Thomas and Friends Season 16: The Remaining Episodes and Overall

Well, last week's batch was quite unpleasant to sit through. Thankfully, as this is the last batch of Nitrogen episodes, we can make a return to the classic era soon enough. Would any of these episodes salvage season 16, or was it scrapped on arrival?

All episodes written by Sharon Miller, except as noted.

Episode 1: Race to the Rescue

Truth time: I reviewed the remaining eight episodes in reverse chronological order. I chose to review this one last because... well, let's find out.

I should state, for the record, that this episode came directly after Fiery Flynn, one of the show's worst ever episodes. That episode was so bad that real life firefighters would put it to shame, as would Fireman Sam - why it had to share its stable with Thomas' worst era, I'll never know. Onto this episode, Flynn is once portrayed as being self-conscious, but this time, it's about traveling on the road. Why? Couldn't he have had a minor accident, giving him a confidence knock? I would buy that over Charlie calling him a big red wobble on wheels!

I've not seen any Fireman Sam episode lately, but I know for a fact that you'd never see them deciding whether or not they should travel on the road or rails; they were focused on getting the task done and saving lives! Actually, in this episode, Flynn once again wastes his time getting to the Fat Controller's shed (by the way, why does he need one?), potentially putting people's lives at risk! Also, if he could spray water onto Gordon's coaches from where he was, surely he'd have had no problem putting the fire out from the rails?

Terrible episode with dangerous morals, the worst season premiere to date, and just as awful as Fiery Flynn. Stay away.

Episode 3: Express Coming Through

And on the opposite end of the spectrum...!

Let's make it clear, people; yes, Thomas has pulled express coaches before, but it was never stated that it was the express itself. I mean, The Adventure Begins confirms that it was a stopping passenger train with red branchline coaches - why they didn't have red express coaches, I'll never know, but whatever.

Remember in Slow Stephen when I said that Gordon's attitude needed toning back? That also applies to this era; we know Gordon pulls the express, and we don't need him repeating it over and over again! To be fair, his attitude makes some degree of sense as Thomas was determined to prove his strength, something he probably should've outgrown at this point, but I digress. It might have worked better if Thomas was substituted in for Rosie or Stanley, but then again, there may not have been an Awdry-esque feeling.

However, if Thomas struggles in pulling the express coaches, then how is he able to shunt them without trouble? But even then, there's funny moments like Dowager Hatt and the cake (I'm surprised she didn't get a gut ache after that!) and her line "Thomas! Do something!" Every time she appears, Dowager Hatt is just outright funny (except maybe in Fiery Flynn). Good episode, but it has problems as usual.

Episode 4: Percy and the Monster of Brendam

You wait sixty-four episodes, and we finally get one where Thomas doesn't have a speaking role... and it turns out to be bad anyway. If it was called the "Monster of Brendam", then why is Percy looking across Sodor just to find it? Salty's story was rather stupid; it's pretty obvious that it was Cranky, and I'm sure Salty was talking out of his engine block. On a sidenote, Cranky's reaction at the end pretty much sums up how I feel about many episodes from this era.

Also, why did they have to make Edward, Henry, and Toby total cowards? (To be fair, at this point, I wouldn't put it past Henry.) And how could they have mistaken Rocky, Butch, and Diesel for the Monster? Although I'll admit Diesel's response is rather funny - "Who's calling me a monster?!" I'll admit the fog was very nicely done, much better than last season, but it doesn't save the episode from being a bad one. Unfortunately, it's canon to the show as of season 19, and I pretty much wish that the stupidity of the characters was toned back so Edward and Toby were the voices of reason.

Episode 6: Flash Bang Wallop!

Written by Jessica Sandys Clarke

So, this episode is another given a fair amount of praise by the fandom. Is it really deserved? To some extent, it is. It's interesting that they featured a Garratt and City of Truro in the book, although with the latter, I feel it would've been interesting if Duck was featured - I mean, seeing his idol in the book would've given him plenty of reason to want to be featured in the book, and it could've made for an interesting storyline.

If the photographer left his second camera behind, why couldn't he bring it with him? Oh, it was for plot convenience; I understand. Also how did Thomas' selfish photobombing case the engines to crash? That makes no sense whatsoever. There's the typical three strikes, and Thomas, as mentioned earlier, is selfish as usual. We did get some interesting classic series references, but it takes more than that to make an episode actually good.

