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Schemer's Special Club is the fifteenth episode of the third season and overall the fifty-sixth episode of Shining Time Station.
Plot[]
As the episode opens, Schemer enters the station dressed in fancy clothes and trying to act super polite to the kids’ confusion. Schemer asks them if a Hobart Hume III has been asking for him, and Kara asks who that is. Schemer explains that Mr. Hume is the owner of the Snarleyville Toxic Chemical Company and also president of a club that Schemer adores, the Nickelaire Club. He adds that Mr. Hume is going to be coming by, and if he can impress him, he’ll let Schemer join. He has a plate of desserts with him to hopefully impress Hume, which includes some very sticky toffee.
Schemer then begins to practice his introduction to Mr. Hume, pretending to offer him some toffee but then allowing himself to eat it first. But after the first bite, Schemer begins to panic when he realizes he can’t open his mouth, because the toffee is so sticky. As the kids laugh, Schemer stomps away to get his mouth unstuck.
The kids begin to wonder why Mr. Hume would be coming to the station in the first place. Kara suggests that maybe he’s coming to see if he could hold club meetings there. At that moment, Mr. Conductor appears and asks the kids what’s going on. After Dan tells him that Schemer will be joining the Nickleaire Club, Mr. Conductor tells them of the Messy Club, whose meetings consist of completely trashing Mr. Conductor's house and yard, and the Clean Club, which puts everything right again. The kids are confused until Mr. Conductor explains that the two clubs have only one member, himself. He then leaves for a Messy Club meeting after realizing he’s late.
Meanwhile, inside the Jukebox, Tito has returned from the tailor with his tuxedo and is excited about Mr. Hume's impending visit. The other members are just as excited, and begin to fantasize about Schemer taking them to the club and being surrounded by important people with nickels. As Didi comments on Schemer showing some class for once, Tito comes out of the dressing room and shows himself off in his new tux.
Back in the station, a very refined-looking man comes in and asks in a haughty manner for someone to help him. Schemer, trying to act refined as well, asks the man if he is Mr. Hume, which he is. Schemer then introduces himself (after stumbling in the arcade) and proceeds to show Mr. Hume the station as he attempts to suck up to him. At that moment, Stacy and Billy appear, and Mr. Hume asks Stacy to tell the stationmaster that he has arrived, not believing at first that Stacy is the stationmaster. After Stacy makes it clear who she is, Mr. Hume states that he’s familiar with her last name and how “common” it is. Billy then introduces himself, and Mr. Hume asks if his last name is translated from French. Billy corrects Mr. Hume that his last name is actually from the Lakota-Sioux. When Mr. Hume realizes this, he makes a rather rude comment about Billy being an Indian, to which Billy states that the preferred term is Native-American.
Already feeling bored, Mr. Hume asks if Schemer and the kids can provide some entertainment. Schemer agrees but the kids don’t. Schemer motions for them to cooperate, heads over to the Jukebox, inserts a nickel, and selects a song. Inside the Jukebox, the Band immediately, and excitedly, begins to play “Ol’ Joe Clark”. As Grace is singing, Schemer begins to dance and gets the kids to join in, so as to entertain Mr. Hume to Stacy and Billy’s bewilderment.
After the song is over, Mr. Hume comments on how Schemer was able to pull off such a performance. But when Schemer begins to ask him what he thought of the song, Mr. Hume responds by saying how dreadful it was and how appalling the Jukebox is. Schemer tries to show how great the arcade is, but Mr. Hume only sees it as a joke. The kids try to say that Schemer loves his arcade, with Schemer immediately chiming in to suggest maybe they could use the space to sell chemicals. Mr. Hume finds the idea interesting and they both leave to talk some things over.
Back in the Jukebox, the Band begins to blame Grace for not trying hard enough but she tells them that they should blame Mr. Hume. The Band then starts to think what will happen to them if Schemer does join the club; maybe they’ll be left behind, or put up for sale in an antique store (REAL cheap), or maybe placed in the basement forever.
