Australia is airing season 22 as well, but they’re airing different episodes than the UK (we got the God awful Bollywood episode). So rather than leave your Monday empty, I’m going to review the episode Australia aired today since it’s also been uploaded to YouTube: Samson & the Fireworks!
I’ve not been the biggest fan of Samson’s episodes in the past. The writers have always seemed to laser focus on his stubbornness and how many shenanigans that could cause. But the last two episodes he starred in have been frustrating and boring to watch since the former made him look stupid and nothing happened in the latter.
Thankfully, this changed that. Instead, they focused on Samson’s fear: sudden loud noises. And it made his best episode to date (granted, the bar wasn’t that high, but still).
The story played out really well. The pacing was tight and the characters were entertaining throughout. Plus, they focused on a fear that a lot of children can really understand and identify with. And that makes the conflict worth investing in.
Adding the fog detonators was a great touch. It really hammered home how flustered Samson gets when he’s scared (Bradford’s hilarious, deadpan reaction to the situation really helped).
The theme was well handled as well. Facing fears and battling on is a great theme for kids to learn, and out of all the episodes to teach it (Wharf and Peace, The Old Bridge among a few others), this was definitely one of the better ones.
The only real downside isn’t with the episode, but it is one the episode highlighted. It seems like Rebecca is getting a lot more focus in episodes than Nia so far. Sure, Nia co-starred in the latest film, but... what has she done since? One minor role in Forever and Ever and a couple of meaningless cameos. Meanwhile, Rebecca has had two starring roles and a few cameos here, even being one of the engines at the fireworks display.
I don’t know whether it’s because they’re scared of screwing Nia up or, worse, they have no ideas for her. If it’s the former, maybe hiring a female of colour as a writer could help? The writing team could do with being more diverse (only one woman has written an episode so far, and Helen Farrell left after last season). If it’s the latter... what was the point of including her in the first place?
Final Thoughts
It’s tough to talk about an episode that does pretty much everything well. But this was a really fun one with great characters and a fantastic message. It is a shame about Nia, and it’s disappointing that we didn’t go to the Blue Mountain Quarry. But it’s easy to focus on what the episode doesn’t have. What it does have is fine storytelling, and that’s all that matters.
Rating: Great (9/10)
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