Thursday, 15 January 2015

Series 18: Samson At Your Service

It's that time again! Today, it's Samson at Your Service under the spotlight!


I do not judge an episode based on which supporting characters appeared in it. For me, it's the story and main character(s) that count above everything. I'm saying this because I think this episode is average, despite the fact that my second favourite character spoke for the first time since series 15.

I quite liked the story that was told here. It's a shame the conflict was really contrived, but other than that, it was really good. The fact they wrote Samson in a way where he felt he had something to prove was brilliant, and it was pretty good that they filled in the gaps that Marion and the Dinosaurs left at the start, but I'll talk about that more later.

And yes, even though it won't affect my rating of the episode. I'm so grateful to Davey Moore for giving Stanley a few lines. I truly believe that he has so much potential, and I'm hoping that this is the beginning of something relatively big, rather than just a one off.

I also quite liked how the "confusion and delay" line actually meant something here, even if it shouldn't, which brings me on to the bad points.

First off, as I've said in the Marion and the Dinosaurs review, engines cannot get lost! Even if they're new to the railway, all the drivers need to do is inform the signalmen of where the train is going, so they get the goods to their destination as smoothly as possible!

Second is the lapse in continuity with the previous stories, and this is more the animators' fault. In Marion and the Dinosaurs, Samson arrived in broad daylight, yet here he arrived as the sun rose. If you're going to tell a continuous story, or one that relies on continuity from previous ones, you need to be consistent in every aspect of the newest offering, otherwise things become very confusing!

Also, the contrivance here makes the episode very distracting. Even disregarding engines getting lost and the dinosaurs remaining built until they were delivered, why did no one check whether Samson was pulling the Express? You could make the case that they thought he'd deliver the coaches to the station, but it was explained later that Stanley had shunted them for Thomas to take to Gordon!

Speaking of that, and this is what really annoys me: why was there no contingency plan put in place in case situations like this happened? How did they cope without Express Coaches in O the Indignity? Also, where are the other coaches?! There is an abundance of red branch line coaches Gordon could've taken, James and Edward have been seen pulling bogie coaches in previous Arc animated episodes. Heck, what happened to the Slip Coaches? I highly doubt that so many passenger trains were out at the exact same time. It's possible, but it still bugs me.

The animation was great as usual, although what happened here with James baffles me. His main frames seem to be trying to escape from his chassis! There have been episodes where engines haven't been rendered correctly (see Buzzy Bees for a prime example) but this is ridiculous!

The voice acting was brilliant. I can't get enough of Samson's voice; Robert Wilfort has been doing a fantastic job in the role so far, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from him. The music was the standard fare. It was nice and very fitting.

Fan Reaction





The Mad Controller's Corner
Final Thoughts
Contrivance alone is not a bad thing, but when it becomes this distracting, it really takes the shine away from the rest of the story, especially when the contrivance go against the rules that the show established. Every little point in the first four minutes was solely included to allow the story to happen, and it wouldn't bother me as such if the team weren't intent on making the series as realistic as they could in the 20 episodes that aired on TV. It's not the worst episode, but it's definitely one of the lower quality ones this series.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
182/240
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Wednesday, 14 January 2015

Series 18: Timothy and the Rainbow Truck

Another day, another review. Here are my thoughts on Timothy and the Rainbow Truck!


So... much... filler...

Yeah, that's actually the biggest problem with this episode: half of it is completely pointless and uninteresting. This could have been cut to 4 minutes 30 and it would have been the same, maybe even better.

The scenes at the start that introduce the characters were especially unnecessary. I thought that we'd got past this need to introduce characters that kids would already know about? I'm not saying the series is taking a turn for the worse as there have been many brilliant episodes throughout the eighteenth. But this one is a real blemish.

The scene with Salty in it also felt a lot like Bill or Ben?, only on a smaller scale. Yes, it was entertaining to a degree, but we've seen it before.

And then there's Timothy's performance. It's alright, but the episode is far too repetitive for me to really enjoy it. It also feels a lot like Paxton's previous performances, only they're focusing on gullibility rather than naivety (although some would argue they're pretty similar).

