Thomas and Friends: Season 22 Episode 6 Review

And back to Sodor we go, and back with Rebecca! Yay! She has definitely stood out already as a very intriguing and memorable character, as I said in my last review featuring her. So let's see what antics she will get up to this time with that hilarious imagination of hers!

What Rebecca Does

Written by:

Davey Moore

This episode gives us more of an insight into Rebecca's character. Sure a good amount of it was displayed in 'Confusion Without Delay", but here it's the main focus of the story. Her emotions, how she is feeling, what she thinks and how this adds to the plot overall. It's definitely a nice way to do her next episode after her introduction, and certainly does a good job of building upon her previous persona and developments.

The episode's premise is, in all honesty, a very simple one compared to previous plot lines done with this show. Rebecca keeps meeting with engines on the Island who have a special characteristic or attachment to them that make them seem so special. She is amazed by all of them, yet starts to feel down as she feels there is nothing special about her. This isn't an entirely new concept, as this is very similar to Season 19's "Best Engine Ever" focused on Emily and Caitlin. However, there is a small twist, the fact that's Rebecca feels she doesn't stand out from the crowd, yet with Emily, she felt  overshadowed by just Caitlin. So it does feel somewhat different.

As I said earlier, Rebecca earlier gets a big boost to her overall character, as she is easily seen to be so amazed by what others can do, that she forgets, or misses completely what makes her own self special. Bits of this were foreshadowed in "Confusion Without Delay" such as when being told about the other's accomplishments and important jobs, Rebecca wants to fit in so she rushes around too fast.  Certainly a nice bit of clever writing here. Also, this is definitely a wonderful moral for children, and even older kids and adults can learn from it as well. It teaches to look for the certain things that make you special. Yes it may not be as exciting as others' special talents or traits, but it's unique to you, and makes you who you are. I'm sure a lot of kids will be able to relate to Rebecca in this episode and learn a good bit from it, which for a children's show, is very important.

One thing that I do want to mention in this episode, is the cast of characters. There is a great range from Awdry era one up to current era ones. And they are all used very well. Duck, Daisy, Bill, Ben, Harvey, Belle and Marion all appear for some scenes of the episode. Definitely a very diverse range and something of note, on of the episodes were a greater number of female characters appears. This helps I feel as since Rebecca is female, she obviously would relate more with other female characters, plus gives some of the lesser used ones a chance to shine. Marion is probably the best one here though, as again she provides encouragement to an engine feeling down, and shows Rebecca just what is special about her, the fact that she sees the good in everyone, and by complimenting them, makes them feel better about themselves. Marion can you simply be any more of a better character? Rebecca realizes this and then, quite adorably agrees and cheers up afterwards. I hope we see more of Rebecca and her in the future.

The comedy in this episode is really good too! From the bits between Marion and Rebecca's "Guess What's in My Shovel!" game show styled segment, to the comedy in the scene with Bill, Ben and Harvey. Also that scene at the Steamworks with Kevin trying to meet Rebecca's demands and failing pretty badly, plus Victor's reactions to it, are pure funniness. Even Annie and Clarabel give off some subtle humor with how they react to Daisy coming up behind them, referencing how they feel regarding her antics. Of course let's not forget that fantasy sequence!

The fantasy moment in this episode is hilarious, in my opinion. Sure it definitely could come off as-jarring to some, and make them not like it, but to me, upon re-watches, it was very funny and made me laugh. Rebecca certainly has a very over-active imagination, and I love it so much. Certainly, as I keep saying, adds more depth to her personality. Certainly if the fantasy scenes are good for anything, it's showing how a certain character thinks about things. The way they added all of the bits from the engines she met (apparently Diesel 10 too? Can he come back please?), and her on the turntable with rap music and the engines nodding at her. It's rather funny and makes for a nice change of pace in the episode honestly.

So in conclusion, this episode is another awesome Rebecca one! It's funny, has a great message in it, makes use of lots of characters, and is very relatable to anyone really. I may have not had much to say like in other ones, but there isn't really with such a simple story premise. The moments of comedy and character are what make it stand out so much, and certainly give Rebecca even more depth.

