Theodore Tugboat is a Canadian children's series that aired on PBS Kids, starting in the PTV Park era in 1996, and ending in 2001.
The show centers around Theodore, a young tugboat who lives with his friends in the Big Harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Denny Doherty played the Harbormaster, the only human character, the one who narrates the series and mostly talks to the audience.
Main Characters[]
- Theodore Tugboat: Theodore is the title character who lives in the Big Harbor with all of his friends. He's one of the smaller tugs who wears a red baseball cap, and is sometimes offended if someone calls him "cute" or "small". He and his closest friend Hank are the only two harbor tugs (tugs that are not yet eligible to work outside harbor boundaries). They both share the harbor tug side of the dock and love working together. He's a kind little tugboat that is always friendly to the other ships in the harbor, with the goal of befriending everyone he meets. His biggest dream is to become an ocean tug and to travel across the sea to different harbor, but before he does, he works as hard as he can to make the Big Harbor the friendliest harbor in the world. That's why he is always there whenever someone needs him.
- Hank: Hank (the Volcano, as he sometimes calls himself) is the smallest, funniest, fastest tugboat in the Big Harbor. He wears a blue toque and loves to make funny faces and noises as a way of getting attention. He can be very sensitive too, and usually gets ignored for being the smallest. Whenever he feels down, he always turns to Theodore for help or guidance. Hank was afraid of the dark once, but overcomes his fear when Theodore tells him that he was once afraid of the dark too. Sometimes Hank is the one to give a good idea without even knowing it. He always forgets to tuck in his anchor, so the other tugs always remind him every now and then. He has the tendency to use the word "fresh" to describe something. Out of all the other tugboats, Hank is special because of his good humor and nature to learn and grow from his mistakes.
- Emily "the Vigorous": Emily is the only female tug in the fleet. She wears an old turquoise fishing hat that is very special to her. She loves to travel to different countries and discover new cultures and languages. Emily likes to be admired, but hates to look silly in front of her friends thinking they always have high expectations for her, and look up to her as a leader. Still, she always comes to find that her friends are there to help her, even if she doesn't ask for their help. She usually gets into arguments with George, but they always resolve their differences in the end. No matter how upset Emily gets, she always shows her kind spirits and strength she also has a little sister name zahra who is 1 year old and has ADHD and is pre diabetic and love doing a toddler boat ballet
- George "the Valiant": George is the largest and strongest tugboat in the Big Harbor. He wears a purple baseball cap on his head backwards. George loves to show off and can sometimes be a little rude without knowing it. He's somewhat stubborn and always struggles to admit that he is sometimes wrong. He especially loves to tell stories to the other tugs, mostly about himself. Whenever he gets irritated, he blows up a lot of smoke from his smokestack and makes loud noises with his powerful engines. Most of all, George is a hard worker, never leaves a job until it's done, and always stands up for his friends.
- Foduck "the Vigilant": Foduck is the harbor's safety tug. He wears a dark red firefighter's hat and is equipped with extra bright spotlights, sonar transceiver and a fire hose. Foduck is always very serious and makes sure all jobs are being performed safely. Foduck is a V tug like George and Emily, meaning he is fully qualified to make ocean voyages, but is content with staying in the harbor to keep it safe. Because of his strong work ethic, Foduck usually doesn't express his feelings, but deep inside, he has a soft spot in his heart for everything and everyone in the harbor.
- The Dispatcher: The tugboat Dispatcher is a rotating building on the "Great Ocean Tug and Salvage Company" wharf, who assigns the tugs their jobs for the day. He has a black moustache and a flag on his head. He is usually very serious and strict with the tugs, but they are always respectful to him because of his authority-like figure. He shows that he cares for the tugs by disciplining them for their faults, and by counselling them for their mistakes. And like a father, he always has a gentle side to him, and is always there when the tugboats need his help the most.
Promos[]
PBS Kids ID Theodore Tugboat (2001)