The TUGS Iceberg Explained - Thomas's Sister Series 

Heads up folks: between 1:03:04 and 1:08:02 the background sounds can trigger Migraines and in some very sensitive folks like myself, Migraine Seizures, Stay safe!

For a group that calls themselves The Star Tugs Exhibition, they sure don’t exhibit a lot of the content that they own.

imagine preserving something from a show and its history then never showing it off

The war stuff at the end makes SO MUCH SENSE ACTUALLY…

that 1930's theory at the end makes so much sense, it made me feel like i just witnessed the solving of a crime

The Star Tugs "trust" is little more than a bully and a thief who wants to be able to hoard his collection while paying minimal lipservice, and doesn't care how much damage he does in the meantime. It's high time the "trust" found its items missing, frankly.

Lord Stinker’s original name was Lord of the Flies.

Jesus man, that ending hit me like a goddamn truck, and it audibly made me scream "WHAT". Absolutely phenominal

Jesus that was so good. The ending was tense.

Here's some more interesting tidbits: 1. Prior to Munitions, the Fultan Ferry did not have front windows. If you look closely, you'll notice that the front was not seen at all until Quarantine which was filmed after Munitions. The front appears for a split second in Regatta when Zorran pulls the band barge and it's front is blank. 2. Early in production Pacman and Colored pupils were considered for all the characters. Some characters such as Sunshine and Zip recieved these when they were first built. 3. Sea Rogue's eye mechanism only had one pupil hinting that the face and cabin were completely changed whenever he was converted back to Bluenose. 4. If you look more closely at the Z-Stack's props, you can notice how weathered they are when compared to the star tugs. Zak and Zug havimh the most visible weathering. Captain Zero doesn't take good care of them it seems. 6. Several face masks for different characters were completely remolded for some reason, losing their eyelids. 7. One of the Pirate Tugs says "Get them quick" but it's pronounced as " G-yat z'em quick!" As if it had a German accent. 8. For some reason Zebedee's stern name on his rear uses the same font of letters as Hercules. 9. During filming of Trapped, Zug starts to tip over when he looses control of the tramper. However, the shot cuts right before anything happened to him. There was a rumour that footage existed of Zug capsizing during filming. Although these have been largely debunked in recent years as a result of interviews with crew members.

Jesus that ending gave me Goosebumps

The more I hear about the Tugs Exhibition, the more I'm starting to think they are simply buying up and hogging any and all lost Tugs media for themselves. I've never seen a part of any fandom act in this manner, and certainly not in a secretive and selfish way.

That ending is amazing, basically confirming that the series takes place throughout all of 1937 and into early 1938. The only issue I have with it is that the RMS Mauretania was used as a hospital ship in the *1st* World War, and was scrapped by 1935. Unless you're suggesting Vienna was built by Cunard sometime in the 30's and was being planned to have a similar war-time use to the Mauretania.

Okay, but Captain Star awkwardly claiming that Big Mickey survived made me laugh. It had the same awkward vibe as "I have to go now. My planet needs me."

Hello everyone! The story is always changing in the TUGS world as it seems, haha. Since this video was released, there have been many developments in relation to the lost media and mysteries surrounding TUGS. Here's a quick rundown of what's been happening: - Ronald Reagan Zorran images 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 - US Dub of 'Sunshine' (incomplete) 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 - David Mitton & Robert Cardona Ten Cents & Sunshine images 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 - The Gomez Incident images 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 - Early scripts/drafts of episodes revealed at TUGS: The Exhibition events, bringing MORE cut characters to light - Ruler photos of more TUGS revealed at TUGS: The Exhibition events - And much more. When The Unlucky Tug released his TUGS analysis video (thank you for the shoutout, by the way!), he announced a new restoration account - run by the fans, for the fans. (𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 😉.) You can find "The Tugs Project" on Twitter here. Have fun browsing, and once again thank you for the immense support! twitter.com/TheTugsProject

Tugs taking place in the 30s makes the stories have more stakes. Sure, any capitalist business worth their name would've been trying to gain any business in the 20s too, but now the bitter competition between the Stars and the Zeros has a lot more weight, since some contracts could make or break whether or not they even survive.

