The Culdee Fell Engines - Next in Line for CGI?

Ever since Brenner, McCue and company have taken over writing for Thomas and Friends, there have been talks among the fandom in them bringing forth the remaining RWS characters into the CGI series. Amongst them being the Culdee Fell Railway and its eight (or seven, if you exclude Godred) engines.

Why would people want them to appear? Well, they're the only (active) railway that has not yet had representation in the TV series, even if they (mostly Culdee) were made into merchandise like ERTL (with Godred and Lord Harry/Patrick) and Take-Along. Plus, they also stand out from the North Western, Skarloey, and Arlesdale Railways by being a rack-pinion railway.

But why would people not want them to appear? It's all down to safety restrictions, which could limit storytelling potential. Ignoring that, in the books, they look more or less the same with their purple and orange liveries. There's reasons that they only had one book in the Railway Series.

For me? I personally would love for them to show up in CGI. Here's why:

1. The appearance of an electric engine in The Great Race

Even though some of its stations have shown up on TV, the Peel Godred branchline has not been properly represented as an electric branchline. One of the international engines in The Great Race will be Etienne, a representative of France, and he's an electric engine!

But what's that got to do with the Culdee Fell engines? At Kirk Machan, the branchline connects to the Culdee Fell Railway. If Etienne's presence in The Great Race foreshadows the appearance of the Peel Godred branch, then the Culdee Fell Railway will have become part of the show by 2020, when the franchise is 75 years old. Of course, you can't have the branchline without electric engines now, can you? Speaking of which...

2. The Ffarquhar "Coffee Pots" being canon

Despite my qualms about Glynn's "twenty seconds of fame" in The Adventure Begins, it was at least a good gesture to acknowledge the presence of the former Coffee Pot engines.

Again, why do I bring this up in a Culdee Fell engines topic? Well, the Coffee Pots and the Peel Godred engines were mentioned in the book The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways, and since Glynn was spun off from the Coffee Pots, why not have one or two engines based off the Peel Godred engines? (Depending on what they're based on if they show up, it could answer the ongoing question as to when the show takes place.)

I know that's not got much to do with the Culdee Fell engines being candidates for CGI, but it does connect to the first reason as to why I'd love for the mountain engines to show up.

3. The Skarloey engines and their liveries

Ever since season four, the Skarloey Six have been in individual liveries - Skarloey red, Rheneas vermilion, Sir Handel blue, Peter Sam green, Rusty orange, and Duncan yellow. In the Railway Series, they (bar Rusty, who was charcoal black) were all painted red, and unless you look carefully for small things, you could easily confuse one engine for another.

That's where the Culdee Fell engines come in - I know many would want them all to be purple, but obviously, we, as adults, are not the target audience and we have a children audience to consider. If they were all purple in CGI, sales would be quite poor, as none of them would stand out except for their names and numberplates. There was a magazine story in which Godred was painted red instead of purple, which could add a little bit to the diversity. Plus, each Arlesdale engine has his own unique livery, so why not have the Culdee Fell engines be in different liveries as well?

And since Skarloey is the only one painted red, it'd make sense to have Culdee be the only one in purple, with the possible exception of Lord Harry/Patrick, since he's a different shape to Culdee.

4. The slice-of-life stories in the Brenner era

In the recent seasons, there's been a mix between the action-packed stories (Not So Slow Coaches or Slow Stephen) and the simplistic, down-to-earth plotlines (Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger or Thomas the Babysitter). Some would think that the Culdee Fell engines have little chance of getting strong storytelling due to safety measures, but consider the likes of Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger; does that not sound like it could also have fit Lord Harry/Patrick?

On a slightly unrelated note, I think Helen Farrall could handle writing for the Culdee Fell engines and do a fantastic job with them.

Final Thoughts

Personally, despite what some would think, I don't believe the idea of the Culdee Fell engines in CGI is far-fetched - if they could render the Arlesdale engines, and they're in such a scale that'd be impossible for models, then the Culdee Fell engines have a future. But I don't want to see all seven show up so suddenly; I think they could start off with just Culdee and Lord Harry/Patrick, and maybe Wilfred as well. Then we could introduce the remaining engines later on and maybe a new diesel or two. And no, I didn't forget Godred. I'm not sure what they could do with him - maybe they'll pull a Smudger and have him be a generator?

Equestria Girls Holiday Special - 300th Blog Post

Well, I never imagined I'd make it so far within two years! I've gotten up to 300 blog posts (excluding those I've deleted in the past), and I've made it to over 100 thousand views! All I got to say is... wow. Thanks to each and everyone of you for your support, and I've enjoyed hearing your thoughts on my views, and looking at both the positives and the negatives, as well as everything in between. Here's to another hundred!

Alright, let's get down to business. I know I said it would be a revisit of Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep, and I assure you it will be done eventually - most likely, I'll just edit the old review and rewrite it from scratch. But right now, let's deal with something else that's also big...

The Equestria Girls Holiday Special. No, it's not a TV special, it's a comic book. When it comes to My Little Pony reviews, I always go for the actual series and the Equestria Girls movies, but never anything beyond, not even the fan videos, which I'm not really sold on for some reason. I don't recall ever getting a request to do one of the MLP comics, but I'll be doing this because... why not?