Rating: 10/10 - Excellent

Thomas and Friends: Season 22 Episode 5 Review

Well, back across the world now, as this episode brings us to our first installment in India! The chance to see older friends from "The Great Race" as well as meet new ones. Plus India one again gives us unique opportunities to tell stories, just from how it's culture is very different, and more intriguing. So let's so how it fared...

Trusty Trunky

Written by:

Becky Overton

Yet another writer returns to us this season, Becky Overton. Last writing for Season 19 in 2015, it's quite interesting that she has only just now come back. She wrote some pretty good episodes for that season, my favorite being the "Diesel's Ghostly Christmas" two-part episode. It was something new and experimental for this show, and also an adaptation of one of my favorite Christmas stories. So how did she do writing for Thomas in India? For this episode pretty good I'd say. It's a nice little story to introduce us to the India setting and the characters well meet and get to know during the episodes set here. The premise of this episode is that Thomas has just arrived on the Indian Railway, and is taken aback at how busy it is. Even more so when Ashima tells him how elephants were used to shunt trucks at one point, which Thomas can hardly believe!

This story is nice and simple, and flows pretty well. It does a great job of showing off how busy the Indian Railway station and railway is, and just how many differences there are. What with how engines are decorated, there are royal engines, and also how animals are pretty much everywhere. Thomas' reactions to everything all feel genuine, and help the audience feel not so alone in reacting to the different settings and all. There are also some nice bits of Indian culture thrown into the mix. The information, obviously, about how elephants were used to help on railways at one point. Also I really loved the small scene about how cows are special to people in India. It was handled genuinely and with care. Though maybe not the best example, as if engines are always letting cows sleep on the tracks, how many trains will be late and all? Not too distracting, but a small observation.

The characters in this story are well done for the most part, especially Rajiv and Shankar. Rajiv instantly is memorable as almost an Indian version of James. Except maybe a little less of a jerk than James can be sometimes. His voice definitely suits him as well, and it makes him stand out. Shankar is also really good too! In a small scene he gives off the hilarious vibe of being so done with everything yet still does his best to be a hard worker and do his jobs. These two are definitely the standouts of the more tame Indian episode, in my opinion.

Continuing on, Ashima is okay, as she still feels like did in "The Great Race" but that's about it, she has nothing new added to her and it's kind of a shame. These would've been a great chance to expand her character, but we get nothing new really. Even more so for Noor Jehan, she's just there, says one line and is gone. If you are going to introduce these characters, you should at least try and make them stand out. But it's not a big deal overall, and doesn't make me enjoy the episode any less. Perhaps in future seasons if we go back, they'll be developed some more.

As for the humor, not as much as some other episodes, but the scenes that are there, they certainly are funny. Rajiv's defensiveness of his crown and how snarky he acts, plus Shankar's reactions to his antics are pretty amusing to watch. Also some of Thomas' facial expression's when Ashima tells him about some of the Indian Railway traits is funny. The best bit is probably when the elephant pushes Thomas back onto the rails, his general reactions and the way his voice sounds is hilarious! Sure the butt in his face joke was unnecessary to be repeated, but granted it was a more subtle "butt" joke than say other kids cartoons have done. Just please not too much of them, so I can just forget they happened, okay team?

As for the fantasy sequence, it's kinda meh. Sure it is well animated and decently funny, but it's not super relevant to the plot of the episode and kind of oddly done. What I mean is, by having TFC be an elephant, it's kind of like he just turned into one, not an actual animal controlling the railway. Had it been an actual elephant that just made elephant sounds, it may have worked better. But it was funny somewhat, and the way he gets snapped out of it by missing a signal causing him to derail, as well as the "I really need to stop day dreaming!" line were done nicely and added to the scene overall, perhaps a nod to the older fans maybe? So it was a bit meh, but it doesn't detract much (you'll find most things like this I don't get too hung up on mostly).

So in the end, the first India episode is pretty good. Nice story, pretty good characters and some nice humor. Sure there were some slightly bigger flaws than other episodes so far, and the story is a bit tamer, but the whole thing was very enjoyable still and a good start to the India episodes. Plus Shankar is such a mood sometimes it's not even funny, and Rajiv has become one of my favorite international engines. So, yeah, not much else to say really, other than a good episode.