My opinion on the death of Big Mickey: he didn't really die, but rather as the narrator said, he was saved thanks to landing in shallow waters. He was moved to Brendam on Sodor after the explosion, and since the explosion gave him PTSD he never spoke while in service on Sodor, until the 'new crane on the dock' episode. That's my headcanon.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - you've done an PHENOMENALLY SENSATIONAL job on this project Mason. This has certainly been one of the best things I've seen for a long while. Long live TUGS for sure, and once again, sincere congrats on the iceberg!

Wow... an hour-long Iceberg for this underrated series? Truly amazing.

1:08:55 woah, that was intense, and I love it! That explains a lot about TUGS, it all makes sense now! Like once you think about it, *suddenly the whole lore of TUGS makes so much more sense!*

Fun fact: on Bluenoses/Sea Rogue's front deck it actually reads "Which f@@king tug am i?" with the second word scribbled out

Why do the star tugs exhibition not actually exhibit all the stuff and info that they own? The only thing they exhibit are the models that they're destroying. They're destroying and strangling knowledge of the series.

Could the "roaring 20s" line have been a ploy to cover up the fact that the show takes place during the Depression to get it past the ratings boards? Is it possible that the show takes place over the span of several years, not just one? Is it possible that only the pilot episode, Sunshine, takes place in the 20s, possibly late 20s just before the Depression? No direct time markers are given in any other episode, and cronological order may still apply.

As someone who became a fan of this series recently, I wanna know why the Tugs Exhibition refuses to show even a small percentage of what they have found over the years?

That stuff about the war… good god man, it makes so much sense. And those final lines… “What are all the munitions for?” …so haunting. My theory on why it says it’s in the boom is because it’s a kids show, and had to change it from a wartime thing, to the boom. Or maybe, it’s just a rather oddly-executed joke on the boom. *The booms that munitions and explosives make.* Another edit: What if the Tugs series could’ve been so much darker? I mean, Big Mickey was going to HAVE A FACE WHEN HE DROWNED. *Who says the complete, uncut, unfilmed, and possibly eternally lost version of Tugs was supposed to have an episode about war?*

While we were experiencing shows like Thomas and TUGS as children, Mitton, born in 1938, was experiencing WWII. It feels to me that the detail in his works would imply him to be somewhat of a history buff.

I find the fact Brian Blessed did a dub really funny. Thinking of him as Big Mac yelling “Wha- ARE YOU RETARDED” at billy shoepack will never leave my mind.

I was always under the impression after the old dock was destroyed in Munitions, it was demolished and rebuilt with new foundations, hence the Rock contract and demolition in Warrior.

I remember the first time I watched this, as soon as the ending revelation hit the power cut in my city. Never have I been so horrified of wooden tugboat lore.

I have never seen a single moment of Tugs before. But this was amazing. Especially the ending.

I found out about Tugs from the Sodor Island Forums site over a decade ago due to its connection with Thomas and it was only this past year did I sit down and watch through season 1 of the show. After watching this video however I completely understand why Tugs is beloved so much, I get why TheUnluckyTug means when he says "we're still learning new things about Tugs". Tugs had a lot of interesting ideas that were unfortunately ruined by the cut down runtime and the show being so short lived. I remember seeing the engine on its barge and the hull in the warehouse but never thought twice about it, I always assumed it was set dressing or just a little something to make the background feel more alive. A diesel tug boat being built bit by bit only to pose as a threat to all of the steam tugs, then the big freeze happens and the diesel can't start so the steam tugs get redeemed, that's such a good story idea. Not only that but it's a plot twist that occurs over the course of the whole season right under everyone's noses. Other ideas I thought were neat was Big Micky's corpse getting possess by a ghost, the Poseidon cloud coming back, Izzy and the warehouse. The show would've been so much better had the original storylines and plot threads made it to the final cuts. I also want to mention that I have no idea who the Tugs preservation society are but they sound like jerks, I'm gonna be honest. They have all of these things Tugs fans are itching to see and they don't do anything with them. They done show them unless maybe they're at a private event and they charge money. ThomasMerchandise owns lots of props and models that were used on Thomas but they take pictures of them to share on the internet with fans. They even scour through episodes to point out- "Hey this is an episode where our freight car appeared in! You can tell by these bolts and this stain." Anyway, the ultimate Tugs archive I believe is in possession of David Mitton's family so who knows if those episodes and scripts will ever get leaked to the public. I think Tugs is also owned by separate companies now, I heard that from Leokimvideo if I recall correctly. I'd like to see season 1 in all of its entirety and then the 7 seasons worth of scripts could be posted to the internet for fans to adapt. Great video, opened by eyes a lot to the Tugs world. Thank you so much.

