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03x23 - The Mayor Runs for Re-Election

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Shining Time Station". Aired: January 29, 1989 – November 20, 1995.*
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A local named Horace Schemer, simply referred to as Schemer, runs the station's arcade and serves as the series' comic relief.

03x23 - The Mayor Runs for Re-Election

Post by bunniefuu »

funding for this program was provided in

part by the corporation for public

broadcasting and by the financial

support of viewers like you

reach for the speed

reach for the whistle

go where the rail may run

reach for the words

reach for the story

follow the rainbow sun

to a shining time station

where dreams can come true

waiting there for you

stacy i don't care what you say i'm

voting to re-elect as good bob flop

dinger for mayor now mitch there are

still so many things that the mayor

hasn't talked about

that's because you only agree with

yourself if you agreed with me then it

would be two against one and we win oh

midge but there are so many problems

here now what does that have to do about

anything everything oh midge oh

mr conductor

stacy are you going to like

tell me that she can't come to the

station anymore why would i do that

becky

because you just had a big fight oh no

just because midge and i don't agree it

doesn't mean that we're still not

friends and we do agree on the most

important thing and that's the vote

because the vote is power only if you

use it

i just wish i knew more about the

mayor's opponent he's a very mysterious

figure i know i've seen his picture and

he looks awfully familiar

but what's wrong with mayor flossinger

he's always been nice to us i think we

should vote for him oh the mayor is a

nice man and he's very honest and that's

very important for a politician

but he hasn't been talking about the

issues and he hasn't been listening to

people's complaints and i think that

that is a big mistake

yes it is but it's hard to admit when

you've made a mistake look what happened

to james the big red engine team isn't

running for mayor mr conductor

no he's not running for mayor but he is

running too fast for the freight cars

come on i'll tell you what happened

[Applause]

james was enjoying his life on the

island of sodor but he still had a lot

to learn

you're a special mixed traffic engine

set sir topham hatt you can pull coaches

or freight cars quite easily but you

must learn by your mistakes

james knew what sir topham hatt meant

he could well remember that dreadful

accident on his first day

be careful with the coaches james said

kind little edward they don't like being

bumped everyone came to admire james

i'm really a splendid engine he thought

and suddenly let off steam

a shower of water fell on sir topham's

nice new top hat

just then the conductor blew his whistle

and james thought they had better go

go on go on he puffed to edward don't

push don't push replied edward

the coaches were grumbling too don't go

so fast don't go so fast but james

didn't listen

[Music]

when at last they stopped at the next

station two coaches were beyond the

platform

they had to go back to let the

passengers out

but no one seemed to know about sir

topham's new hat so james felt happier

presently they came to the station where

thomas was waiting with his two coaches

hello james said thomas feeling better

that's good

oh that's my conductor's whistle i must

go i don't know what sir topham hatt

would do without me to run this branch

line and he puffed off importantly

edward and james passed the field where

james had had his accident the fence was

mended and the cows were back again

[Music]

they ended their journey and rested

before setting off for home

james was still wondering what sir

topham would have to say about his new

hat

[Music]

next morning he spoke severely to james

if you can't behave i shall take away

your red coat and have you painted blue

james didn't like that at all

he was very rough with the grumbling

coaches as he brought them to the

platform don't talk come on

gordon never has to fetch his own

coaches he thought to himself and he's

only painted blue

to make james even more cross this time

no one came near him

i'll show them he thought they think

gordon is the only engine who can pull

coaches

[Music]

[Applause]

hurry hurry hurry puff james you're

going too fast you're going too fast

replied the coaches james laughed and

tried to go faster but the coaches

wouldn't let him

we're going to stop we're going to stop

[Music]

[Applause]

what's the matter james asked his driver

the brakes are on leaking the pipe most

likely you've banged the coaches enough

to make a leak in anything

how shall we mend it said the conductor

we'll do it with newspaper and a leather

boot lace replied the driver

but where is the boot lace coming from

ask the conductor ask the passengers

said the driver

[Music]

