Thomas & Friends Season 18: Week 2

OPINIONS IN THIS BLOG ARE SOLELY MY OWN; THEY DON'T REFLECT ON THOSE BY THE THOMAS FANDOM ON WHOLE

THIS BLOG CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS; READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Last week, we had a good start on season 18, despite the hit-and-miss episode known as Signals Crossed. Can this week have matched last week? Let's find out!

Toad's Adventure

Written by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler

Out of the episodes from Trouble on the Tracks, this one received a fair amount of hype; even I was eager for this episode. It's very surprising that Mark and Nick improved that quickly from Signals Crossed. Personally, I didn't mind Oliver's bragging; he's intended to be a character with flaws, after all. It was interesting seeing Toad interact with James and Thomas, although why did Thomas pull express coaches? Then again, I've never seen anyone dine aboard Annie and Clarabel either. :P The runaway was quite dramatic, ending with a simple "tink" when Toad's buffers touched Thomas', and the ending was nice with a variety of characters like Rosie, Harvey and Charlie all listening to Toad's tale. I really enjoyed this episode, but there were faults here and there.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Duck in the Water

Written by Andrew Brenner

Wait, what's this? A standard gauge episode without Thomas in it? That is so amazing! We haven't had that since Gordon Takes a Shortcut! As for the episode itself, it was simple but humorous at the same time. Duck's expression above when actual ducks swim past him practically spoke for itself, and James' impatience resulting in Rocky swinging about did remind me of Wonky Whistle (ugh...) but here, it was that episode done correctly; it showed James was actually in the wrong, and he owned up for his mistake. Plus, the fallen signal did remind me of Crossed Lines. A nice, simple episode with good duck jokes on whole. I wonder; how does the Fat Controller keep James around with all the destruction he causes?

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Duck and the Slip Coaches

Written by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler

Just to get this out of the way, I wrote this blog post because it's ending shot felt like it was fan service done badly and it came off as mean-spirited. Rather than rant on about it, just read the above post and you'll understand. Anyway, this episode was really good too; the concept of slip coaches was just brilliant! Why didn't Awdry (Wilbert and Christopher) come up with this?! Imagine the story potential! I was also surprised that the slip coaches were sentient, and had speaking roles (provided by Jonathan Brodbent, Rebecca O'Mara, and Steven Kynman)! We haven't had sentient coaches since Thomas, Percy and Old Slowcoach from season five. It was a good episode on whole, but that last ending shot... yeah...

Rating: 9 out of 10
(mostly for the concept, but Emily's treatment in the episode prevents the episode from getting a whole 10, even if it was only for a few seconds)

Thomas the Quarry Engine

Written by Andrew Brenner

We haven't had Mavis play a major starring role since season three, and that was 23 years before! Time flies, doesn't it? :P Onto the last episode from Trouble on the Tracks; this was another really good episode. I liked how they used Toby and Henrietta (and her new face by the time of DVD release) to take the workmen home, and the balloons on Mavis were pretty random. How'd she get them? That runaway scene was very Thomas and the Trucks-esque, although it may have been nice if Diesel got punishment for getting Mavis to play hooky. The musical number at Brendam Docks was something I didn't expect either, almost like a song out of My Little Pony! :P

Rating: 8 out of 10

Thomas and the Emergency Cable

Written by Andrew Brenner

Definitely another nice, simple story. The plot reminded me of the annual James' Traffic Jam, only it was for a bird and not a cup of tea. :P Thomas' tree inspector line gave me a few good laughs, as did Annie's line referring to Harold. Although, why was it Annie who had a flat wheel and not Clarabel as seen in the description? Then again, you need a brake coach for every passenger train. On whole, it's another brilliant episode from Andrew Brenner; it appears he can do no wrong.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Week two is more or less on par with week one. Even if I changed my rating for Duck and the Slip Coaches, I still don't have anymore interest in Duck as a character. We seem to get a lot of James this season; isn't it time we had more of Stanley, Rosie, Henry, etc.? If not this season, then hopefully season 19.

Week 1 Rating: 7.9
Week 2 Rating: 8.3
Overall Season Rating So Far: 8.1 out of 10

Next Week's Episodes

Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger

Marion and the Pipe

Missing Gator

No Steam Without Coal

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