Monday, 21 November 2016

Series 20: Saving Time

After the last two DVD releases, I thought my work was done for the year. But Channel 5 threw a spanner in the works by announcing a week of five new episodes! Considering series 19's farcical schedule, this took me by surprise, but it's great that they're releasing new episodes steadily and consistently. So, let's stop wasting time and start Saving Time!


I don't like Samson. At all. The team had the perfect opportunity to introduce a character that they could actually develop during his episodes in series 18, yet he remained unaltered throughout and became a one note annoyance. That said, I was willing to give him a second chance, especially after Bradford the Brake Van, which introduced a character that could've reined his behaviour in a bit.

And to my frustration, he's just the same now as he was back then. I'm honestly getting sick of the lack of character development in the current era. Granted this hasn't always been the case; classic characters like Henry and Toby have developed so much that they feel like their old selves again, and Marion is one of the most rounded characters they've introduced.

I'm also not saying that characters need to change so much that they're unrecognisable from the episode they debuted in; they still need flaws to create conflicts after all. But the fact of the matter is this: James and Gordon feel very one note during this era especially, and Samson's going in the exact same direction already (well, he was already there by the time Samson Sent for Scrap ended, but after being absent for a series, I'd hoped for some improvement with the character).

You'll notice I haven't talked about the episode all that much. There's a very good reason why: it's boring. In fact, it's one of the most boring episodes this team has ever written. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for slice of life episodes, but at least make them engaging and fun. This just feels as though there's no heart in it whatsoever.

Remember Fish? Not the superb one from 1995 but the mediocre one from 2004? Yeah, this is that, only worse. At least when Thomas learned his lesson, he didn't try and turn it into one big joke and actually did the job he was told to do. If you're going to produce a moral for a show, keep the jokes and the actual message apart! It just makes the whole endeavour pointless and sends kids mixed signals.

Fish also gave us a rather good crash, despite being slowed down. This gave us yet another scene with a near collision. Can we just stop with scenes like this? It was fine in Toad's Adventure when we thought there would be a huge crash as it was the first time the team had done that sort of thing. But that set a precedent, and when scenes like that are repeated over and over again, there's no tension there as we know that all will be well.

There were some good points, though. Thomas was great here, and the fact they didn't excuse his appearance was even better. Yes, I'd prefer him on his branch, but if the role suits him, I'm fine with that as well. His cheekiness played off Samson's pride and stubbornness really well and I'm glad that Andrew hasn't forgotten that side of him.

I also like that other narrow gauge engines showed a bit of character, too. It didn't save the episode at all and Sir Handel is still rather bland compared to what he was in series 4 (and is in the books), but at least it's something.

Also, anyone else think that Peter Sam feels younger now in terms of personality? It's great. The one thing that disappoints me though is that all of these short appearances makes me yearn for another narrow gauge based episode or two. Knowing they aren't forgotten is nice, but knowing they're capable of carrying an episode on their own (but not being given that chance) is rather sad.

Fan Reaction






The Mad Controller's Corner

Final Thoughts
Andrew Brenner is fast becoming one of my least favourite writers on the show. Sure, three of his four solo specials have been great, The Adventure Begins was superb and he has written some good episodes here and there. But his bad episode count is building up frighteningly quickly, and this can be added to that tally. An unoriginal story written in the most forgettable, boring way and a frustrating main character combine to make this one a real slog to sit through.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
87/110
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

Series 20: Letters to Santa

And the final festive episode of series 20 has arrived. I'll be honest, this has been my favourite bunch of Christmas episodes of the lot. There's only one that I thought was weak, but even that was full of the heart that we've come to expect from the show these days. But will Letters to Santa continue the team's strong performance this series or will we see our first blip?


How long has it been since we've seen Percy and Harold interact with each other? About 14 years? That's what makes the whole episode feel rather special, unlike Thomas and Bertie episodes of which we've had so many, it's reached the point where I'm starting to think that that's the only thing they can think of doing with the bus.

I'll get it out of the way now: the Percy & Harold flashback was wonderfully done. The fact that the animators and director decided to base the race on Railway Series illustrations rather than the TV series episode was surprising, yet fantastic. Despite all the nonsense that fans have had to put up with this year, it's little things like this that show that the team do care about the house that the Awdrys built and want to respect it as much as they can.