Rating: 7/10 - Good

Thomas and Friends: Season 22 Episode 4 Review

So it's now back to Sodor, and the introduction of our other new Steam Team newbie, Rebecca! After Nia's introduction through the BWBA movie and "Forever and Ever", it's time to see how well the intro for our newest friend goes, and how well she fits into the show. Let's find out...

Confusion Without Delay

Written by:

Davey Moore

In all honesty, this episode is probably one of the best character introduction episodes in the show ever. The way it flows, how Rebecca is portrayed, how she bounces off other characters, and just how she almost instantly feels a natural part of the Sodor environment. It's truly a testament to Davey Moore and the team for pulling off her introduction so well, and making it memorable.

The premise of the episode, when you boil it all down, is a rather simple one. Rebecca is new, and she is so wowed by the traits of the other Steam Team engines, that she doesn't want to be overshadowed. Hence she starts trying to be on time, but in reality she is leaving and arriving everywhere too early. But the character interactions are what truly make this simple plot stand out.

First off, Rebecca is amazing! She's adorable, funny, quirky and very memorable. The way she also wants to stand out from everyone around her is also a relatable moral for both children and adults alike. It makes her seem like she wants to fit in, and wants to make a good first impression, and that makes her so interesting. Most other new characters that are introduced, while a large majority of them are handled pretty well, we rarely nowadays ever see them trying to fit in with everyone. Rebecca is the first Sodor newbie for a while that has that issue as one of her main goals in the beginning, and it certainly is a plus to her overall character. She's definitely become one of my favorite characters from the entire show!

Secondly, they subtly reference the conflict from Forever and Ever, the fact that Gordon isn't impressed or enthralled about all these new changes. Shown how he acts towards Rebecca until the final part of the episode. He is upset that she is helping him with the express, one of the new engines in Tidmouth Sheds, taking Henry's spot. Also by how fast she seems to do her work, almost faster than him (but only because she leaves early). I truly love how they resolved this though, as they bring good old Flying Scotsman into the fray. Rebecca observes how he teases Gordon with the whole "little brother" thing. And in the end, she sticks up for him, noting that they look the same size, and perhaps Gordon is even bigger! This shows Gordon a different view of her, and allows him to become nicer towards her in the end, even chuffing off from Vicarstown together.

Also this episode is one of the ones from this season that feels like it fits the new time limit very well. Everything is well paced and happens just as it should be. It does feel a little fast in the middle, but perhaps that was intentional, as Rebecca was departing and arriving at locations too early, so in a way it kind of helps emphasize this feeling, and works in the episode's favor. The only slight (and I mean slight) issue is the fact they have time to mention why Edward moved to Wellsworth, but not why Henry moved to Vicarstown. We got the reason stated in both "A Shed for Edward" and "Forever and Ever", yet nothing about why Henry moved at all. I wish it could've been added, but it's only a very minor nitpick really.

Another little note, I do love how they have it be Nia the one to tell Rebecca about all the goings on at Tidmouth Sheds in the morning, and about the engines accomplishments. It makes sense, as Nia is relatively new herself, so she would be learning all this stuff recently. It also is part of her character, wanting to be helpful. She knows what it feels like to be new, so she wants to help Rebecca feel up to speed on everything going on, so she isn't left in the dust, so to speak. I also like it because our two new engines on the Steam Team are interacting, giving the feeling that they are all friends there, and look out for each other.

As for the humor in this episode, I love it! There is a good amount of it, and it's all very well done and feels like it fits. I mean the episode even starts with humor, as Sir Topham Hatt is driving Winston very poorly, as usual, and has trouble stopping. Then of course Rebecca bumping into Winston and Topham, knocking him over. Also the bit at Tidmouth with James trying to leave the sheds (Percy's face!), the bits with Gordon and Scotsman at Vicarstown and Topham trying to say his catchphrase, yet can't cause Rebecca hasn't caused any delay! Although my personal favorite bit is her scene with Diesel at Brendam Docks. Just the way she mocks what he said in the way he did it to her, along with that impression of him she does, it's gotta be one of the funniest scenes from the show, at least in my opinion. 

