George's Ghost

George's Ghost
Director(s)	David Coole
Producer(s)	Andrew Cochran
Writer(s)	Jeff Rosen
Narrator	The Harbour Master; (Denny Doherty) Per Frisch; (Norwegian Dub) Kjeld Nørgaard; (Danish Dub) Stefan Ekman; (Swedish Dub) Jari Silvennoinen; (Finnish Dub)
Previous episode	Theodore's Whistle
Next episode	Theodore Changes; Sides

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"GHOST!"

— George and Theodore

George's Ghost is the second episode of the second season.

Plot

The tugboats are returning to the Great Ocean Tug & Salvage Company dock. Rough weather was blowing off the coast and a cover of thick fog hung around the Big Harbour. Theodore's the last to return with a terrified look on his face. And tells the others he may have seen a ghost near Shipwreck Rock. Although he may not be so sure, but he thought it was a small ship. And it was making bell noises that went 'dinng-dinng'. And it was floating in the air, and he could see right through it. Hank is scared, and he bumps into George. George just scoffs off Theodore's tale and comments there is no such things as ghost, and he might have seen a huge wave during the storm. Theodore still believes he has seen a ghost ship. But the other tugs say that George is right. To George, it felt good being the tugboat who's always right. Then the Dispatcher sends George to Shipwreck Rock to see if trees had blown into the water, and report back. George sets off.

George is at Shipwreck Rock at the edge of the harbour, checking to see if there are any trees in the water. Which can be dangerous for ships. It's all quiet there, except for Lilly the lighthouse, blowing her foghorn. Then George hears the sound of a bell somewhere. He moves around a rock and sees a small ship. Except, it was the ghost ship Theodore talked about. It was floating in the air, and he can see through it as well. George screams in terror and races back to the dock.

The Dispatcher is waiting for George so he can send the other tugs to work. At that moment, George returns. He asks him if the harbour is clear from trees. But George is too terrified, and he mixes his words with the word 'ghost' and says he needs another look around. The other tugs are confused. They thought that George was always right. And he said there were no such things as ghosts earlier. The Dispatcher lets George do so, and this time to bring Theodore and Bobby barge with him. Theodore is feeling mad at George for not believing in him when he said he saw the ghost. But George doesn't want Theodore to go with him and makes an excuse that the harbour is safe, but still mixing his own words with the word 'spook'. The Dispatcher is beginning to lose his patience and insists that George brings Theodore with him. And with that, Theodore and George go collect Bobby, and set off to Shipwreck Rock.

Theodore, and George arrive back to Shipwreck Rock. George tells Theodore to wait with Bobby as he goes to check the coast. But he's still feeling shook up and continues to mix his own words and sets off. But as soon as he's out of sight, he turns off his engine and floats silently naming all the sounds he hears that isn't the ghost. Theodore is doing the same thing he sees that isn't the ghost as well. As George floats forward, he hears the sound of the ghost bell and races back to Theodore. But he doesn't see Theodore anywhere. He has a sick feeling that Theodore had seen the ghost. Or the ghost saw him. Then Theodore shows up and bumps into George, scaring him. George asks where he was, and Theodore tells him he was worried about the ghost, and insists that he had saw one, even if George refuses to believe him. Then they hear the bell, sounding much closer, and venture towards Shipwreck Rock. George is about to tell Theodore something, until they both scream and blasts their horns in fright. They see the ghost and are about to run back to the dock, when the ship calls Theodore's name. Theodore recognizes the voice and realizes that it's Digby the cable ship, who lives near Shipwreck Rock, and is always getting stuck somewhere. As the fog lifts, Digby is seen much clearly now. Theodore sees that George was right all along, but George was about to say he was right about the ghost. But seeing that Digby was the ghost, he doesn't say anything. Then Theodore asks Digby how he got stuck on the rock he's on. Digby tells them a big wave washed him up and had him sitting on top of Shipwreck Rock during the storm. George tells him Theodore thought he was a ghost earlier with the fog all around him. Digby comments he wishes he could and has no idea how he's going to get down. Theodore smiles. With Bobby in tow, he knows exactly how Digby will get down.

It's getting late, and the Dispatcher and the other tugs are worried about George and Theodore. Foduck sees them coming. They both pull Bobby and Digby back to the dock. George tells them that Digby was stuck on Shipwreck Rock, and they got him down. The Dispatcher congratulates them and comments they may have been taken by a ghost. Theodore tells them that George was right, and there was no ghost. But George tells them he thought there was a ghost as well. As there was a lot of fog in the air, and he heard the sound of a bell. Which he mimics, and scares Hank, which makes him bump into Emily. The other tugs laugh as George continues with his story. And George learns that it's not so bad being the tug who can be wrong sometimes.

Characters

Trivia

This episode marks the first appearance of Digby, and well as his only speaking role in the second season.
Denny Doherty was nominated for a Gemini Award for best performance in this episode in 1995.
Going by filming order, this is the third episode of the second season.
This is the first episode not to feature Benjamin Bridge.
This is one of the few episodes that does not feature the closing music.

Goofs

When George turns off his engine to listen, studio equipment can be seen in the top right corner of the screen.

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Norwegian	Georgs Spøkelse	George's Ghost
Finnish	Haamulaiva	Ghost Ship
Danish	Georgs Spøkelse	George's Ghost
Swedish	Spöket	Ghosts

Video Release

Theodore's Whistle (VHS) - 1996
Tutan (Sweden) - 1997
Theodore Tugboat 2 (Norway, Denmark and Finland) - 1997
Theodore Tugboat One (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland) - 2007

Theodore Tugboat Wiki