Before I get to the actual review, I want to inform you all beforehand that this review will be quite angry, and not without reason.

It feels like yesterday when I reviewed Ponyville Confidential, and how much I despised how the Crusaders were treated. This was wayback before season five had aired on TV, and since then, there's been the likes of Slice of Life, Party Pooped, Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep (the worst offender of the lot), Scare Master, What About Discord, and the season finale, The Cutie Re-Mark. That didn't mean I liked Ponyville Confidential after that. No, I still hated that episode as well as Dragon Quest for the cruel treatment of the starring characters.

With the Holiday Special? It's the same thing, only far, far worse. How? It takes a serious adult issue (or should it be teenager issue?) and portrays it extremely poorly, and not to mention insultingly. I have read several other reviews prior to writing mine up, and I gotta tell you... they ripped it apart without mercy, literally (I'll bet) and metaphorically.

Just so you're wondering, I shall not be discussing errors in the spelling or the illustrations - I just want to focus solely on the story.

Alright, so let's begin. We kick off with Sunset Shimmer and Applejack walking towards Canterlot High School and talking about Christmas (yes, I'm gonna refer to it as such, I've no reason not to). Sunset tells Applejack she's been alone for the holidays for the past few years and the latter decides to do something about it. She texts the rest of the Human Five and they decide to throw Sunset five slumber parties, one for each of their houses.

The first one is at Pinkie Pie's, and apparently, Sunset has never been to one before. Alright, I should point this out; apparently, this takes place after Rainbow Rocks, but here's the first plothole this comic has - Sunset has been to one before in said film! So why are you telling me that she hasn't been to one now? The first film takes place in fall, the second in the spring, and this takes place in winter! I suppose you can argue that this takes place the winter after the first film, but... well, I'll expand on that later on.

Applejack then gets a call from Apple Bloom, and when they say goodbye, she calls her big sister "Piggly Wiggly", cause as a baby, Applejack played with some pigs... okay... Later, Sunset writes to Princess Twilight, and I say this - Twilight's role is completely pointless. If you cut it out, the story would be the same.

The next day, Applejack hears someone call her "Piggly Wiggly", and Apple Bloom reveals that someone called "Anon-A-Miss" posted it online. The talk of "Anon-A-Miss" becomes school gossip, and Apple Bloom suggests that it could be Sunset, but Applejack dismisses it - remember that.

Slumber Party #2 takes place at Rarity's home, and Sweetie Belle is sent to bed by Rarity, much to the little sister's dismay. Then Sunset records Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash singing the "Cafeteria Song"... which is... weird, since it's a song about beating her in the Fall Formal. Pinkie does a stage dive that fails because... comedy, and later, all six girls dress up in ridiculous costumes.

Later in the week, the Human Five confront Sunset and instantly accuse her of being "Anon-A-Miss". Sunset tries to explain her innocence, but they don't listen to her and leave her in the hallways, a weeping mess.

Okay, that is just excessively cruel! Leaving your friend like that, chewing her out for things she may or may not have done without giving them the benefit of the about, and she's sobbing on the floor and you don't care?! All I can say is, screw you, Ted Anderson! Giving Sunset such treatment like that isn't funny, it's outright CRUEL! The Human Five are just written poorly and they're outright mean-spirited towards Sunset throughout the second act, despite that she helped in defeating the Dazzlings and saving the human world, YOU MORONIC, UNGRATEFUL JERKS!!! Effectively, this is like WhoBob WhatPants in which everyone in Bikini Bottom chews out SpongeBob just because he caused some small accidents!

More embarrassing gossip about the Human Five spreads across CHS, and Sunset confronts Trixie, accusing her of being "Anon-A-Miss". At this point, I should state that the Christmas theme is very much ignored for the rest of the story and they focus on the issues of cyber-bullying. That's all well and good since it is an issue that has plagued the internet since social media was created, but it is tackled in an extremely poor manner, as stated earlier.

Getting personal for a moment there, I had been a cyberbully victim back in 2014; some freak wrote "stories" to mock some of my own writings, and it pretty much killed me on the inside, opening my eyes to the harsh realities of the internet. I was angry, and the guy kept humiliating me until he was banned for stealing some of my art. He did make a brief comeback, however, but he was banned again. Long before that, in elementary and middle school, I had been constantly, and I do mean constantly, mocked by another student who was a year younger than me. Then again, my middle school years were nothing but three years' worth of hell and I never forgave the prick for what he did to me.

Back to the story. It turns out that more students have been victims of "Anon-A-Miss" as friendships begin falling apart... yet again. At the library, Sunset writes about her concerns to Princess Twilight, and in the morning, people accuse her of being "Anon-A-Miss", so she runs to the street cafe and meets up with the Human Five and convinces them they're her family, asking if she'd do something so atrocious. And then, the real "Anon-A-Miss" turns up - the Crusaders! And they did it out of jealousy towards Sunset...