As for the fantasy sequence, it's pretty humorous too! The thought of the engines linking together and flying in the air like some sort of mecha-zord robot is hilarious. Not to mention Thomas' "Huzzah!" line. Plus it's all animated very beautifully, and the colors are bright and vibrant too. It also fits well and the episode would feel a tad different had it not been there, so it passes. Plus it only further develops Rebecca, as it shows just what an overactive imagination she has. It's quite funny and intriguing, to say the least.

So in the end, this episode is excellent! Rebecca is immediately memorable and has a great deal of character. She gets along well with the others, and has some development with Gordon. The animation, music and morals are great, and the humor is top notch. Plus the amount of character portrayed in the engines here is wonderful. Certainly a truly "modern classic" episode, as some say, it definitely does just what it needs to succeed.

Rating: 10/10 - Excellent

Thomas and Friends: Season 22 Episode 3 Review

Well with this episode, we had back to China for another story. This one is our first episode to incorporate a holiday from another country into the main plot. This is something I was wanting to see since they chose to incorporate other countries, other holidays. So lets see how it fares...

Thomas and the Dragon

Written by:

Davey Moore

So far the China episodes are delivering! The premise of this episode is one of my favorite types of stories done with Thomas, when a character is frightened of something unknown. Perfectly relatable moral for children and also a fun way of telling a story. This episode is no exception honestly.

The premise is Thomas is in China for the Chinese New Year celebration, and Yong Bao tells him about the best part of the whole festival, the dragon! Thomas assumes it's a real dragon, and is afraid, even more so when Yong Bao asks him to take the dragon to the festival!

First off, Thomas' fear is natural. The engines are supposed to represent children, as Awdry once said, and adding that he's in a new place with different scenery and customs, a child may think they would have a real dragon! So it very easily fits as a learning experience for children regarding fear. Also some say that Thomas should know that dragons aren't real (i.e. Thomas, Percy and the Dragon in Season 3), but if you remember, Thomas actually thinks the dragon is real at first until his driver explains it's only made of paper. So throwing in him being in a new location, it doesn't feel off for him to think that there is a real dragon. I do wish that maybe he had articulated his fear a bit more to Yong Bao and the others, but it's not too big a deal for me.

I do love some of the atmosphere in this episode, as the scenes of Thomas chuffing around with sort of ominous music in the background while he is worried there might be a "dragon around every corner" as he puts it. It really gives a nice and different tone than the usual feeling of Thomas episodes. In addition, this is one of the episodes I feel where his narrations actually work for the better. It gives deeper insight into how he is feeling and what he is thinking as he goes about his work. It's rather nice, in my opinion.

There's a good deal of comedy also thrown in the episode, the bit at the beginning with the peach blossoms falling onto his face in funny shapes, the way the diesel startles him and his eyes roll, and my favorite bits: Yong Bao spooking him twice (Yong Bao is great by the way), and when the chicken is on his lamp, he thinks it talks to him when it's actually Hong-Mei. The way he exclaims "a talking chicken?!" is really funny!

However I do feel some of the comedy was dragged out a bit too long. For instance, the opening part uses a bit of the blossoms falling on Thomas three times, the fist time I feel could have been cut out, as he does the same thing about 20 seconds later. Also they should have stopped the bit where certain things kept him from hearing Yong Bao clearly after the passing diesel startled him. It just felt kind of extra after that honestly, and certainly feels like it was added for padding to fit the time limit. But it wasn't too distracting from the episode.

As for the fantasy sequence, this episode is probably one of the best uses of it. That wonderful foggy landscape with the mine shaft, from which the dragon emerges, and just the music and camera angles used throughout it. It feels very grandiose and also intimidating. Plus I love how the glowing dragon eyes in the mine were added. Also a small note, the way they animated Thomas' steam when he first found out about the dragon was really nice and a very cool transition. Certainly this episode was one of the more creative and imaginative ones to use the fantasy elements.

