covered in ice once.
  • Gregor: A fishing trawler from Russia whom Emily wanted to meet.
  • Dartmouth: A giant visiting cable ship. Digby showed him good places to lay cables.
  • Bobby: A big barge sometimes used for salvage operations.
  • Bayswater: A good friend of Brunswick.
  • Tex: An oil rig that was really rude until a storm nearly made him crash into Benjamin Bridge, after which he learned humility.
  • Pearl & Petra the Pilot Boats: The harbour's two pilot boats. Who patrol the harbour to make sure everything is undercontrol
  • Clayton the Harbour Crane: A crane who lives near the oceananic institute (Rebecca and Northumberland's dock)
  • Oliver "The Vast": A tug from another harbour who gave Theodore a hard time.
  • Shediake the Supply Shed: A supply shed Theodore met while he was at the repair dock.

Visitors to the harbour

  • Clementine
  • Cumberland: A big container ship who thought he did not need tugs until he met Theodore.
  • Catherine
  • Katherine: A cargo ship who, like Emily, had never met a ship from Russia until Gregor was in the harbour.
  • Olympia: An oil tanker brought in when huge packs of sea ice were in the harbour.
  • Kirby
  • Julia: First cargo ship that Theodore and Hank brought into the harbour together.
  • Inverness: A cargo ship that Hank accidentally offends by calling her "needle-nose".
  • S.S. Malarkey: A cargo ship who tells stories that, true to his namesake, are nothing but malarkey.
  • Seabright: A cargo ship that was afraid of Benjamin Bridge until Theodore explained there's nothing to be afraid of.
  • Cabot: A cargo ship with no self control and who did not care about safety until Theodore taught him a thing or two.
  • Clair
  • Canso: A supertanker.
  • Jennifer
  • Gloria
  • Igloo: An oil tanker who helped the tugs out when Clair was beginning to leak oil.
  • Chester

The program's formula

Opening sequence

The show always opens with the theme song, and the opening title dissolves into the harbourmaster's office. The harbourmaster is normally doing something or thinking about something, which prompts him to remember when one of the tugboats was involved in a similar scenario.

Main sequence

As the harbourmaster starts telling the story, the camera shot dissolves into a shot of the tugs working somewhere, or getting their orders from the Dispatcher. In the first few minutes of the episode, the tugs encounter a problem, and they use their heads to solve it. In other episode setups, there might be a will be a gift to him by his mother and delivered by Hilary (the mailman) or a visitor like Captain Howard (a harbormaster from down the coast) comes by and they do something silly like snap suspenders together. Other times, the tugs have to conquer an emotional problem, such as not feeling good enough, or having to saying goodbye to a friend. As each episode continues, the tugs resolve their problems, and life returns to normal in the Big Harbour.

Closing sequence

The scene again dissolves into a shot of the harbourmaster's office, with the harbourmaster deciding to pay attention to the lesson learned by the tugs. During this time, he sometimes communicates with the tugs through his office window (they reply with the sound of their whistles), plays his tuba, or listens to his friend Rodney playing bagpipes. The harbourmaster finally says "So long", and the credits roll. Or someone says that there's another story along the way and to look at the website.

Real names and locations

The characters are loaded with references to Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia and Maritime Canada in general. Many of the references are obvious (such as Brunswick the Barge, named after New Brunswick) while others are more obscure (such as S.S. Malarkey, which is probably a reference to the S.S. MacKay, which was one of the rescue ships that assisted in the revovery of bodies after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912). Following is a list of other references:

  • The harbour is based on Halifax Harbour, in Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • The name Bonavista (one of the barges) is the name of a town in Newfoundland.
  • The tugs will occasionally visit a modelled version of Peggy's Cove, a real-life cove in Nova Scotia.
  • Northumberland (the submarine) is named after the Northumberland Strait that lies between the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia mainland and Prince Edward Island..
  • Bedford (the buoy) is based on both the name (Bedford Basin), part of Halifax Harbour, the former town at the head of the basin.
  • Dartmouth (a visiting ship) is named after Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the community which lies on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour.
  • Guysborough (the garbage barge) is the name of a county in Nova Scotia.
  • Many of the tug characters are named after actual tugs that operate in Halifax Harbour, including Point Vim, Point Vigour and Point Valiant.

Original airdates

CBC aired Theodore Tugboat from 1993 until 2001. The show was replaced by newer programming in the CBC's morning lineup for children including Dragon Tales, Poko, Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Trivia

  • The show was founded in part by Robert Cardona of Britain, the maker of the television show TUGS.
  • On the Thedore Tugboat website (see below), moving the mouse over one of the tugs will make their horn go off. If you move the mouse in this order: George, Emily, Foduck, the result will be a broken C6 chord with no E.
  • PBS telecasts of the show were supported by the Primestar satellite service, which was later absorbed by Directv.

Episodes

There are 52 episodes.

