Railfan Brony Advent Calendar Day #19: New Series Winter Chaos

Here's part three!

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

Season 9, Episode 25

Keeping Up with James

Written by Abi Grant

Oh boy, do we have controversy! In 2011, Hilary Fortnam condemned the episode for the use of "Winter Holiday" instead of Christmas, and thought that her father would be distressed if he saw it. Does that honestly matter? Granted, it's a problem, but it wasn't THE problem with the series - it was the writing that made episodes good or bad between 2005 and 2012. On the Little Engines, Big Days Out DVD (or Tales from the Tracks, if you're American), the true culprit was an interactive segment where Michael (Angelis or Brandon) referred to Christmas as Winter Holidays.

Alright, onto the actual episode. The Steam Team are assigned to clear the tracks and the Fat Controller will pick an engine to pull the presents train to Knapford. James is not happy that he has to work with Edward, and rushes to get his job done. The tracks are icy and James slips, but he manages to stop safely. Later, he and Edward take trucks to the coaling plant, and the blue engine warns him to take care, but James doesn't listen. He soon pays the price when he can't slow down and he crashes into a snow bank. The Fat Controller is displeased with James and gives the presents train to Edward instead. James offers to be his back engine and promises to slow down, which he does, and helps get the presents train to safety.

I don't see what the huge fuss is about; I think it's a good episode on the whole. Sure, they could've mentioned the use of a sanding gear, but the real question is - does the use of Winter Holiday destroy the episode? The answer is no; it only hurts an episode if it's used alongside Christmas, which will confuse the target audience. Plus, this is way better than the previous three episodes it aired after.

Season 10, Episode 24

Duncan's Bluff

Written by Paul Larson

For the last fourteen episodes out of season ten, every episode I've reviewed so far have had a unique rating each. I guess this season was all over the spectrum - we got good episodes like It's Good to be Gordon and Toby's Afternoon Off, but we also got bad episodes like Edward Strikes Out and Thomas' Frosty Friend, as well as in-between episodes like James the Second Best. So where does Duncan's Bluff fall?

Duncan is delivering coal to the villagers, and at the wharf, he teases James for running late. The two engines have a little competition to see who can deliver coal the fastest. Duncan is determined not to lose to James, and later on, he decides to lie and insist that he delivered far more coal than James had done by hiding the coal trucks. James still has to take some children to a concert, but he runs out of coal. So Duncan picks up one coal truck for James, rather than the whole line, since it'd take far more than one narrow gauge truck load of coal to fill up a Fowler tender.

Other than that problem, and the fact that it was a narrow gauge episode that didn't star Thomas, nothing really stands out in the episode. It's sort of... dull.

Season 11, Episode 8

Henry's Lucky Trucks

Written by Paul Larson

This was definitely a long time coming. I'd actually gotten this episode as a request months ago, but I held it back until December, this month, where it'd be more appropriate. So, without further delays, let's dig in!

Henry has a very easy day since none of his lines were blocked, and Thomas (who shouldn't be in this episode, quite frankly) says Henry must have lucky trucks of his own. However, the next morning, Henry can't find his lucky trucks, as Edward took them, but Henry is assigned to pick up some presents from the airport and take them to the village. Somehow, Henry is unable to climb Gordon's hill, and he acts like he'd never come across an avalanche before. He does come across pipes spilled across the tracks, and Molly and Rocky are helping James to clear up the mess.

No matter where he looks, Henry can't find Edward, but he does... and crashes into his lucky trucks by accident. Remembering the children's presents, Henry heads to the airport without his lucky trucks, and makes his deliveries on time. While I appreciate that the moral says you can't always be lucky, I feel it was handled a lot better with Percy's Lucky Day, in which the charms weren't the main focus. It's not bad by any stretch, just okay.

Season 11, Episode 23

Cool Truckings

Written by Paul Larson

We seem to be in the midst of Paul Larson winter-themed scripts, it seems...!

