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This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the book or the magazine story.
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“That reminds me of a story. It was a bitter cold winter. The brave little ship was stuck, until the ice melted the next spring. He barely made it around the cape. After 100 scary days at sea without a scratch, he sailed into port and crashed his bow, not 15 feet from my buffers! Luckily, no one was hurt!"
"Except my ears!”
― Salty and Cranky

No Sleep for Cranky is the third episode of the sixth series.

Plot

Brendam Docks is one of the busiest places on Sodor. Visitors come and go, and cargo comes to be unloaded. However, Cranky the Crane, who is forced to work day and night without any breaks, considers this inconvenient. The only company he has is the seagulls who rest on his crane arm, which is all why Cranky is always angry.

One day, Salty arrives late and Cranky snaps at him. Bill and Ben pull up, and Cranky demands them to hurry up. The twins tell him he is no fun, to which he retaliates. The twins suspect that he is lonely, and Salty compares this hypothesis to an old, lonely Grand Banks lighthouse keeper, which leads to a story much to Cranky's dismay. Bill and Ben ask Salty to tell it, which he does, but Cranky becomes so angry that his mood gets the better of him so much, causing him to swing his arm around and accidentally drop some pipes onto the tracks instead of the flatbeds. They roll into and collapse the shed, trapping everyone. Bill and Ben tease Cranky and let him know he is going to be in trouble, much to his annoyance.

The Fat Controller is being measured for a new suit when he receives the news. Knowing that any mishap at the docks can cause trouble, he sets off. He reprimands Cranky for his careless behaviour and tells the engines that they will have to wait for help in the morning. Cranky groans as Salty states that it reminds him of a story. All through the night, Salty tells sea stories, hurting Cranky's ears and delighting the twins.

In the morning, Salty is still telling tales. Cranky is about to lose it when Harvey finally arrives. Cranky is happy and claims he will never misbehave again in exchange for not listening to Salty's stories. Soon, Cranky is a happy crane, saying "please" and "thank you." Thomas and Percy are amazed, and Thomas is quick to point out the new development. However, he speaks too soon, as all of a sudden, Cranky turns back to old ways very fast as he cannot help dropping pipes again. Thomas, Percy and Harvey find this funny, although there is no denying that Cranky is still angry no matter what.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • Going by production order, this is the first episode of the sixth series. As a result, this episode is often aired before Salty's Secret and Harvey to the Rescue in various territories, so viewers would not know who Salty and Harvey were.
  • This episode marks:
  • A pre-filmed deleted scene from Gordon Takes a Tumble, stock footage from Salty's Secret and Something in the Air (in reverse), and extended stock footage from Harvey to the Rescue and the fifth series permiere (with one of which being sped up) is used, as well as some deleted scenes and a flashback from Cranky Bugs.
  • The scene when the Fat Controller was driving to the docks was the only scene in this episode filmed in 16:9 widescreen, excluding the stock footage from Harvey to the Rescue.
  • When the episode aired in the half-hour airing, Night and Day on Nick Jr. and PBS Kids, the widescreen version is used as the top and bottom of the scenes are cropped, as are the left and right sides of the scenes.
  • This is one of the six episodes of the sixth series re-narrated by Michael Brandon in the US and Michael Angelis in the UK with music composed by Robert Hartshorne.
  • The scene where Cranky drops the pipes for the second time is the first scene sped up.
  • In Salty's story with the stock footage from Cranky Bugs, it is obvious that the waves pelting the steamer are being sprayed with a hose.
  • Salty refers to "The Grand Banks", a series of underwater plateaus off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
  • The shed that Cranky knocks over was never rebuilt following this episode, possibly as a result of its placement being deemed too dangerous and the risk of having this kind of accident occur again.

