My expectations of Thomas' future and my thoughts on the series right now

Alright. For sometime now, I've been thinking about talking about what Thomas' 20th season was like and what I hope for Thomas' future.

First of all, I would like to say that Season 20 has been such a brilliant season. All I will say is it was better than Seasons 17 and 19, but no better than Season 18. I mean sure Season 20 has a lot of brilliant episodes, but there were the occasional duds here and there, such as Pouty James (Which I'd just reviewed) and 3 Steam Engines Gruff (Which I'll review another day). All I will say is Hugo was an okay character, but I wish he was given a reason as to why he came to Sodor in the first place. Also, Bradford was a very interesting character and a nice reason to make Samson more likable.

But there's only one problem a lot of us, including yours truly, are having with the series now. Not just the fact they're introducing a large number of engines in almost every special, of course after Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure introduced the Arlesdale engines, I hoped they'd only introduce Railway Series characters, but also, another problem with the series is a certain star-billing spoilt brat painted in a vibrant blue with a yellow number 1 painted on his panels. That's right. Thomas got unnecessary screen time throughout Season 20. I was hoping that Season 20 would have at least one episode where Thomas didn't appear at all! I was hoping it'd only happen in Season 19 since 2015 was the franchise's 70th anniversary. But no. They had to include him in every episode of Season 20!

Mattel is not the only one I blame because they want to make the franchise look cooler, but I'm blaming those soccermums who should just LIGHTEN THE HELL UP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!! God!


Here are my hopes for Season 21 and the upcoming Journey Beyond Sodor. I read that they're introducing another American engine named Lexi. Really? Thomas is a British franchise for crying out loud! But then again, they are introducing British engines like Hurricane, Theo, Merlin and Frankie. Hopefully this special will turn out better than The Great Race, to which looking back, was just weak in a few places.

Let me explain another elephant in the room. Yes, I've heard about Rosie, and yes, I've checked out her red livery with NWR painted in yellow. At first I was a bit biased toward it, but looking at it now, it looks nice. Hopefully Season 21 will have a story explaining why Rosie got this livery.

Other things I hope for Season 21:

-Returning characters like Boco, Terence, Arthur and Duke. Because Season 20 didn't bring back any old characters, just those who returned in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.

-More Railway Series characters like Bear, 199 and the Mountain Engines. With Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure bringing in Mike, Rex, Bert and the Rev W. Awdry to TV as well as Season 20 bringing in Teddy Boston, I expect more Railway Series characters.

-More adaptations of The Railway Series like Mountain Engine, Bad Lookout and Super Rescue.


-Character development. No flanderising any classic characters.


-Don't introduce too many new standard gauge engines. Really? Has Sodor become a galaxy all of a sudden? You can still introduce some narrow gauge and small gauge engines since we still have too few of those.

And most of all:

-NO MORE SHOEHORNING THOMAS IN PLACES HE'S NOT NEEDED! Because Thomas' screen time in Season 20 was unnecessary. Not to mention Love Me Tender where Douglas said "We shood clear the lane for Thomas." Thomas?! HE'S NOT A MAIN LINE ENGINE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! He's a branch line engine!

And another thing, for all you soccermums out there, THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN! Life is precious! You should teach your children that life is precious and worth living instead of trying to make everything so sugar-coated!


Now, another thing I hope for in the future of Thomas. Don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way, but I hope that in a few years time, Thomas and Friends will come to an end. It's not that I don't like the series now, but it's been on for over 30 years now.

And if Thomas does come to an end, I hope it ends on a high note, like in the last Railway Series book unveiling the Thin Clergyman's bust, and the prince saying "There will never be anything like it anywhere." That was a decent way to end the books.

Even so, the franchise exists for money. Look, you can still keep the franchise alive with its legacy. Why do you think Thomas Land exists in Japan, UK and America? I mean in 2015, Phineas and Ferb ended, and the legacy of that show is still going on. Last year, Gravity Falls and Wander Over Yonder ended, and the legacies of those 2 shows are still continuing to this day, and a couple of months ago, Regular Show ended, and I can see the legacy of that continuing, sometime this year, Harvey Beaks will end, and its legacy will continue even when it does, and I read that next year, Adventure Time will be ending, and even when it does, its legacy will be going on. You see, lots of shows that have ended still have their legacies going on.