Alright, that is the final straw. Where do I begin? Let's start with the fact that the Crusaders, in this story, are outright sociopaths! They make it look like Sunset was Anon-A-Miss, and they blame it on her! It wasn't made subtle early on, it was stated point blank! And they had to cyberbully her just because they felt ignored by their big sisters! What a load of rubbish! That's Starlight Glimmer levels of pettiness when she tried to destroy the world because she was a lonely crybaby, and it completely destroys their likability as characters! And you know what really destroys it further? They apologize to the Human Five for going to far and are automatically forgiven. Once again, DAMN YOU, ANDERSON, YOU MONSTER!!! You're outright suggesting that if a cyberbully apologizes the moment he or she reveals him or herself, they're expected to be forgiven straight away?! IT TAKES DAYS, WEEKS, POSSIBLY MONTHS TO BE FORGIVEN FOR COMMITTING SUCH ATROCITIES!!! And once again, it's further destroyed by the fact that the Human Five NEVER apologize to Sunset for being outright jerks towards her!

In short, Sunset is accused of being Anon-A-Miss, the Crusaders admit what they did, and are automatically forgiven, without an apology given to Sunset by the Human Five! Before anyone mentions A Canterlot Wedding, Applejack apologized on the Mane Six's behalf towards Twilight, and the story was structured a lot better! Also, why the hell did Scootaloo join her friends in the cyberbullying? She's just there because... reasons. And the ending does bring back the Christmas theme, but it's too little, too late to fix anything. Principal Celestia should've been involved in some capacity, but she wasn't! Yeah, it's mentioned that she gave the Crusaders detention, but it's not good enough. Also, Rarity is a hypocrite for apologizing to Sweetie Belle; she apologizes for making her sister feel alone, but again, she doesn't say so to Sunset!

Yeah, this is very much a rip off to Ponyville Confidential, but it's a terrible rip off. At least with that episode, the Crusaders did show a sense of morality - at first, it was fun making tabloid newspaper stories, but as it progressed, they wanted to stop but they couldn't since Diamond Tiara blackmailed them. Oh, and never once did they act like petty brats. In here, it seems they had no sense of right and wrong. "Oh, but they aren't the same as the ponies!" Granted, but they should at least know what's right and what's wrong when it comes to using the internet!

Meanwhile, when this comic isn't ripping off Ponyville Confidential, they're essentially wrecking continuity within the Equestria Girls universe. Like I've said, this supposedly takes place after Rainbow Rocks, but if you bring forth the fact that the Human Five and the rest of the student body torment her and accuse her of being Anon-A-Miss, then I don't believe that. It's absolutely jarring, and it leads to a lot of confusion. If this took place between the first two movies, then I would probably be more forgiving towards it, since Sunset was working to redeem herself at the time. And maybe if the Crusaders created Anon-A-Miss and framed Sunset out of spite for something she did in the past to them (maybe humiliated them in front of the school body?), it'd be credible, and it would show kids that two wrongs never make a right. Instead, they dropped the ball on this one.

And I will bring this up cause I'm sure people want me to - "No matter how big your family is, there's always room for one more." That is an excellent moral to teach children, but it's pretty much shot in the face since there was so much emphasis on cyber-bullying and so it's completely lost.

And so, my faithful readers, that was... whatever the hell this was supposed to be. It's absolutely reprehensible. The characters (except Sunset, who I'm actually sympathetic towards) are unlikable jerks for the sake of being jerks, the story makes literally no sense, the message on cyber-bullying is handled extremely poorly, and the cruelty is over the top! I don't know what those as IDW were thinking when this got published, but imagine if a kid read this and got ideas! Yeah, once again, "It's just for kids" shouldn't be used as an excuse, cause this comic is definitely not for children! Hell, it's not even for people with psychological problems or those who were cyberbully victims! Even the Grinch would hate this.

The only thing I'm (somewhat) grateful for is that Jim Miller has said the comics are a separate canon from the actual show. Thank goodness for that, because if the comic was translated onto the TV screen, people would've thoroughly destroyed it without mercy, probably as much as they did with the comic.

The show is called Friendship is Magic, but this clearly goes against the main series' title. If this was the first thing that was MLP-related parents bought for their children, they'd think the show on whole was hypocritical considering what goes on in the story! Yeah, One Bad Apple might have botched up its own bullying moral, but at least here, the Crusaders knew right from wrong, and they realized the consequences of their actions (or, what could've been) a lot sooner and knew when to stop.

On whole, I can safely say this is the worst thing to come out of My Little Pony (and that includes Generation 3), and I would not recommend wasting your money on this piece of crap. Yes, I know I was angry throughout my review, but if this spreads the word of how dangerous this comic's "morals" can be, then it was worth losing my cool over it. If I could give it a rating, it'd be -10/10 (yes, negative 10 - it really is that bad).

TTTE Season 19 Overview

My final post related to Thomas' 19th series! Here, I'll be listing the episodes I've ranked from worst to best, as well as giving additional thoughts on the season as a whole. Let's get started!

Worst - Rocky Rescue

Rating: -3/10

If they aren't treating supposed heroes like petty, childish brats, they're shunting their continuity straight into a brick wall, and this is a prime example as to why. It's only this season in which the Rescue Team have accomplished a thousand rescues - a whale being one of them, I reckon - but in this, they don't act like they have. Not to mention that they've redeemed Flynn and Belle in season 17, only to revert them to being idiots... again! If this was during season 16 or 17, I'd be more forgiving to some extent, but having it this far into the new era is simply inexcusable. That's like dealing with Luna's depression five seasons in, only for her to potentially threaten Equestria again! (Oh wait, that's already happened.)