you have a leather boot lace there said

the conductor to a smartly dressed man

please give it to me

i won't

then i'm afraid the train will just stop

where it is

the passengers all said what a bad

railway it was then they told the man

how bad he was instead everyone was very

cross

at last he handed his laces over

the driver tied a pad of newspaper

tightly round the hole in the brake pipe

and james was able to pull the train

but he was a saturn wiser james and took

care never to bump coaches again

you know mr conductor i wish the mayor

could have heard that story because then

maybe he'd start to learn from his

mistakes the way james did then i'd be

proud to vote for him mr mayor uh mr

mayor well i'm here i'm here and you can

quote me

oh

citizens

where are all the citizens

oh steamer schemer

schemer you're sort of a citizen and

kids you're going to be old enough to

vote in a few years i'll give you my

flag speech

you know when

when i even think of the flag

i get this feeling oh mr mirror speaking

of feelings in the latest poll you came

in second place how does that make you

feel could be worse i could be last uh

mr mayor there are only two people

running you are in last place oh

oh well i hadn't thought of that and you

can quote me

oh

mr mayor

take it from somebody who knows

you

are a loser

does that mean you think i'm not going

to win this election well let me put it

to you gently yes absolutely you're not

gonna win this election you're finishing

through no one's gonna vote for you and

you can quote me on that oh

but why

why don't people like me

well technically speaking it's uh

because of your hair

my hair that's right and also your

clothes my beautiful hair the way you

walk the way you talk

well i i hadn't noticed

would you like some friendly advice

straight from the horse's mouth yes yes

if you want to win this election

you need a campaign manager yes yeah oh

that's what i do

i'm going to give you a new look yeah

that's a new image yes you need me you

yeah

you need to exhume that schemer look

that total air of

confidence you need schemer's system of

success

yes

there's no need to thank me we're

friends

but uh of course i can't actually do

this for free so um let's just say after

we win i mean

after you win the election

uh i become secretary of money

well

if that's what it takes that's what it

takes yeah

and that's what i'll take

is schemer kidding or what he doesn't

know anything about getting the mayor

elected and how good could the mayor be

if he just hired schemer

all right let's get some schemer buttons

around here too not just a flop dinger

ones let's keep the blue the blue pile

the yellow and the yellow and the pink

and the pink

oh speaking about being in the pink it's

the honorable mayor

[Music]

take a look everybody this man has

success written all over him kim i told

you your clothes are going to be too

small for me uh don't worry about my

clothes buy me some new ones after the

election pocket keeper i don't care

about your clothes this is ridiculous i

mean what are my voters going to think

you know something i think you might be

right

all right there

yeah that's better

oh that is much better schemer is this

really going to work listen once people

see you looking like me they're going to

vote for you it's guaranteed now let me

bring you up to speed on the campaign

we got buttons we got posters we got

stickers and did somebody say something

about a campaign song

no i don't think so you're gonna love

this one it is oh you know

i'm running a little low on nickels um

[Music]

you're gonna love it

[Music]

uh oh

here it comes

i hate the way schemer just plain

rewrote that song

we gotta do it a job's a job tex a

song's a song rex and a nickel's a

nickel people

and a one and a two

[Music]

railroad

[Music]

pacific railroad

[Music]

the great pacific

[Music]

for the railroad

railroad

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

is that is that you

this is the new and improved mayor flop

dinger and he owes it all to schemer's

system of success mr mayor what are you

gonna do about the garbage problems in

town

oh yes well i i would have you really

let me take care of this one i'm glad

you asked that question and let me

answer it by changing the subject and

referring to something else and that is

the mayor's new curl

now this is a look of today's politician

it says trustworthiness it says

decisiveness it says vote for me

the voters don't care what he looks like

they want to know what he stands for

hold it

[Music]

thanks

you're very very welcome

[Music]

just uh look natural

my fellow shining timers

hello

some of my enemies

have asked why am i running for mayor of

this great town of ours

what what enemies

so thank you very much and now it's on

to city hall

well he must know what he's talking

about i don't understand a word he's

saying

hey rich house i'd like you to meet the

real mayor of this town the honorable

osgood bob flopdinger this is the other

guy

uh listen rich house i understand that

you're new to shiny time station you're

new to shining time station and you

don't know anything about this town

well i know a heck of a lot more than

him hey hey that's my candidate

shall we settle this the usual way a

debate uh we'll let the kids run it they

can ask the questions uh we'll broadcast

it live on tv meet

the kids

meet the kids what a wonderful idea yes

yes yes we'll let the kids ask the

questions

that'll be easy

okay you got a deal

see you at the debates

[Music]

[Applause]

i yeah to ask the mayor about our

playground then i can ask him why the

library isn't open longer

mr conductor i need some help no thanks

cara

this is what you get when you lose

control of your own hot air you get all

puffed up like some of these politicians

around here

do you guys think the mayor is going to

lose the election i know he'll lose with

schemer helping him what do you think mr

conductor

i think this reminds me of a saying we

have on the island of sodor we say every

engine has to pull its own freight train

why do you always say that because it's

true

look what happened to james he learned

about it the hard way

[Applause]

[Music]

james had not been out to push coaches

or freight cars in the yard for several

days he was feeling miserable

[Music]

oh dear

i wonder how long i shall have to stay

in the shed will anyone ever see my red

coat again

why did i go so fast that i made a hole

in one of my coaches that had to be

mended with of all things a passenger's

boot lace

at last sir topham hatt arrived

i know you're sorry james and i know too

that you want to be a useful engine

people are laughing at my railway and i

do not like that at all

i will try hard to do my best said james

that's a good engine there's nothing

like determination i want you to pull

some freight cars for me

james was delighted and puffed away

here's your freight train james said

thomas

have you got some boot laces ready and

he ran off laughing

oh no said the freight cars we want a

proper engine not a red monster

james took no notice and started as soon

as the conductor was ready come along

come along he puffed we won't we won't

scream the freight cars but james didn't

care and he pulled the screeching car

sternly out of the station

[Music]

