TTTE S16E10 - Percy and the Calliope

Well, yesterday, we took out my personal best of season 13; this time, we're taking out my personal best of season 16, the last season which we were afflicted to awful writing.

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

Season 16, Episode 10

Percy and the Calliope
Written by Max Allen

A lot of people say that season 16 is good, or at least, an improvement over the last three seasons. Do I agree with that statement? Well, I'll review this episode now and deal with the other nineteen later.

Percy has been sent to work with Diesel to collect scrap and take it to the smelter's yard. One of their stops is at the Duke and Duchess of Boxford's summerhouse; there, the Duchess tells Percy that what she and the Duke have is a calliope - a musical organ that played at summer fairs years ago, but has been left outside to rust. Wait, did I just hear them say a complicated word and explain what that means? Please tell me I'm being trolled by Greg and Max...! ... Okay, just kidding. Moving on.

Percy wants to hear the calliope play music, but Diesel is insistent on getting on with his job and having the calliope scrapped; in Diesel's case, just doing his job is a rarity in the Nitrogen era. That's another thing I like about this episode - the Percy/Diesel dynamic. We've seen them interact with other characters like Duck in Diesel Does it Again, but here, it's just Percy and Diesel, and the chemistry between the optimistic green tank engine and the grouchy black diesel shunter works brilliantly. This also happens in Disappearing Diesels with Paxton in Percy's place... Oh, damn, I've gone off track, haven't I?

*rimshot*

Speaking of Disappearing Diesels, as the two engines stop because Percy needs water, he backs up hoping water would make the calliope work while his fireman was on his saddle tank! (Or was it the driver, I can't tell?) Not only can engines not move by themselves, but moving while a person is on them is dangerous and it could result in injuries! And people thought season five was terrifying...

Later, they stop again so Percy can fill up on coal, and he backs up hoping it will make the calliope play, but it only results in him getting dirty. At a crossing, Percy sees the Fat Controller's assistants helping him to get his car running (about time they did something) and gets the idea that pushing the calliope would get it to work. Yes, it's a three-striker, but actually, in a good way as it plays a role in the moral - if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. For the first time in a Nitrogen era (and sadly, the only time) the three-strikes formula was needed, while in most of the other 79 (even in the good ones) it just annoyed the hell out of everyone.

Once again, the calliope fails to play, its coupling snaps and crashes unrealistically at the bottom of Gordon's hill. I'm surprised it stayed intact! Diesel laughs when Percy whistles sadly, saying it's the only music he's heard all day, which gives Percy yet another idea...

After getting the calliope back on the rails... somehow... Percy has a hose connected from his cylinder drain (well done for using locomotive terminology!) to the calliope, and Diesel laughs too soon, especially when the calliope plays a remix of the classic Thomas theme. The Fat Controller hears it and sends Percy to have the calliope restored, especially since it's a part of Sodor's history.

There's the usual problems; the alliteration, excessive use of the narrator, and there's that dangerous scene with the driver/fireman on Percy while he moved backwards. Apart from those problems, this is a fantastic episode. While people might be thinking S16 is good, Percy and the Calliope is certainly a shining star of the season. Without the problems I mentioned, this episode would be perfect, but it still earns a respectable rating from me.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10
(it was originally a 9.5/10 before I took off 1 point due to the Wonky Whistle-esque scene)

Thomas and Friends Season 16 Scorecard

10. Percy and the Calliope: 8.5