RWS #9: Edward the Blue Engine

So now, I've reviewed every episode out of season 1 except for Thomas' Christmas Party, which I'll review close to Christmas. But now, let's move on to seasons 2-4, which are very much all over the place with the remaining 18 books except for Mountain Engines, Very Old Engines, and Small Railway Engines, which I may skip considering that they have no adaptations to compare with. But now, let's move onto the very first character of the books and his very own... Edward the Blue Engine!

THE OPINIONS, THOUGHTS AND MUSINGS IN THIS BLOG POST ARE SOLELY THOSE OF ZACK WANZER, NOT THE THOMAS FANDOM IN GENERAL

(special thanks to the Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the images)

The Railway Series Book #9

Edward the Blue Engine

Written by The Rev. W. Awdry

Illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby

Published 1954

Edward the blue engine may been seen by most other engines as old and outdated, but this old iron proves he's far from useless...

Dear Friends,
I think most of you are fond of Edward. His Driver and Fireman, Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever, are fond of him, too. They were very pleased when they knew I was giving Edward a book all to himself.

Edward is old, and some of the other engines were rude about the clanking noise he made as he did his work.

They aren't rude now! These stories tell you why.
The Author 

Cows

Season 2, Episode 2

When Edward loses several livestock vans thanks to some cows, Gordon and Henry laugh at his mishap, but when they encounter a cow of their own, Edward gets the last laugh.

I dunno about you, but I feel this could take place some time before Gordon's book, considering he had mellowed out by that point. In the adaptation, Henry went back to the station, which didn't happen in the original considering Gordon's situation. Despite those mistakes, it's still a good episode, although the original is better by a half point.

RWS Rating: 8.5 out of 10
TV Series Rating: 8 out of 10

Bertie's Chase

Season 2, Episode 3

Bertie looks after Thomas' passengers while his fireman is ill, but the red bus has trouble catching up to Edward until he finally reaches Wellsworth, thanks to some help from the Crosby stationmaster.

Did you know that on Shining Time Station, the episode began with Bertie coming up to the crossing gates? Why is that? Also, what's with Bertie and blue engines? What's next, a Gordon and Bertie episode/story? On whole, it's a great story and it's nice to see a story focusing on road characters.

RWS/TV Series Rating: 9 out of 10

Saved from Scrap

Season 2, Episode 4

Edward meets Trevor at Crocks Scrap Yard, who is due for scrapping next week. When Edward meets with the Vicar, he persuades him to buy Trevor, and he's allowed to stay at the Vicarage Orchard.

This is the first story in Thomas history where a character is saved from their doom, and it served as a sort of template for future stories like Escape and Thomas, Percy and Old Slowcoach. I actually prefer Trevor being green than black; it makes him more vibrant. And if you think he's a pedophile, shut up about it, cause I don't care. Seriously, these petty folks really make me want to spit...

RWS/TV Series Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Old Iron

Season 2, Episode 5

James is rude to Edward and accuses him for being too slow, but the next day, when his driver is ill, the red engine becomes a runaway after two boys mess with his controls. With the inspector's help, Edward saves James from an accident, and is rewarded with an overhaul.

Edward's best episode yet; buffers down. This is the Edward we know an love, not someone who's rude to cranes for no reason or someone who doesn't know how to take the mail. This got everything right that Edward the Hero didn't - it showed Edward actually do heroic actions, not just good deeds. Just about everything in the episode is incredible from the music to the filmwork, and it's my second favorite episode overall. Kind of appropriate, isn't it?

RWS/TV Series Rating: 10 out of 10

Stray Observations

Take a look at Bertie's number plate - it's CRD 54. It's a reference to the then-illustrator and the year the book was published.

In Cows, it says that the last seven cattle trucks were left behind, but only six are shown, along with the brakevan. Likewise, the coupling was meant to have broken between the thirteenth and fourteenth truck, but it was between the fourteenth and the fifteenth.

Overall

Like I said in my Top 25 Characters list, if I was familiar with the books first, Edward could've been my favorite character. Nonetheless, I still love him as a character, and his book is fantastic on whole. It's on par with Tank Engine Thomas Again, and I would love to read it again and again.

Overall Book Rating: 9.3 out of 10

Right now, we are in season 2, but we'll also be jumping around onto seasons 3 and 4 as well; which reminds me; why were some books/stories skipped during season 2 (as well as season 1) and yet held back for seasons 3 and 4?

The Railway Series Scorecard

1. The Three Railway Engines: 8.4

2. Thomas the Tank Engine: 9
3. James the Red Engine: 7.5
4. Tank Engine Thomas Again: 9.5
5. Troublesome Engines: 8.1
6. Henry the Green Engine: 8.4
7. Toby the Tram Engine: 9
8. Gordon the Big Engine: 8.6
9. Edward the Blue Engine: 9.3

Thomas and Friends Season 2 Scorecard

2. Cows: 8

3. Bertie's Chase: 9

4. Saved from Scrap: 9.5

5. Old Iron: 10