Saturday, 17 January 2015

Series 18: Samson Sent for Scrap

And we come to the final episode of the series. The Afternoon Tea Express ended series 17 with a whimper, but let's see how Samson Sent for Scrap does for this series!


I'm not prepared to sugar coat anything: this episode is my least favourite of the series, and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth knowing it was the finale. And it's a shame, because the rest of the series has been top notch, for the most part.

For me, the majority of the problems can be attributed solely to how Samson was written. Yes, I get that he's proud and stubborn, but there's a difference between stubbornness and stupidity, and he crosses that line completely here. Trying to reverse into the wall of the Steamworks in an attempt to get out (despite probably knowing that he couldn't) is one thing, but thinking a car and a bike that look new are junk? That cannot be defended. He suffers no consequences for his actions, either. This is a prime example of character flanderisation, and if it continues, I dread to think how dark the road Samson takes will be.

Actually, that brings me on to my next problem: the animation lets this episode down. If they wanted Samson to think that the bike and car were junk, fine. I'm all on board with that. But the car (discounting the puncture) and the bike look brand new! They could have given the car and bike a few dents, maybe a few paint chips. It wouldn't have made Samson look an idiot and the conflict would have been stronger and more believable. Also, how did Harvey get the car in the truck? And why did no one object to putting the car and the bike in the truck?

Another problem is the end, where Reg was getting ready to scrap the contents of Samson's truck. Remember I mentioned "suspension of disbelief" in the Emily Saves the World review? Yeah, this is something I really cannot believe. In The Perfect Gift, Reg threw an old Christmas tree in the chipper without any second thoughts. Here, not only is he willing to scrap a car and bike that look brand new, but they're building up to it. Not only is it unbelievable, it's incredibly clichéd.

The final big problem is that it's so repetitive. Even the dialogue felt repetitive at points. This is actually one of the few episodes that felt like the Sam Barlow era was still lingering around. Again, I'm not saying the show will revert to those times, but the team really need to consider which formula to use. I'm all for merging old with new, but not in this way.

Scruff's appearance... confused me. It's nice to see him again, but why put him on scrap duty when it was clearly shown that he was struggling to get the job done? The trucks didn't really look very heavy either. The animators put so much effort into making us wonder why he was picked to deal with the scrap when he was straining with his load long before he reached the scrap yard! This is, again, a prime example of contrivance. Also, how did they fix his gasket in one day? You'd think it would be a sizeable job that took more than a day to complete. Lack of transitions really do make this story feel jarring (I know Tale of the Brave has problems with transitions as well, but at least the story it told was much stronger in other areas).

In fact, using transitions would make this story work rather well. Samson and Harvey could have been on scrap duty for a few days. After feeling proud of the good work he'd done, Samson gets carried away and decides to scrap the bike, bus stop and car when he comes across them. The story would have progressed better (if still a bit repetitive) and Samson's stubbornness would have been easier to buy, rather than him feeling flanderised.

I think the only thing I can truly say I liked was Harvey's performance, but even that had to fall flat eventually. I can understand why he was nervous around Samson; his pride and stubbornness can be intimidating. And yes, he's a good foil for Samson's stubbornness. But this could have been his time to stand up for himself and be counted, but nope... I do hope they raise his confidence in future episodes, because this could start getting really old, really quickly otherwise.

The voice acting though was brilliant, as was the Fat Controller's scene with his car. I'm not sure whether he's just extremely relieved knowing his car is safe or that he's expressing some desires he's had hidden for a few years..!

Fan Reaction




The Mad Controller's Corner


Final Thoughts
While The Afternoon Tea Express was a disappointment, this was a real letdown. It has similar problems to Signals Crossed, which is ironic since they were both written by the same people. But while that would have been great with a few tweaks, this would have been great with a lot of tweaking, with the problems here pushing it in to bad territory. The team did such a good job with Samson's character, but they blew it all sky high with this one.