Stay away from this failure.

The Other Side of the Mountain

Rating: 0/10

Truth time; I liked this a little bit at first, but when watching it again several times over, as well as seeing SamTheTrainFan's riffing on this episode (and Helping Hiro, which is next on the list), I realized how stupid this was. Not to mention how mean-spirited this was against Thomas, but even then, I couldn't root for him. And yeah, in case you're wondering, this would definitely have been on my Thomas is and Idiot list, possibly in the Top 10.

Helping Hiro

Rating: 2/10

"Oh, the potential!" seems to have been a recurring theme within season 19, and this episode shows us why that's the case.

Considering Toad's Adventure, in which James and Toad played off one another brilliantly, why couldn't Mark and Nick have done something similar with this by simply let Hiro play off another character like Charlie? Whilst the plot would still have a fair amount of contrivance, it at least would've made sense. I didn't like this episode that much when I first saw it, and I still don't to this day. Not helping is how I've recently figured out for myself that Hiro's just overrated, and also - if he misses Japan so much, why doesn't he go there?! (Oh, I'll get to that one soon enough.)

Salty All at Sea

Rating: 3/10

I know, I know, I originally gave this a 5.5/10, but looking back, I don't feel as generous. Porter has been severely underused since Away from the Sea, and despite some nice roles in the likes of Gone Fishing and Tale of the Brave, he's pretty much been relegated to the background, and this episode didn't even bother giving him a speaking role - not one line! Working alongside one another does not automatically make a dynamic; take note for next season, writers.

A Cranky Christmas

Rating: 4/10

Just outright boring. It tried to redeem itself with some humorous moments, but they fall flat like the Fat Controller. It feels a lot like a less-than-stellar take on Who's Geoffrey, and could've been cut down to four minutes.

Henry Spots Trouble

Rating: 4/10

Dear Thomas writers, if you're to write more episodes with Henry, please - do not treat his worrisome persona like it's a personality quirk! It's not cute, and if overused, it can become grating really quick.

To be honest, that's why I'm still not really fond of this episode. Yes, it taught us about fears of the unknown, but there's other kids shows out there that have done similar episodes to that. The writing in Henry Spots Trouble is fine, but it's a pretty forgettable episode.

The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead

Rating: 6/10

And here's another rating change.

I originally gave this a 7.5/10, but it dropped to a 6/10 cause... well, the plot is a bit on the disjointed side. Not as bad as it was in Rocky Rescue, but it could've been structured a lot better. They could've had the "race" take place earlier and then have the scoldings to Philip take place at the end of the episode, along with him promising not to pester Gordon again, maybe with a Thomas cameo where makes a "trust me, I know what that's like" face towards Philip.

Despite that, I still think the episode is alright, and I am quite interested to see how Philip's role in The Great Race will go.

Snow Place Like Home

Rating: 7/10

There's not much else I can say for this one, but I will say the focus is a bit confused - is it about Victor's fear of snow, or Kevin getting stuck in it?

Reds vs. Blues

Rating: 7/10

You know, I really don't know why this episode gets condemned by fans - is it the cliched plot? The focus on soccer/football? Another Thomas vs. James episode? It's really hard to tell as I really quite liked this one. There were some funny moments, and it's a clearly superior take on Thomas and the Colors, which, again, I will eventually get to.

Philip to the Rescue

Rating: 8/10

It was definitely a lot better structured than The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead, but for James letting Philip's attitude get the better of him? It's kind of difficult for me to explain or give my own interpretation on that, but hopefully, I'll come up with some reason or explanation behind this. Or maybe you have a perspective that you'd like to share.

Wild Water Rescue

Rating: 8/10

One of those humdrum plots where the episode is driven by characters rather than the story; moving on.

Who's Geoffrey?

Rating: 8/10

A nice season opener, although I do admit it might've been more interesting with a twist ending like a few people have suggested on DeviantArt. Yeah, it might be a little cliched, but can anyone name a Thomas episode where we got a twist ending what we didn't expect? (Not Daisy's reveal in Lost Treasure, since we knew about it before it came out on DVD.) Come on, work with me here.

The Truth About Toby

Rating: 8/10

Yeah, the episode's got it's problems, but then, so does every episode of the show, whether they be technical or story-wise. Of course, why were the issue with Toby's sideplates not brought up again until the ending? Couldn't they have fallen off at the scrapyards while Reg was lifting him?

There are positives that make up for a fair number of the negatives; it was nice to see Gordon and James show a different shade of their personas, and Henrietta was excellent. Way better than how it was handled in Thomas and the New Engine.

Two Wheels Good

Rating: 8/10

At last, an episode with focus on humans and road vehicles! Here's hoping we have more like this in the future... but separately, of course. This made the Duke and Duchess very interesting (why they aren't named, I don't know) and their moments were pure brilliance.

Something I didn't point out in the original review was the reusing of an angle from The Thomas Way - I don't mind that at all, just as long as they do it sparingly and so it doesn't affect the episode as a whole.