Goofs

  • When Cranky "swung his arm around", a wire is used to swing him around.
  • Salty's right eye moves improperly throughout the episode.
  • In Alec Baldwin's narration, Harvey's voice changes drastically compared to the previous episode.
  • The camera shakes a bit when Salty says, "Reminds me of a lonely old Grand Banks lighthouse keeper!"
  • In the close-ups of Cranky, his eye mechanism is visible in his cab.
  • The man who told the Fat Controller about the news does not have any eyebrows.
  • In a close-up of Thomas, wires can be seen in Percy's right window.
  • Bill's eyes are misaligned and his pupils are also smaller than usual when he and Ben are at the docks at night.
  • The truck that Cranky places the pipes on in front of Salty disappears after he arrives.
  • Because stock footage is used, at the start of the episode, the chains' positions on Cranky's load of wood change between shots, and the metal strips supporting Cranky's arm are replaced with chains and Brendam Docks has four tracks next to Cranky.
  • In the US dubs, both Alec Baldwin and Michael Brandon say "trucks" instead of "cars" when Cranky drops the pipes onto the line.

Quotes

Salty: Ahoy there, Cranky!
Cranky: Where have you been?!
Salty: And a good day to you, captain.
[Bill and Ben arrive]
Cranky: Hurry up! I haven't got all day!
Bill: You're no fun.
Cranky: You wouldn't be fun if you were stuck up here!
Bill: So that's why you're cranky.
Ben: You're lonely.
Cranky: I'm not!
Salty: So it's company you'd be needing.

Salty: Reminds me of a lonely old grand bank's lighthouse keeper.
Cranky: Not another one of your stories!
Bill and Ben: Oh please, Salty! We haven't heard it.
Salty: 'Twas in the middle of a wee naughty storm. The likes of which you see once in a lifetime.

(after Cranky accidentally knocks over the shed)
Cranky: Whoops...
Salty: You've blown the main now, matey!
Bill and Ben: (sing-song) You're gonna get into trou-ble!

The Fat Controller: You have made a terrible mess, Cranky.
Cranky: I'm sorry, sir.
The Fat Controller: You engines will have to stay here tonight until Harvey clears up this mess in the morning.

Narrator: Cranky's heart sank as Salty uttered those fateful words…
Salty: That reminds me of a story. It was a bitter cold winter. The brave little ship was stuck, until the ice melted the next spring. He barely made it around the cape. After 100 scary days at sea without a scratch, he sailed into port and crashed his bow, not 15 feet from my buffers! Luckily, no one was hurt.
Cranky: Except my ears! [later the next morning] I can't take anymore!

Harvey: The Fat Controller sent me to help clear away this mess.
Narrator: Cranky was so pleased the engines would be going soon, he forgot to be cranky.
Cranky: I'll never misbehave again. As long as I don't have to listen to anymore of Salty's stories.
Narrator: And after Harvey and the workmen had cleared the wreckage, Cranky worked hard all day. He carefully loaded the trucks, helped speed the engines on their way and he said "please" and "thank you".
Thomas: This is new.
Narrator: But he had spoken too soon. Cranky couldn't help himself.
(the pipes fall next to Thomas and Percy)
Percy: It was nice while it lasted.
Narrator: And all the engines laughed, but Cranky was still cranky.

Merchandise

Episode

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Chinese Mandarin 难以入睡
Czech Klika se nevyspí
Danish Crankys lange nat
Dutch Cranky mag niet slapen
Finnish Niilo ei saa nukkua
Hungarian Cranky Nem Alhat
Italian Cranky non dorme mai
Japanese ねむれないクランキー
Korean 심통 대장, 크랭키
Norwegian Ingen søvn for Cranky
Polish Bezsenność Karolka
Romanian Fără Somn pentru Cranky
Russian Бессонная ночь Крэнки
Serbian Nema spavanja za krana Mrguda
Slovenian Živko nima časa počivati
Swedish Sömnlösa Gnällis
Welsh Dim Cwsg i Caradog

Home Media Releases

UK

DVD Packs

US

CAN

  • Salty's Secret and Other Thomas Adventures (Direct-to-Home Video)

DVD Boxsets

AUS

DVD Boxsets

JPN

KOR

PHL

SWE

NOR

MYS

ITA

HK

THA

TWN


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