  • "Theodore and the oil rig": A new oil rig named Tex is very rude to Theodore and Hank and doesn’t want their help. However, when a storm puts Tex in a dangerous situation will he then accept the tug’s help.
  • "Theodore and the homesick rowboat": Theodore insists on finding a rowboat a new home all by himself. Things don’t go quite right though.
  • "A dark and scary cove": Hank loses his lifeboat in a dark and scary cove one day. If the lifeboat isn’t found then Hank can’t leave his dock for safety reasons. Theodore tries to help out his friend and find the lost lifeboat. When he arrives at the cove Theodore finds a big surprise.
  • "Foduck the viligant": Foduck is soon to earn his 'v-word'. This means he will be allowed to travel in theopen ocean. However, he is having a spot of bother picking a name so he turns to his other tug friends for help.
  • "Different Strokes - Different Boats":The Dispatcher chooses Theodore to teach Hank how to tow barges. When Hank tries to tow a barge from the side during his towing test, Theodore says that you're supposed to tow a barge from the front. The result at first is a disaster, but at the end of the day luck is on Hank's side.
  • "Hank and the mermaid": Hank sees a mermaid but no one believes him at first.
  • "True blue friends": George is scared that his hull checkup will hurt so he tries to hide behind a barge but gets stuck. So it's then Theodore to the rescue.
  • "Bumper Buddies": Foduck celebrates by continuously bumping into Theodore. Theodore doesn't like getting bumped but instead of telling Foduck that, he makes the mistake of avoiding Foduck all together.
  • "Theodore and the welcome":Theodore gets his first try at welcoming ships into the harbor but isn't sure what to say to them.
  • "Theodore, the vegatable": The Dispatcher assigns Theodore to be the tug in charge of an incoming cargo ship called Julia. However when Theodore actually meets up with her, Julia questions his ability to handle her and Theodore is not so sure himself either.
  • "The day ice came to the harbor": A big freeze slows the productivity of the harbor right down. The pilot boats are restricted to their docks so Theodore and his other tugboat friends are left in charge to make sure that the harbor is kept safe.
  • "Theodore’s bad dreams": One night, Theodore has a bad dream about a sea monster and when he wakes up he is scared that the dream will come true. But with a little help from his friends Theodore finds out that dreams are 'just pretend' and he will be alright.
  • "Theodore’s first pull": Like Foduck, Theodore wants to earn his 'v-word' too. Emily tries to help Theodore by teaching him some skills that he'll need if his 'v-word' is to be so. However, Theodore grows over confident.
  • "Theodore and the queen": A grand ocean liner named Queen Stephanie visits the harbor. When she tries to pass beneath Benjamin Bridge though she gets severely stuck. Theodore however, quickly comes up with an idea on how to free her.
  • "Theodore and the Bluenose": Bluenose the old sailing ship saves Foduck when his propeller becomes clogged with seaweed.
  • "Is anybody listening?": Theodore thinks that the pilot boats who patrol the harbor never seem to listen to anybody, and they don't. But soon though, the pilot boats learn a valuable lesson about not listening
  • "George buzzes the dock": It is found that Sandy beach is terribly polluted and Emily and George notice this. They then have an argument about which one of them is causing the pollution. Theodore soon reminds them that all the tugs make pollution. Later on, all the tugs agree on the great idea of a 'Big Harbour Clean-up Contest' to be held.
  • "The Great Harbour Clean Up Contest": All the tugs seem to have a very big plan in terms of what part of the harbor they are each going to clean up in the contest. However, once Theodore has heard each tug's 'big plan' he can't seem to think of one himself. So he has to settle for a 'little plan'.
  • "Best Friends": Theodore tells all the tugs that they are his best friend. Later, they get angry at him when they find out Theodore has said the same thing to all of them. They then demand to know which one of them truly is his best friend.
  • "Theodore and the Big Harbour": It's Theodore's first day in The Big Harbor and he is completely astonished at how different everything is compared to where he used to work. It takes a few lessons for him to take it all in.
  • "Theodore's Whistle": Theodore doesn't like his high-pitched whistle tone so he tries to change the sound of it. He only ends up badly damaging it and Theodore is then unable to do one of his favourite jobs. Later though, he gets a pleasant surprise.
  • "George's Ghost": Theodore says that he has seen a ghost at Shipwreck Rock. George though doesn't believe Theodore until he actually sees the ghost for himself, and what a surprise it turns out to be!
  • "Theodore Changes Sides": George says that Theodore can sleep with the ocean tugs on the other side of the home dock while Emily is away. Theodore agrees because sleeping on the ocean tugs' side of the dock makes him feel more important. Hank though is then left all by himself on the other side of the dock and feels very lonely.
  • "Night Shift": The Dispatcher assigns Theodore and Hank to do the night shift because the other tugs don't want to stay up all night. When it comes for Theodore and Hank to actually do the shift, they find the darkness a little scary.
