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TheGreatHarbourCleanUpContest19
The Great Harbour Clean Up Contest
Director(s)

Robert D. Cardona

Producer(s)

Andrew Cochran

Writer(s)

Jeff Rosen

Narrator

The Harbour Master
(Denny Doherty)

Air date

July 30th,1993

Previous episode

George Buzzes the
Dock

Next episode

Best Friends

The Great Harbour Clean Up Contest is the eighteenth episode of the first season.

Plot

In a follow up on the story before, the day of The Great Harbour Clean Up Contest has arrived. The tugboats were gathered around the Great Ocean Tug and Salvage Company dock. The Dispatcher was going to be the judge, and on him was a blue and green flag which would be given to the eventual winner. The tugs announced what they would do in the contest. Emily would ask all the ships and boats not to throw litter in the water. Foduck would use his underwater sonar to find junk at the bottom of the harbour. George would tow a rusty wreck (who happens to be Kamel) to the scrapyards. And Hank would clean up all the garbage in the whole harbour. The other tugs thought it was a great big plan. Then they turn to Theodore. They thought he would have a bigger plan. But instead, he tells them he'll just clean Donald Dock. They think that was just a small plan, and he wouldn't win the contest. But Theodore thought all the great plans were taken and didn't think of any.

As Lily Lighthouse blows her foghorn, the contest officially begins, and all the tugs race off. But Theodore gloomily goes back to clean Donald. Emily asks Philip and Filmore to tell their passengers not to throw their garbage in the harbour. Foduck brings Bonnavista along to check for junk underwater. He finds some with his sonar and Bonnavista lifts them up with her crane. George is lifting pieces of Kamel with his towing rope and places them on his deck. And Hank finds an old fishing net so he can get started on his big plan. Theodore is sadly rubbing and scrubbing Donald Dock with his bumpers, knowing he won't win the contest.

The tugs are back at the dock to have a quick break. They tell the Dispatcher what they all did. Then they turn their attention to Hank. They're not exactly sure what his big plan is. Hank tells them he had just finished getting ready to begin cleaning up, which makes them all confused. Theodore sadly tells them he had only cleaned up half of Donald. Afterwards, they head off again to finish the contest. Hank stops Foduck and tells him he's part of his plan. He needs him to use his firehose to wash off the garbage at the shore. Foduck is surprised to hear this but flattered to know Hank had thought of him.

At the shore, Foduck sprays his firehose at the garbage, and Hank picks it up with his net. Later, Foduck thinks that Hank is gonna win the contest for sure. So he decided he would find all the junk in the bottom of the harbour. Emily overhears this and decides she would get everyone to stop littering. But there's so many ships and boats in the harbour, she doesn't know where to begin. George overhears and now decides he would lift every part of Kamel to the scrapyards that way he would win the contest.

George has his tow rope on Kamel and tries to lift the dead ship up from the water. But because Kamel is underwater, and is so heavy, George's tow rope snaps. Foduck is nearby and his sonar is going off loudly. He notices Kamel and decides to lift up the deceased ship with Bonnavista. Bonnavista is worried, but he insists. So she tries to lift Kamel with her crane. But Kamel was just too big for her to lift up, just as she worried. Foduck is disappointed. Hank is still gathering garbage around the Big Harbour. He feels very proud of himself. He reaches the garbage barge and decides to toss the garbage he collected. But as he lifts the net on his deck, it suddenly rips, and the garbage falls back in the water. Now he thinks he's going to lose the contest. And so do the other tugs. They're plans are too big for them to complete. And the more they think, the more they weren't getting done. Theodore on the other hand is still cleaning up Donald Dock. He's about to quit, still knowing he won't win. But even so, he reminds himself a tugboat never gives up and keeps on cleaning.

Soon, Lily Lighthouse blows her foghorn to signify the contest is over. The tugs head back to the dock so the Dispatcher can announce the winner. They're all bewildered to hear that the winner is Theodore. He only cleaned Donald Dock. The Dispatcher explains that Theodore's the winner because he had finished the plan he started. Even if it was the smallest plan.

With the blue and green winner flag on Theodore. The tugboats head off for work. They pass the sandy beach when Theodore suddenly stops. The beach us still covered in garbage. Then they forgotten the reason why they had the contest in the first place. The children still haven't come back. Theodore thinks about the Great Harbour Clean Up Contest, big and small plans, but most of all the children. The more he thought, the more he raises his engine. And the more he raises his engine, the faster his propeller spins. And the faster his propeller spins, the faster he goes. He suddenly turns back to the beach. The other tugs think he's gonna crash. But Theodore turns sharply at the beach, and makes a huge wave, and splashes at the garbage, which washed into the water. Now the other tugs see what Theodore's doing. Theodore keeps splashing at the beach, and the garbage keeps washing away. And he suggests they clean it up as a team. And they do as they push the garbage to the garbage barge.

Later that afternoon, the tugs head back home when they see the children back at the beach. And Theodore's blue and green winner flag is used on top of a sandcastle. Everyone felt like a winner. The tugs, the children, and everyone in the Big Harboour.

Characters

Trivia

  • Stock footage from Is Anybody Listening? and Best Friends is used.
  • Since the previous episode was pulled from airing, viewers would not know why the contest happened in the first place until the unaired episode was released to DVD.
  • This episode is filmed right after Theodore's Bad Dreams as some boats are in the same position as said episode. This episode is also filmed right before Theodore and the Queen as the changed positions of the boats later in the episode are the same in both episodes.
  • This is one of few episodes where the Harbour Master indirectly takes part in the action of the main story; he notes in his narration having given the Dispatcher the flag for the contest.
  • This episode and the previous episode make up the only two-part story in the series.

Goofs

  • Because of stock footage, Theodore has Foduck's lifeboat in one scene.
  • When the narrator says "Bonnavista Barge was worried", Bonnavista is in the middle of the harbour instead of behind Willy's Island.

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