I mean Thomas has been going on for so long. I'm only saying it should end soon because it's been on for so long, who knows when it'll conclude? Also, lots of shows have reached their shelves, such as The Simpsons, Arthur, Pokémon, South Park, Spongebob Squarepants, and don't even start me on Family Guy! That show's been hell nowadays!

So those are my thoughts and hopes for Thomas' future. But when I said the show should end, don't take it the wrong way. Tell me what you think and hope for Thomas' future.

TTTE S20 ep: Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks

Alright. I am up for another review on Thomas and Friends. Another one from Season 20.

(Special thanks to TTTE Wikia for the image)

Buckled Tracks & Bumpy Trucks/Buckled Tracks & Bumpy Cars.
Written by: Lee Pressman.
Aired: CAN: 16 January 2017.

It's the hottest day of the year on Sodor and the sun is causing any dry brush to catch fire. Meanwhile, Dowager Hatt arrives with Thomas to present a gift to cool off the Fat Controller: a safari hat to replace his top hat, to his chagrin. Elsewhere, a set of tracks becomes warped from the intense heat and causes Whiff to lose some rubbish from his trucks and a small bottle to drop, which causes a fire near the track. Luckily, Flynn is able to reach the fire when Belle derails from the same buckled track. Although he considers the problem a continuous nuisance, Sir Topham Hatt admits his new hat worked to keep him cool, which inspires Thomas to find a solution for the bent rails.

Well, this episode is home to some of the funniest puns and jokes ever heard in the entire Thomas franchise. Especially when Dowager gives her son a white hat that makes him "look as though I'm going on safari!"

Let's not forget one thing I was hoping for when I realised how much Gordon the Big Engine says "Oh, the indignity!" Fat Controller says the same thing!

Fat Controller: "Oh, the indignity!"
Gordon: "That's my line!"

This line was hilarious.

Let's not forget the moment where Fat Controller hallucinates a photo of his mum telling him not to leave his office without his white "safari" hat.

This episode is also reminiscent of Thomas Gets Bumped, what with the same line where the track buckled and Belle the Fire Tank Engine came off the rails in this.

Another reference was to Edward, Gordon and Henry and Baa! when Fat Controller threw his safari hat to a goat with his "Gets my goat" pun, only to show the goat doesn't like the taste of that hat.

Well, this episode was a nice one, but here are the things that puzzle me about it. Dowager told her son that black absorbs the heat while white reflects heat. Why didn't Fat Controller just get white alternatives to his general black suit and top hat in case of hot weather like this so that his mum wouldn't pester him into wearing a safari hat?

Also, I too was expecting this episode to be about Whiff the Garbage Engine, but nope. Whiff was in it for only a few seconds, just for a loose glass bottle as a plot device.

Another thing I liked was Fat Controller throwing his safari hat like a Frisbee out of his car, only for it to fly back in, causing to scream "Noooooo!!!!". Might remind some of the upcoming Nintendo Switch game Super Mario Odyssey where Mario will have the ability to throw his anthropomorphised hat like a Frisbee.

I know this episode is a mix bag, but all I can say is that to me, this episode has its ups and downs. Ups for the most part.

My rating: 8.5/10.

Season 20 scorecard:

8. Pouty James: 3/10.

24. Buckled Tracks & Bumpy Trucks: 8.5/10.
25: Tit for Tat: 10/10.

26. Mike's Whistle: 9.5/10.

27. Useful Railway: 9.5/10.

Season 20 rating so far: 8.3/10.

TTTE S20E08: Pouty James

Alright, I'm going to review another episode from Season 20 of Thomas and Friends. This time, I'm reviewing a pouty episode starring our number 5 red engine.


(Special thanks to TTTE Wikia for the images)