The dynamic between Percy and Harold is great, too. It's similar to Thomas and Bertie's, as has always been the case if we're completely honest with ourselves, but there are more opportunities for different stories as Harold can go anywhere. Granted the only thing that's been done since series 2 is "they're competing for the mail run", but adding the snow, like they added the faulty signal in A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter, made the conflict stronger between them.

However, this episode's biggest strength is the execution of the moral. Looking back, I was far too generous towards The Missing Christmas Decorations; the moral was shoved down the audience's throat and its emphasis on "giving presents" was really annoying. This story, however, flowed much better, had a subtler moral execution and it just felt more heartwarming.

Oh, and it was quite clever that they used Jeremy to get the presents to the North Pole. It would've been better had the animators used a model series image to depict him (like they did with Duck on the Great Western in The Thomas Way) rather than a promotional image for one of his toys, but I suppose they had to work with what they had at the time.

The only disappointment I had was that Percy is still taking mail along the main line. It worked fine for this story, no doubt. But I think that, in future, the mail delivery system should be split up with different engines on their respective lines: Percy on the Ffarquhar branch, James and Hiro (maybe Bear if they decide to introduce him?) on the main, Duck on the Little Western and Edward or BoCo on the Wellsworth branch. It would shake things up when the team create a mail run episode, and create more opportunities than just shoving Percy into every one.

One other thing that looked awkward was Percy's mouth animations when the camera was at an angle where the snowplough was covering the lower part of his face. Either make a smaller snowplough for him or put the camera in a better position that doesn't make it feel like his mouth was moved up in a scene or two. Like Thomas' body being raised inexplicably in Thomas the Babysitter, it's a huge distraction.

Fan Reaction





Final Thoughts
Considering the whole holiday has been destroyed thanks to overexposure and commercialisation, it takes something special to get me into the Christmas spirit these days. This episode, however, did it. The heart in it was clear for all to see, the characters were fantastic and the moral was really well done, even if it's one that's been done before.

It'd be nice to see these two have another episode together, but only once in a while rather than one a year. I've said it before; having longer gaps between writing an episode that stars two characters that work well together makes it special when it happens again.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
87/100
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels:

Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Series 20: The Railcar and the Coaches

I think this episode's information confused fans a bit. How could Daisy, Annie and Clarabel interact if the railcar was sent to the new Harwick branch with Ryan at the end of Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure? Well, now we know. But will The Railcar and the Coaches be any good?


I honestly thought that Daisy had been forgotten about after Calling All Engines!. The fact that she was used there, then instantly dropped, was really disappointing. And the less said about the way Britt Allcroft treated her, the better.

And then Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure came along. Yes, it was a few seconds of fan service, but it raised my hopes that finally someone had come along to treat her right and actually give her some attention. The fact that she was on the Harwick extension with Ryan was a bonus as it meant that she wouldn't be overshadowed any longer.

To my absolute delight, this episode proved that my faith in this team was spot on. Sure, episode quality has been inconsistent this year, but they've never gone wrong with the classic characters they've brought back, and Daisy is no exception. From the first shot she's in, you can tell immediately that she's rather arrogant and snobby, and as the episode progresses, it's portrayed perfectly how snobby she can be. It's absolutely fantastic, and highly entertaining.

Oh, and can I just say that Tracy-Ann Oberman was the perfect casting choice for her? She nails the character beautifully, and her performance makes the whole episode a joy to watch. I honestly don't think anyone else could've voiced her as well as Tracy Ann did, and I'm excited to hear more from her in the future.

Surprisingly though, the characters that stood out alongside Daisy were Annie and Clarabel. I said that Over the Hill was an episode I didn't know I wanted until we got it. Well this version of Annie and Clarabel was also something I didn't know I wanted. But now we have it, I want more. We've seen so often throughout the years how much of an influence they are on Thomas, so to see how much he has influenced them was brilliant. It gives the coaches a bit of depth and, again, I'd love to see more (if they can find another way to bring this side out of them).

It was also rather refreshing to see rolling stock punished for once. I don't think we've seen that since Toad Stands By, and even then S. C. Ruffey was rebuilt at the end of it (which is a stupid ending if you consider the original, but I digress). I know it was to be expected - characters usually do get punished for their misdemeanours these days - but you never really imagine coaches misbehaving and being punished for it.