Thomas arrives at the transfer yards to pick up some coal, but Duncan's path is blocked by a snow slide, and so Madge the snub-nosed lorry is sent to pick up him up so he can shunt coal trucks from the other side of the yards. After lifting him onto her trailer, Madge travels along the roads safely, but Duncan wants some excitement. Madge soon turns onto another road, and then skids, spraying snow, much to Duncan's excitement. Oh, and who found it funny that a policeman was sprayed with snow, am I right?

Whilst Thomas and the Thin Controller wait, Madge takes Duncan to the top of the hill, and runs down it quickly, but there's a sharp corner and Madge almost goes over the edge, but manages to back up to safety, and decides to get to the transfer yards rather than have more fun. Duncan is soon back on the rails and gets Thomas' trucks loaded up safely. In the evening, Madge comes to see the little engines, and just for fun, sprays snow on them.

Season 12, Episode 12

James Works it Out

Written by Simon Spencer

At the yards, James shows off to Stanley about how good he is at shunting trucks when he shunts Hector into the back of his train. It begins to snow, and Hector comments about his concerns to James, who dismisses them and heads off to Great Waterton. James also ignores the warnings of Harold and Edward, insisting that he knows best. He puffs hard up the hill, but his trucks run into a snow drift, and they laugh at him. Admitting defeat, James and Hector push the trucks through - surprisingly, they stayed intact - and they make it to Great Waterton safely.

I think the role fitted James perfectly, and I think I can understand why he didn't want Hector's help - he's had trouble with trucks in the past, so it'd make plenty of sense. Speaking of whom, Hector has got to make it into CGI; he's a trend-breaker, for goodness sake - trucks are troublesome, and he no longer is.

Episode Ratings:

Keeping Up with James: 8 out of 10

Duncan's Bluff: 5.5 out of 10

Henry's Lucky Trucks: 6 out of 10

Cool Truckings: 5.5 out of 10

James Works It Out: 7 out of 10

Thomas and Friends Season 9 Scorecard

1. Percy and the Oil Painting: 7
2. Thomas and the Rainbow: 1.5
5. Mighty Mac: 1.5

7. Respect for Gordon: 8

10. Rheneas and the Dinosaur: 1
12. Toby Feels Left Out: 1.5
13. Thomas Tries His Best: 9

16. Henry and the Flagpole: 2.5
17. Emily Knows Best: 7.5
18. Thomas' Day Off: 7.5

22. Skarloey the Brave: 1
23. Saving Edward: 2

24. Thomas and the Golden Eagle: 1
25. Keeping Up with James: 8

Thomas and Friends Season 10 Scorecard

2. A Smooth Ride: 3
7. Thomas' Tricky Tree: 2.5
8. Toby's Afternoon Off: 7.5

9. It's Good to be Gordon: 9

13. Edward Strikes Out: 1
14. Topped Off Thomas: 0.5
15. Which Way Now?: 6
16. Thomas and the Shooting Star: 6.5
17. Big Strong Henry: 7
18. Sticky Toffee Thomas: 4

20. Thomas' Frosty Friend: 0
21. Emily and the Special Coaches: 8.5
24. Duncan's Bluff: 5.5
27. James the Second Best: 5
28. Thomas and Skarloey's Big Day Out: 3.5

Thomas and Friends Season 11 Scorecard

2. Emily's Rubbish: 8.5
3. Dream On: 9
4. Dirty Work: 6
6. Gordon and the Engineer: 9.5
8. Henry's Lucky Trucks: 6
10. Thomas and the Big Bang: 1
11. Smoke and Mirrors: 1
12. Thomas Sets Sail: 1
13. Don't Be Silly, Billy: 0.5
14. Edward and the Mail: 5
16. Toby's Triumph: 1
17. Thomas and the Runaway Car: 8.5
18. Thomas in Trouble: 7
22. Sir Handel in Charge: 1.5
23. Cool Truckings: 5.5

Thomas and Friends Season 12 Scorecard

5. Henry Gets it Wrong: 1

9. The Party Surprise: 3

10. Saved You!: 3.5
12. James Works it Out: 7

13. Tram Trouble: 5

14. Don't Go Back: 1
15. Gordon Takes a Shortcut: 3

16. The Man in the Hills: 1.5
18. Percy and the Bandstand: 6

19. Push Me, Pull You: 0.5

20. Best Friends: 10