A few posts back I talked about Tillie, the inspirational engine from my childhood. This has spurred me on to do a post about another character from my childhood – Warrior from the TV show Tugs. While he didn’t impact my determination nearly as much as that famous blue engine he was a character that I could relate to for a whole different reason.
Background info: What was ‘Tugs’?
Tugs was a TV series that ran in the late 1980’s. It was about a fleet of Tugboats and the many challenges that they had to overcome. The show’s style is similar to the original Thomas the Tank Engine series. In fact, many of the models went over to Thomas after Tugs was cancelled. Tugs was a project that was far too ambitious for its time and the programme ran out of budget before it could properly take off, leaving 13 episodes as its lasting legacy. It has become a cult classic and one of my favourite shows growing up.
Character insight: Warrior
There were many characters in the show, each with their own unique personalities. While I could talk about each one, Warrior is my focus because he showed many Dyspraxia type traits!
+ Warrior is a clumsy Tugboat, where he mainly bumps into things and is sometimes a bit forgetful.
+ While he isn’t the smartest tug in the fleet he has actually come up with some pretty bright, rather unusual, ideas.
+ He makes up for his drawbacks with an incredibly strong-will and determination. He has had a few heroic moments too and always tries to set things right whenever he makes a mistake.
+ Warrior has a big heart and is very loyal to his friends.
If Dyspraxia existed in the world of Tugboats, I feel Warrior would be a very strong contender for it; considering his characteristics and traits.
I found myself relating to Warrior when I understood how clumsy I really was – that’s P.E. lessons for you! The only snag was he wasn’t repressed for his clumsiness – Sure there were insults thrown his way by the antagonists and a bit of banter from his friends/colleagues. Regardless, it was known that he’s capable of great acts. It’s the other characters acceptance of him that stopped me from relating completely to him.
Dyspraxia and the world of film (to be continued)
When it comes to mainstream film and TV, there aren’t any characters who officially have Dyspraxia. We can speculate and draw comparisons but it is generally frowned upon to give fictional characters labels. But when there are characters who share some of the traits, whether it’s the clumsiness, determination, or how the character is treated, etc it gives us with Dyspraxia an icon to relate to. And so in my next post, I’m going to go deeper into the topic of film and Dyspraxia.
