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Jinxed

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This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the book adaptation.
"See? You can't get rid of a jinx that easily, Ten Cents."
— Boomer

Jinxed is the tenth episode of TUGS.

Plot

One night out at sea, Ten Cents and Sunshine find a mysterious tug named Boomer. He is just drifting as he has apparently broken down. He declines their offer of help, explaining that he is a “jinx” and wants nothing to do with anyone because he will bring them bad luck. The tug then explains that his original name was "Captain Harry", and that the supposed jinx began when a new owner painted over his original name and renamed him Boomer.

Events tend to confirm the story of the jinx. First Ten Cents' toe rope falls into the sea. Then, when the tugs bring Boomer to Captain Star and he is restoked and restarted, his engine smokes. Captain Star orders Ten Cents and Sunshine to pull Boomer clear. As soon as he is clear, his engine strangely stops smoking. After this, Captain Star's megaphone falls out of the window, which has never happened before. He tells the tugs to take Boomer to Lucky's Yard.

On the way there, Boomer suddenly starts taking on water. He is quite happy as he sinks lower and lower - he has always wanted to sink, because he won't jinx anyone. But he comes to rest on a sunken garbage barge. Ten Cents fetches a rescue crane, Mighty Mo, who tries to lift Boomer, but just as he lifts him out of the water, his crane hawser jams and he is unable to lift him up any further.

The convoy is forced to awkwardly travel to Lucky's Yard, which lasts into the night-time, but their journey comes to a catastrophic end when all the lights go out and they crash into Lucky's. A few days later, Boomer is finally repaired, and begins working with the Z-Stacks on the munitions contract. As he passes Zip, Zug and Boomer, who are hauling a barge of explosives, Ten Cents toots good luck to Boomer on his hooter and the explosives immediately detonate. Captain Zero instantly gets rid of Boomer. Captain Star decides to give him another try, using him only on very simple jobs, where nothing can go wrong - or so he thinks.

As Ten Cents also hooted as Boomer was being lifted out of the water by Mighty Mo, when Boomer tried starting his engine, and when Ten Cents first tried towing Boomer into port, Sunshine theorizes that Ten Cents' hooter may somehow be causing the jinx. Ten Cents, however, thinks this is nonsense. In an attempt to prove he is right, Sunshine organizes a test - he finds Boomer with a marker buoy, and tells Ten Cents to sound his hooter. Ten Cents does so, and nothing happens until the marker buoy sinks, much to everyone's surprise.

The following morning, Captain Star gives Boomer the simple task of towing a schooner out to sea, believing nothing can possibly go wrong. Ten Cents and Sunshine escort Boomer to the schooner without any mishaps, and Boomer starts off successfully (Ten Cents makes sure not to whistle). But later, Ten Cents and Sunshine see Boomer and the burnt-out schooner being towed in by the Fire Chief, who thought that Boomer went too fast and a spark from his stack caused the schooner to burn up, but Boomer says he was struck by lightning -- though the weather has been fair.

Captain Star's patience finally runs out. He has Sunshine take Boomer sent to Lucky’s Yard with strict instructions that he is "never to be used as a tug, ever again no matter what.”

Some weeks later, Ten Cents and Sunshine are surprised by Captain Star’s order to fetch Boomer and take him Up River. Ten Cents tells Sunshine how “there’s a ship's graveyard there, full of rusting hulks.” They fear the worst for Boomer, but when they see him, they find he has been turned from a tugboat into a houseboat. The pair escort Boomer to his new mooring ("Dun Tuggin'"), where he is very happy. Boomer thanks them both and apologizes for getting them into trouble. Ten Cents tells Boomer he hopes the jinx left him. Boomer tells him it's what the jinx could do to others that worried him the most. As Ten Cents whistles goodbye, a tree falls over, which seems to have been caused by the jinx. But Boomer assures them the jinx is gone; if it was still there, he reasons, the tree would have collapsed on him, or one of them.

The two switchers then say goodbye to Boomer, and go back to work. Boomer is once again happy; now he can rest during the summer and the trees can keep him in the shade. He is very happy there, because the jinx has been lifted.

Deleted Material

Main Article: Deleted Scenes

Early Writing Stages

In the easiest outline called 'The Jinxed Tug', a jinxed switcher (approximately seventy five feet in length and is once referred to as 'her' in the outline, yet by male terms everywhere else) keeps getting into horrific accidents. While assisting the Star Tugs, he is ran over by a ship and rolls over. During the roll, a crewman is sucked down his stack.

After being repaired, the switcher works for the Z Stacks. While he is next to a ship, that ship forces him to move too close to a sand bank and fall on 'her' side on it. The switcher was then rescued by a derrick barge. A few days later, the poor unlucky tug is given a new coat of paint, then got in the way of a battleship. After being holed on the side by the ship, he sunk.

The tug is forgotten about until another day, when Captain Star earns the lucrative contract for a oil tanker company. Under his orders, he is located by Grampus, lifted up by the derrick barge, refloated and dried up for work with O.J. and Warrior. But during the tow, the oil tanker spills oil into the switcher's stack and he - along with the sea around him - goes ablaze.

