Series 20: The Missing Breakdown Train

With Rocky being the main crane nowadays, it was hard to tell whether Jerome and Judy would be used again after The Adventure Begins. But the team surprised us - again - by giving us an episode where they were the starring characters. But how does The Missing Breakdown Train stack up?

Honestly? Not that well. Granted, it was great that they actually tackled the concern that Rocky was the go to crane these days, but I feel that this episode is a prime example that not all characters are made to be in the starring role.

Jerome and Judy are great as supporting or background characters, but bringing them to the forefront exposed their biggest problem: besides them wanting to be helpful in emergencies, they really don't have any character. And the fact they were left to their own devices rather than being paired up with another character made that even clearer.

Because of that, the episode seems to drag so much. It's just incredibly dull, and in an era where the writers have done what they can to add as much humour and as many colourful characters as possible, that's a real shame.

And while, yes, they did tackle the concern of Rocky taking over, it was only really at the start and the end of the episode, while the rest was just them being taken to random locations and realising some sights aren't what they're cracked up to be. And while that's fine, maybe putting more emphasis on them finding work would've been a better angle to take? Sure it's not really original, but it would have been more entertaining and fitting since they could make the littlest problems seem like a big deal which, to them, it would be.

Instead, we only have one rescue. To be fair, it was a funny predicament (Daisy never fails to entertain this series), but more could definitely have been done for them to prove themselves.

Also, this joke is just atrocious. Fans have complained about the truck's joke in the Journey Beyond Sodor trailer/extended clip on the official YouTube channel, but that has some context and truth behind it so it worked a lot better. This just came out of nowhere and served no real purpose other than grabbing the lowest hanging humour branch, which is a real disappointment considering how funny the show can be, sometimes without even trying.

To be fair though, I think the moral salvages things a bit, and is definitely the best part of the episode. It's one that kids can relate to, and one that they really need to learn. And I think it would benefit some older viewers as well, especially if you're going somewhere you don't know.

Final Thoughts

This is definitely one of the more forgettable episodes of this series and the show. While the moral was fantastic and it's great that Jerome and Judy will be used more in the future, the journey was just dull. With a few more character interactions and more of an emphasis on rescues, there could've been something interesting. Instead, we got a story that's bare boned and two characters that are just really flat with the inability to carry an episode alone.

Episode Ratings

Sidney Sings: 8/10
Toby's New Friend: 7/10
Henry Gets the Express: 10/10
Diesel & the Ducklings: 8/10
Bradford the Brake Van: 9/10
The Christmas Coffeepot: 7/10
Over the Hill: 9/10
Love Me Tender: 10/10
The Railcar and the Coaches: 10/10
Letters to Santa: 9/10
Saving Time: 0/10
Ryan & Daisy: 10/10
Pouty James: 2/10
Blown Away: 10/10
The Way She Does It: 9/10
Engine of the Future: -2/10
Henry in the Dark: 9/10
The Missing Breakdown Train: 3/10

Series Rating (so far)

128/180