As they return to the station, Mr. Hume is wondering if Schemer is really “one of their kind”. After mentioning that he doesn’t mind that Schemer works for a living and the club is now more tolerant of “that kind of people”, Stacy mentions that things do change over time. Realizing that she knows her history, Mr. Hume asks Stacy to regale him with some railroad tales, to which Stacy kindly declines. But when he keeps pressuring her, Billy notices that Stacy’s beginning to lose her patience and quietly suggests that they talk in his workshop.
At this, Mr. Hume begins to say how appalled he is by their inability to make his visit more enjoyable. Schemer tries to show him other things but Mr. Hume begins to implore Billy to do some sort of demonstration of his culture. When Billy declines as well, Mr. Hume suggests that Billy should do it another time and calls him "Chief", which starts to get him riled. Realizing that tensions are coming to a head, Schemer tries to convince Mr. Hume that everybody is just joking, and goes on to say that the whole station is just one big joke. Mr. Hume then takes Schemer aside, and says that he did have his doubts about him, but now believes that he might just be “one of their kind” to Schemer’s pleasure. He states that he’s going to return to the club and discuss the matter with his colleagues, promising to return. Wishing everyone farewell, Mr. Hume leaves the station.
After he’s gone, Schemer begins to talk about how great Mr. Hume is and how he was able to impress him. Stacy and Billy try to explain how insulting, arrogant and prejudiced Mr. Hume is, and question why Schemer would want to be like him, but Schemer dismisses them and explains that he'll work things out with everyone, as once he’s a member of the Nickelaire Club, he’ll get Stacy, Billy, and the kids into the club as well, much to their disgust.
A little bit later, the kids are in the arcade when Mr. Conductor appears in a cleaning suit and states that the Clean Club is now in session. After the kids tell him about what happened with Mr. Hume, Mr. Conductor is reminded of what happened to Oliver, the new Great Western Engine, when he began to think that he was better than the other engines. Once he’s done with the story, the kids begin to compare Oliver to Mr. Hume, only to realize that even though Oliver was egotistical, Mr. Hume is worse because Oliver eventually learned his lesson. Suddenly, the kids hear Mr. Hume calling for Schemer, and they quickly go back to their game. As they do so, Mr. Conductor tries to leave but accidentally steps in the toffee. After commenting on how sticky it is, he manages to get unstuck and disappears.
Upon entering the station, Mr. Hume notices that there’s nobody to greet or entertain him. After ringing the bell on the ticket counter, Stacy appears, and Mr. Hume begins asking her to tell him some stories. But once again she refuses, and Mr. Hume makes a misogynistic comment on how women always let people down. He starts to pressure Billy into entertaining him instead, so Stacy finally plucks up some courage and begins to tell Mr. Hume a story, but not the kind of story he’s expecting.
Many years ago, there was a station manager on the Indian Valley Railroad who was a hardworking, respected, high-status figure in the community. However, this station manager tried to join a local business and social club, only to be refused entry for simply being a woman. Stacy reveals that woman was her grandmother, Gracie Jones, and the club was the Nickelaire, then run by its founder: former president, and Mr. Hume’s grandfather, Hobart Hume I.
Mr. Hume comments on how that was before his time, however Stacy points out that even though it was, he’s acting exactly like his grandfather. She then goes on to say how insulting and insensitive he was to them earlier, expecting them to kowtow to his every whim while they were busy. Stacy tells him that the sad part is he doesn't have to be prejudiced, it's something learned from someone like his Grandfather, and chose to emulate it. She also states that she feels sorry for him, because he’ll never be able to have true friends while he still retains his prejudices and superior attitude. She concludes by saying he can use the station for railroad business, or for catching a train, but she would like it if he conducted his business for his club elsewhere. After she leaves, Mr. Hume is about to express his offense, but Billy quietly says where he comes from, they have a name for people like Mr. Hume: bigots. Billy describes them by saying they don’t stay long when they come to Shining Time Station, and they never come back. Mr. Hume is obviously perturbed by this but remains silent as Billy leaves.