The Beast of Sodor

Rating: 8/10

Oh dear - I can't take the Fat Controller seriously anymore. Not saying it's bad, it's just a humorous bit of riffing from yours truly. This was probably our favorite railway director at his funniest. Plus, its connection to Henry's and Spencer's plot worked nicely, and it actually worked for Henry. I'm just hoping they keep developing him for season 20...!

No Help at All

Rating: 9/10

Ooh, now we're getting to the Top 10!

I don't think I'll add extra thoughts to this episode without giving it justice, so I won't. But I will say it must be seen to be appreciated.

Diesel's Ghostly Christmas

Rating: 9/10

Same thing with this. Yeah, a lot of the story is contrived, but then, you sometimes need to break a few rules just to get the story to work. I think Diesel suited the role for Scrooge very nicely, and the disguises by Emily, Salty, Paxton, and Thomas were very creative as well.

Of course, this is worth noting - and a similar problem occurs with Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasue - WHY are the crews not involved?! What are they these days - the engines' hands? A plot device for things to happen? Why are they (for the most part) mute? So many unanswered questions about them, but seriously. Either you actually feature the engines' crews doing more than just being here, or you don't feature them at all! I mean, is it that hard to stay consistent, especially when The Adventure Begins showed Gordon's driver scolding his engine?!

I could ramble on about the problem with the engine crews, but I'll let TheUnluckyTug02's take on this matter in the second half of his Lost Treasure review explain it a lot better than I could've done. (It's around the five minute mark.)

As for Diesel's Ghostly Christmas? It is still a fantastic episode, especially for Thomas' very first two-part episode, but they seriously need to work on consistency in the show, especially when it comes to little things (more on that later).

Very Important Sheep

Rating: 9/10

Another of those episodes where there's little to talk about, but all I can say here is that it's what Wonky Whistle should've been (even though that episode is overhated, but I digress).

Lost Property

Rating: 9/10

No one expected this episode to be great when it first came out on DVD in June 2015 - it was a simplistic, slice-of-life story, but it was mixed with great humor and moments with Thomas and the Fat Controller. A real highlight for this season, but what can be better? Well...

Goodbye Fat Controller

Rating: 9/10

Thank goodness season 19 ended it's run in Japan with this episode - had it been Rocky Rescue, I would not have been happy at all.

Sure, the rumors plot has been done to death in the past, but it really works for this episode - Sir Topham Hatt is respected by all his engines even though he has had unfortunate (and rather amusing) mishaps in the past, and they couldn't imagine Sodor without him. I think that's what makes it the best of the "rumors" episodes of season 19 - a bonding between the railway controller and his engines like parents and their children.

Den and Dart

Rating: 9/10

If Davey Moore could succeed in expanding on Den (mostly) and Dart, why could he have screwed up that badly with the Rescue team? I guess that's an answer we may never know, but it doesn't affect how brilliant this episode and its characters were.

But right now, let's get to the real standouts - the big ones.

Toad and the Whale

Rating: 10/10

Enough people have praised this to high hell (and not without reason, I should note), so let's move on.

Thomas the Babysitter

Rating: 10/10

Honestly, I was going to be much harsher in my review; not with this episode, but rather, at the episode's critics. I think the reaction to this pretty much reminds me of when Brotherhooves Social came out - people got upset all because Big Macintosh was dressed as a mare (and he had every reason to do so to be with Apple Bloom, people!) and with this one, people gripe about it being a generic Thomas episode, how "boring" this episode was (yeah, and so were Lost Property and Very Important Sheep[!]), and the fact that the baby was crying throughout when Thomas wasn't moving.

I think this episode perfectly shows the negatives of public transport; some people will have babies in strollers, and yes, they will cry at any opportunity, it's natural. On the next mode of public transport you ride in if there's a baby in a stroller and if it starts crying at any point, think of where this episode was coming from. Despite not having heard a baby cry on a bus (yet, at least), I actually believe where Thomas the Babysitter came from, and it's an episode I really liked from the get-go.

Slow Stephen

Rating: 10/10

Yeah, Helen Farrall is pretty dominant in the Top 10, and I think this is her absolute best. So much that it's now my fourth favorite episode of the show (The Flying Kipper is now at fifth and Old Iron is third). Apart from my complaint about Gordon's portrayal in the episode and the current era in general, this was very well-paced and had excellent action in the third act. Once again, you got to see it to appreciate its genius.

Best - Best Engine Ever

Rating: 10/10

After much deliberation, I have finally decided that, after 30 years since Thomas and Bertie, Andrew Brenner managed to bring forth my new favorite episode of the entire show. Oh sure, there may be one or two minor problems this has, but then again, Thomas and Bertie did too.

Very rarely do kids' shows actually tackle adult issues head on. When they do, they often end up backfiring horribly by not understanding the issue (One Coarse Meal) and/or just simply insult those with psychological problems (Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep). Emily being self-conscious about her appearance and feeling depressed over it worked beautifully, and it shows that, like everyone else, she can feel sad or upset, hopefully shutting up those who think she's a "Mary Sue".

And then there's the issue with responding to audience criticisms. Of course, we all know Thomas and Friends has been targeted for being "sexist", and so they introduced more female characters as a response to the critics. With this episode? It's not so much of a "take that" to the critics, but rather, it showcases how brilliant Emily and Caitlin are, and can be, as characters.