I heard 1930s depression/wwii and everything clicked. Spiffing job on this by the way, one of the most complete icebergs out there and arguably better than the Thomas one!

Man... I always knew that I wished TUGS was able to continue, but now knowing about those canceled plans for future story arcs and the build-up for ww2 - plus the things the show already had going for it like attention to lore and continuity - really makes me realize just how much more potential TUGS had. Perhaps one day a reboot or fandom adaptation can actualize some of this untapped material... Major props to you for finding out all this awesome info dude, especially towards the end! ✌️ Great video.

About Salty’s Lighthouse, For most USA fans of TUGS, that show was our introduction to TUGS as a whole. Myself, and I imagine plenty of others, only watched it for TUGS footage, the cartoon segments were nonsense. I admit I liked Salty’s Lighthouse when I was little, but only for the TUGS segments, at that age, I didn’t know it was a repackaged/re-edited version of another show. When I got older and had internet access, I found out the truth of the matter. With that said, while I don’t really care for Salty’s Lighthouse as an adult, I do begrudgingly respect it for introducing me to TUGS. I swear, here in the states, when you mention TUGS, folks who don’t know about it, 9/10 times, will assume you’re talking about Theodore Tugboat.

Absolute banger video boss, love the eerie vibe near the end, gives me real ‘blameitonjorge’ vibes. Fantastic job my man! 👊

Now THIS is the golden standard of what a iceberg video should be!

Putting together two of my favourite things; TUGS and iceberg videos. This was a truly fascinating and enjoyable watch, it's so cool diving into the extensive lore and production history behind such a forgotten series. This video was insanely well researched, and edited too, hope to see more stuff from you in the future! EDIT: HOLY SHIT THAT ENDING GAVE ME CHILLS I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT AT ALL

I feel like the ending is a opening up for sequel. Maybe it’s just me.

For such a short series tugs has one of the most hard-core fanbases I've ever seen

I love how eerie this vid is, despite the fact its about a talking boat show

I love how the credits of Salty's Lighthouse just bluntly call Tugs "boats".

I know this video has become somewhat outdated as more things have been found, but it’s such a fun and atmospheric watch. The choice of background music (especially the Ratatouille tracks) was solid. That ending is amazing; I genuinely didn’t think that the show could really be set in the 30s, but it makes so much sense.

The Ending Sent Chills Down My Spine

Salty's lighthouse is basically tugs hit era

Now, this is gonna be really good!

I hate how greedy some scumbags are that they won’t release Information about a damn kids show from the 80’s

I only watched tugs for the first time a few months ago and when I tell you it’s just as phenomenal as Thomas, I mean it! The theme tune alone is a masterpiece. And just like Thomas you can see how much time and effort that was put into Tugs and making every little detail perfect. I wish they had done more seasons.

That ending made me stop and think for a sec

It’s sad that tugs was canceled but at least Mattel did not buy it and make some crap baby series out of it like they did with Thomas

Really good work, its amazing how much support TUGS has these days ... I remember when I had TUGS multimedia / shared the TV versions .. there was very little information available online.

Pretty sure that it is stated that Sunshine and Billy Shoepack worked together in the salvage fleet.

I gotta be honest, I came into this expecting to learn more about Tugs, and I got that all that and one hell of a twist regarding the show's actual time period. Fantastic vid.