474. Pouty James.
Written by: Andrew Brenner.
Aired: CAN: 14 November 2016. UK: 23 November 2016. AUS: 9 April 2017.

James the Red Engine likes being the centre of attention and is always showing off to the others. This often leads to him overshooting the platform or undershooting it. One day, the latter happens to James and he is told off by the stationmaster, but James just shrugs it off. He continues to show off for the rest of the day and the Fat Controller has had enough. He tells James that it is time that he changes his attitude and takes his coaches away, which horrified James.
At the sheds, the engines are settling down for the night. They notice James' pouty face and proceed to make silly faces to mess with him. Percy thinks that whatever is bothering James will be better in the morning, but Percy is wrong; James is still pouting. The Fat Controller tries to persuade James to work, but James refuses to move. Emily explains to him that it is not fun to stay in the sheds all day and the engines continue to make faces at him.
It is not much fun sitting in the sheds, so when the Fat Controller comes back, James apologises for his grumpy mood and tells the Fat Controller that he will be on his best behaviour. That is, until he sees that he has to pull dirty waste trucks to Whiff's Waste Dump. James wants his coaches instead of trucks. Stanley explains to him that Edward took his coaches by the Fat Controller's orders. For the rest of the day, James not only returns to his pouty mood, but takes his time to get from place to place. The Fat Controller finds him down at the docks and once again tells him to change his attitude. Everyone starts making faces again, but James soon finds it amusing. Thomas and Emily see that James is changing his attitude.
Whenever James began to sulk again, they remind him with a silly face to brighten his spirits. He begins to enjoy himself, even without coaches. However, this does not last long before he goes back to his old ways again.


Before I give away my fully fledged opinion on this episode, I would like to make an observation on one of the faces James makes in this.

Tell me these faces aren't too different.

But overall, this episode proves that Andrew Brenner has taken a fall when it comes to writing his own stories and it makes me feel as though he should just stick to adapting Railway Series stories from this season on. I mean they've heavily flanderised James the Red Engine here, sending him back to his Railway Series persona instead of keeping his character developed! Same can be said for Gordon the Big Engine and Fat Controller being jerks when it comes to the latter telling off his engines and the former belittling little engines and being as pompous as ever, but at least Gordon got what was coming to him in Henry Gets the Express, which I will review when the time comes.

So overall, this was a weak James episode overall.

My rating: 3/10.

Season 20 scorecard:

8. Pouty James: 3/10.
25: Tit for Tat: 10/10.

26. Mike's Whistle: 9.5/10.

27. Useful Railway: 9.5/10.

Season 20 rating so far: 8.3/10.

TUGS E02: Pirate

Time I did another review on Thomas the Tank Engine's sister series, TUGS. This time, the second episode.

(Special thanks to the TUGS Wikia for the image)

2. Pirate.

Written by: Tarquin Cardona.
Aired: UK: 11 April 1989. AUS: 11 June 1991.

Engineering parts need to be taken to Scuttlebutt Pete, the dredger, so he can start work early. Ten Cents is ordered to take on the job, as he is the first tug to return to the Star Dock. He delivers the barge loaded with goods, and after encountering Zip and Zug, moors the barge – noticing a mysterious figure moving in an old warehouse.
That foggy night, a stranger to the port steals Ten Cents' barge.
Zip and Zug discover it is missing the next morning, and are sure that Ten Cents has stolen it. They head out to tell Captain Star, who tells them how he has already received a complaint from the client. He then speaks sternly to Ten Cents about the matter. Ten Cents tried to explain that he had delivered the parts, but Captain Star sends him to do dredger detail as punishment.
As Ten Cents is working with Scuttlebutt Pete, Grampus, the midget submarine, pops up. He says how he has heard the whole story, which Ten Cents certainly does not find amusing. Zak and Zebedee happen to come by and taunt Ten Cents. Sunshine, who has just arrived, informs Ten Cents he has to do more work for the Z-Stacks, which is part of the punishment. Ten Cents must tow an oil barge. After more taunting from Zak and Zebedee, he heads off, annoyed.
That night, Grampus can not sleep due to the loud music coming from the Bridge Café Band, and goes out for a nosey round the harbour. He encounters an unknown tug, who stole the barge the previous night, which Ten Cents was blamed for. Grampus sees he is stealing Ten Cents' oil barge, and worries who it could be. Through the night, even more barges disappear.
The next morning, a big meeting is held between the Star Fleet and the Z-Stacks at The Star Dock, on how to try and catch the “Pirate”. Captain Star and Captain Zero have come up with a plan, which will see all the tugs going out in pairs, to camp out in designated areas, and try and spot and nick the Pirate.
Meanwhile, Grampus is searching where he lost the Pirate the night before. He sees an old warehouse that hasn't been used for years and goes inside. The “Pirate” tug is being ordered by two sinister, green-eyed tugs to steal another barge. He must do so to keep his uncle from being scuttled. Grampus sees everything, luckily not being spotted.
That night, Captain Star and Captain Zero’s big plan is put into action. Top Hat is paired with Warrior, which he is not in the least satisfied.
Ten Cents and Sunshine are paired together also. Sunshine is comforting Ten Cents' feelings. Suddenly, Grampus emerges and warns them of what he had seen. Their so called “Pirate” is a tugboat called Sea Rogue, who is forced into stealing the barges. Ten Cents and Sunshine are very surprised.
Also paired are Zip and Zug, who see Ten Cents and Sunshine leaving their posts with Grampus, out to find Sea Rogue, but think they are out to steal barges. Zip and Zug then follow.
The green-eyed tugs then plan their escape, putting out lightships, lighthouses, and covering up bell buoys to remain undetected.
Meanwhile, Sea Rogue is found by Ten Cents and Sunshine. He explains about his uncle. They come up with a big plan to capture the villains.
Zip and Zug find the old warehouse and are chased out by the green-eyed tugs. Grampus goes to save Sea Rogue’s uncle. Ten Cents, Sunshine and Sea Rogue take the chance to charge the villains, and put their green lights out once and for all. Warrior sees that something is going on. Not paying attention, he bumps into the flare barge, causing it to go off. 