What's more, there's no real incentive for Timothy to try and find a rainbow truck. The twins could have easily made up a ridiculous excuse to try and find one! It'll bring good luck, it's magic. Anything would've done! This concept was done much better in The Fairly OddParents episode The Big Bash when Cupid gathered fairies and their kids together for a "scavenger hunt" through time and space for "rule free wishes", when all they actually did was Cupid's shopping since he didn't want to get the things himself.

There are some positives though. Again, every time the twins are on screen, they are pretty entertaining. And they actually did get punished for sending Timothy on a fool's errand. Although (nitpick) wouldn't the clay pits have a manager to scold the twins rather than the Fat Controller?

I also liked how the conflict resolved itself. It was pretty unique, and it was a lot better than simply finding a rainbow coloured truck. And it did feel good to see Timothy put one over the twins after seeing how much he'd gone through.

And, as usual, I loved the animation, music and the voice acting. Timothy's Brummie accent seems to have become a bit stronger and the twins' interactions are still pretty memorable.

Fan Reaction





The Mad Controller's Corner

Final Thoughts
It says a lot about how good this series has been when its first dud appears 23 episodes in. It's full of padding, it's too repetitive and many of the scenes with Timothy on his own are pretty dull. I wouldn't say it was terrible, as there are some entertaining moments, but overall it's just... meh.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
176/230
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Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Series 18: Millie and the Volcano

Another day, another review! Yes, these are being done daily to ease the pressure on me to get them out and so I can review each Dinos and Discoveries episode as best I have done for the previous episodes of the series. Anyway, Millie and the Volcano!


I was rather surprised when I heard about this episode's title from the British Board of Film Classification's page on the DVD, especially since the book based on this episode is called Thomas and the Volcano. It was also a bit of a surprise since I'd have thought, out of all the episodes on the disc, this would have been the candidate for him to star. But he was only a cameo, and I'm glad about that, because this episode is better for it... sort of

This episode really made me connect with Millie, and it actually made me hate Rosie and Flora even more - but I digress. Whether it's due to her picking up tips from her short stint at the quarry in The Switch or because she didn't want to be belittled by a bigger engine, I love her feisty nature here.

Then there's Samson, who I can actually relate to here. I'll admit it, I hate being wrong. I'll sometimes argue that I'm right, even if I'm not, and I'll beat myself up (not literally) over something I got wrong. It's also very interesting that they're gradually introducing new aspects of his character with every appearance. His arc feels like a Railway Series book come to life in this respect.

Another thing I can relate to is Millie's attitude when Samson tried to belittle her. Yeah, I really don't like feeling belittled either, though that doesn't excuse when I do the same to others.

As for the actual plot, there's... not much to it, really. It's just Samson and Harvey helping to build the dinosaur park while Millie tries to get her own back on Samson. It's very basic, in that sense, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it was "boring".

That said, it is rather flawed. The main thing that I'm wondering is where did the volcano come from? It's stated that Samson had never been to Sodor before so he couldn't have delivered it before bringing the dinosaurs, and there wouldn't have collected it after since there wouldn't have been time to fetch it. Wouldn't it have been easier to add it to Samson's train in a few vans? It would have been more logical, and it wouldn't have created so much confusion! Oh, and a slight nitpick here, but volcanoes still exist today. They weren't exclusive to the periods of Earth's life in which dinosaurs lived.

Then, there was the fire. Why? I know the smoke coming from it would look more real, but did no one think of the consequences of what might have happened? A strong gust of wind could have torched the grass or the railway sleepers, which would have severely disrupted the Earl's plans or, worst case scenario, destroyed them completely! I wouldn't complain so much about it if it wasn't an Andrew Brenner episode. He was head writer for Fireman Sam for a period of time and he also wrote Too Many Fire Engines. There is no excuse for one of his episodes to be this lackadaisical about fires!
Also, how does the volcano actually work? That could actually have been a better way for Millie to get her own back and get some more interaction than what we had here! Off the top of my head, Millie delivers more plants and whatnot, when she sees some electricians around the site of the volcano. They tell her what they're doing and how the smoke machine (I'm guessing that's what's used) works. They reveal it hasn't been tested yet, so she gets the idea to test it on Samson and Harvey. It would have answered questions, it would have made sense, and it wouldn't have been as dangerous!