Well done! I learned so much off this one video lol

Even in the not sad or unsettling parts, this video seems scary. I have no clue why, it just is, which makes this video even cooler. Great video! EDIT: that ending which revealed the time period gave me literal chills

26:05 I always thought it was less Zebedee losing control and more not being able to slow down or stop in time before the steel rig hit the bridge.

This was stellar! One of the best iceberg videos I’ve seen in a while! Very well edited and explained! Well done!

After watching the whole video what happened, I think it’s safe to say that you did a Fantastic, Excellent and a phenomenal job on this, This has got to be one of the longest and the best video you’ve ever made!

This iceberg is truly a masterpiece, everything from the music, the line delivery and the shocking but plausible twist rope me into the Tugs aesthetic. You should make an updated version now so much has happened (sizzle reel, US dub found, Railhead + other scripts, the fact the Snatcher scene was apparently not shot (I beg to differ) etc.) Also using the Ratatouille music at the end is perfect. I couldn't ask for a better soundtrack choice.

this video is a much needed piece of the TUGS legacy. watched this back countless times 🙏 amazing work

About the diesel tug... It seems to me that he might be more to do with the Z Stacks rather than the Star Tugs. It's implied Zorran was overseeing his construction, the worrying nature of seeing a superior tug supposedly making him tone down his behaviour. It seems Captain Zero was looking to invest in diesel-era style technology, his tugs mostly seem to have air horns rather than whistles for example, (which happened on some steam locomotives like the PRR S1 and the SP GS-4s) His tugs seem a little more modern than the stars in styling and such. Could it be he was looking to replace his fleet with diesel tugs?

This is super interesting and there's lots of things I didn't know! Fantastic video!

This was an amazing video, props to you and MK! Also oh my god the ending gave me chills!

Layer Index: 1- 2:10 2- 9:58 3- 16:14 4- 23:58 5- 33:18 6- 44:33 7- 52:47 8- 59:45 Epilogue: 1:08:55

This was very well put together. Amazing video!

Absolutely astounding work! All the info i never knew about or had a hard time knowing is all here and the twist at the end had me mind blown. Absolutely Loved It❤️ new sub right here!

After watching this and learning more of all the lost, unused story content, while it would be quite the project, we could take all that we have now, and make a fan-made reboot that integrates said content and also fixes up the minor plot holes of episodes caused by the cuts and changes in production would be fun. Thing is finding who'd be willing put their time to working on it, from modelling, voice acting, and editing, especially when such a thing could take a lot of time, and that's if people with that unused content is willing to share and let it be used.

I dislike that these exhibitions are making money by only exclusively showing content to those who pay to attend in special friend-trust circles. This is pretty disrespectful to the Tugs community. I guarantee you the Sif Twitter group has done the same thing. Apparently, they own the entire unfinished missing coach episode. There really isn't any reasonable reason I can think of for this sort of thing.

I genuinely would like to see the Diesel Tug. Or just three of those 96 stories. also i just saw this, they spelled Diesel wrong!

The director of the star trust has been caught several times scamming people by selling fake props and stealing real ones.

This was an awesome video, with a lot of info I've never known before about Tugs! Not to mention the ending, it actually makes a LOT of sense!

the ending of this video changed how I see tugs forever! I new it was in the great depression but I never relised all the connections.

This is the best video I've ever seen. bravo, it was worth the wait 100%.

*The ending put my head in such a twist!*

This was a master piece truly amazing the ending was fantastic great job

I love this video EN2 because I appreciate you adding in lost footage from the Tugs show that was cut, 😆Yeah!!!!, Thank you so much👍

Sometime ago I reviewed several series' and films and evaluated their content. TUGS was one of these, and in my review I deduced that it did not become the success that Thomas because David Mitton did too much at once to be starting off with. Writing a hefty chunk of scripts in advance was a case of passion over practical standing. Thomas's success was built up a few stories-at-a-time over a gradual period, and a consistent sense of tone was thus built up. David Mitton literally jumped the gun there with his luck, and this amazing revelatory video definitely gives me more case to support my view. Well researched my friend, and it was great to watch. Regards, Samuel Farris.

