Thomas and Friends: The Rest of Season 6

Last time, we've finished up season five, now we're finishing up season six, the start of a new millennium for Thomas and Friends!

Those marked with an asterisk (*) have the story credited to David Mitton.

Episode 1: Salty's Secret

Written by Robin Kingsland

As the first episode of the post-Allcroft era (even though she was technically consultant for this season and the seventh, but never mind), this one was really good. Salty himself is a good character, but I feel he appears a little too frequently, leaving over characters to the sidelines *coughcough* Porter *cough*

Bill, Ben, and Mavis also had very good roles, the latter especially; from that point onwards, she became a more mature, motherly figure, and one of the few characters Hit totally didn't screw up (and I mean that genuinely). I have to say, Alec Baldwin really hit a slump as far as narration is concerned; to be fair, his Salty voice is fine, but what about most of the other characters? His performance really comes off as flat, and it makes the episode uninteresting to watch.

Episode 2: Harvey to the Rescue

Written by Jonathan Trueman

Let's knock the elephant out of the room; yes, Edward was out of character for saying Harvey doesn't even look like an engine, but does a moment like that destroy the episode as a whole? Like I've said, that'd be a huge understatement, especially if the rest of the episode is actually really good (see Filli Vanilli for context).

By contrast to Salty, Harvey hasn't been used as often, but he's still a very good character in his own right; him being an unusual type of engine probably helps, and I like those kinds of locomotives; they're so unconventional and yet really useful like any ordinary engine. For the episode itself, it's quite good, and the crash... is a bit disappointing. I mean, in the music video for "Troublesome Trucks" (not the episode, of course), it looks a bit more real despite the brakevan blocking the view. Why was the crash refilmed? Anyone got a guess as to why?

Other than that, it's a good episode; same about Edward's portrayal, though compared to Edward Strikes Out, that's a nitpick.

Episode 3: No Sleep for Cranky

Written by Paul Larson

Ever hear of the term "so stupid, it's funny"? That can apply to the mess Cranky caused. Although, there are a couple of issues with it:

1. How exactly were Salty, Bill and Ben trapped? There's open track right behind them! Apparently, the script and model sets didn't agree with one another.
2. Why would Salty and the twins have to wait a whole day to wait for Harvey? Surely the accident would have occurred when it was evening?

Speaking of the second issue, it's a wonder how the engines could stay up all night and not suffer insomnia from it. But Cranky does - go figure. This might've been the episode where the Larson Effect was spawned from.

Episode 4: A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter*

Written by Simon Nicholson

You don't see too many episodes featuring Percy and Harold anymore, do you? Most of the time, Harold's up at the Search and Rescue Center and Percy seems to do odd jobs around Thomas' branchline and the mainline. It's nice to see their friendly-rivalry incorporated as far as delivering the mail is concerned, and it shows how Percy is devoted to his job. And the signal being broken does actually bring out some railway realism especially as engines can't run without signals. Although was there an episode in which Harold took the mail after Percy was stuck at a signal? I can't remember. But it is quite strange how all that mail would overload Harold.

Episode 5: Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry

Written by Paul Larson

Out of season six's new characters (barring the remaining yet-to-be rendered Pack members and human characters), Elizabeth has not yet been shown in the CGI series. Sure, some could see her as a bit of a crab, and to some extent, you'd be right. But think about how cheerful the off-rail vehicles seem to be, barring Cranky - Elizabeth making a return (along with George) could really shake things up and add some diversity.

Kind of interesting how the episode begins straight away with an accident, but it is odd as to how Thomas' siderods broke the way they did. And even stranger as to how Elizabeth got to the docks without a driver. And yes, I'm gonna mention the usage of "railroad" in the British narration; must've been a cock-up when the narrator was handed the script.

Episode 6: The Fogman*

Written by Jonathan Trueman

Well, isn't this a rarity - a post-Awdry episode that's actually railway smart! If you've read my review on Spice Up Your Life, then you can pretty much draw a conclusion as to how I can view this episode as a metaphor.

