Thomas and Friends Season 12: The Remaining Episodes

As there was no poll for the rest of season 12, I decided to do the last five episodes all together, just to get this season out of the way. Next week will deal with all the leftovers from seasons 9-11, as well as the next episode of MLP, Stranger Than Fan Fiction. Anyway, let's finish up season 12!

Episodes 2, 4, and 7 written by Sharon Miller; episodes 11 and 17 by Mark Robertson

Episode 2: Steady Eddie

Yeah, this is where Oliver and Arthur make their comeback, but it's just a case of blink and you miss. That moment of pointless fanservice aside (seriously, someone else could've taken their role and nothing would change), the episode is another bad one. When was Edward known for showing off like James? He'd usually be more focused on getting the job done, and not showing off his special to everyone on Sodor. Yeah, there was some nice development to Great Waterton, but it doesn't save the episode from being bad.

Episode 4: Mountain Marvel

A fine episode; it's actually surprising that Sharon actually remembered Proteus, most likely because she wrote for The Magic Lamp. Although, I wonder as to why a statue was stuck in an abandoned siding - maybe Mr. Percival ordered for one and it got lost, I don't know? Sounds like a very odd place to leave a statue on a flatbed. I have to wonder why Mighty Mac wasn't asked to take the statue; would've been a good chance to show off their strength.

Episode 7: Toby's Special Surprise

Really, you aren't gonna bother with what Toby found back in season five and was never seen afterwards? Then again, people would rather forget about Bertram, so I can understand... kind of. However, there's no excuse when, continuity or not, you can't forget about small things, even if you don't reference the classic era! Not to mention that the sign Toby found (why it has his image, I don't know) was never seen after this episode! Unless they tried making Flora's introduction a sloppy two-parter?

Episode 11: Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon

Yeesh. Another continuity breaker. Seriously, how did Thomas not recognize what a hot air balloon actually was? He's delivered one back in season six, and it was delivered in a realistic manner - by not being inflated on a flatbed! Just shows that if season 12 isn't providing fanservice, it's wrecking continuity...

Episode 17: Thomas Puts the Brakes On

Now we're talking! After three bad episodes and an okay episode, we definitely need a good one to finish up this lot. Of course, if Thomas' brakes were faulty, it'd make sense if his crew inspected them before he went on his journey, but then we'd have no plot. I do like Stanley's role in this even though character appearances don't make an episode great. It's rather sad that this was his last major role for some time; thankfully, season 20 should rectify that. It's a wonder as to how they finished the bridge without the blocks that fell in the water, but I guess that they were fished out and later dried out when recovered. On whole, I think it was a good watch.

Season 12 Overall

Honestly, I just don't get season 12 as a whole. Not that it's a terrible idea to meld models with CGI, but it really hasn't aged all that well. Yes, there are gems like Best Friends, but the bad episodes are... well, bad. It also feels like the writers were pandering far too much to the fans. Yes, it's nice to see the likes of Stepney and Arthur show up, but if an episode is bad, it's bad. I get that it was meant to be a farewell to the models, but you could've done a more dignified way of doing so by giving some of these returnees actual starring roles. And then there's the continuity breakers, which... I've moaned about enough as it is.

On whole, season 12 was a rather flimsy way for the models to go out - thankfully, many of them have been preserved, but Best Friends by itself is an ideal sendoff to them. Now we look forward to the future of CGI beyond the Nitrogen years... but first, we have some unfinished business with seasons 9-11...

Episodes Ranked from Worst to Best

20. Push Me, Pull You (0/10)
19. Don't Go Back (1/10)
18. Henry Gets it Wrong
17. The Man in the Hills (2/10)
16. Gordon Takes a Shortcut (3/10)
15. The Party Surprise
14. Steady Eddie
13. Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon
12. Saved You!
11. Toby's Special Surprise
10. Tram Trouble (5/10)
9. Excellent Emily
8. Percy and the Bandstand (6/10)
7. Mountain Marvel
6. Thomas and the Billboard (7/10)
5. Heave Ho Thomas!
4. James Works it Out
3. Rosie's Funfair Special (8/10)
2. Thomas Puts the Brakes On
1. Best Friends (10/10)

Season 12 Final Rating: 4.5/10