TTTE S4E15 - Rusty to the Rescue

Before we get to Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine which I'll review on Thursday, I'm going to review the most controversial episode out of the fourth season of Thomas and Friends, and the episode Awdry hated most next to Henry's Forest.

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

Okay, now before you gang up on me, let me state that I have absolutely nothing against the classic era of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, and I never did. I consider it a good era for the show, but every now and then, a good show is bound to have a few duds here and there. For example, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic gave us Swarm of the Century, Dragon Quest and Trade Ya!, and classic SpongeBob gave us I'm with Stupid and The Great Snail Race. Classic Thomas and Friends, of course, gave us Rusty to the Rescue, so let's talk about it.

Season 4, Episode 15

Rusty to the Rescue

Written by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton

Let's start with the premise; Rusty travels to the other railway to find an engine (Stepney) to run the Bluebell Railway. Already, there's several problems:

1. In no way would a small narrow gauge engine run all the way from Crovan's Gate to Vicarstown and beyond. A Garratt possibly could, but that's another matter.
2. The Bluebell Railway is a real preserved railway in England, not a Sodor branchline running next to the Skarloey Railway.
3. Stepney is a real engine who lives on the Bluebell Railway, not a Sodor resident. For that, I'm probably glad City of Truro and Flying Scotsman never had roles in the TV series.
4. Stepney was an engine, in the RWS, who could rival any diesel, and he was mended by workmen and saved by the manager of the Bluebell Railway.
5. The plot is similar to Escape. (Yes, I'll review that soon enough.)

All in all, the episode completely forgot what Bluebells of England established and screwed up Stepney's character and background. So that's it; review over, right?

Nope! It'd be stupid to stop there, as my criticisms don't stop there; after his (I'm going to refer to Rusty as a boy; the episode never specified the little diesel's gender) driver explains that the Bluebell line needs an engine, Rusty speaks with Douglas about finding an engine on the other railway, and it's said that only diesels go there now. (Even though it ripped off Escape, they did at least reference it.)

Rusty tells his driver about his idea, and the manager agrees to his plan, and it takes Rusty all day to get to the other railway - I hope he at least refueled on diesel fuel on the way! The other railway diesels confront Rusty and demand for his business, and he states that he's a sidings inspection diesel, asking if there are any engines in the sidings; there's only one, so he goes there to inspect.

Rusty comes across Stepney - yes, I'm going to call him that, and not just an unnamed engine - and asks if he likes bluebells, which Stepney does, and Rusty offers to help him escape to safety. Now to be fair on the episode, Rusty willing to help another engine is one of the better parts of the episode, but how did he move without a driver if he was Stepney's fireman? Anyway, they make it past the diesels onto the "Bluebell Railway" where I imagine Stepney is fully restored and works there full time, and is known to people as the Bluebell Engine.

The only positives from the episode were Rusty's characterization and the scene with him confronting the diesels, but that was it. Rusty to the Rescue was simply bad, and the annoying bit is that it could have actually worked in one of the following scenarios:

1. If another engine (say, Molly, for instance) was in Stepney's place, and the "Bluebell Railway" was simply just another North Western branchline. Yes, it would still be illogical for Rusty to go that far, but at least it wouldn't have butchered Stepney's true backstory!
2. If BoCo was in Rusty's place in the above scenario. BoCo had been severely underused in season four and deserved a speaking role there. Mavis or Daisy could've also been used, but they have their own jobs to do on Thomas' branchline.

If they couldn't do either, then why not adapt Bluebells of England as it should've been, or better yet, hold back the whole book to film a thirty minute special? Awdry said he hated the episode, and although I liked Henry's Forest, I agree with Awdry about Rusty to the Rescue screwing up the original value Bluebells of England had.

I don't know about you, but I feel that Rusty wasn't intended to be a starring character in either the books or the TV series. Every leading role he had after this episode was severely flawed in their own ways - Rusty and the Boulder, Rusty Saves the Day, Trusty Rusty, Tuneful Toots, and Which Way Now? all feature him as main character. I just hope that Andrew Brenner and the writing crew can save grace for Rusty, and possibly give him and the likes of Sir Handel more time in the spotlight, possibly like in One of a Kind. Watching that again, WildNorWester showed that Rusty was not just a maintenance diesel; he was a Skarloey engine.

As for Rusty to the Rescue, the episode is one that I'm not all for. The plot was contrived and the sad part is that it didn't have to be! Before you mention the likes of Skarloey the Brave or Push Me, Pull You, that's no excuse for how bad the season four episode was.

Rating: 2 out of 10

Thomas and Friends Season 4 Scorecard

5. Four Little Engines: 7
6. A Bad Day for Sir Handel: 6.5
7. Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady: 9.5
8. Trucks!: 8
9. Home at Last: 8.5
10. Rock 'n' Roll: 9
11. Special Funnel: 7.5
12. Steam Roller: 9
13. Passengers and Polish: 9
14. Gallant Old Engine: 9
15. Rusty to the Rescue: 2
19. Henry and the Elephant: 7
21. Bulls Eyes: 6.5
22. Thomas and the Special Letter: 8.5
23. Paint Pots and Queens: 8