Episode 13: Percy and the Haunted Mine*

Written by Robyn Charteris

You can tell how much I hated Scaredy Engines for making Thomas look like a hypocrite, but how can they treat Percy worse?

Well, to start, Donald and Douglas were particularly childish when it came to teasing Percy about the naughty gnomes. I know they like jokes (well, Donald more so), but surely that'd be left to Bill and Ben - did someone get their sets of twins mixed up? And why would they be picked up near an abandoned mine? Surely they'd have been picked up at, oh, I don't know, a warehouse?

If this was intended to be a sequel to Baa! from last season, then it's a pretty poor one at that, and it's done to Percy what Scare Master did to Fluttershy. However, it gets worse...

Episode 14: Middle Engine*

Written by Brian Trueman

I'd been given a few requests to do this episode as a few people have said it's one of season six's worst. But is it that bad? Well, now I'm gonna find out and see if that claim holds true!

Let's start off with the fact that none of the engines like being in the middle of their trains - what about push-pull services like Oliver could be doing? If there were trucks and/or coaches in your way, you'd still do your job, just at a slower speed. Next, we have Percy being scolded for being on the tipper's loading ramp... where do I begin?

Firstly, Henry bumps Percy onto the ramp by accident, and he gets no consequences for it, so therefore he was a plot device. Next, Percy calls out for help, but no one hears him or even thinks of stopping the loading ramp, and then, all the blame is dumped onto him. Yeah, I can definitely see where the criticisms are coming from.

And to top it all off, Arry and Bert get no consequences for their actions, which, again, might be why they're disliked heavily. I'm not sure at this point if this episode should be one of the worst, but yeah, it's definitely bad and season six's worst for sure. Yeah, worse than Rusty Saves the Day - at least I can understand where that was trying to teach kids! What did Middle Engine teach kids anyway?!

Episode 19: Buffer Bother

Written by Ross Hastings

Bill and Ben really bring out the worst in each other, am I right?

A shame Ben's buffers returned to black after this, as they look brilliant. Then again, it's just like the twins being painted blue as punishment. And once again, Mavis' role was brilliant, even though they don't work in the same quarry (at least, from season 17 onward). A funny episode, and its humor is handled way better than Middle Engine.

Episode 21: Thomas, Percy and the Squeak*

Written by Jenny McDade

Why is it that Thomas and Percy have small arguments over the smallest of things? I mean, sure, Thomas did get an important job, but it didn't give him the bright to bring his best friend down. That said, he did at least get a satisfying comeuppance. It is strange, however, that nobody noticed the mouse in Clarabel. Of course, Gordon's "definitely a coloratura" line was very funny - how could I not mention it in my review?

Season 6 Overall

I really enjoyed this season when I was younger, and to this day, I still do. Yeah, a few episodes here and there don't hold up like they used to, but I guess what makes this season good was its simplicity in the storytelling compared to how action-packed season five was. Sometimes, you gotta slow down, right? Right.

Surprisingly enough, this is on par with season three, but I'll rank six slightly higher.

Episodes Ranked from Worst to Best

26. Middle Engine (1/10)
25. Rusty Saves the Day (2/10)
24. Scaredy Engines (3/10)
23. Percy and the Haunted Mine
22. The World's Strongest Engine (6/10)
21. Jack Frost (7/10)
20. No Sleep for Cranky
19. Elizabeth the Quarry Truck
18. Twin Trouble
17. Thomas, Percy and the Squeak (8/10)
16. Harvey to the Rescue
15. Edward the Very Useful Engine
14. A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter
13. Thomas the Jet Engine
12. Dunkin Duncan
11. Toby Had a Little Lamb
10. Salty's Secret (9/10)
9. Gordon Takes a Tumble
8. It's Only Snow
7. Buffer Bother
6. Faulty Whistles
5. Percy's Chocolate Crunch
4. Jack Jumps In (10/10)
3. The Fogman
2. A Friend in Need
1. James and the Red Balloon

Season 6 Final Ranking: 8/10