Not even the Fire Tugs can got close enough to put out the fire. After a night of the sky being illuminated by the fire, the next morning, the unlucky switcher is a burnt-out hull.

This draft had two optional endings. One ending had the jinxed switcher being purchased by a young farmer after the accident with the oil tanker, converted into a houseboat, and moved upriver. He admits to Ten Cents one day that he never enjoyed being a tug. Another ending had a Mexican buy the switcher and destroy him by crashing him into some rocks. This draft was then planned to be used for the tenth episode.

In early 1987, a description of the story said it was to show the dangers of working in waters and the respect that the Star Fleet had for the sea. The episode was also near the end and took place in autumn.

In a later draft, Captain Star brings in a upriver tug named Boomer and it is said that most tugs are proud of who they are. Boomer's first two jobs respectively end with him sinking and something exploding. At Lucky's Yard, he confesses his reluctance to be a tug to Ten Cents. In one last accident, his aft deck and wheelhouse is destroyed. Later on, Ten Cents meets Boomer - as a happy converted house boat.[1]

Characters

Locations

Cast

Trivia

  • The original name of this episode was "Jinxed Tug"[2].
  • This is the first episode of the series filmed. The main thing that gives this away is the colour of Sunshine's handrails. Although he sports his Star livery in this episode, his handrails are still painted white, whereas they are yellow in the final scene of his introductory episode when he officially joins the Star Fleet.
  • The episode's plot appears to have been based on the superstition that changing a boat's name is bad luck.
  • A treatment plan for the episode was stamped on 14 October 1987.
  • The scenes of Ten Cents and Sunshine first finding Boomer in the Estuary and all the scenes at Dun Tuggin' were filmed after a majority of Jinxed had been filmed. For instance, the first Estuary scene was filmed during the production of High Winds.
  • The footage from this episode was featured within a Sizzle Reel made for the series. The Sizzle Reel contains many deleted/extended scenes from the episode. These include:
    • Deleted shots from the intro showing Big Mac and Warrior present with the floating cranes, as Boomer is being rescued from sinking.
    • All of the shots from the scene at night of the tugs taking Boomer to Lucky's Yard is brighter than the final edit.
    • Two unused shots of Ten Cents and Sunshine watching Boomer take on water.
    • An extended shot of the explosives barge blowing up.
    • Deleted shots of Zip and Zug watching Boomer being taken to Lucky's Yard.
    • A deleted shot showcasing the aftermath of the wreckage at Lucky's Yard.
    • A deleted shot of the close-up model for Ten Cents' Hooter whistling once, which was never used in any of the final edits.
    • A deleted sequence of Boomer ramming into Izzy Gomez, which sends him running into a pier which ends up exploding.
  • This is the first appearance of Boomer and his only speaking role.
  • This episode marks Zak and Mighty Mo's last speaking roles.
  • This episode marks the final appearance of Izzy Gomez.
  • Aside from narration, this is the only time Captain Star speaks without his megaphone.
  • According to Jeremy King, the wreck buoy was purposely painted with a hungover look in his eyes.
  • During the filming of this episode, a Yacht model was present on set, but was never seen within the episode, and never seen on set for pictures of other episodes.
  • Footage filmed during Sunshine, Munitions, Ghosts, High Winds and Up River is used within the episode.
  • The shot of Boomer and the schooner against the orange sky is used in the show's closing credits.
  • Zak is the only Z-Stack who has a speaking role in this episode. However, Zip does have one exclusively in the Japanese dub. It is also been confirmed that both Zip and Zug were to have speaking roles in the extended cut, as this is evident in the photo book (The Unlucky Tug), the treatment plan and the Sizzle Reel.
  • The Fire Tug can be seen with a slightly unfinished model and prototype face throughout this episode until the scene when he brings in Boomer and the damaged schooner.

Goofs

  • When the Fultan Ferry passes the Star Dock, it has Top Hat's whistle sound.
  • When Sunshine prepares to take Boomer to Lucky's Yard with Ten Cents, his bow ropes are moving whilst he is pulling the barge.
  • In the close up of Boomer's stern when he tries his engine, it's really Top Hat's stern - this is because footage from Up River is used.
  • When Boomer is at Lucky's Yard as a houseboat, he still has his front bumper but when he is at his new dock, his front bumper is gone.
  • When Boomer explains about the tree falling down, his close up shows him back at Lucky's Yard.
  • Because footage from Ghosts is used, Mighty Mo can be seen behind O.J. during the Raft Construction crash scene.
  • When Captain Star talks about Boomer and the Z-Stacks working on the munitions contract, Boomer is leading with Zip and Zug side-by-side the munitions barge. But in the next shot, Zip and Zug aren't/are not side-by-side and the Z-Stack hauling the barge is Zorran. The munitions factory is also in the shot, when it should be Bigg City Port. This is due to footage from Munitions being used.

External links

References

  1. ↑ https://twitter.com/talesbiggcity/status/1451950091154214925?s=20
  2. ↑ https://twitter.com/talesbiggcity/status/1451950091154214925?s=20