That's what makes Best Engine Ever the best episode ever in Thomas history - it tackles an adult issue, makes those who faced a problem similar to Emily's actually feel better about themselves by the end, and it's a response to the critics who scream "sexist" without being "in your face" about it. It has it all, and like I've said before, it shall remain my favorite episode until they either best it (which I doubt), the show ends and I stop being a fan, or I die. Whichever comes first.

Final Thoughts

Season 19 was to Thomas what season five was to MLP - a step backwards. Unlike MLP season five, however, there are enough good episodes to make up for a number of the bad ones, and the bad ones of Thomas season 19 aren't as bad as those in MLP season five (except maybe Rocky Rescue), in which the bad ones were really bad.

Perhaps the season's biggest problem was inconsistency within the episodes. Sure, they try tying up to past episodes and specials, but we're three seasons into the new era. That kind of stuff could've been kept in season 17, and it might not have been so bad since we had a new writing staff, and there was a big mess to clean up. Helping Hiro is a prime example of this; they tried making it a sequel to Hero of the Rails, but it was six years too late for that.

Then there's the focus on the Steam Team - Thomas especially. Why did they have to feature him in every episode?! We should be past that by now! If it was so Joseph May and John Hasler could get used to the role, even then, it's no excuse.

Of course, there's Henry, Gordon, and James - they need to stop treating their respective character flaws like they're personality quirks. It gets really annoying, and the writers should at least try and show different shades of their personalities like we saw in The Truth About Toby (at least for Gordon and James). Heck, even in the Barlow era, we saw Gordon and James show kindness once in a while. As for Henry? Well, I've moaned enough about his worrisome persona being treated as a quirk as it is.

I do appreciate what the season was trying to do, of course; it wanted to try out new things like the previous season did, and that's admirable. Some worked, but others didn't, although I wish that a fair number of characters received more screentime - I mean, characters like Duck, Oliver, Whiff, Belle, and Stafford didn't have enough time to shine and spoke once or twice.

Overall, I'd give this season a 7/10; had there been more quality control, it could've been better. I'm hoping season 20 is better than this and hopefully bigger than season 18, and with the confirmed appearances of Sir Handel, Rosie, and Stanley, as well as Daisy's return, it should be interesting. Of course, I, like everyone else, am also wondering what else this season will have in store for us...

That's it for season 19 - bring on the big 20 and The Great Race! This should be an exciting time for Thomas fans (as long as Viacom allows it)!

TTTE Season 19: The Final Episodes

You know what? I ain't gonna even bother waiting for the next episodes to air. I just want to get season 19 outta the way so I can focus on the remaining episodes of seasons 5-17 that I haven't got to as well as the next episodes of MLP's sixth season.

Wild Water Rescue

Written by Becky Overton

This episode was released back in June 2015 on the Target-exclusive DVD Wild Water Rescue and Other Engine Adventures along with five other season 16 episodes. I'm not really sure why it was released with five Nitrogen episodes when they could've released the new episode by itself with the other DVD segments as bonus features.

Alright then, onto this episode. First off, I really like Percy and Diesel's dynamic - Diesel is shown as a devious trickster and Percy is his gullible, naive victim. It's a lot better than Day of the Diesels in which Percy is seen a wuss. Actually, Percy has been brilliant throughout season 19. After Tale of the Brave, he's been portrayed as much more confident, and he's more naive than stupid. But I don't know why he'd think the mayor would be at an abandoned quarry.

When it comes to Diesel, he does get his comeuppance for lying to Percy when he tries to help him out of the flooded track and his engine short circuits - a nice way to showing kids that water and electricity don't mix - but he does get his wish in being a picture, but not the way he intended. So he loses and wins at the same time. And it's funny how he struggles to apologize.

And of course, there's the Rescue team - how did they manage to succeed in a thousand rescues because of their incompetence (I'll get to that soon enough), I'll never know. And Percy's photo faces? Pure win.

Rating: 8 out of 10

No Help at All

Apparently, this takes place during three episodes - Salty All at Sea (and it's also referenced in this episode), Best Engine Ever, and Den and Dart. How does this stack up?

Compared to Salty All at Sea, there's Thomas' role. This time, he doesn't hijack the plot because he's the main character, and another reason his role works is because Knapford connects to his branchline (then again, that could also be said for episodes like Missing Gator, but I digress). Oh, and he lampshades the fandom complaint about there being "too many" engines on Sodor, but I wonder if that was foreshadowing Philip's or Ryan's arrival?

With Bill and Ben, for their only appearance in season 19 after a lot last season, they were portrayed brilliantly, and their antics are hilarious as always. I did feel very bad for Marion when she was left struggling with the trucks, but it was funny to see her still stuck at the end of the episode, calling for help.

Timothy was the standout character, as was Porter. With Timothy, he's a complete contrast to the twins by being more serious-minded about his work, and doesn't care if he's seen as "boring" as the twins put it. Porter's role was quite good, but he really needs to be given more starring roles and development - ever since Away from the Sea, he's been left to the wayside and is overshadowed by everyone else at Brendam.

And yes, the musical interlude with "Down by the Docks" - it was done brilliantly.

Rating: 9 out of 10

The Other Side of the Mountain

I was very... conflicted about this one. There were people that liked, and then there's those that hated it. Let's try and make sense of this, shall we?

