Bigg City Port
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bigg City Port is a fictional harbour, the setting of the 1988 children's television series TUGS, produced by Robert D. Cardona and David Mitton (of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends).
In the fictional universe of the series, Bigg City is "the biggest harbour in the world" in the 1920s, when the series is set. It is located at the mouth of an unnamed river. There are factories and warehouses for many different industries located there, as well as an ocean liner dock and the various facilities necessary to keep the port going (such as coal and oil depots, repair yards and the municipal dump). Most importantly for the purposes of the series, it is the home of the two tugboat fleets around which the series centres, the the Star Tugs and the Z-Stacks.
There are also several old and abandoned areas, which are the haunt of criminals in the series. There are a few locations outside of the port itself used in the series, such as Upriver and Demder Rocks (see below).
Among the ships using the harbour are tramp steamers, car floats, fishing boats and barges of all kinds.
A basic map of part of the port was produced for the Tugs board game, but it is uncertain whether this is canon.
[edit] Notable locations in the port
[edit] Star and Zero docks
Two adjacent docks, the homes of the Star Tugs and Z-Stacks. The day begins here with briefings from Captain Star and Captain Zero.
[edit] Lucky's Yard
The yard where all the harbour's boat repairs are carried out. Parts for larger vessels are also manufactured here, and sometimes ships that are beyond help are scrapped at this yard. The seaplane hangar, where Sally Seaplane lives, is located next door. It is visible from the Star and Zero docks.
[edit] Municipal Garbage Corporation
The home of Lord Stinker, the garbage barge, and Jack the Grappler, the garbage crane. It is most commonly visited by Warrior, who is usually responsible for the garbage run.
[edit] The bridge
This structure dominates Bigg City Port, although it has never played a role in an episode. It is a suspension bridge which resembles the Golden Gate Bridge. This resemblance is probably not coincidental, as a major source of inspiration for the producers was the tugboat operations in San Francisco.
[edit] Bridge Café
A bar with a famous jazz band, which is often called upon to play at special occasions. Grampus, the midget submarine, sleeps here when the band is not keeping him awake.
[edit] The canal
A shortcut through the city sometimes used by the tugs. However, it can be hazardous due to its narrow width and low bridges. The railway bridge was accidentally demolished in the episode 'High Tide', but was rebuilt by the time of 'Munitions'.
[edit] Steel yard
The Steel Company was the home of the shore crane, Big Mickey. Its old headquarters were seen in the episode 'High Tide', in which they were moving to their new base across the harbour. This quay may have been used by the Navy for loading explosives in the episode 'Munitions'.
[edit] Coal yard
A dirty place full of coal barges. According to Captain Star, coal was the lifeblood of Bigg City Port, and without it, industry would grind to a halt. Visible from the Star and Zero docks.
[edit] Liner dock
The tugs are often seen docking ocean liners, and this is where they are moored. To win a liner contract is seen as a major coup for a tug fleet. The ocean liner Princess Alice is based here, although plenty of other vessels are seen being brought in.
[edit] Old dock
There are several abandoned docks seen and mentioned in the series, although it is not clear whether they are always the same location or several different ones. In the episode 'Warrior', some of the older docks are being rebuilt, and in the episodes 'High Winds' and 'Pirate', criminals used them as a hideout.
[edit] Big Boulder Rock Co.
Suppliers of building stone for the port.
[edit] Fire station
This is the home of the Fire Tug (or tugs). There are also a number of mooring posts where fire tugs and barges are moored, and to remove a fire barge from its post carries severe penalties.
[edit] Ferry dock
This was seen in the episode 'Quarantine', although it has appeared in the background of other episodes. It is the embarkation point for the Fultan Ferry, a stern wheel paddle boat which, in the words of Captain Star, has "to ply back and forth, carrying vehicles and freight to a regular timetable." The ferry itself was once sunk by OJ when that tug suffered an engine malfunction, but was later refloated.
[edit] Burke and Blair's breakers' yard
Burke and Blair, described in the episode 'Quarantine' as "evil minded scrap dealers" carry out their business here. The yard itself was never seen in the television series, but was portrayed in a number of spinoff stories.
[edit] Coast Guard station
This, too, never appeared in the series, but was portrayed in the board game as being located near the mouth of the port. It is presumably the home of the Coast Guard launch and messenger.
[edit] Other locations
- Melon Produce Co. - A warehouse with a quayside, seen flooded in the episode 'High Tide'.
