Truckers

- Season 1

(1992)

The Thing, a glowing cube, briefly sets the scene: A police car chases a lorry that is driving erratically and pulls it over. One of the officers gets out to talk to the driver, but when he gets to the cab he discovers the lorry is empty. Something is seen cutting the wires under the police car as the officer returns to his car. The lorry drives off, apparently driver less, and the police find that their car won't start. The Thing announces that this is not the end of the story or the start. The story proper begins with Masklin, a 4-inch-high (100 mm) Nome, hunting ...

Masklin manages to climb aboard the lorry, and they settle down as it finally takes them to a department store loading zone. There they discover a Nome named Angalo. Angalo tells them they are in Arnold Bros., the department store home of several tribes of Nomes. Angalo believes they are from the outside, and takes them before his father, the Duke De Haberdasheri. The Duke, however, does not believe their story and becomes angry with them, denying that 'Outside' exists - it is against the Store Nome's religion. As Masklin and the others leave the Duke's presence, they...

The Thing tells the Nomes that they are from another planet, that they arrived on Earth 15,000 years ago, and that they must return home to their planet. Masklin meets Dorcas, an inventor who shows them his inventions and is intrigued by the concept of 'Life Beyond The Store'. The Thing then intercepts a radio transmission saying The Store will be demolished in three weeks.

Dorcas tells Masklin that no one will believe what The Thing says. He takes them to see the Abbott, leader of the Stationeri, who act as the Store's priesthood. On the way, they are met by Hardware bandits who are soon driven off. They meet with the Abbott, who does not believe them. Gurder, the Abbot's assistant, tells the Nomes that strange things are happening; items are not being replaced and the Abbott is worried, he just won't admit it. Gurder takes them back to see the Abbot, who asks to talk to Masklin and The Thing alone.

When the Abbott is alone with Masklin, he says that he has a number of concerns about the future of the Store. The Abbott reveals that, many years ago, the different departments fought each other for control of the Store. It was only when the Sationeri asserted that Arnold Bros. (est 1905) wanted the departments to live in peace that the wars ended. If the Stationeri is proved wrong about the existence of Outside, the other departments may decide they were wrong about Arnold Bros. too, and start fighting again. Therefore the Abbott must pretend that everything is ...

Charged by the Abbott for discovering the truth, Gurder takes Masklin and Grimma to an escalator which takes them to the General Manager's office. As Masklin begins searching the desk, they discover a memo to the staff saying that the store will be demolished. They are disturbed by a security guard (whom Gurder identifies as 'Prices Slashed', the Devil of their religious pantheon), but they manage to get past him undetected. They return to find that the Abbott has been talking at length with The Thing, and has reconciled his world view that 'Outside' is an extension ...

Gurder presides over the Abbott's funeral, and it is revealed that he was chosen by the old Abbott to replace him. Gurder, however, does not want the job. Masklin comes up with a plan to save the Nomes; they will leave the way they arrived, by stealing a lorry.

Masklin tells his plan to an number of officials from other clans. However, the Duke thinks his plan is foolish, and refuses to participate. All the other clans agree to work together, with the Stationeri (reluctantly) teaching many of the Nomes to read. Angalo defies his father by offering to help, and climbs aboard a departing lorry, hoping to learn more about how they work.

Angalo climbs on board a lorry, which drives away. A Nome named Vinto, who tends to mistake fiction books for instruction manuals, reads about a hostage situation and suggests they could take a human hostage; however, Masklin does not think the plan will work. The lorry returns and Masklin climbs down to the lorry. He finds Angalo's jacket, but Angalo himself is not on board.

The Duke is distressed at the disappearance of his son. Although he still does not believe in an Outside, he agrees to help Masklin, as he feels it might lead him to Angalo. Vinto finds a copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and convinces the other Nomes to search the store for a bottle of "Drink Me" to make the Nomes grow bigger. Angalo finally returns on another lorry, saying he saw the store from the Outside. The store has a number of closing down signs in the windows.

Angalo recounts how he got out of his original lorry to go to the lavatory, but before he could climb back aboard it had driven off, so he had to wait a long time for another Arnold Bros. lorry to come by. He also learned how to drive a lorry, making detailed notes of the controls. He tells Masklin that the gears are many times larger than a Nome, and they realize that it will be impossible for the Nomes to operate the lorry without help. Vinto brings a book of Gulliver's Travels to Masklin, hoping to convince him to kidnap a human to help them, but Masklin instead ...

The Thing advises the Nomes to get out of the store as soon as possible. Although demolition is still 14 days away, humans have started to clear the building and load the store fittings onto a lorry. Dorcas tells Masklin that he has disabled the loading bay door so the lorry can't leave. The Thing tells Masklin there is an airport to the north and they should head to it, the it falls silent and leaves Masklin on his own. Masklin becomes overwhelmed by his task, but Grimma encourages him to lead the Nomes out of the store. The Nomes get into a lorry and begin to ...

Prices Slashed sees Gurder stood in the lorry angrily denouncing the 'Demon', and is startled into dropping his lighted cigarette into the petrol. With no time for Dorcas to fix the door, the lorry crashes through it moments before the petrol ignites and causes an explosion. They stop a short way down the street to see the store on fire. They drive off and, after a number of close calls, a police car begins pursuing them. The first scene of the first episode then repeats, this time showing Masklin and Dorcas cutting the police cars wiring while the Nomes in the truck ...