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"Help! Help! My lifeboat's on fire! My lifeboat's on fire!"
— George


FoduckTheVigilant5
Foduck the Vigilant
Producer(s)

Andrew Cochran

Narrator

The Harbour Master
(Denny Doherty)
Jan Nonhof
(Dutch Dub)

Air date

July 8th 1993

Previous episode

The Dark and
Scary Cove

Next episode

Different Strokes -
Different Boats

Foduck the Vigilant is the fourth episode of the first season.

Plot

Foduck and Hank are floating around the Big Harbour, when Hank asks him what the deepest place in the whole world is. Everyone knows Foduck is a very smart tugboat. So, he tells Hank that the Mariana trench is a deep hole in the bottom of the ocean. Hank is impressed and tells his friend that he sure knows everything. But Foduck has his doubts. He is about to receive his V-Word, which meant he would be allowed to go out on the ocean. But he doesn't know what is so special about himself. So he asks Hank what's the special thing a tug can be. And Hank tells him being smart is very important. Foduck likes the sound of that. And just when Hank is about to go move a barge, Foduck tells him to tuck in his anchor. Hank always forgets to do that.

Later, Foduck sees a part of a dock that looks like is about to fall. Then George comes in with a bunch of crates that fell off a cargo ship on his lifeboat. Foduck notices sparks coming out of George's smokestack, but George doesn't mind them. Then he gets a warning that strong winds are coming. Before he leaves, he asks George what's the special thing a tug can be. He simply answers being strong. And he leaves. Foduck thinks about it as he heads off to warn everyone about the wind.

Next day, Foduck and Emily are tugging Margaree Pride into the harbour. Foduck asks Emily what she thought a special tug can be, and she tells him being a good worker is what a special tug can be. Leaving Foduck to groan. But then his special equipment goes off and warns Emily something is in the water. It's the broken piece of the dock Foduck looked at yesterday, and Emily steers Margaree Pride away from it. Emily thanks Foduck for noticing it. Afterwards, Foduck went back to the same dock and notices that that piece had broken off because of the wind last night. But Foduck was focused on what his friends told him about what being a special tug was all about. And when he asks Theodore shows up, he tells him being part of a team was what made a special tug. But Foduck usually works by himself. But it still made him more confused than ever. As Theodore is about to leave, Foduck tells him he's floating lower in the water. Theodore remembers he has to empty the water in his hull and thanks Foduck for reminding him.

As nighttime falls, all the tugs are about to go to sleep. And Foduck checks that the others were tied up to the dock. As he finished, he can't sleep because he is so confused on what his friends told him what made a tugboat special and what his V-Word should be. But he feels there is nothing special about him and would be the only V tug without a name. So, he decides to check on the other tugs one last time. But then he sees something light and hears a crackling sound. George didn't have his engines checked like Foduck told him to do. And the sparks landed on the crates he was still carrying on his lifeboat. And that starts a fire on his lifeboat. Foduck blasts his siren and that wakes up the other tugs and they back away. George realizes that his lifeboat's on fire and he spins around in circles scared. There's nothing the tugs can do to save George. Even Theodore doesn't have any ideas on how to save him. But then something falls from the sky. Hank thinks it's snowing, but Emily doesn't think so as it's summertime in the harbour. Then they see that Foduck was using his fire extinguisher to put out the fire on George's lifeboat. And George turns around and looks like a snowman with all the foam around him. All the tugs laugh, even George. But he is really thankful that Foduck saved him.

Next morning, the Dispatcher scolds George for his carelessness, and his lifeboat is gone after being burned. Then the Dispatcher turns his attention to Foduck with Pearl and Petra there as well. And a cloth is covering his back. He tells the tugs that they finished putting on Foduck's V-Word. Foduck moves forward and the cloth is taken off. All the tugs gasp when they see the V-Word on Foduck. Foduck is now called "The VIGILANT" which means someone who always watches out for others just like Foduck. And the tugs cheer for Foduck. Even Foduck admits that it feels great to be called the VIGILANT. And that makes him feel pretty special about himself. Then he notices his friends were laughing. He didn't know that a seagull was sitting on his new name. And he laughs too.

Characters

Trivia

  • This is the first and only episode where we see one of the main tugs officially get his V-Word.
  • This is the first episode not dubbed in Finnish.
  • This episode was most likely filmed immediately after The Dark and Scary Cove as part of the Cobequid Cove set can still be seen in the background at the very end.
  • When the other tugs laugh at the foam all over George, the tune to Jingle Bells can be heard.

Goofs

  • When the orange crates in George's lifeboat light up on fire, George has his hat backwards, but in the next shot, it's forwards again.
  • When Foduck gets the message about the storm, George's hat is crooked.
  • When Foduck asks George what special thing a tugboat can be, the scene is mirrored.
  • When Foduck is watching over the sleeping tugs, a gap can be seen behind the area between Emily's eyes.
  • When the tugs wake up and evacuate from their dock when they realize that George's lifeboat is on fire, Hank doesn't move from his dock.

Video Release

In Other Languages

Language Name Meaning
Dutch Waakzame Foduck Foduck The Vigilant
French Foduck le Vigilanf Foduck The Vigilant

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