Also, that ending will never not be funny. Whoever thought it was a good idea to have the two coaches pulled by Diesel is an evil genius and I love them for it. It was so unexpected in all the right ways, and his line was delivered brilliantly. I wasn't really sure about Kerry Shale voicing Diesel when he debuted in Tickled Pink, but now I can't imagine him being voiced by anyone else. He gets the character so well (and Sharon Miller's voice directing helps).

If I had to pick a flaw, it's probably with the moral. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good moral and it was executed well, but... it's nothing new. Granted, it's not as abused as much as the "work as a team" one, but it was still used in Thomas & the Emergency Cable two years ago. Considering they did what they could to make it feel fresh and different though, it's a huge nitpick.

Fan Reaction





Final Thoughts
When the only drawback I can think of is "the moral's been done before", they've done something right. The episode was an absolute joy to sit through. The characters were fantastic, the moral was still great (and was executed in a unique enough way from Thomas & the Emergency Cable) and the ending is one of the funniest of the show. I really couldn't ask for more. It was a terrific return for Daisy and I hope the team do more with her in the future.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
78/90
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Monday, 7 November 2016

Series 20: Love Me Tender

First off, I will never know why they turned to Elvis Presley for episode titles for a preschool show. Second, Donald and Douglas in a winter themed episode. How long has it been since we've seen that? It's fair to say that this information alone made fans excited for what was to come, but could Love Me Tender live up to expectations?


I regret not putting Donald and Douglas on my favourite characters list. They were honourable mentions, yes, but that was it. The reasons I didn't put them higher originally were a) fans going crazy for them (it reached a point where I ended up resenting the characters) and b) a fear of thinking I'd be too biased towards the era of characters I grew up with when there are some great ones that the current team have created. This episode, however, reminded me that they needed something more than that.

I know I've said it twice already for two different episodes, but this is probably the best one that's been written so far. Yes, it's a wintry version of Twin Trouble - even outright copying lines of dialogue - but unlike The Other Side of the Mountain, this didn't outright copy the episode it's based on. It took the basic elements from the former and made them better. It beautifully showcased how amazing these two can be, and you're easily able to tell them apart as each twin has their own distinctive traits (unlike Bill and Ben who have the exact same ones).

First off, the additional run-time that episodes have currently allows the team to add more depth to the conflict by taking their time to build it up. That's not to say that the 4 minute 30 second limit was bad; a lot of my favourite episodes had that run-time and it was very impressive the stories they were able to squeeze in to that extremely limited time frame. But the simple fact is that the longer you have to work with, the more you can add to the plot (in theory).

Second is that, unlike Twin Trouble, the twins didn't decide to work apart. They disagreed so much about which lines were most important to clear that Douglas' tender came uncoupled and Donald just decided to work with what had happened, leaving his brother (I love that they were referred to as brothers, by the way) high and dry.

With the differences between this and Twin Trouble out of the way, the positives of the episode in its own right. The biggest of which is the heart in the story. You can tell that, when push comes to shove, Donald and Douglas care deeply for each other, and didn't need a certain Pannier tank engine to settle one of their arguments. The whole thing seems more genuine.

Yes, some could say that Donald changes his attitude too fast, but when you have a family (or close friend) and discover that they're in trouble, you realise that there are more important things than dwelling on a petty squabble. Unless the family member in question really is that bad.

I also loved Toby's appearance. Not only was he used to make the point that it was important to clear the main line (even though it was also important to clear the line to the rescue centre), but he's the go between for the twins. Unlike Duck, who actually tells the twins how to react, Toby just reacts to what's happening without sticking his oar in.

Thomas, however, was kinda useless. Sure he told Donald that he had Douglas' tender, but so could anyone. He felt rather shoehorned in here, and the plot would've remained the same had Edward or Henry been in the exact same role.

One other oddity is them having Rob Rackstraw voice Donald. That's not to say he's a bad voice actor, but he sounds so similar to Toby. Why not just have both voiced by Joe Mills? Jonathan Broadbent showed that you can have one actor voice twins (Bill and Ben) brilliantly, and Joe did a great solo job in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, so... why the change?