The ending with the Earl, Sir Topham and Dowager Hatt was pretty entertaining, but... that's about it. It wasn't humorous or anything, just entertaining. Maybe it's because the other characters were very strong? I don't know; it's one of those things I feel I should like more.

One thing I really found puzzling was them showing the models separate, especially since the last episode had them arranged because... reasons. Yes, I get why they were taken apart here, but why were they only taken apart here and not left separate for the actual journey?

As for the rest of the episode, it's pretty standard. The animation was spot on, the music was good and the voice actors did brilliantly. Although the groundsman sounded a bit like Salty, which was really distracting, even though he only said one line. Yes, I know Keith Wickham voiced them both, and that's the problem with having one person voicing many characters.

Fan Reaction





The Mad Controller's Corner

Final Thoughts
Millie, Samson and, to an extent, Harvey (he only wanted to fit in, so I can understand why he acted that way) had some great interactions, but this was, by far, Andrew's worst episode so far. And like other bad episodes recently, it could have so easily been fixed! Maybe it was because he wanted this out the door ASAP, I don't know, but I feel more effort should have gone into this one. A lot more.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
173/220
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Monday, 12 January 2015

Series 18: Marion and the Dinosaurs

Well, the final batch of episodes have arrived on the Dinos and Discoveries DVD, so it's time to get down to business with the final six reviews of the series, kicking off with Marion and the Dinosaurs!


I really enjoy Marion as a character because she's really interesting and well rounded. I also quite like this episode, but it's also, in my opinion, the one that has the most problems so far.

Before I get to that though, I'll get on to what I really liked. First off, I like how all of Tale of the Brave's major plot points have been expanded on this series. It's given the special more of a purpose, rather than just being a tool to introduce new characters that will feature in future series.

Marion's bragging about finding the bones was well done, too. I can forgive her forgetting that the skull had actually been discovered as it flew towards Percy after the landslide hit as boastful people usually forget the important details. Not to mention it was nice to see Toby again. And I'll get it out of the way now: his voice was much better here than in Signals Crossed.

The most interesting part though was why Marion was digging. The whole plot point was forgotten about after her running away from the dinosaur models, but I'm rather hoping it isn't just dropped completely. They could do a lot with that plot of land when it's fully dug up, unlike the one from Marion and the Pipe, where they'd have to be careful in case they did more damage to the pipeline.

The main thing I really enjoyed though was the drama. Even though they turned out to be models (see, haters? Even in the CGI era you'll be able to see models!), the dinosaurs did look pretty lifelike and intimidating, and the way they disguised Samson without using fog was brilliant.

And yes, I really liked seeing Stephen and Millie working together for once. Usually, it's either Stephen in the spotlight or Millie. I don't mind either being in the spotlight alone, but it's nice to see them together once in a while.

It is also pretty humorous. I wouldn't say it was the best for comedy, but it certainly isn't too bad.

But then we come to the bad parts, and this is probably where the episode falls apart. First is a nitpick. I'm not sure where the digging takes place, but Thomas seeing Marion there feels really contrived. Yes, I know I've brought this up a lot in my series 18 reviews, but the team is trying to convince the audience that Thomas has a branch line to run while going all around the island solely for the screen time. They can't just pick and choose like this unless they're producing an episodic show with no continuity. They need to decide whether Thomas runs a branch or not and stick with it. The scenes at Ulfstead Castle are more understandable as that does have a connection to his branch, as does Knapford Station.

And then there's the second problem: the dinosaurs themselves. They're not badly designed, they're just... huge. Throughout the episode, they're described as being "very important" to the dinosaur park, which is fair enough. But if they're so important, why were they built while in transit? Sodor has many bridges and tunnels to traverse, and while three of them might just scrape through, it would be impossible for the green one with the long neck to fit through any of them! Yeah, I know that there wouldn't have been a story if they weren't pre-built, and I wouldn't have minded if the other three were left built because they don't look tall enough to bother a bridge, but why did they leave that huge green one built?

