TTTE S20E24: All in Vain

Let's go over an episode of Season 20. One about James.


Special thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the image.

490. All in Vain.
Written by: Helen Farrall.
Aired: CAN: 16 January 2017. AUS: 16 April 2017. UK: 7 June 2017.

One autumn morning, the Fat Controller comes to Tidmouth Sheds and has very exciting news. The news is that he and the Mayor of Sodor are going to a ball at Callan Castle and he needs an engine to take both of them to the castle. James asks if he could do it. The Fat Controller agrees and James is delighted to be picking them both up and to take them to the castle and promises to do all his jobs without complaining.

At the docks, James boasts to Cranky about collecting the Mayor and the Fat Controller. Cranky, suddenly, slips some of the sugar sacks with sea water splashing all over James. James is worried that his paintwork will be ruined, but he just keeps smiling. Later, James passes Farmer McColl's farm when Thomas passes and accidentally splashes mud all over James' face. James is fed up, but still stays smiling. James goes under the coal hopper but the trucks are being shunted backwards by Stafford. Suddenly, coal dusts flows down all over James. Along the way, James meets Edward at the Sodor Bakery. He tells him that he needs a washdown before he can meet the Mayor. Edward asks if James needs help to do all of his jobs, but James declines. At the washdown, a workman notices that James has a scratch in his paintwork. James is horrified and hurriedly rushes to the Steamworks. Victor is worried that his paint would not be dry on time. James knows that the wind to Callan Castle will be stronger and able to dry him on time.

After he gets repainted, James makes his way to collect the Fat Controller and the Mayor, however, his paint is not dry. The wind blows dusts, twigs and leaves onto James' paintwork. James later notices this and feels rather silly. James asks Edward to pick up the Fat Controller and the Mayor for him.

Despite all of the hard work, the Fat Controller comes to the sheds and says that James should have ignored his scratch to finish his special job. Edward vouches for James that he was working very hard all day. With the rest of the engines giggling except Edward, the Fat Controller orders James to go back to the Steamworks to be repainted again.

Once James is back at the Steamworks, he is once again repainted and is waiting for his paint to dry. A surprise awaits James: the Mayor of Sodor. The Mayor tells James that Edward was happy to help in collecting him and the Fat Controller. James tells him that Edward was very kind. The Mayor decides that he will invite James to a dinner at Vicarstown. James is honoured to take him. The Fat Controller wants to go, but the Mayor says he will only be needing James tonight. By the end of the day, James is very proud to be taking the Mayor. Edward knows that James is more splendid than ever. James happily agrees.


This episode, with the main premise being James worrying about a scratch on his red paintwork, might remind some of The Magic School Bus episode, Meets Molly Cule, where Molly Cule worried about a speck of tar on her car. Fun coincidence is Molly Cule's car and James are the same colour.

Nothing more I can say about this except it's Pouty James done right! It's got more comedic effects, and though James was a bit flanderised, at least it wasn't over the top. And how he offered to let Edward pull his passenger train was pretty kind when you think about it.

My rating: 9/10.

Season 20 scorecard:

3. Henry Gets the Express: 10/10.

8. Pouty James: 3/10.

12. Love Me Tender: 10/10.

13. The Railcar and the Coaches: 8.5/10.

18. 3 Steam Engines Gruff: 1.5/10.

24. All in Vain: 9/10.

25. Buckled Tracks & Bumpy Trucks: 8.5/10.

26: Tit for Tat: 10/10.

27. Mike's Whistle: 9.5/10.

28. Useful Railway: 9.5/10.

Season 20 rating so far: 8.7/10.

TTTE S7E17: Peace and Quiet

He's a review on an episode that properly introduces a very underrated locomotive character.

Special thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the image

173. Peace and Quiet.
Written by: Paul Larson.
Aired: UK: 28 October 2003. US: 5 September 2004. AUS: 3 November 2004.

At the docks, goods are arriving night and day, causing the engines to work so hard that their axles ache. So the Fat Controller brings in a new engine called Murdoch to help. He has ten driving wheels and looks very strong. The engines all welcome him, but Murdoch thinks they are all very chatty.

Later, Murdoch has a very long train to pull. He looks forward to some peace and quiet, but everywhere he goes is noisy. Murdoch looks forward to a nice rest at the sheds that night.

But as he arrives, Salty and Harvey begin to ask him lots of questions about his past. Murdoch becomes annoyed and tells them both that he wants peace and quiet, and that he does not want to share a shed with chatterboxes. Salty tells him that they are only being friendly.

The next day, Murdoch has another long train to pull. This time, he travels through the countryside. He is happy to finally have some peace and quiet. But he comes across some sheep on the line, who have escaped through a broken fence. His driver and fireman fail to move the sheep, so Toby is sent to help by bringing the farmer. The sheep are so noisy that Murdoch wishes he was back with Salty and Harvey. Toby finally arrives and the farmer and his two dogs move the sheep off the line. Murdoch continues on his way.