Episode Ratings

Final (Running Total) Score
189/260
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Friday, 16 January 2015

Series 18: Emily Saves the World

This should be fun! Here's my thoughts on the fifth Dinos and Discoveries episode, Emily Saves the World!


On paper, I should hate this episode. It defies the laws of physics a couple of times, the globe travels from wherever that huge bridge is located to Brendam Docks. It's a cross between Rusty and the Boulder and Percy and the Magic Carpet. This episode was doomed to fail!

Yet... I like it. Quite a bit. OK, I don't love it by any stretch, but I still think it's really enjoyable. And that's down to three words: suspension of disbelief. Rusty and the Boulder failed to keep this as the boulder magically went behind Rusty somehow and it caused a shed to burst into flames when it (the shed) was destroyed. Thomas the Jet Engine (which was referenced here) failed because going at that speed would have caused a train, in reality, to derail. And Percy and the Magic Carpet failed as there are no magical elements on Sodor, bar paid magicians.

Here, though, I could believe that the majority of what happened was possible. Key words: the majority. One of the things I can't believe is engines magically choosing which way to go of their own accord. The episode also shows that there is a huge gantry signalbox with a signalman in it further down the line! It's spewing out a contradiction, and the team really should decide by either the 19th or 20th series whether to stick to the rules of the railway or return to those days where engines could do what they wanted, because it's really starting to drive me up the wall. I don't care which it is, as long as they remain consistent.

The other things I really can't buy are the globe's movements early in the episode. It literally bounces off the flatbed, onto the brake van's roof and onto Hiro's train without either train even flinching. Even if the globe had a small mass, it still would have caused something to happen! The globe also rolls up a small grassy hill which could be put down to momentum, but it still looked odd.

And the final thing I couldn't buy was actually the same issue I had with the dinosaurs: fitting under bridges and through tunnels. The animators even had to cut to other angles at Crovan's Gate and the Steamworks to avoid the viewers seeing any texture clipping! That said, it did hit the gantry signalbox, so it's more hilariously contrived than anything.

Other than that though, the episode is pretty solid. It's relatively well paced, the interactions were great, the references did a good job tying all the eras of the show together (for better or worse) while being relevant to the plot and it did, as I've said, hold enough suspension of disbelief to make the majority of what happened feel believable.

Rubber globes, even of that size, are relatively light, I imagine. And since it was never mentioned how windy the island was that day, that may have been the cause of the globe's propulsion, with a drop in the wind causing it to stop in front of the tunnel, only for James to bump it out of the way with the wind pushing it on towards the Docks. Am I angry that some parts of the globe are inaccurate? No! Many fictional globes before this have been inaccurate, and many will be in the future.

And even though Emily was a bit of a braggart when she first had the globe on her flatbed, she was punished for it a lot sooner than many episodes from the past, which was really good. It kept things moving at a smoother pace.

But the main thing that pulled me in was the humour. Once the episode got going, it was really funny, especially when the Fat Controller wonders where Emily is when she and the globe go past behind him. It's a classic gag that worked well here.

I also quite like how they integrated Captain into the action. Sure, he was only at the Docks seemingly because the plot demanded it, but if this means he has a chance to do something significant in the future, I don't mind at all!

The animation, again, was brilliant (even though the globe changes tracks as it passes through Wellsworth). It was great to see another angle of Crovan's Gate; it looks much bigger now they've added a third standard gauge line by the the narrow gauge terminus, and I'm really looking forward to seeing more of the set in the future.

The voice acting was top notch and the music was really good too. The remix of Emily's series 8-12 theme was well done. I'd go on a limb and say it was actually better than the original.

Fan Reaction





The Mad Controller's Corner

Final Thoughts
For me, this was the "pleasant surprise" of the series. It hasn't changed my train of thought on episodes that defy the laws of realism, but as long as there's enough suspension of disbelief, and the story holds up well, I see no issue with one or two episodes like this per series, provided railway laws are adhered to. It was, overall, a pretty fun watch, and while it isn't my favourite of the series, it's earned a respectable score.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
189/250
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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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