And finally, the biggest problem. Engines can not get lost!! Signalmen are the ones who guide the engines to their destinations! The driver should have just informed them where they were going and they would pass the message on down the line so that they could get the train to its destination!

Moving on, the animation was superb as usual. There was a case of Thomas' brake van (and three trucks) going missing at one point, but the rest looked brilliant. The lighting as it shone on the dinosaurs made them seem much more intimidating and the rest was brilliant as well.

The voice acting was great as well. Olivia Colman has done a brilliant job with Marion and while her "Eek!" was a bit... weird, the rest of her performance more than made up for it. And Robert Wilfort was brilliant as Samson. While I'll get to him as a character in later reviews (since he didn't do much here), Wilfort did very well giving him a personality using only his voice.

The music was, for the most part, the standard fare, but I really liked the theme heard when MarIon first saw the dinosaurs. It built up the tension nicely, and the end of the scene, where she felt relief was really well done, too. 

Fan Reaction





The Mad Controller's Corner

Final Thoughts
If you can ignore the glaring plot holes, this is a pretty good episode. I can forgive them slightly as the drama and the rest of the plot was enough to see it through. But I just hope that these lapses are only a one off for this DVD. I have to say, after so many realistic episodes this series, it's a crying shame that they relapsed here.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
168/210
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Wednesday, 7 January 2015

31 Years of Thomas on TV

Since it's my first blog post of 2015, Happy New Year! Let's start this one off in the same fashion as I ended last year: with a (potentially) controversial post as to why I think Andrew Brenner, Ian McCue and the rest of the team are the best production team Thomas and Friends has had.

I know that some will say it's a bit unfair to compare one production team to another, as both have their own unique style. But I'm going to say it now: Andrew Brenner and Ian McCue's style is a lot more suited to Thomas and Friends than Britt Allcroft and David Mitton's was.

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for many of the things that Britt and David did; if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't know what Thomas the Tank Engine was or that a series of books were written over the course of 45 years (I was born in 1990) by an Anglican vicar and, later, his son.

But, for me, series 3 was the point where, looking back, it felt like they didn't respect the source material as much as many fans think. Only half of the episodes featured were Awdry adaptations (which, by the way, weren't as strong as Series 1 and 2's for whatever reason) and there were also stories written by Andrew Brenner, for the magazines, that Britt and David adapted that he didn't get credit for.

Series 4 got back into the swing of things - for the narrow gauge episodes at least - but that was only after the Reverend ranted about "big headed" the producers became. On a slight tangent, I'd have done the same as him. This was his creation they were handling which, after a while, you see more as a child. And to see what Thomas went through during series 3 compared to the books? Yeah, I'd be mad, too! It's actually the main reason why I decided on a series that would faithfully bring his creation to the masses properly using Trainz (when that will start, I don't know. I'm hoping on the same day as The Three Railway Engines was originally released).

Then... Series 5 and Shining Time Station: The Movie came along, which showed that they had a blatant disregard for the Reverend Awdry's creation because not only did the TV producers own the rights completely, but father Awdry had passed away, meaning they didn't need to fear his wrath, no matter what they did. And what did was completely sell out. While series 5 didn't bother following the rules the show and books established, but Shining Time Station: The Movie had the Island of Sodor and its locomotives shoehorned into the Shining Time Station universe solely to try and make the thing marketable to those outside of America. Thankfully, she left after that (well, during the production of series 7 fully), so maybe the film's failure was a blessing in disguise (and don't give me the "you haven't seen the original script" trite because, frankly, I've heard enough about it to deduce that it would have been worse. There would have been more scenes involving Shining Time and Muffle Mountain, meaning that Sodor would have felt even more shoehorned and Lady would have felt more like a plot device. Yes, out of the two scenarios, the better one was the one that was actually put to DVD. Although choosing between them is like choosing your method of death).

Series 6 and 7 seemed more like "filler" series while HiT formatted the show in the background. That's not to say the series were "bad", they were just... there. They were enjoyable episodes, but since nothing major happened in them, everyone seems to forget them.

