Zorran

Zorran

Affiliation: Zero Fleet Number: 1 Type: Harbour Tug

Zorran is regarded as the cunning leader of the Z-Stacks and is the first tug of the fleet. He is renowned for his deviousness and scheming prowess. He is a harbour tug alongside with Star Fleet rivals O.J., Big Mac, Warrior and his Z-Stack companions Zak and Zebedee.

Bio

Zorran is looked up to in fear from most of the other tugs, because they know that he is a tug not to be messed with in the best of times! However, though being able to generally get what he's looking for, Zorran is depicted as a very pragmatic tug, who will be devious only as far as common sense and necessity allows.

The majority of the episodes portray him as a leading antagonist in some way. Although he is undoubtedly the most intelligent Z-Stack, his plans usually end up backfiring: either through the incompetence of the other Z-Stacks or his own overconfidence. Zorran has shown to regularly employ fellow Z-Stacks Zip and Zug to carry out his operations, which more often than not results in adverse consequences.

The other Z-Stacks are secretly afraid of him, but Zorran himself doesn't appear to be afraid of anyone other than Hercules, and has even been known to show insolence towards his boss, Captain Zero ("We're not smiling, Captain Zero!"). Despite his maligned characteristics, there is a very good reason for Zorran's role as the head Z-Stack - he's easily, when not scheming, the most competent and sensible of the fleet, best shown in the episode Munitions when he's given responsibility for overseeing a large delivery of explosives. Zorran ensured the other Z-Stacks followed all correct safety precautions and saw that the job was carried out efficiently. Later at the naval pool he sided with O.J. when arguing with officious Navy tug Bluenose over common sense against orders, and when a massive fire broke out he urged rival tug Ten Cents to escape the danger. True to his opportunistic nature however, Zorran then sat back to enjoy the impromptu fireworks display as Navy tramper Kraka-Toa blew herself apart. He has also been shown to scold the other Z-Stacks for messing up, such as in Bigg Freeze when he told off Zip and Zug for making the wrong judgement and put the work contract on thin ice for both Star and Zero fleets.

Despite his cunning and sinister behaviour, Zorran, at times, has been known to portray rather cowardly tendencies. This is shown best at times such as when he is in the presence of Hercules or confronted with a situation beyond his control. His reaction to first seeing the The White Fleet is a prime example of his cowardliness, as well as being on the receiving end of Burke and Blair's teasing in Quarantine.

Although he is a steam tug, Zorran's deep, aggressive whistle sounds more like air-horns fitted to modern diesel ships.

Behind the scenes

He is also shown to be able to raise his hat a little when rolling his eyes upwards. This was a modelling error, but the producers liked it so much that it was deliberately not fixed.

He was voiced by Chris Tulloch, who designed the tugs himself, including Ten Cents. Tulloch gives Zorran a neutral Cockney-English accent. He's one of the few characters whose voice actor can be definitively identified. In Salty's Lighthouse, he and Zug had 2 different voice actors; Scott McNeil started but was replaced by Kirby Morrow. His original TUGS actor was credited as writer, director and art director.

Though designed by Chris Tulloch, Zorran was built by former Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends model-maker, Jeremy King.

Like the rest of the Z-Stacks, Zorran is based off the Moran Fleet of New York City.

Appearances

Television

Books and Annual Stories

Merchandising

Takara (discontinued)

Voice Actors

Chris Tulloch (TUGS)
Scott McNeil and Kirby Morrow (Salty's Lighthouse)
Hazime Ozeki (Japan)

Trivia

His model was sold to The Star Tugs Company.
- The face mask he currently wears is his shocked face, this is believed to support the theory of Ghosts being one of the last episodes off the production line. Jeremy King donated Zorran's smiling face to The Star Tugs Company at a recent exhibition.
The gap in Zorran's front teeth is the result of a dental disorder called Diastema.