The first point of contention is the similarities to Thomas' Shortcut. In the season 17 episode, Thomas wanted to find an alternate route along his branchline in order to win his races with Bertie. In this, he wants to see the other side of the hill, despite that he's a railway engine and not a road vehicle. Yes, I know they said mountain and not hill, but it doesn't even look like a mountain at all. Another similarity is Annie and Clarabel's portrayal; in Shortcut, they're portrayed as more serious when they tell Thomas the branchline doesn't have a shortcut. Here? They're just mean to Thomas by laughing at him just because he's unable to see the other side.

Actually, the same thing could be said for Bertie; he's a jerk to Thomas for the sake of being a jerk. Are we sympathizing with Thomas? No, since he was also put in a bad light as well! After he ignores a red signal, he gets into an accident and must be taken to the Steamworks to be fixed. Based on the Fat Controller's line, I'm just wondering why he even keeps him around if we consider how much trouble and accidents he causes on a regular basis. Yeah, both parties apologize in the end, but it's too little, too late to save the episode. Also, if Thomas refused to listen to Bertie, why did he even bother thinking about what he'd said before?

The conflict is resolved... and rather stupidly, I should note. Guess what Thomas sees? It's a billboard. A billboard, of all things! At least with Timothy and the Rainbow Truck, the resolution made sense to give payback towards Bill and Ben for sending Timothy on a fool's errand. It's just there, because plot device.  Oh, and Thomas the Jet Train, even if it was a fantasy, did look quite stupid. :P

I was unsure as to what to think of the episode at first, but reviewing it now? Holy hell, this is just stupidly awful. Neither Thomas nor Bertie are put in the positive light, the humor comes across as mean-spirited, and the resolution was outright dumb and only served to provide a happy ending. Also, what does this story teach us? With Thomas' Shortcut, it taught us that you should always follow the rules, but with The Other Side of the Mountain, the moral it tried to tell us about paying attention, but the build up was extremely half-arsed.

So what if Jack made a cameo appearance? This episode is just bad, and there's little redeeming value to it other than the crash.

Rating: 0 out of 10

Thomas the Babysitter

Written by Helen Farrall

This episode (as well as The Other Side of the Mountain) aired in Japan on the 21st birthday, perhaps the first time I can recall an episode airing on my birthday. Was this better than the episode it aired with? Yes, it was.

Ever heard of the KISS principle? That's short for Keep It Simple, Stupid, which is exactly what they did here. The concept of Thomas putting up with a baby on board his train doesn't sound very exciting, but if you look beyond that, it sounds like the kind of story Awdry could've written himself. What keeps the episode going is that Thomas, Annie and Clarabel try to figure out how to keep the baby from crying - singing don't do scrap, but who knew that Annie and Clarabel were opera singers? - and it turns out that if Thomas kept moving, the baby would keep quiet.

Actually, that just shows me that this is Thomas and the Pigs done right. When Thomas decides not to stop at every station, Annie and Clarabel shoot it down, reminding him that he has other passengers, so they have to put up with it until they reach Knapford. Then, does Thomas decide to sacrifice his break (much to the coaches' dismay) by giving the baby and his mother a free ride along the branchline.

I think that's probably the best part of the episode - the workings of Thomas' branchline. With Toby's and Percy's presence on the line, it makes it feel more complete. Stanley, whilst he has a cameo, actually serves a purpose as a secondary engine for the branchline. I'm thinking that he's a go-anywhere mixed-traffic engine akin to Donald and Douglas, and with him running passenger services on Thomas' branchline, I suppose that covers up the plot hole as to who runs the line whilst Thomas is out doing whatever. I guess a similar case could be said for Rosie; both she and Stanley have been seen working on the branchlines and mainline pulling either passengers or goods.

Other than that, there's little to say. The episode features a simplistic slice-of-life story that was definitely written with Thomas in mind, and there's a time-lapse which was done fantastically. It's certainly one of season 19's best for sure. In fact, a few of my all-time favorites come from this season alone.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Rocky Rescue

Written by Davey Moore

Oh, this was one that I was looking forward to reviewing; not because I like it, but rather, it's because it is possibly the worst episode in the new era. There's so much wrong with this episode, but it's down to two words - continuity breaker.

Firstly, Flynn mentioned fighting a fire at Brendam Docks. Later, he and the rest of the team argue about how to get Rocky back on the rails. If we bring Wild Water Rescue into consideration, the Rescue team should at least act like they've performed over a thousand rescues! Here, they're just bickering childishly and their arguing does more hurt than good! Hell, in Toad and the Whale, they were struggling to understand how to get the whale back into the ocean, and never were they seen acting this petty. It's one thing to argue when you're waiting for a rescue, but to argue during the rescue? That's inexcusable.

Next there's Henry's rescue. It's kinda unimportant, but I wanted to mention this - his portrayal was fine, but it's only in this season he's faced off chicken pox, the "abominable snowman", as well as running away from Skiff and Sailor John in a subplot that was never resolved (unless they have plans for season 20), and yet he's lying on his side, close to the edge and doesn't freak out. I don't know if this is nitpicking or not, but it is a bit of a distraction.