The next morning, a slightly singed Warrior and Top Hat take the villains away, Grampus goes off for a nice rest, and Sea Rogue and his uncle head for home. Hercules tells Ten Cents and Sunshine that they did a good job and that Captain Star is sorry for not believing Ten Cents about the missing barges. Zip and Zug are nearby, and they boast to Ten Cents and Sunshine that nothing scares them. Zug then clumsily bumps into a flare barge behind him, and both he and Zip runs away in fright, which Ten Cents and Sunshine find a great joke.

Well, a nice way to continue the series with a funny belief that Sea Rogue was a pirate, but only to be revealed he was doing things for pirate tugs with glowing green eyes so they'd free his uncle, an old looking tug. And it was cool to show underwater scenery too, especially from Grampus' point of view.

My rating: 9/10.

TUGS scorecard:

1. Sunshine: 10/10.

2. Pirates: 9/10.

Series so far: 9.5/10.



RWS No. 22: Small Railway Engines

Now's my time to review the first book to feature our favourite little engines, 3 little engines who should never be overlooked. That is Small Railway Engines. Now that almost the entirety of this book has been adapted for TV, I can finally do some reviews on Season 20.

22. Small Railway Engines.
Written by: The Reverend W. Awdry.
Illustrated by: Peter and Gunvor Edwards.
Published: 1967.

Now, I am going to see for myself how well our favourite miniature engines were introduced. Were they introduced well?

Foreword:

Dear Friends,
Some leadmines up in the hills have long been closed, but their waste-heaps still spoil a lovely valley.
The Fat Controller has now found that this waste is good weed-killing railway ballast. He talked to the Owner and the Thin Controller of the Skarloey Railway, and other important people. They "went shares" and built a Small Railway to fetch it away.
The Small Engines are managed by a Controller. They call him the Small Controller; but that is only in fun. He is bigger than either of the others!
The Author

Ballast

New ballast is being laid in the trackbed. Donald and Douglas bring it from a line that starts at Tidmouth, and all they will say is "verra wee engines" bring it down from the hills. Duck is curious and asks to take some trucks along the line. There, he meets a small green engine called Rex, who tells him about the "chute" that loads his trucks. The next time Duck visits, Rex introduces him to two other engines, Bert and Mike. When Duck discovers that they don't have any passengers yet, he leaves, promising to bring some for them.

This sure was a nice way of introducing our favourite little engines we all know as Mike, Rex and Bert. Funny how Donald and Douglas believe they are magic. Too bad this wasn't adapted for TV, but props to Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure for giving Marion the belief that these 3 engines are magical. Also, it was a great way to teach kids who want to be railway enthusiasts that ballast gets spread to kill weeds. As for the Ballast Spreader....well, I'll discuss that when I'm finished reviewing these stories.

My rating: 9.5/10.

Tit for Tat.
Adapted by: Andrew Brenner.
Aired: CAN: 23 January 2017.

Bert's driver tells the engines that two clergymen are coming to take pictures of them and put them in a book. Bert thinks he will be physically stuck in a book, and is apprehensive, but cheers up when he meets them. However, he gets cross again when they don't wave at him while taking pictures, and the final straw is when they accidentally drench him with muddy water when they pass him in their car. Bert plans revenge, and at a hilly part he creates steam, soaking his driver and the Fat Clergyman, who was riding in the cab. But later, after both parties make up, Bert tells the others they will be in the book along with him.