Fan Reaction





Final Thoughts
It's funny how a writer can go from writing my least favourite episode ever to my most favourite in such a short time. I'm also quite glad, as I really do think Davey is a good writer, so knowing he wrote Rocky Rescue was a real disappointment. He's proven that he can nail old and new characters and create some really fun, entertaining stories. Heck, he made an episode with Charlie in it and it wasn't abysmal!

For me though, this episode was, by far, his most heartfelt, and he told the story he wanted to tell beautifully. The moral was one of the best of the CG era, the characters were at their strongest and the voice acing did an excellent job at making Donald and Douglas feel like different characters.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
68/80
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Tuesday, 1 November 2016

Series 20: Over the Hill

Glynn's story continues today. With yesterday's trope filled, yet rather endearing, offering being my least favourite offering from Helen Farrall, what will she bring to the table here? Let's find out! Here are my thoughts on Over the Hill!


I'll be honest, the racing theme for this year had left me feeling bored and frustrated by the entire concept very quickly. I know they were trying to cash in on the Rio Olympics, but they needn't have been so transparent with it through the lacklustre storytelling. Besides which, it all felt like was an excuse to create something "fast paced" without putting much effort into anything else, reaching its nadir with The Great Race; the dictionary definition of "wasted potential".

I also wasn't that interested in Glynn. His half minute appearance in The Adventure Begins was fine, and his return in The Christmas Coffeepot was more a case of overhauling him than showcasing his character, but that was about it in terms of appeal for me.

But then this comes along, and produces the most entertaining race episode since The Tortoise and the Hare from The Pack's spin-off, as well as a rather endearing, fun character for the once forgotten coffeepot. His dynamic with Stephen was brilliant, and I'm really glad that they're both working at the castle so we can see more of that in action.

Speaking of The Rocket, his jealousy here makes a lot of sense, and I like that the team have given him a character flaw. As far as we know, Stephen hasn't had anyone to really "threaten" his position and friendship with the Earl. But a unique, old design like Glynn? Of course he'd feel this way; he was the only "heritage" engine up to this point. Also, his annoyance at Glynn knowing about the Rainhill Trial makes sense, too. To Stephen, Glynn is a show off who thinks he knows it all. Jealousy makes you think in different ways than you normally would.

It's not just those two. Millie gets a great little role, and proves why she should be given more of a chance to shine. I love how she tried to stir things between the two, and it made me think of what she'd be capable of if given more time with the other narrow (or standard) gauge engines. Of course, they'd have to think of a reason why she'd be away from Ulfstead Castle, or for them to visit the castle, but it'd be brilliant!

James and Gordon played their part well, too. It is rather typical, played out stuff for their characters, but it still works well and they changed it up enough to make it feel a bit different.

Chris Renshaw also needs some major kudos for making the episode as fun as it was. I don't usually bring up the music anymore, but composing a variation of Eye of the Tiger before the race, then composing an "old men plodding along" style track once it starts provided the funniest moment of the whole thing, and possibly one of the funniest moments of the whole show. It was brilliant work from him, the editor and the director.

The only slight issue I have is that the story takes a while to get going. It's not a huge deal as the first part builds the main dynamic brilliantly, but it does still take around 4 or 5 minutes to get to the race that the episode descriptions mention.

Fan Reaction





Final Thoughts
This was an episode I didn't know I wanted. But now that it's here, it's one of my absolute favourites. Every character in it has some great moments, the story is fantastic and the whole two-parter has set a great foundation for future events, especially the new railway museum.

Episode Ratings

Series Rating (so far)
58/70
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Monday, 31 October 2016

Series 20: The Christmas Coffeepot

Well this is a surprise! Granted, it's a bit odd that they're releasing Christmas episodes on a non-festive DVD, but at least the UK doesn't have to wait that long for them, with the next three being released next week! But let's focus on the two released now first, and it seems they both involve Glynn the Coffeepot. An interesting idea since I'd written him off as a character whose only purpose was to pass the torch to Thomas. But how does his return in The Christmas Coffeepot fare?


So this was a... fairly weak one, to be honest. It's definitely my least favourite that Helen Farrall has written, but it's not an episode that I dislike. The fact that this is her weakest is more a testament to how good of a writer she is and how well she understands the characters.