Series 8 however was where the big changes happened, from the changes to the programming format to the change of production team. In hindsight, keeping Paul Larson and Abi Grant on as script editors (until Sharon Miller took over in series 9) was a good idea as, while the episodes weren't the best, they were still pretty good compared to... what was to come. On the whole, though, Sam Barlow's era was... really bad. There were some good episodes, including some Railway Series references (for better or worse). But the main problem was that everything was dumbed down far too much  And yeah, while they do disregard the source material for the most part, it doesn't really anger me as much as Britt's disregard as they solely adopted what series 6 and 7 had established, rather than a creator going completely against the source's vision. What I'm saying here is that Britt Allcroft caused the downfall of Thomas and Friends because, I believe, she thought she knew better than the the actual creators about their creation which... she didn't Series 5 pandered to young boys and Shining Time Station: The Movie pandered to Americans, to the point that the title is Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

Anyway, we now come to Andrew Brenner and Ian McCue's era which, as I've said, is the best one so far. Because it proves that you don't need to adapt the source material to respect its vision. Also, these bits that do mention Sodor's lore, or its map aren't contractual obligations. The do not need to do these things like Britt Allcroft and David Mitton, they're including them of their own volition! They hired a railway consultant of their own volition (and they're actually using his expertise rather than sticking his name in the credits to look good to the surviving Awdrys like a certain other team..!) and they're creating a 44 minute direct to DVD special called The Adventure Begins which, as the title seems to suggest, could give us an insight into Thomas' journey to Sodor before the Railway Series.

As for the episodes, they are of a much higher quality. They treat kids with a lot more respect by using dialogue that's akin to a Railway Series story, the plots are better thought out while suiting the characters a lot more (except one, and even that was still pretty good for the most part!) and there's a lot more heart and subtle teachings, which is what the Railway Series got right brilliantly as well.

What I love most though is that there's a great balance between old and new, and the new is implemented so naturally. New characters are more fleshed out, new locations are utilised really well and, heck, even the three strikes formula is bearable as it doesn't overpower things.

Final Thoughts
Andrew Brenner and Ian McCue get it more than any previous production team. They go above and beyond to create something special; to create something they, the fans and the Awdrys would be proud of and that, for me, is why they're my favourite team. Sure, not everyone will agree, and if you don't, fair enough. There's a lot of material from the franchise for anyone to enjoy.
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Monday, 29 December 2014

Favourite TV Series Narrators

My last blog post of the year. Let's go out with a bang, eh? Requested by someone a few months ago, here's my list of favourite TV series narrators!

Over the last 30 years, Thomas and his friends have had his adventures told by 7 people over different periods in the UK and America. So it's only fair that I rate them from least favourite to favourite!

There are only two conditions here:
  1. English speaking narrators only. The UK and US dubs are the only ones I really watch and the only ones I can understand.
  2. TV series narrators only. So if their only contributions were either narrating one off segments or Railway Series stories, they're exempt.

Least Favourite: Alec Baldwin
Out of all the American narrators of the show, he was the first one I'd (unintentionally) heard due to Shining Time Station: The Movie. His acting was terrible and his narration just felt like he was bored throughout.

This is what happens when you spend your budget in the wrong places; you hire people that only care about the money, rather than making something entertaining to sit through! (although the movie itself was a huge abomination anyway, but I digress).

But when I heard some of his work during series 5 and 6, all became clear. His performances were consistently awful; even the most action packed episodes were boring to watch. Trust me, if I'd been born in America, Rusty and the Boulder would have been given a much worse rating (although, since the Railway Series isn't as common over there, maybe it wouldn't).

Like I said, Alec Baldwin felt like he took the job for all the wrong reasons, as far as entertainment goes. I'm sure his pay cheque was pretty substantial, though...

6. Pierce Brosnan
It was a tough choice between Baldwin and Brosnan as far as bad narration is concerned, but I prefer Brosnan's performance a bit more as there seemed to be some effort there. And he only narrated one special, so fans weren't stuck with him that long.