- Munitions factory - Seen in the episode 'Munitions', this was a place to be approached with caution. However, the financial rewards for carrying the dangerous explosives were worth the ristk. As Zorran observed, "This lot's worth twenty garbage barges, ferry trips or girder tows - if we don't get blown up."
- Fuel depot - Seen in the episode 'Bigg Freeze', in which Zorran was seen purchasing kerosene.
- Crane inlet - This appears briefly in the episode 'Ghosts', being used as a shortcut by OJ. Old cranes are kept here, including Scurrlebutt Pete.
[edit] Notable locations outside the port
[edit] The Estuary
This is the point at which ships come in and out of the port, and therefore appears in several episodes. It is also the furthest the harbour tugs can go out to sea. Lillie Lightship is moored here, guarding vessels against running aground on the hazardous Demder Rocks. Old Rusty, the elderly tramp steamer, has been anchored here for two years.
Ships in quarantine have to wait here for medical inspection, and this is a popular place for tugs to hail vessels requiring a tow.
In the episode 'Bigg Freeze', the tugs managed to perform a turnaround on the SS Vienna out here. There is a small port here, seen in the same episode, which Captain Star makes his temporary headquarters.
[edit] Upriver
Much of the tugs' traffic takes them up here. Timber and logging are the major industries up here, and Billy Shoepack, the alligator tug, works to supply them. There is also a ship's graveyard, which is mentioned but never seen. Some towns along the river include Uptown, Mittsville and Toptown. Several channels lead off the river.
A number of characters come from Upriver, most notably Sunshine and Billy Shoepack. The acquitted pirate tug Sea Rogue and his uncle live up here, and the formerly jinxed tug Boomer was converted into a house boat and moored up here at a place marked "Dun Tuggin'".
Sunshine is probably the Star Tug most familiar with Upriver.
[edit] The Naval base
This unseen location was the home of the ill-fated tramp steamer Krakatoa, and presumably also of the officious Naval tug Bluenose. It is visited by Hercules in the episode 'Munitions', and in this episode it was described as being located "up the coast". In the episode 'Sunshine' it is noted that Hercules is "off up the coast, out of the way," but it is not clear whether he was at the base in this episode.
Despite being a Naval submarine, Grampus appears to live in the port rather than at the base.
[edit] Other locations outside Bigg City
Ships travel from Bigg City all over the world. However, other ports are rarely referred to. The only one that can be identified is the home port of the tramp steamer Izzy Gomez. The name on his stern gives "Puerto Grande" as his base. As this means "Big Port" in Spanish, presumably this is a South American equivalent of Bigg City Port. There is possibly a battle or war occurring nearby because in 4th of July Bluenose and a battleship came and used tried to use Grampus for shooting practice. Also there is mention of another port in Bigg City in which without the proper light the S.S. Vienna would go there instead of Bigg City.
[edit] Location
It is never made explicitly clear where Bigg City Port actually was, and even the most devoted fans of the series disagree. Some of the confusion arises from the fact that, with a few exceptions, the characters have British accents, yet the port itself appears very American. Further confusion arises from the beginning of the episode 'High Tide', in which Captain Star refers to "inland cities and towns", which some viewers misheard as "England cities and towns".
Nonetheless, the architecture, the volume of traffic and the types of vehicles (both seagoing and land-based) all point to an American location. The ultimate clue lies in the fact that the port holds an annual regatta for the July 4th celebrations.
Beyond this, it is difficult where in the USA Bigg City is supposed to be. The port is presumably quite far north, as it sometimes freezes up in the winter and it is not unknown (though not common either) for icebergs to drift into its waters. Like San Francisco, the port suffers from fog. The surrounding countryside is heavily forested.
[edit] Inspiration
The producers were primarily inspired by San Francisco, and in many ways Bigg City resembles that location. The architecture, with its mix of modern (for the 1920s) skyscrapers and more 18th and 19th century buildings is very reminiscent of San Francisco, as the large suspension bridge that crosses the harbour (as observed above, this is probably based on the Golden Gate Bridge).
The series drew on the noir and crime genres for its stories and atmosphere, and Tugs crew member Chris Tulloch cited the 1954 film On the Waterfront as another inspiration in terms of the atmosphere the producers were trying to create. Therefore, it may be assumed that Bigg City was in part based on Hoboken, New Jersey (where that movie was filmed) and New York (whose crime-infested docks formed the basis of the film's story).