At that exact moment, Schemer appears and notices that Mr. Hume was talking with Billy. Oblivious of what has just happened, Schemer explains that the reason why everyone is acting out right now is because they're nervous because they want to join the club. As Schemer starts to inquire about allowing Billy, Stacy, and the kids to join the club with him, Hume angrily informs Schemer that the club doesn't allow children, nor will it admit Stacy or Billy, as the former is a woman, and the latter is an "Indian". Schemer slowly becomes disillusioned about him and the club, even as Hume is prepared to admit Schemer to the club, under the condition that he'll have to cut off the curl in his hair to be one of them. This ends up being the last straw for Schemer, who returns to his normal self and states that he would rather throw all of his nickels away than cut his curl off, for it’s what makes him who he is. He starts questioning Mr. Hume on just what kind of club this is, as it doesn't sound like it's any fun, or like anything Schemer had expected. Mr. Hume states that the purpose of the club is simply to provide a haven from the rest of the world, and the members are like a dessert while the rest of the world is just leftovers.
At the word "dessert", Schemer remembers the treats he brought earlier, and offers Mr. Hume some toffee, which he accepts. The second Mr. Hume realizes he can’t open his mouth, Schemer begins to tell him off by saying if the club isn't good enough for his friends, then it’s not good enough for him. As Schemer boldly kicks Mr. Hume out of the station, an outraged Mr. Hume slams his hand onto the table, smashing the cake, and then trips on the gingerbread men he knocked onto the arcade floor. The kids begin laughing at his predicament and after Billy politely helps him up, Schemer gives him his hat that he dropped, Mr. Hume stomps angrily away, while everyone begins to congratulate Schemer for standing up to him.
A little while later, the kids find Mr. Conductor using his magic to clean up the arcade from Mr. Hume's mess. Mr. Conductor explains that he thought Schemer deserved some help after standing up to Mr. Hume. Schemer is now distressed about how things turned out, and wishes there was a good club to join. The kids cheer him up by starting a club of their own.
Cast and Characters[]
Main Cast[]
- George Carlin as Mr. Conductor
- Didi Conn as Stacy Jones
- Tom Jackson as Billy Twofeathers
- Erica Luttrell as Kara Cupper
- Ari Magder as Dan Jones
- Danielle Marcot as Becky
- Brian O'Connor as Schemer
The Flexitoon Puppeteers[]
- Jonathan Freeman as Tito Swing
- Olga Felgemacher-Marin as DiDi
- Craig Marin as Rex
- Peter Baird as Grace Bass
- Kenny Miele as Grace Bass
- Alan Semok as Tex
Guest Starring[]
Mentioned Characters[]
Thomas Story[]
Jukebox Band Segment Song[]
- Old Joe Clark
Trivia[]
- This is also the first time Mr. Conductor directly helps Schemer with something.
- According to storyboards, the working title of this episode may have been "Nickelaire Club".
- This is the second time a Thomas story reflects a guest character. The first was in Bully for Mr. Conductor. Interestingly, both stories came from the same Railway Series book.
- This episode never aired on Nick Jr. in 2000.
| #01 Becky Makes a Wish | #10 Schemer Goes Camping | #19 Mysterious Stranger |
| #02 Schemer's Alone | #11 Mr. Conductor's Evil Twin | #20 Dan's Big Race |
| #03 Bully for Mr. Conductor | #12 Bad Luck Day at Shining Time Station | #21 Mr. Conductor Gets Left Out |
| #04 Stacy Cleans Up | #13 Mr. Conductor's Fourth of July | #22 Mr. Conductor's Big Sleepwalk |
| #05 Schemer's Robot | #14 Stacy Forgets Her Name | #23 The Mayor Runs for Re-Election |
| #06 Billy Saves the Day | #15 Schemer's Special Club | #24 Stacy Says No |
| #07 Billy's Party | #16 Mr. Conductor's Movie | #25 How the Station Got Its Name |
| #08 Fortune Teller Schemer | #17 The Joke's on Schemer | |
| #09 Billy's Runaway Train | #18 Dance Crazy | |