So in conclusion, this episode was pretty great. Had nice atmosphere, music, animation, plot and morals. Sure there were some things a little off, but not too distracting in the end for me. The animation is really well done overall, especially at the ending scene of the whole celebration. A great episode theme with a nice way of teaching kids about the Chinese culture and customs. It was a very fun watch, perfect for New Year's.

Rating: 8/10 - Great

Thomas and Friends: Season 22 Episode 2 Review

So now we come to our first Sodor episode of Season 22. And it's the episode everyone was waiting for since we got the description from the DVD it was on: the episode addressing all the changes to the Tidmouth Sheds crew and the "Steam Team". Some were worried about how it would be handled, myself included. So let's see shall we...

Forever and Ever

Written by:

Andrew Brenner

First off, I just wanna say that I'm happy to see Brenner back writing episodes again. After not writing any in Season 21, and only writing the 2017 and 2018 specials, I was wondering if maybe he wouldn't write episodes anymore. I'm glad to see that isn't the case as his stories are usually pretty good.

The premise of this episode is pretty simple. Gordon is upset that Edward has moved out of the sheds and Nia moved in, and then gets more upset when he finds out Henry is leaving too. Leading to him sort of "going on strike" essentially and sulking in his shed. But the way it's pulled off makes it really shine.

This isn't new for Gordon, as some say he acted out of character in this episode. But in all reality, I think he was perfectly in character. I mean even in the Railway Series and Classic Series Gordon did this. He even did this for less dramatic reasons, such as simply because he was told to shunt his own coaches. Also let's not forget in Season 20 how he went on strike after Henry took the Express for one day. The reasons portrayed in this episode are much more heavy, as two of his good friends are leaving the place they've lived with him for a long time, and new engines moving in. It's all based around the theme of change. This episode definitely teaches a great moral, and is probably very relatable to young children who will have friends or loved ones move away in their lives.

Nia also points out how much her life has changed. Granted she chose to stay on the Island of Sodor with Thomas and the others, but she probably didn't really want to. At least from how I took it, she loved Africa and her friends there, shown by how much she got along with them and how much she talked about her country in the Big World Big Adventures movie. But her old shed is gone, she has no home to go back to really, so she moved in here. She makes a very good point though: her old friends are still her friends. Another great lesson for children, no matter if they move or how far, your friends will still be friends.

Henry's reason for leaving the sheds is pretty much non-existent here unfortunately. Sure we get where he moves to, that being Vicarstown, but I really wish we had been given a reason as to why. My theory is since he seems to be running trains to the Mainland and back, it'd make sense to have him closer to it. That could've easily been fit in somewhere, though with the shorter run time, it may have been thought not super necessary. It doesn't detract really that much to me overall, but it would've been nice. Perhaps in the future we'll get the reason stated fully.

This episode along with having a great moral and emotional feel to it, also has a great deal of comedy placed throughout it as well. There is of course the scene of Gordon's "tantrum", the scene at Brendam with Edward, and of course the fantasy sequence, which fit very well into this episode, in my opinion. This episode is one where it fits right in and if you removed it, the episode would lose so much weight. It shows just how silly Gordon thinks things are and could get, showing just how attached he is to how things were. Which that alone is some nice character development for Gordon, and still stays in line with his original persona from the books. All of the above scenes made me chuckle and laugh, so it did something right for me.

Also another point of note is the final scene with Gordon and Nia's conversation. I think it's done wonderfully, great background music, great dialogue and just how they showcased it on the turntable and all. It's also very subtle, but I think the moment after Nia saves him from backing into the turntable well, that Gordon starts on the road to acceptance. He thinks that even after the way he treated Nia, she still offered him advice and now saved him from having an accident. He sees how much she cares and wants to help him, even though she is part of the reason he feels the way he does. It's actually kind of beautiful really. 

It is kind of interrupted by Nia's mentioning of the other new engine (Rebecca), he seems to revert back to the beginning of the episode, though it doesn't bother me. It still shows that he has a way to go with acceptance, after all people in real life don't accept changes just like that. This shows the writers wanted it to take time and develop, it would be odd if it only took one episode and then he was fine with it all. And it is shown throughout the rest of Season 22, he is on better terms with both Nia and Rebecca, so the progression is there. So yeah how the episode ended with that isn't really that big of an issue to me, though maybe Thomas' comment could've been changed a bit.

