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
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