LUCKY'S YARD

"With modern technology and the TV industry like it is, the chance of ever shooting a series of such quality again could never happen - it was a little moment in time, and sadly, it's unlikely to get repeated!"

-Chris Tulloch, TUGS Modelmaker, Director, Voice Actor

Unlikely, yes, but not impossible!

Hello, and welcome to Lucky's Yard, where I'll be sharing my journey to bring TUGS back to life!

What is TUGS? It's an old television series about talking tugboats, fiercly competing to be the best in the port. You can watch the entire series free on YouTube, or peruse the handy TUGS Wikia which has tons of photos and info!

TUGS is a period piece; the Bigg City Port where it takes place is fictional, but all the boats, buildings, and daily workings of this harbor are based on real life history. It exudes 1920s nostalgia; grand ocean liners, old fashioned automobiles, and shady lowlife gangsters in black hats. Peak 20s Americana, a romantic time long past.

It's haunting in that way; the characters we grow to love, tugboats with colorful names like Ten Cents, Sunshine, Zorran; they're all long gone now, remembered only through this little window into the past. It's a glimpse into a bygone era, which is fitting, because TUGS is a bygone show.

TUGS was cancelled after one series and forgotten. Talking vehicle shows are usually reserved for very young children, but TUGS tried to break that mold, and it never found wide appeal. On paper it was a kids show, but in practice it was just an excuse to make an adult drama series starring super-detailed model boats as the characters. Anyone who has a love for cool vehicles and storytelling will understand the desire to put them together, and that's what creators David Mitton and Robert Cardona did. It may have burnt out early, but from where I'm standing, it succeeded, because I fell in love with it when I was 8 years old, and I've been obsessed ever since. It's changed my life and brought me immeasurable joy. If it did that for even one person, it must have been a success. And I'm far from the only one!

TUGS has something of a cult following online. If you're one of them, welcome! If you're new to TUGS, also welcome! It's loved by many, but despite that it's hardly ever recreated compared to something like Thomas the Tank Engine. That must be because there was hardly any merchandise of the characters in TUGS. Thomas toys line store shelves even today, it's easy enough to pick a few up and put them in front of a camcorder. TUGS is a different story.

The cast is HUGE. At the industry's height, the Port of New York (upon which Bigg City is largely based) had upwards of 700 tugboats in operation. TUGS managed 12, 7 on the heroic Star Fleet and 5 scheming Z Stacks. The scale of this industry is enormous in real life, ships are giant things that come in huge numbers. TUGS Compromised significantly to bring it to the screen, but even the fraction of the towing industry they presented is still an ENORMOUS technical challenge. Warehouses, skyscrapers, docksides, cranes, barges, ferries, cargo ships, a giant ocean liner, a brooklyn-style bridge over half the giant set, and of course the stars of the show, 12 tugboats. Every single item has to be built from scratch. It's no wonder it's so rarely attempted! But I have a deep passion for it, and I'm determined to bring Bigg City Port back to life, one little detail at a time.

OJ's first time in the water