That end was definitely an eye opener, great video!😬😄

1:08:05 my headcanon for diesel is that in the first episode he appears in he fights with the stars and z tugs in the second episode he appears in he redeems himself by helping the stars dock the duchess, the events of High Winds are referenced

I loved TUGS as a kid but I've learned so much from this video. Absolutely outstanding display of research and video! Well done!

I take away from this is that a few select people have chosen to restrict access to interesting tidbits of information for reasons that seem to only be clear to those making them.

I'm inclined to agree with folks here in the comments; it's a shame that the Tugs Exhibition keep so much hidden away - especially in this age of digital media. I've seen some of their responses to people online before and have not been impressed. The NDA mentioned in the video makes no sense, especially in context. Their unwillingness to display what they have outside of Live Events feels strongest in the fact they did not provide the model maker for Sally with any references. While the models can only be conserved by human hands, media like the scripts, tapes, and photographs in private could be shared to be saved and examined by a wider audience.

Amazing video, well done. Tugs was an excellent programme, I watched it on it's original UK broadcast. I didn't realise the full extent of how many cuts were made. It's quite heartbreaking to imagine what has been lost. If this had been made as the original run of 30 minute episodes with a full second series, possibly more if they had 96 extra possible scripts, it would have been magnificent. And there's not even a bluray release of what little does remain.

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful work! Watched this entire video and I loved it ❤

Wow, what a lot of behind-the-scenes. And I didn't expect that theory about being set in the Great Depression.

It sucks that some items of interest are seemingly owned by particular people and yet not shown to the public, even for a one-off. What do they gain out of keeping it to themselves?

Great video! I'm going to subscribe cause I just love these videos and the way you tell them is just perfect in my opinion. P.S. The ending just got me thinking about the show on a whole new level and it has given me an idea.

I am almost speechless by This! Practically all of this makes sense!! I did pay attention to the details of the episodes and realized there was a chronological order for the episodes and had determined that the specific timeline of the series must have been in the last two years of the 1920s, 1928 and 1929. But this video has shown me all the lore and clues that I have missed. So many deleted scenes!!!! Some things you did forget to mention was the Big Mac coin ride and how in Pirate, behind the heavily weathered Zip and Zug, we can see the Hungover Wreck buoy next to a hull frame sticking out of the water. This could further prove that Jinxed could be taken place before Pirate. Speaking of Jinxed, like Quarantine, I felt that Jinxed was always missing to much for such a short plot. I own the picture book which mentions some deleted scenes but the fact that Bluenose was supposed to appear in that episode and Izzy Gomez almost or did die in that episode makes it all the more interesting and frustrating that the full cut never survived to see public release!!! And finally, that ending really was hard to shake. Almost like the intention of the series, you really built up everything and then give us that ending with that strong prediction of the future!! My first Iceberg video did NOT disappoint!! Bless You, Good Sir!!

Wow this is such an great video. That ending just makes me beg for a part 2. If only sam and sean would just release their stuff.

Fun fact: The whistle you hear at 1:10:06 actually belongs to the RMS Celtic, owned by the white star line.

This video is an absolute banger, well done!!!

"Lillie's hole" Out of context, what the fuck XD

You have outdone yourself. This is phenomenal.

Absolutely great! A joy to watch

This one of the Best iceberg that I seen , this deserves more views

I knew everything on here And then we got to layer 2

Some really incredible detail here - nicely done!

The Star Tugs Trust really likes to hoard things to themselves and have no interest in preserving the found lost media on a larger scale is what I got from most of the entries.

The creators of tugs: Worrying about racist implications of the name of the z- stacks... Izzy Gomez : .......

It’s quite fascinating on how we are still discovering new stuff from the show after it ended. I have no idea how many times I’ve watched this iceberg, it’s very well done

I love how you used some music from the Death Note Anime 🙂 It was also nice to see some footage I didn't know existed