Railfan Brony Advent Calendar Day #14: Play Time vs. Charlie and Eddie

This is going to be interesting; two episodes from the Nitrogen era both featuring a purple tank engine many love...

...to hate.

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

Like many cases in the past, here's the similarities; both are Sharon Miller scripts, both feature an engine bowing to peer pressure easily by Charlie, and the stories are quite similar. Let's tackle them both, shall we? Starting with...

Season 13, Episode 7

Play Time

Thomas is to pick up Alicia Botti at Brendam Docks - considering Thomas, Percy and the Squeak, I'm surprised she even chose to ride with him - and take her to Town Hall. Percy makes no impact on the story and he shouldn't be here; had it been someone else, the plot would be the same. Thomas also meets with Charlie at the docks, and the purple engine has to take seats from the Steamworks, ice cream from the dairy, and red carpet from Knapford. Charlie challenges Thomas to a race, who easily accepts, neglecting his duty. Great(!)

Two things: Why did Annie and Clarabel not speak up and tell Thomas to slow down?! And also, aren't there meant to be speed regulations on the mainline? After picking up seats at the Steamworks, Thomas and Charlie have another race to the dairy along a bumpy track, and then another to a signal on the way to Knapford. Thomas rushes to Town Hall, but the coupling between him and Annie comes loose, and his coaches are left behind. When he notices... why did he not go backwards to where they were?! Charlie offers yet another race, but Thomas declines, and gets Miss Botti to the Town Hall safely.

Uggghhhh! That episode was just cringe-worthy to listen to, and the dialogue is absolutely horrendous, as is the moral - how could bowing to peer pressure be a good moral for kids?! What kind of role model does that make Thomas? Not a very good one at that. And guess what? Same thing happens with Edward!

Season 14, Episode 4

Charlie and Eddie

To be fair, the plot is set up more quickly, but that doesn't make it much better than Play Time - if anything, it's the same plot just with Edward in Thomas' wheels.

Edward is to take the Fat Controller's car to Maron station for repairs - why he's doing so rather than being taken by Butch, I don't know. After Charlie tells him a crocodile joke, Edward tells him he has a job to do, and Charlie says that he's no fun. So, let me get this straight - Edward is in character at first, but then he goes out of it by having fun? What the hell? So the two engines have a race to Maron station in scenes that are pretty much copied from Play Time, just with Edward in Thomas' place.

Speaking of whom, Thomas is at Maron (what's the point of his role anyway?) and tells them that the mechanic has left aboard Bertie. And we get a Bertie's Chase role reversal... which is actually quite nice, except the narrator doesn't shut up when he needs to! Seriously, why is he even necessary when we can see what's happening?!

Charlie and Edward take the car to the Steamworks to be repaired, and apparently, workmen can't fix cars but they can fix trains? How do you accomplish that - really? The funnel on the car is just laughably bad. The Fat Controller scolds Edward for the funnel on his car, rather than Charlie and Kevin for some reason, and to make up for it, Edward takes the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt home, and by tomorrow, the car is properly fixed.

One word: lazy. Is Charlie the real culprit in both cases? Well, yes and no. Thomas and Edward should be blamed instead for bowing to peer pressure, one of the universal taboos in kids' shows. In hindsight, this was just as bad as Play Time, and a pathetic excuse in giving Edward a starring role after not having one in season 13.

Rating: 1 out of 10

(both of them, and that feels generous)

Thomas and Friends Season 13 Scorecard

2. The Lion of Sodor: 1.5

3. Tickled Pink: 9

5. Slippy Sodor: 1.5
7. Play Time: 1

9. Time for a Story: 1
11. Toby's New Whistle: 1

12. A Blooming Mess: 7.5

13. Thomas and the Runaway Kite: 0.5

15. Splish, Splash, Splosh!: 0.5

18. Henry's Good Deeds: 1

19. Buzzy Bees: 0

Thomas and Friends Season 14 Scorecard

1. Thomas' Tall Friend: 1
4. Charlie and Eddie: 1
5. Toby and the Whistling Woods: 1

7. Diesel's Special Delivery: 1

8. Pop Goes Thomas: 0.5

11. Being Percy: 8

12. Merry Winter Wish: 1.5

13. Thomas and the Snowman Party: 0

16. Thomas and Scruff: 0.5

17. O the Indignity: 3

20. Henry's Magic Box: 0.5