For the first Railway Series adaptation in over 20 years, this was a very faithful one with a few additions. It did start with the proper TV introduction of the Fat and Thin Clergymen. And I've got to give props to Rob Rackstraw for doing a well done voice for the creator of Thomas himself. Sounds like Sir Robert Norramby. This adaptation in CGi just goes to show there are some things you can't do with models. However, the detail in the CGi for this feels as though they've gone back to using models. Funny how they mentioned both the books and the TV Series. And also, that mud on Bert looked very nice.

RWS/TV rating: 10/10.

Mike's Whistle
Adapted by: Andrew Brenner.
Aired: CAN: 23 January 2017.

Duck's whistle is faulty after his crew used his fire to cook eggs, and Mike makes fun of him, saying "engines without whistles aren't engines at all". The others tease Mike about his whistle, and when he blows off steam he is chosen to take the passenger train. Mike is furious and is in a bad temper all day. When a cow strays onto the line, Mike tries to 'shoo' her away by whistling, but all that happens is that his whistle shoots off into the sky. Everyone tries looking for it, but to no avail, and they have to make the whistling noises for him. Mike is sent to work at the quarry for the rest of the day, and to top it off Bert and Rex tease him again in the shed.

This is the loosest of the adaptations. The plus sides are Duck's whistle having boiled his driver and fireman's eggs, and it was funny when the cow licked Mike after his whistle had blown off, but the major downside? Thomas was shoehorned in this. I mean Thomas wasn't in the original story, yet he was put here just to please the soccermums. But despite this, the adaptation was still a nice one.

RWS Rating: 10/10.
TV rating: 9.5/10.



Useful Railway
Adapted by: Andrew Brenner.
Aired: CAN: 30 January 2017.

After an encounter with a flock of sheep, Mike calls them silly and can't understand why Rex calls them useful. The Small Controller arrives and tells them they are now arranging to take wool trains for the local farmers. Rex is chosen to take the first train. Rex is over-confident, but gets his comeuppance when a tractor's load spills onto the line, derailing him. Bert and Mike tease him, but say sorry when they come to take him home, and the Small Controller tells them their railway is more popular than ever.

Another well done adaptation. Funny thing about it was the slow motion effect of Rex having his accident. And I guess Willie has a West Country accent just like the 3 Arlesdale Engines. And it was well done of Jam Filled animating Mike and Bert helping Rex. Further shows all railways are useful no matter what size they are, especially with that ditty of Never Overlook a Little Engine. However, the only minor problem is, yet again, Thomas.

RWS rating: 10/10.
TV rating: 9.5/10.

Observations:



Look at the image I chose for reviewing Ballast. I mean look at the Ballast Spreader's design. What's he supposed to be based on? And they say Lady and Thumper don't have a real basis.

Final thoughts:

This was a well written way to introduce the Arlesdale Engines. And kudos to Jam Filled for animating the adaptations for 3 of these stories. We learn that Mike is similar to James except for one thing, Mike likes pulling trucks over coaches. Rex has a sense of humour and loves teasing Mike, and Bert is friendly and hates when his railway is overlooked and looked down upon by bigger railways.

But as for the adaptations, I think Mike's Whistle and Useful Railway would've been completely faithful if Thomas wasn't shoehorned. And to any of you soccermums reading this, realise that there's more to this franchise than just Thomas! Lighten up for crying out loud! And Mattel and Jam-Filled, if you're reading this, don't use Thomas in places where he isn't needed, and stop bowing down to peer pressure.

That's enough of that. This is another book that's worth reading.

My rating: 9.8/10.

RWS scorecard:

6. Henry the Green Engine:

8. Gordon the Big Engine: 9.2/10.
11. Percy the Small Engine: 9.7/10.

13. Duck and the Diesel Engine: 9.2/10.

16. Branch Line Engines: 9.6/10.

18. Stepney the Bluebell Engine: 9/10.

21. Main Line Engines: 9.3/10.

22. Small Railway Engines: 9.8/10.

23. Enterprising Engines: 9.9/10.

24. Oliver the Western Engine: 9.3/10.

25. Duke the Lost Engine: 9.8/10.

26. Tramway Engines: 9.8/10.

30. More About Thomas the Tank Engine: 8.8/10.

40. New Little Engine: 5.7/10.

RWS rating so far: 9.4/10.

Season 20 scorecard:
25: Tit for Tat: 10/10.

26. Mike's Whistle: 9.5/10.

27. Useful Railway: 9.5/10.

Season 20 rating so far: 9.7/10.