  • "Whale of A Tug": Theodore finds a whale called Walter who is trapped in seaweed and logs.
  • "The Tugboat Pledge": The Dispatcher has assigned Emily to lead the tugboat parade. Hank suggests to her that she should recite "The Tugboat Pledge" as well, except he has tricked Emily and there is no such thing!
  • "Emergency": George finds a ship that can't talk but little does he know that he could be putting himself in serious danger.
  • "The Cold Snap": The Dispatcher can't hear properly due to a bad cold, this situation unfortunately leads to some confusion because he is not entirely sure what everyone else is saying exactly.
  • "Hank and the Hug": No one wants to play with Hank or even let him help. He at first feels very angry but a little later he feels very depressed. The other tugs soon join together to formulate a plan on how to apologize to Hank and make him feel better.
  • "Emily and the Rocket": Theodore and Emily see a large light travelling across the sky one night. They at first think that it's a shooting star but it is later found out that it is something much, much bigger.
  • "Foduck Stays Home": Foduck is chosen by The Dispatcher to be the Big Harbour's safety tug. While he is happy about this, he is also very disappointed that he won't be able to go out on the open ocean.
  • "Theodore, the Tug in Charge": Theodore runs into a spot of bother with Northumberland Submarine.
  • "Theodore in the Middle": Theodore ends up in the middle of an argument between Emily and George.
  • "Carla, The Cool Cabin Cruiser": Carla encourages Emily to cause trouble in the Big Harbour, will Emily build up the courage to say that she doesn't want to?
  • "Snorri, The Viking Ship": A weird ship named Snorri arrives in the Big Harbour. He seems to be rather rude but Theodore soon finds out that in fact, he is not.
  • "Tug of the Year": George is sad that he didn't win the "Tug of the Year" contest, and he had practiced so hard for it too. His other tugboat friends decide to give him a big surprise to cheer him right up.
  • "Theodore the Jokester: At first everyone laughs when Theodore accidentally makes a joke. Theodore likes this so he then tries to tell another joke, but on purpose. He can't figure out why nobody laughs at him again, so he tries to find out.
  • "Emily, The Vigorous": Emily has a full day of work to do but she really wants to meet a fishing trawler who has come from Russia. So she attempts to rush all her jobs but unfortunately she is just a bit too hasty for her own good.
  • "Theodore's Day Off": Theodore requests to the Dispatcher for some time off which is agreed upon but soon gets very, very bored.
  • "Foduck and the Rainbow": A string of unexpected, sudden changes to Foduck's routine deeply upset him because he liked the way his original routine was.
  • "All Quiet in The Big Harbour": The Dispatcher loses his temper and makes an order to the other tugs to be as quiet as possible.
  • "Theodore to the Rescue": Theodore has to rescue a severely stranded Digby.
  • "A Joke Too Far": Theodore and Barrington Barge decide to play a joke on everyone by hiding from them. But they stay hidden too long and this causes everyone else in the harbour to be worried about them.
  • "Theodore and the Ice Ship": Theodore, George and Hank find an enormous ice sculpture floating in the water but can't tell what the object inside it is.
  • "Big Harbour Fools' Day": It's "Big Harbour Fools' Day" but unfortunately George doesn't take a liking to any of the jokes being played.
  • "Grumpy Garbage Barge": Guysborough the garbage barge turns Theodore's normal mood of being a bright and cheerful scamp into an old scrooge.
  • "Theodore Hugs the Coast": The Dispatcher sends Theodore out on a job where it is vital that he hugs the coast. Unfortunately he becomes distracted and disobeys orders.
  • "Hank's Hiccups": Hank has a severe case of the hiccups that interfer with his work assigned to him.
  • "Hank's New Name": Hank doesn't like his old name and makes himself a new one, that being 'Henry'. But this sudden name change leads to confusion among the harbour.
  • "Theodore and the Northern Lights": One night, Theodore and his friend Foduck get to experience the beautiful Northern Lights.
  • "Big Harbour Birthday": It's Theodore's birthday but everyone in The Big Harbour seems to have forgotten this special day.
  • "Theodore's Backwards Day": While working Theodore's engine breaks down thus resulting in him only being able to go backwards. This incident makes him feel embarrassed and so decides to try and hide from everyone the fact that he can't go forward.

Merchandise

There were several books and toys linked with the series. Notably, the producers, Conchane Entertainment, worked out a marketing deal with European toy manufacturer Brio to produce scale model toys of some of the main characters (marketed in the U.S. by Ertl). The characters were retired in 2000. A full size replica of Theodore Tugboat (called Theodore Too) was constructed by the series producers in the late 1990's. It still appears in Halifax Harbour where it is used for sight seeing tours of the harbour. There was also a series of books published by Random House. According to a Theodore floor puzzle there is a possiblity that the merchandise was produced earlier than when the series began (1989).

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