THE OPINIONS, THOUGHTS AND MUSINGS IN THIS BLOG POST ARE SOLELY THOSE OF ZACK WANZER, NOT THE THOMAS FANDOM IN GENERAL
Season 17, Episode 23
The Afternoon Tea Express
Written by Paul Larson and Laura Beaumont
This episode was one of season 17's direct-to-DVD episodes for Spills and Thrills. Of them, people have found this to be the weakest and one of the lower quality episodes of season 17. I don't agree; whilst I find The Thomas Way overrated, but not by much (same thing with Henry's Hero, but that's another story) I consider The Afternoon Tea Express to be underrated - coincidentally, both are written by the same people. Why is this the case? Well...
After the Earl of Sodor gives Stephen the task of collecting scones and cream once a week for afternoon teas at Ulfstead Castle, Spencer makes fun of the older engine by calling him slow. And that's a good start. No really - the build up to the episode is nicely handled, and it's different from the big engines mocking Edward. Granted, it's cliched and not very original, but if they do something fresh with it, I'm game.
Anyway, after Stephen collects the scones and cream, Gordon comes up from behind with the express and demands that the Rocket get out of his way. Now, this is one of the points which people criticize the episode for being unrealistic. I know that this sounds like I'm covering my ass here, but I have criticized the Nitrogen era for unrealistic episodes due to its terrible writing, but in the Arc era? As long as rule-bending is used sporadically, and that the story is entertaining, that's fine with me. Too much rule-bending, and it can be annoying.
Back to the episode; Gordon is annoyed with Stephen's slow speed, and so he pushes him as fast as he can to the castle junction. Stephen manages to make it early much to Spencer's surprise and the Earl's delight. For each subsequent week, Stephen gets help from Thomas, James and Emily (not all at once) by having them push him as fast as they can. If you're asking, no, this isn't a rehashed Barlow era script - the three-strikes was there for around twenty-five seconds (and yes, I counted) and the story afterwards carried on. Plus, I enjoy Stephen's persona in this episode, and I can relate to him; it's almost like the locomotive equivalent of a mid-life crisis where Stephen longs for the days when he was the fastest engine (I know 30 mph isn't that fast, but still).
One day, the Hatts are coming to the castle for afternoon tea and Stephen is given the task of picking up fresh jam (strawberry, raspberry, and apricot) from the docks. Unfortunately, he doesn't see Thomas, James or Emily, but he does manage to find Spencer and tricks him into pushing him from behind. Very clever of Stephen to trick someone much faster than him there! However, Stephen enters the castle much too quickly and even though his driver applies the brakes (nice mention!), Stephen hits the buffers, and jam flies all over the Earl, the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt.
Stephen admits to having had Spencer helped him, but the Earl explains that Stephen had been chosen for his reliability, not his speed. That's actually a good moral - speed isn't everything. It's a similar case to Thomas the Jet Engine, but that's not the point. Stephen then gets the idea of passengers having afternoon tea and a tour at the same time, to which the Earl and the Fat Controller approve of.
I know you'll want me to mention that as well - Stephen's funnel is black and not white and gold. Yes, he's using his King of the Railway vector, but was it a big problem? Well, it was a problem, but not the main problem. Same will apply to the trucks switching places as they're problems in the animation, not the actual story itself. I think this is a very good episode and deserves better ratings.
After the Earl of Sodor gives Stephen the task of collecting scones and cream once a week for afternoon teas at Ulfstead Castle, Spencer makes fun of the older engine by calling him slow. And that's a good start. No really - the build up to the episode is nicely handled, and it's different from the big engines mocking Edward. Granted, it's cliched and not very original, but if they do something fresh with it, I'm game.
Anyway, after Stephen collects the scones and cream, Gordon comes up from behind with the express and demands that the Rocket get out of his way. Now, this is one of the points which people criticize the episode for being unrealistic. I know that this sounds like I'm covering my ass here, but I have criticized the Nitrogen era for unrealistic episodes due to its terrible writing, but in the Arc era? As long as rule-bending is used sporadically, and that the story is entertaining, that's fine with me. Too much rule-bending, and it can be annoying.
Back to the episode; Gordon is annoyed with Stephen's slow speed, and so he pushes him as fast as he can to the castle junction. Stephen manages to make it early much to Spencer's surprise and the Earl's delight. For each subsequent week, Stephen gets help from Thomas, James and Emily (not all at once) by having them push him as fast as they can. If you're asking, no, this isn't a rehashed Barlow era script - the three-strikes was there for around twenty-five seconds (and yes, I counted) and the story afterwards carried on. Plus, I enjoy Stephen's persona in this episode, and I can relate to him; it's almost like the locomotive equivalent of a mid-life crisis where Stephen longs for the days when he was the fastest engine (I know 30 mph isn't that fast, but still).
One day, the Hatts are coming to the castle for afternoon tea and Stephen is given the task of picking up fresh jam (strawberry, raspberry, and apricot) from the docks. Unfortunately, he doesn't see Thomas, James or Emily, but he does manage to find Spencer and tricks him into pushing him from behind. Very clever of Stephen to trick someone much faster than him there! However, Stephen enters the castle much too quickly and even though his driver applies the brakes (nice mention!), Stephen hits the buffers, and jam flies all over the Earl, the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt.
Stephen admits to having had Spencer helped him, but the Earl explains that Stephen had been chosen for his reliability, not his speed. That's actually a good moral - speed isn't everything. It's a similar case to Thomas the Jet Engine, but that's not the point. Stephen then gets the idea of passengers having afternoon tea and a tour at the same time, to which the Earl and the Fat Controller approve of.
I know you'll want me to mention that as well - Stephen's funnel is black and not white and gold. Yes, he's using his King of the Railway vector, but was it a big problem? Well, it was a problem, but not the main problem. Same will apply to the trucks switching places as they're problems in the animation, not the actual story itself. I think this is a very good episode and deserves better ratings.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Thomas and Friends Season 17 Scorecard
12. The Thomas Way: 5.5
23. The Afternoon Tea Express: 8
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