A READING director is releasing a new documentary about a classic TV show.
Lewis Gilbert will be taking a deep dive into the history of a now-nearly-forgotten part of the British TV landscape in TUGS: A Bigg Retrospective, in collaboration with I.T.H Productions.
The film examines the programme produced by the team behind the Thomas The Tank Engine TV series and how it came to be.
It begins with Shepperton Studios in the late 1980s, where Clearwater Features has just concluded production on the first two seasons of Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends.
Robert D Cardona and David Mitton are putting together something new, and though its original run would last for just a year, it would go on to find a cult following.
The result was TUGS, in which two fleets of tugboats, the Star Fleet and the Z-Stacks, compete with one another in the fictional Bigg City Port of the 1920s.
It featured a colourful cast of sea-faring characters, all of which were live action models, and included narration by Patrick Allen.
The film aims to be an in-depth look at the work produced by Shepperton Studios, as well as fans, and features interviews with cast members and crew.
I.T.H Productions is an independent collective which produces shorts and feature films as well as documentaries, web series, and promotional material.
TUGS: A Bigg Retrospective will be released for free on I.T.H Productions’ Youtube channel on Tuesday, April 4, via: youtube.com/@i.t.hproductions2555