However, it's nothing compared to what happens after he's brought back onto the rails. And yes, there is a goof in the animation; when Henry sets off, his tender is still on its side, but in the next shot, it's coupled to him. But that isn't the biggest problem. Let's bring forth Helping Hiro, Philip to the Rescue, and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, shall we? Hiro, James, and Thomas were unable to move as their chassis and/or wheels got damaged badly and therefore, they couldn't be able to move after their respective accidents. But with Henry, he's able to move after his accident with no problem! Also, why the hell didn't Belle come along to take Henry to the Steamworks since she's also a locomotive?

After that, there's Rocky's runaway and his tipping over. Continuity Errors, Exhibit C - in Best Engine Ever, Caitlin and Emily went down the hill leading up to Ulfstead Castle at what appeared to be 70 miles per hour, and neither tipped over! In this episode, Rocky seemed to be going at a slower speed and yet he does! I suppose you could argue that his center of gravity his higher, but the writers should not have this happen in one episode when it doesn't in another. You see how disjointed the episode is?

Of course, my complaints don't stop there. Animation Error, Exhibit B - Rocky is tipped over off the tracks he was on, but later when he's rescued, he's on the tracks he derailed from, on his side. I know Arc makes dumb mistakes from time to time, but come on! Soon, the rest of the Rescue team, barring Captain for obvious reasons, try to help Rocky back on the rails. At this point, you're thinking, "Oh, Jerome and Judy should've been in this episode!" Yeah, well, so should've Harvey since, oh I don't know, he's a crane tank engine? Considering The Adventure Begins was produced alongside season 19, I'm hoping the two cranes will turn up in season 20 as I'd hate for their renders to go to waste.

And yes, there's Thomas' role. While he was portrayed nicely, his role could've suited Harvey much better, as mentioned above, and like I've done with Spike in The Crystalling, I'm treating this as purely coincidental, not as if it was the default setting. Then there's the moral about teamwork, and its biggest problem is that it's shoved down our throats! And there's the three strikes, because why not.

I think the few things I liked in this episode was Rocky's portrayal on the whole, and the music and sweeping shot near the end were amazing. And the narrator was barely prominent, which is quite nice - not that I'm against the usage of one, mind - and the voice acting was really good. But that's it. The rest of the episode was simply terrible. Thomas and Friends is not a self-contained show - at least at this point, it shouldn't be - but if you neglect your own continuity, then you got problems. If it was a SpongeBob SquarePants script, I'd understand since most episodes are meant to be self-contained, but here with Thomas? Sorry, but no can do.

Rocky Rescue is definitely the worst episode of the Thomas Renaissance, and the worst of season 19 overall. Davey Moore should've known better at this point.

Rating: -3 out of 10

Goodbye Fat Controller

The final episode of season 19, and after a few hits and misses, let's see if this was worthy of a finale. Basically, the premise is that Percy overhears some men and thinks that the Fat Controller is leaving Sodor, and so the engines work extra hard and early to convince him to stay. However, when Percy sees the men moving stuff from his office, the Steam Team goes on strike, only for him to explain that his office is being redecorated.

I really love how this episode shows how much the engines appreciate the Fat Controller for being their father figure. Also, this episode is basically Percy's Big Mistake done right, and it's a lot funnier. One of the highlights is the instrumental interlude of "Sir Topham Hatt 2010" with the engines working hard and the Fat Controller reacting in surprise.

Speaking of which, the humor with him is excellent - he's not treated as a butt monkey as he was in episodes like The Beast of Sodor or Lost Property. He's the straight man, and he reacts to funny things around him, not having funny (some would say mean-spirited) things happen to him. Although with his office being redecorated, I'm surprised that if this is the finale, it's only going to get blown up by Sailor John.

Then there's the strike, which I've an issue with - why would Edward agree to it? I mean, I know that he's known the Hatt family for many years and would still be saddened, but still. I've a similar issue with Gordon. Considering he lead a strike with Henry and James following him, wouldn't he have been a bit more reluctant since it was his strike that lead to Percy's arrival? And what about every other engine on the NWR? Why don't we see their reactions?

Other than that complaint, I do think it's a very good episode, and it was a worthy finale with humorous references to Trouble in the Shed, and an equally hilarious ending with the telephone.

Rating: 9 out of 10

You'll notice that a lot of scores have changed; I've decided to go for whole points rather than half points since it's more efficient.

Thomas and Friends Season 19 Scorecard:

1. Who's Geoffrey?: 8

2. The Truth About Toby: 8

3. Lost Property: 9

4. Henry Spots Trouble: 4

5. Toad and the Whale: 10

6. Very Important Sheep: 9

7. Salty All at Sea: 3

8. Den and Dart: 9

9. Helping Hiro: 2

10. Snow Place Like Home: 7

11. The Beast of Sodor: 8

12. A Cranky Christmas: 4

SYE1. Two Wheels Good: 8

SYE2. Reds vs. Blues: 7

SYE3. Slow Stephen: 10

SYE4. The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead: 6

SYE5. Best Engine Ever: 10

SYE6. Philip to the Rescue: 8

Diesel's Ghostly Christmas: 9

Wild Water Rescue: 8

No Help At All: 9

The Other Side of the Mountain: 0

Thomas the Babysitter: 10

Rocky Rescue: -3

Goodbye Fat Controller: 9