Episode 7: Thomas and the Rubbish Train

Written by Andrew Viner

Why were Scruff and Stanley brought up solely to be forgotten about afterward? I feel that, had Scruff been in Thomas' place, it would've been a nice expansion on their friendship. Or, if they chose Stanley, it would've added a new dynamic, and given him some screentime, which he'll be receiving in season 20 (hopefully!)

But seriously; Thomas should at least know not to let teasing get to him! He'd been on Sodor for at least ninety years, so he should know that by now! At least Diesel seemed in character, but it was only for the sake of the plot. Not helping is that he was rather selfish leaving Whiff high and dry three times (not for the first time) just to smell good for the Duchess of Boxford. The plot itself felt like a remake of Thomas and the Stinky Cheese, crash and all. Of course, the crash was very brilliantly done, but much like James to the Rescue, it doesn't automatically make an episode great, especially if discriminatory messages are involved!

Episode 16: Whiff's Wish

Written by Andy Bernhardt

Wait, what's that I heard? The Flying Kipper actually being mentioned by name? A nice touch, but it doesn't have anything to do with anything now, does it? Then again, nor do any of these introductions in this era, but I digress.

I have to say; I like Whiff as a character, but I don't like his voices in either dub, especially not his US voice (it also sounds similar to Edward, which doesn't help matters) - what is up with that? Couldn't they have recast him to make him sound somewhat like Eric Idle? And who would leave rubbish trucks on the mainline like that? It's also kind of strange that, since Whiff doesn't care for what others think, he would be concerned with what others like Spencer thought of him. That said, I did like the subtle callback to Emily and the Garbage (yes, I'm referring to it as such as the UK title sounds offensive).

On whole, it's another dull episode, and the moral's pretty much been done better before and since. If only Whiff was given another chance at a starring role...

Episode 17: Welcome Stafford

This one's rather interesting. I like Stafford as a character, and I enjoy listening to his dialect; it's very funny to listen to at times ("My battery's running out! ...oh dear..." "Oh dear; here we go again..."). Thomas' role, of course, was redundant and could've been cut altogether. Not too sure about why Spencer is giving Stafford a tour of Sodor rather than James, but... you get what you get. It's a total showcase of Hit's characters and it was funny how Stafford pretty much lampshades the big problem with the writing at the time.

Episode 19: Happy Birthday Sir!

Hmm... this one's alright, but it's hardly what you'd call an epic finale. It was the typical three-strikes plot, and Winston didn't get much characterization. I have to say, the render of the open-topped carriage looks fantastic, but how'd it take a day to restore? And why is Salty telling Edward's story if the blue engine is right next to him? It was a nice flashback, however, and it was clever seeing a younger Topham Hatt (I doubt he'd be called "sir" back then). It's also laughable that Thomas scolded Winston for looking for things when he's done so himself - much like Philip to the Rescue, of course, it doesn't make Thomas any less hypocritical. Also, how did Winston's driver not get whiplash when Thomas bumped into him? A decent episode on the whole.

Season 16 Final Thoughts

So... was it better than season 15? A tiny bit, but Race to the Rescue, The Christmas Tree Express, and (especially) Sodor Surprise Day really ruined this season. If it wasn't for those failures, I'd say yes; it is an improvement over season 15, but it's still a terrible season with creatively bankrupt storylines and the discriminatory messages were worse than ever. Sure, Nitrogen made some improvements as far as visuals go, but it was too little, too late for them. With Arc, they constantly improve with every season and special (just take a look at season 19 and compare it to King of the Railway) and try new things.

Well, that's the worst era out of the way (and good riddance too!) It's time to forget about the bad times and head back to the classic era!

Episodes from Worst to Least Bad

20. Sodor Surprise Day (-10/10)
19. Race to the Rescue (-8/10)
18. The Christmas Tree Express (-5/10)
17. Thomas Toots the Crows (1/10)
16. Bust My Buffers!
15. Ol' Wheezy Wobbles
14. Ho Ho Snowman
13. Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor
12. Don't Bother Victor! (2/10)
11. Percy and the Monster of Brendam
10. Thomas and the Rubbish Train (3/10)
9. Salty's Surprise
8. Emily's Winter Party Special (4/10)
7. Whiff's Wish
6. Muddy Matters (5/10)
5. Flash Bang Wallop!
4. Happy Birthday Sir! (6/10)
3. Welcome Stafford
2. Express Coming Through (7/10)
1. Percy and the Calliope (8/10)

Season 16 Overall Rating: 2/10