Later that evening, Murdoch arrives back at the sheds with Harvey and Salty. He apologises for being rude to them, and Harvey tells him that they are happy to share the shed with him. Salty proceeds to tell a story, which makes Murdoch smile. The constant bleating of sheep would keep him awake, but he would gladly fall asleep after a story from Salty.


We are hereby introduced to our large orange 10 drive wheel goods engine Murdoch. Such an underrated character IMHO. He's got so much potential, and he's a character I can relate to in a way. We both like to have peace and quiet.

But there is one headscratcher I have with this. Thomas the Tank Engine said Murdoch is the biggest engine ever, even though Gordon is bigger, though not by much. Unless he was talking about wheel number. But later, we get engines who are way bigger! Even those who are too big for British Railways.

Murdoch is also an engine we can sympathise for when the sheep annoy him to no end. Some of us don't like loud noises.

A great way to introduce an underrated character, and it shows a very good lesson about peace and quiet.

My rating: 10/10.

Season 7 scorecard:

2. Percy Gets it Right: 9.5/10.

3. Bill, Ben and Fergus: 7/10.

9. The Spotless Record: 10/10.

12. Rheneas and the Roller Coaster: 5/10.

16. The Runaway Elephant: 9.5/10.

17. Peace and Quiet: 10/10.

18. Fergus Breaks the Rules: 7/10.

19. Bulgy Rides Again: 9.5/10.

22. Best Dressed Engine: 9/10.

26. 3 Cheers for Thomas: 10/10.

Season 7 rating so far: 9.1/10.

TTTE S5E06: Gordon and the Gremlin

Here's another review for you. One involving gremlins.

Special thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the image

110. Gordon and the Gremlin.

Written by: Britt Allcroft, David Mitton and David Maidment.

Aired: UK: 21 September 1998. AUS: 30 November 1998. CAN: 18 January 1999.

Gordon has problems with his fire, and the firelighter suggests it is due to gremlins. Thomas and Percy get excited, but James thinks it is nonsense. The engines argue about the issue until the Fat Controller arrives and informs the engines that a VIP is coming, who has heard a lot about the Fat Controller's engines. He wants them all to be really useful, but Percy worries about the gremlins in Gordon's fire. The Fat Controller warns Gordon to be on his best behaviour and lets him take the VIP.

The goods yard's turntable malfunctions with the special coach on it, making Gordon late. He makes up for lost time and manages to get to Kirk Ronan on time. Thomas arrives with the special passenger and Gordon takes her to Wellsworth. On the way, Gordon goes at high speed, much to the passenger's disliking. At Wellsworth, the passenger's Dalmatian runs away after Gordon's loud whistle and, after confronting a bull, runs into Thomas' cab and stays there during the trip to the docks.


At Brendam, Thomas inquires about the visitor, and the Fat Controller reveals she is his mother, who then aptly renames her dog "Gremlin" after the day's events.

This episode isn't without its headscratcher. Michael said "Gordon puffed away with the special coach." When clearly, he was pulling 2 coaches, but there was 1 on the turntable. I find that a bit strange.

What James said about gremlins is true. Gremlins don't exist. They are silly make believe. But the dog did get renamed "Gremlin" in the end.

And we are hereby introduced to Fat Controller's mum, as he reveals her to be in the end.

Also, we did get music from Bulls Eyes when the bull frightened Gremlin after he escaped from Gordon's train.

This was an interesting episode. We were introduced to Fat Controller's mum, we got to see actual Mark 1 coaches in the series. Now if only the CGi series could make those coaches. Plus, Fat Controller's mum renaming the dog "Gremlin" was funny.

My rating: 9/10.

Season 5 scorecard:

3. A Better View for Gordon: 10/10.

4. Lady Hatt's Birthday Party: 10/10.

5. James and the Trouble with Trees: 8.5/10.

6. Gordon and the Gremlin: 9/10.

7. Bye George!: 9/10.

10. Toby and the Flood: 5.5/10.

12. Double Teething Troubles: 9.5/10.

17. Thomas and the Rumours: 9/10.

19. Happy Ever After: 8/10.

25. Snow: 3.5/10.

26. Rusty and the Boulder: 7.5/10.

Season 5 so far: 8.7/10.

TTTE S5E05: James and the Trouble with Trees

Let's peek into the episode that was made as an apology to Reverend Awdry.

Special thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the image

109. James and the Trouble with Trees.

Written by: Britt Allcroft, David Mitton and David Maidment.

Aired: UK: 18 September 1998. AUS: 27 November 1998. CAN: 15 January 1999.

Thomas had been working at the coaling plant all day and is disappointed when he cannot receive a washdown due to a broken hosepipe and is now afraid that the other engines will make fun of his dirty paintwork. However, when Thomas returns to the sheds, he finds James boasting. James believes he deserves a new coat of paint, as the Fat Controller has told him that he is the pride of the line. Henry contradicts James by saying they are all pride of the line, but James ignores him and mocks Thomas when he says he needs a new coat of paint.