And when I say that, I include Marion's portrayal here. If I complained about her character here, I'd have to do the same with her portrayal in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure where she thought that there was only one Oliver on the island and the small engines were changing their appearance with magic. Her imagination has been known to run away from her at times, and the fact that Glynn was so well concealed behind the trees made her "this tree can talk" mindset a lot more believable.

Also, for anyone wondering how she can be so quick to jump to weird conclusions in two episodes and a special while still managing to control Bill and Ben, the answer is simple: she's used to them. Seeing huge dinosaur statues, miniature engines and a voice coming from behind a small forest of trees is something she doesn't see every day; they can catch you off guard very easily. Meanwhile, she's with Bill and Ben quite often, so it's a lot easier to build up the right attitude around them, especially when they play their tricks.

One funny moment, and one that felt very classic era-esque was that Thomas, Annie, Clarabel and Henrietta teased her for thinking that a tree could talk. It is a ridiculous thing for someone to say, and it makes more sense for characters to mock Marion than appease her. More of that in the future would be lovely.

One other thing I'd love to see more of is these three together in a scene and/or episode or two in the future. I'm not gonna lie: not even I am immune to nostalgia, and this is a prime example of what gets me going. Sure, it had little to do with the story, but it made me happy, and that's what entertainment is made to do: make people happy.

An interesting element that this brought up was the Eail mentioning that he will be adding a railway museum to the castle grounds. I honestly would've had it at either Vicarstown, Knapford or Tidmouth as those three are the biggest towns on the island. But considering the Earl seems interested in history, it makes sense that he'd build it near Ulfstead. I'm looking forward to how this develops over the next few months.

I also like how they explained why Glynn was absent from the siding in Lost Treasure and series 19... kind of. It was relatively fine, but how did no one tell the Fat Controller that the engine that he helped to build had been found rather than move him from siding to siding just... because?

And that brings me onto my biggest problem: why did Thomas and Percy think that Glynn would be scrapped? This trope has gotten really old since Squeak, Rattle and Roll 12 years ago, and here it's even more nonsensical as they should both know (thanks to what happened with Hiro) that the Fat Controller wouldn't scrap him, so that whole part felt really pointless. Maybe if they'd reassured Glynn that everything would be alright, or if they'd taken him to see Sir Topham while Glynn worried about his fate, it would've felt a bit more original and made more sense.

As for the Fat Controller, this is just a weird point that I wanted to pick up on. It's one that was odd in The Adventure Begins but I'll mention it here: do the humans actually age in the show? If not, how do they stay the same age for so long? If so, how did the Sir Topham from the present day help build Glynn? As bad as Happy Birthday Sir! was, at least it gave a good indication that Sir Topham was just a regular person ageing normally, but now it's been forgotten about entirely. I honestly think it would've been better if they'd said his father had built Glynn, and the current Sir Topham had heard stories from him about the coffeepot he'd helped to build.

One weird, and disappointing, scene is the one where Thomas sees Glynn for the first time in years... and acts like it's no big deal. He had more of a reaction to seeing Gator again in Long Lost Friend and they interacted for a similar amount of time in Tale of the Brave as Thomas and Glynn did. Heck, Thomas was more excited around Hiro in series 19, and they interact fairly regularly! Considering the responsibility that Thomas took on, and the fact that Glynn just disappeared after TAB, I think it would've been nicer, and more heart-warming, had Thomas shown more emotion that just saying "oh, you're that coffeepot engine I replaced." 

Another disappointment is Glynn's voice. Sure, he sounded like Skarloey in The Adventure Begins, but I was rather hoping that we'd get a new performer for him to make him sound a bit different, but nope. This voice is here to stay. It's OK, but you can't help seeing Skarloey in your mind whenever he speaks.

Fan Reaction





Final Thoughts
All in all, this episode is heavily flawed, and definitely Helen's weakest episode so far. But there's something about it that makes me like it regardless. Its heart is in the right place, Marion's as entertaining as ever and it's nice that they've actually found a place for Glynn. It's just a shame that the story surrounding his overhaul is rather convoluted and, at this stage, overdone.

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

Series Rating (so far)
49/60
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)