Here's the second half of the remaining episodes of season five! Surprisingly enough, they're all consecutive. I didn't even intend for that to happen!
All episodes written by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are written with David Maidment.
Hmm... this is gonna be interesting.
Yes, I know, the plot seems a little too mature for a Thomas episode. That said, at least Percy's driver asked for permission to borrow the new set of buffers, and it was good seeing Old Slow Coach make a second appearance - shame it was her last one. Although it might've been nice to explain if she was still a workman's coach or not. As for the kiss? Well... maybe Percy wasn't in steam when the wedding took place? A strange one, I'll admit.
Episode 20: Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday
Yes, I know, the plot seems a little too mature for a Thomas episode. That said, at least Percy's driver asked for permission to borrow the new set of buffers, and it was good seeing Old Slow Coach make a second appearance - shame it was her last one. Although it might've been nice to explain if she was still a workman's coach or not. As for the kiss? Well... maybe Percy wasn't in steam when the wedding took place? A strange one, I'll admit.
Now this is a great episode. I love the focus on Sir Topham and his family, and we got a lot of funny moments out of this episode. Harold's role was also quite good, and it was nice to see Annie and Clarabel get a refurbish, although it's odd that they kept changing appearance before and after this episode, even with the use of stock footage. And how can I resist mentioning Percy pushing the river boat on the flatbed? Pure visual hilarity.
Episode 21: A Surprise for Percy
Ehh... I'm not sure what to make of this one. The story is a bit too simplistic for my liking. All we got is Percy feeling frustrated over taking coal trucks, and then a runaway takes place... and ends when two planks of wood stopping the trucks... because no one heard of brakes on a brakevan. Not terrible, it's just... there.
Episode 22: Make Someone Happy
This however, is yet another fantastic episode from season five. I feel this episode fits James perfectly considering how he's been portrayed recently, and I like how they expand on Mrs. Kyndley's character a bit. The moral on making others happy is a good one, and the fairground setting was fantastic. Not much else to say here; it's just brilliant.
Episode 23: Busy Going Backwards*
This'll be fun!
I'll admit that when I was younger, this was one of my favorites from season five. Sure, the chase was rather unrealistic and Toad couldn't have traveled such a distance in reality, but I suppose that was what made it fun to me. Did you know a clip from this made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien when he criticized Alec Baldwin for making James sound gay? I don't recall where the clip was on YouTube, but if anyone can find it, let me know.
And yes, that's the scene where Toad nearly crashes into James in an unrealistic manner. Don't ask.
I suppose I better talk about Oliver's lack of starring roles in the recent episodes. Yes, he features because he's Toad's engine (at least on TV), but remember that in the classic era, even with this episode, Toad had much less character development than he did in his three CGI starring roles. Meanwhile, Oliver himself received a fair amount of development during seasons 3-7. Keep that in mind.
Episode 24: Duncan Gets Spooked*
I'll admit that when I was younger, this was one of my favorites from season five. Sure, the chase was rather unrealistic and Toad couldn't have traveled such a distance in reality, but I suppose that was what made it fun to me. Did you know a clip from this made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien when he criticized Alec Baldwin for making James sound gay? I don't recall where the clip was on YouTube, but if anyone can find it, let me know.
And yes, that's the scene where Toad nearly crashes into James in an unrealistic manner. Don't ask.
I suppose I better talk about Oliver's lack of starring roles in the recent episodes. Yes, he features because he's Toad's engine (at least on TV), but remember that in the classic era, even with this episode, Toad had much less character development than he did in his three CGI starring roles. Meanwhile, Oliver himself received a fair amount of development during seasons 3-7. Keep that in mind.
I know it's four months too early for Halloween... but who gives a damn?
I do like the dark atmosphere they put into the sets, but much like characterization in episodes, it should be considered default setting. It was most unusual that the trucks derailed off the bridge they way they did and I feel Peter Sam got scolded unfairly solely because of an insecure coupling. It does feel like this episode was trying to mix Britt and Mitton's vision of dark storytelling as well as Maidment's vision of railway realism, and making a right crock of it.