The next morning, while Henry shunts some trucks, they unintentionally run into a few solid boxes causing the first two to derail. James insults him, saying he should go talk to trees instead if he cannot push trucks carefully. Henry tells James that the Fat Controller was working on removing trees that were too close to the line. Later, James meets Thomas, Percy and Terence while in the forest removing the trees. James thinks that trees are silly, so the others try to warn him, but the red engine just ignores them. He thinks the Fat Controller wants him to pull the express, so he sets off for the station at Kirk Ronan.

James then arrives at the station to collect the express, but it turns out that Fat Controller needs him to fetch an important goods train. James tells him that he's been repainted and asks him if Thomas and Percy can do it instead, but the Fat Controller doesn't care, saying that really useful engines don't argue. This puts James in a very bad mood. At the docks, the weather has changed significantly, and the trucks tease James about shunting and he sets off with the train. They soon reach a hill and begin to climb. An old tree by the side of the line was being blown by the wind. Rain had softened the soil and the tree slowly slides onto the tracks, blocking James' line. Immediately James comes to a stop. He tries to reverse, but the train is too heavy. Luckily, Thomas comes to James' rescue. At first James is afraid Thomas would tease him, but he does not. Thomas helps James move out of the way before the tree falls over.


Back at the yard, James thanks Thomas. Edward comes in to tell them that Thomas will get a repaint, while James will finally pull the express.


Part of the premise of this episode was an apology to the Rev. W. Awdry because he criticised Henry's Forest partly due to the trees being too close to the line that could result in a possible forest fire even if Britt said she'd seen other railways run through a forest.

That's not all. One puzzling thing about this was when James said he had to pull the express. Strangely, there were normal red branch line coaches, and he was at Kirk Ronan in the same scene. So didn't they have enough time to build Knapford Station for this season? Were they preparing to take it to the filming of Thomas and the Magic Railway?

What you may also notice was the tree moving in front of James while he was pulling a goods train. I wonder if it inspired the trees moving in Luigi's Mansion?

This episode was fine enough on its own, even though Thomas or Percy should've pulled the goods train. But Thomas was heroic in pulling James out of the way of the falling tree.

My rating: 8.5/10.

Season 5 scorecard:

3. A Better View for Gordon: 10/10.

4. Lady Hatt's Birthday Party: 10/10.

5. James and the Trouble with Trees: 8.5/10.

7. Bye George!: 9/10.

10. Toby and the Flood: 5.5/10.

12. Double Teething Troubles: 9.5/10.

17. Thomas and the Rumours: 9/10.

19. Happy Ever After: 8/10.

25. Snow: 3.5/10.

26. Rusty and the Boulder: 7.5/10.

Season 5 so far: 8.6/10.

HHPAY Pilot episode

You thought I was done with reviewing Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi? Think again! There is another piece of media from this series I want to review. That is the original pilot episode for the series that premiered in 2003.

0. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi.
Storyboard by: Scott O'Brien and Mike Giaimo.
Aired: 22 April 2003.
Released online: 5 April 2018.

Puffy AmiYumi move out from Japan to unintentionally discover the weirdness of America.

As the synopsis implies, Ami and Yumi are going to America to sightsee.

Strange that Yumi would find America boring.

As it turns out, Ami and Yumi do speak perfect Japanese.

This here is a parody of King Kong, yet Ami and Yumi call him a monkey.

As it turns out, the gorilla is a fan of the 2 girls.

So this is where the idea of Ami being a cheerleader came from. She wanted to be one.

And this explains why Yumi's so good at fighting. What she's doing to these football players.

So much American food.

But the girls decided to go to Speedy Buy to make their wraps.

Now they're going to have some Slurpees.

But the problem is, the Slurpees are ultra cold. Brainfreeze!

As it turns out, the clerk who runs the Speedy Buy is a fan of these 2 girls, and he's invited them to their high school prom. And they're going through weird prom outfits.

Yumi is no High School Queen!

But everywhere else the girls go, there is an angry mob chasing them every time.

Lucky they went to Florida, because now the police car is stuck in the Everglades.

Well, it was a fun adventure in America, but now it's time to go back to Japan.


What you may notice about this pilot is that Ami wasn't voiced by Janice Kawaye, and Yumi wasn't voiced by Grey Delisle, but rather Japanese voice actresses, explaining their perfect Japanese accents.

As it turns out, this show was originally going to be about Ami and Yumi moving out of Japan to see how weird the USA can be.

And you may notice that in some scenes, Ami's hair is in the style she had as a kid, explaining why it looked that way.

If you look at the animation, you can see it was hand drawn, but they used Flash animation for the final show because of how expensive it is to do hand drawn.

And also, the girls were wearing outfits resembling Japanese Fruits outfits, but they changed that in the final show due to how expensive that was.

If you're interested in watching this pilot, it's been uploaded to Vimeo by Lincar Rox, with permission by Darrell Van Critters. Go here if you want to watch it. 

But to sum up my thoughts about this pilot, I thought it was.....good. Weird in a way, even weirder than the final show. I liked the gorilla being a fan of the girls, and the clerk at Speedy Buy being a fan of them. And Ami being a cheerleader actually.....did fit her style.

My rating: 8.5/10.