Railfan Brony Advent Calendar Day #3: Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree + Season 2 Overall

Hooray for a very, very long blog title! :P Well, we're finishing up the first four seasons with the final season two episode!

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

Like I did with Thomas' Christmas Party, I will focus on the episode only. It's very much an abridged version of the book.

Season 2, Episode 26

Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree

A carol party is being held at Tidmouth Station, and Thomas is sent to pick up the Christmas tree, but on the return journey, he gets stuck by a landslide. When word gets out, Donald and Douglas come to Thomas' rescue, and the tree makes it safely, and everyone is delighted when Harold brings in a special guest - Santa Claus!

It's amazing how so many characters were featured in one location - why Diesel appeared and yet Daisy and Henrietta didn't, I'll never know either. Like I said, it's a bit of a shame that a lot of the story was abridged to fit the four and a half minute timeframe; what if they'd made it a ten-minute Christmas special?

Also (this won't affect my rating, but I want to get this out of the way), why was Ringo's narration not redubbed for America and instead, they chose to cut out dialogue referencing the Fat Controller? That's just lazy, and they could've simply replaced "Fat Controller" with "Sir Topham Hatt"! Yeah, it'd still look lazy, but at least so much dialogue wouldn't have been cut!

Despite those problems, it's still a great episode, and a good way to end the season.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Season 2 Overall

Many people say it's the best season of the show, but I think that's overstated. Let me explain...

I said that season one has a few gaps in it; season two has a lot of gaps. Drip Tank wasn't adapted, leaving Thomas, Percy and the Coal with a rushed ending, Percy Takes the Plunge aired before Percy's Promise, Bulls Eyes was left out until season four, as was Buzz Buzz only with season three, and yes, The Missing Coach was cancelled. Then again, the stories from More About Thomas the Tank Engine feel like filler episodes and could've been replaced by Percy's Promise, Bulls Eyes, and The Missing Coach, whilst Percy Takes the Plunge is replaced with Buzz Buzz. Or, better yet, adapt books 9-16, because leaving off the Skarloey stories until season four, I feel, wasn't a good strategy at the time.

There's no doubt that David Mitton was very dedicated to the show; the crashes look real, and his cinematography was amazing, especially in Old Iron. On whole, if it weren't for a few gaps, season two would deserve the masterpiece title it deserves.

Episodes From Least Favorite to Most Favorite

5/10

26. Thomas, Percy and the Coal

6.5/10

25. Percy Takes the Plunge

8/10

24. Dirty Work

23. Brake Van

22. Cows

21. Duck Takes Charge

8.5/10

20. Percy and Harold

19. The Runaway

18. Percy's Predicament

17. A Close Shave

9/10

16. Better Late Than Never

15. Woolly Bear

14. Thomas and Trevor

13. Bertie's Chase

12. Wrong Road

11. Percy and the Signal

10. Pop Goes the Diesel

9. Daisy

9.5/10

8. Saved from Scrap

7. Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree

6. The Diseasel

5. Ghost Train

4. Thomas Comes to Breakfast

10/10

3. The Deputation

2. Edward's Exploit

1. Old Iron

Season two's official episode average is 8.7/10.

Final Season Score: 9/10