As for paying Duncan back at the end, it's rather strange that his crew would have fireflies as part of the plan; a rock, I'd understand, but why fireflies? Nice animated effects though.
I do have a theory about why the episode runtime was expanded to nine minutes; in a four minute thirty episode, storytelling is a bit restricted. In an episode double the length, there's more room for creativity. I think that with season five, they had a lot of ideas for each episode, but due to time constraints, they have to be reduced to four minutes and thirty seconds. Had Duncan Gets Spooked and other season five episodes been produced today, I bet they could've fared better on a storytelling level.
A fine episode on the whole, but there are noticeable faults.
Oh, and as a nitpick; why is it that in the UK, when the coupling snaps, it's a spring sound effect, but in America, we get an actual coupling snap? Was consistency in the classic era a huge deal, especially when it comes to sound?
Is it underrated? Overrated? Well, that depends on who you are. Underrated, because whilst a number of episodes lacked the Awdry charm the first four seasons did, they did provide a fair amount of entertainment. Overrated, because whilst it tried to up the age demographic, it was plagued by unrealistic moments and the excessive amounts of crashes. I think that's the best way to sum up the fandom's opinions on this season. That said, it had less bad episodes than My Little Pony's fifth season did... but that's a topic for another day.
I do like the dark atmosphere they put into the sets, but much like characterization in episodes, it should be considered default setting. It was most unusual that the trucks derailed off the bridge they way they did and I feel Peter Sam got scolded unfairly solely because of an insecure coupling. It does feel like this episode was trying to mix Britt and Mitton's vision of dark storytelling as well as Maidment's vision of railway realism, and making a right crock of it.
As for paying Duncan back at the end, it's rather strange that his crew would have fireflies as part of the plan; a rock, I'd understand, but why fireflies? Nice animated effects though.
I do have a theory about why the episode runtime was expanded to nine minutes; in a four minute thirty episode, storytelling is a bit restricted. In an episode double the length, there's more room for creativity. I think that with season five, they had a lot of ideas for each episode, but due to time constraints, they have to be reduced to four minutes and thirty seconds. Had Duncan Gets Spooked and other season five episodes been produced today, I bet they could've fared better on a storytelling level.
A fine episode on the whole, but there are noticeable faults.
Oh, and as a nitpick; why is it that in the UK, when the coupling snaps, it's a spring sound effect, but in America, we get an actual coupling snap? Was consistency in the classic era a huge deal, especially when it comes to sound?
Season 5 Overall
Saying season five was the weakest of the classic era could be a bit of an understatement. I actually find it surprisingly good for the first season without Awdry material. Yeah, it had problems, but then, so do the Arc seasons as well as the first four.Is it underrated? Overrated? Well, that depends on who you are. Underrated, because whilst a number of episodes lacked the Awdry charm the first four seasons did, they did provide a fair amount of entertainment. Overrated, because whilst it tried to up the age demographic, it was plagued by unrealistic moments and the excessive amounts of crashes. I think that's the best way to sum up the fandom's opinions on this season. That said, it had less bad episodes than My Little Pony's fifth season did... but that's a topic for another day.
Episodes Ranked from Worst to Best
26. Snow (1/10)
25. Toby and the Flood (3/10)
24. A Surprise for Percy (5/10)
23. Rusty and the Boulder
22. Toby's Discovery
21. Stepney Gets Lost (6/10)
20. Happy Ever After
19. Baa!
18. Gordon and the Gremlin (7/10)
17. Bye George!
16. Duncan Gets Spooked
15. Oliver's Find
14. Cranky Bugs
13. Horrid Lorry (8/10)
12. Busy Going Backwards
11. James and the Trouble with Trees
10. Thomas and the Rumors
9. Double Teething Troubles (9/10)
8. Lady Hatt's Birthday Party
7. Something in the Air
6. Haunted Henry
5. Put Upon Percy
4. Make Someone Happy (10/10)
3. Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday
2. A Better View for Gordon
1. Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach
Season 5 Final Rating: 7.5/10
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