the cars tried hard to make him give up

but he still kept on sometimes their

brakes would slip on and sometimes their

axle would run high at each time the

trouble had to be put right and each

time james would start again determined

not to let them beat him

give up give up you can't pull us you

can't you can't called the cars

i can and i will i can and i will puff

james and slowly but surely he pulled

them along the line

at last they saw gordon's hill

look out for trouble james warned his

driver we'll go fast and get them up

before they know it don't let them stop

you

so james went faster soon they were

halfway up i'm doing it i'm doing it he

panted will the top never come

then with a sudden jerk it all came

easier

i've done it i've done it hooray it's

easy now

but as drivers shut off steam they've

done it again we've left our tail behind

look

the last cars were running backwards

down the hill the coupling had snapped

but the conductor stopped the cars and

got out to warn approaching engines

that's why it was easy said james as he

backed the other cars carefully down

what silly things freight cars are there

might have been an accident

should i help you james call edward no

thank you i'll pull them myself

good don't let them beat you

you're doing well whistled edward as

james slowly struggled up the hill

i can do it i can do it he popped he

pulled and puffed as hard as he could

i've done it i've done it he panted

[Music]

james was resting in the yard when

edward pulled up

he whistled then james saw sir topham

hatt

oh dear what will he say he asked

himself

but sir topham hatt was smiling

i was in edward's train and i saw

everything you've made the most

troublesome train on the line behave

after that performance you deserve to

keep your red coat

[Music]

i like that story mr conductor james

beat the free cars he didn't give up

and neither should the mayor if he wants

to win this election but he'll never win

unless he learns to pull his own freight

train

oh i get it you mean the mayor has to

learn to run on his own without schemer

telling him what to do all the time he

has to take more responsibility for

himself or else no one should vote for

him isn't that what i just said

[Music]

welcome to a broadcast first meet the

kids today's topic the race for mayor

good evening and welcome to the shining

time station debate i'm your host ted

typo ace reporter for the indian valley

gazette and we'll start the questioning

with cara

mr rich house how will you fix up the

playground in the park

by making the hard choices and the tough

decisions

how about you merflop dinger

huh oh hi

we'll build a whole new playground

kids who want to play in it will pay

schemer a small admission fee

[Applause]

next question from becky

mr mayor what advice would you give to

kids about life

oh uh

uh

send your nickels to schemer and he'll

give you all the advice you need

[Applause]

he's telling me to say that he's telling

me to say that

[Applause]

[Music]

you're fired

[Applause]

friends

i want to apologize

we're going to buy all new equipment for

the playground yes yeah now i know i've

been slow to start recycling but if you

reelect me i'll get right on it but now

listen my biggest mistake was hiring

that schemer

me who's always saying things like every

engine has to pull its own freight cars

yes yeah well

i know sometimes i seem distracted but

i really do respect all of you

and there

thank you very much

[Music]

so

[Music]

so mr typo who to vote for cara you're

not supposed to ask that

voting is very private sorry that's okay

the answer is nobody and what's the

point one vote won't make any difference

well whoever wins will be your mayor

whether you vote or not

you

may have a point there

[Music]

but i still say won't make any

difference

[Music]

he won by one vote which was undoubtedly

mine

hey everybody everybody good to hear the

news hear the news we already know the

mayor has been re-elected which i guess

goes to show you that schemer's system

of success was a success after all

well i mean in the beginning

well a little bit kids

kids miss jones miss smoot yes i'll even

schemer it was close but we did it we

did it

no

by we i mean i listen i want to thank

all of you well most of you this and i

promise to keep all of my promises

oh that's another promise oh there's

another one that the oh dear oh dear

looks like you kids were right not only

did my vote make a difference but

everybody's dead

[Music]

you gave it a good try mr rich house are

you going on vacation no just moving

miss jones but you just got here

well

some people might say rich house

you just got here

and they'll call me a quitter well i'm

not a quitter

i'm just moving on to a new town to a

new election

but you just lost the election

why do you want to run in another one

kids

i want to make this

crystal clear

i've made some mistakes in the past

but if i ever win another election i

promise you

my only job will be to help all the

people and any politician who gets

elected who doesn't try to help all the

people doesn't deserve to win

now you remember that when you're old

enough to vote oh there's my train

don't worry

one day when you think i'm gone forever

i'll be back

goodbye good luck

have a good trip

[Music]

well everybody voted this time mr

conductor it's exciting isn't it maybe

i'll run for mayor next time oh that

would be great and you could give

speeches to big crowds and do a debate

on tv

and then if you win you'd have a huge

office where people come in and see you

every day and you'll never ever be left

alone

hey you know something i think i'll run

for may or someday

on second thought maybe i'll just go

fishing

[Music]

reach for the speed

reach for the whistle go where the rail

may run

reach for the words reach for the story

follow the rainbow sun

to a shining tide station

where dreams can come true

waiting there for

[Music]

hopes to hold on to who knows how far

you'll go

to a shining time station

where dreams can come true

your own imagination

[Music]

funding for this program was provided in

part by the corporation for public

broadcasting and by the financial

support of viewers like you

this is pbs