That said, it was a bit of a shame that his schedule meant he couldn't finish his work on series 12. It would have been interesting to hear if he'd improved or not. It does make The Great Discovery a bit more special though, even though his narration was one of the major things I didn't like about it.

5. Michael Brandon
I may get a bit of stick for this, but I think Michael Brandon is the most overhated narrator the show has had. Fair enough, he wasn't the best, but at least he tried, and I respect that.

The major problem he had was trying to make awful episodes feel entertaining, which is an unenviable task for anyone. Then there was the problem of too much narration when the show went CG. I personally think that, had he actually stayed on, he'd have done a great job with the current batch of episodes.

Also, his voice for Diesel was the best of the American cast, and was one of the few that I preferred the American voice to the UK one (the others being the Logging Locos and Victor from Hero of the Rails-series 16).

4. Ringo Starr
Another controversial choice, I imagine. We go from the most hated to the most overrated, in my view.

Whenever Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends is mentioned in any conversation I've had, Ringo's name quickly follows. While it's understandable, since he was the narrator of the first two series, I just don't think he was all that good. Sure, his voice was soothing, but we're watching television, not getting ready for bed. There should have been more enthusiasm there.

To be fair though, he was far better in series 2, where he picked up his game. And he also did really well reading the Ladybird book adaptations. That's where the soothing voice makes a lot more sense, as they can be listened to before bed and his narration would help a child settle down.

On the whole though, I don't think he was brilliant or terrible. More middle of the road, really. Fitting, isn't it?

3. George Carlin
You would have thought that someone who produces such risqué performances on stage in front of thousands of adults couldn't produce one that was suitable for kids.

You'd be wrong.

Since I'm British, I never knew of George Carlin growing up, but after getting the Internet and seeing his performances via YouTube, I grew attached (even if I'd say otherwise). He was, hands down, the best exclusive narrator that America had because he had the whole package.

He gave the engines distinctive voices. His charisma shone through with every episode. He was just a brilliant narrator overall. It was a crying shame that he was replaced for series 5, and his passing in 2008 was extremely sad. You'll always be missed, George...

2. Michael Angelis
I was born in 1990. I grew up during the "peak" of Thomas' television career. I hate series 3-5, but if there's one thing I couldn't hate about those episodes, it was Michael Angelis' superb narration.

For me, he's the most undervalued narrator the show has had. While, yes, his performances took a bit of a nosedive between series 8-12, his other performances were top drawer (even if he was used too much in the CG era).

The main thing I loved about his narration was that, from his first lines in A Scarf for Percy, he got it. He understood how to tell a story for television audiences fantastically and he was just a joy to listen to. Even in my most disliked episodes from his (series 3-5) stint, I can't hate his narrations.

The main thing is that I respect him for staying on for 21 years, despite being replaced. Twice. The dedication he had to the franchise was, in my view, second to none, narrating not just for the TV series, but for many audiobooks, including The Railway Stories. For that, I have a huge respect for him because of that, and I was disappointed to hear that he'd gone, but I was amazed by his replacement..!

Favourite: Mark Moraghan
Yes, he's only narrated two series and specials so far. Yes, the role of narrator is (rightly) limited now that the new team are in charge, but I absolutely love Mark Moraghan's performances.

My first experience seeing Mark Moraghan on screen was on British football drama Dream Team, which aired on Sky One dirung my teenage years. And while the show itself got a bit stale as it went on, the series where Mark played the manager were my favourites because everyone did a brilliant job in the roles they were in (especially him).

So to hear that he was going to narrate the show I've loved for my whole life was a dream combination for me and, thankfully, his performances have been absolutely amazing so far. As I've said, the narrator's role has been trimmed quite a bit in recent years, but he puts his all into every line, and because his role is relatively small, I can appreciate it so much more when he speaks.

Here's hoping that Mark can build further on Michael's legacy while continuing to carve out his own!

Have a happy new year, and I'll be back with the Thomas reviews on Tuesday Janiary 13th (unless something suddenly crops up between now and then!) Until then, if you wish to share your thoughts, feel free in the comments below or on Twitter @ChrisTomson2013!
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