So overall I really like this episode. I think it is a great way of portraying and dealing with the changes for both older fans, younger fans and their parents. It gets across what it's trying to portray and it's morals without leaning too heavy towards the adult fans or to the children. Sure some could say this is a horrible jab at the adult fandom, but I don't think it is really. It was written before we even got rumor of the changes, so I feel they wanted to do their best to assure us that all would be okay. So in the end, this episode was awesome, and a great addition to Season 22.

Rating: 9/10 - Awesome

Thomas and Friends: Season 22 Episode 1 Review

Well at long last Season 22 has came and went. And with it came many new faces, places, and stories. Being the first series titled under "Thomas and Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!" it was definitely a struggle to wait for, as to see just how much had actually changed with the format, and if the show still had respect and care put into it. And so with that, we begin with...

Number One Engine

Written by:

Davey Moore

If you asked me, with just this starting episode, not much apart from the highlighted changes feels too different. This story plays out much like an episode on Sodor would, just with new international themes and characters thrown into the mix. I honestly quite like it really.

The premise of the episode is Thomas working on the Chinese Railway, pulling two coaches named An An and Yin-Long. Along the way he encounters another blue tank engine named Hong-Mei, who just happens to be number one on the Chinese line! This leads to the two getting competitive and racing each other, which then leads to trouble.

I quite like how the episode plays out, it showcases off the Chinese landscape, lets us meet the new characters, and gives us the conflict of the story in good time. It certainly fits the new seven minute episode length quite well. I personally never really felt anything to be rushed too terribly and everything was developed pretty consistently. Plus Thomas as the narrator didn't feel that out of the ordinary, it actually went along with the story well, as since it's his story of his travels around the world, it makes sense that he would be the one to tell it.

I also like how they casually worked little tidbits of info about China and it's culture into the story. In my opinion, I didn't think any of it felt really out of place or just tacked on. The bit about Hong-Mei's number in Chinese characters was done nicely, the small bit about the color red was played off in a nice joke and the same with the word in Chinese for start. It was portrayed very well, just like the characters. They gave off the "I'm from China" vibe without being overly stereotypical, which in a series partially focusing on International cultures, is a very good thing!

Also the bits of racing between Thomas and Hong-Mei were very fun to watch, dramatic camera angles, beautiful scenery and also some great music from Chris Renshaw! All helped to focus on the fast pace of the scenes. All then leading up to the climax of Thomas on the high bridge and then his derailment by a rock on the track. Speaking of, I like how they acknowledge that Hong-Mei and Thomas are BOTH in the wrong in the end. Thomas for taking dangerous shortcuts so haphazardly, and Hong-Mei for going too fast leading to rocks from her trucks falling out. It really shows how nicely this show usually handles characters doing things wrong.

Now for the new characters. Firstly, I LOVE Hong-Mei! She's fast, fun and energetic! Plus she also seems quite cheeky too. A nice foil to Thomas, pretty much being what he is, which works well for this episode. Sure she needed a bit more development, but for this episode, her starting personality works well. As for An An and Yin-Long, they are polar opposites of Annie and Clarabel and that makes them stand out nicely. They egg Thomas on with his adventurous schemes and racing, whereas Annie and Clarabel would be definitely against it. Certainly makes them pretty memorable.

Lastly, the fantasy sequence. For this episode, it fit in alright. Sure it wasn't exactly super relevant to the story, but it didn't detract too much. Other future episodes it does feel kinda forced and may not pertain to the story, but in this episode it fits into the narrative of Thomas and his dynamic with An An and Yin-Long. I really like how they just don't buy it at all and immediately snap him back to reality. It's a nice funny way to cut off the sequence, and kinda makes it more enjoyable.

So overall this episode was great. It flowed well, gave us what we needed to know in a timely fashion, while also being fun and entertaining while also balancing the Chinese culture bits. It may not be as exciting as some other episodes from the series, and on multiple re-watches may seem a tad underwhelming, but it certainly stands pretty well on it's own right. So to me it's a pretty good start to the new format and season overall.

Rating: 8/10 - Great