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Saturday, September 22, 2018

Thomas & Friends Season 22: Week 3

So the first week of season 22 turned out surprisingly good, but the second week was lackluster at best with a strong finish. But how will the third week stack up?


School of Duck
Written by Lee Pressman

Interestingly enough, despite that this is the 11th episode of the season (or 16th, depending on where you come from), this was technically the first episode of the season we saw in whole (I don't count Thomas and the Dragon because it was a preview clip for the season), albeit in Italian. And it's a brilliant one at that.

The story very much reminds me of Thomas, Percy and Old Slowcoach from season five, as well as the penultimate Railway Series book Thomas and Victoria. With the former, it did suffer from having a short run time, meaning there wasn't enough time to develop the story. And in the latter, whilst Victoria looked like she had potential as a character, she did kind of have a flat personality - the fact that she was introduced so late into the book series didn't help her any.

Fortunately, School of Duck manages to have a story work within the allotted time, and all of the plot points are tied up very well. And even if Dexter is stuck in one place (for now, I believe), I think he'll be a fun character whenever he turns up; maybe we'll get some insight into his past? And yes, it's so nice to hear Mark Moraghan voicing him; glad to know he's still part of the franchise, and I can't wait to see him as Mr. Evans the signalman.

Duck also had a great role; it's nice to show more shades of his personality besides going on about the Great Western Railway. He was very inventive in working around Dexter's problem with his broken wheels, and even willing to put his pride aside to help others. It's perhaps his best starring role since All at Sea, which, coincidentally, also expanded more on his character.

However minor their roles were, Daisy, Reg, Hannah, and Gordon really shined. Daisy's fussiness about children riding her, Reg's eccentricity with scrap, Hannah's excitability about going fast, and Gordon's refusal to give up one of his coaches (seriously, that part always makes me laugh) - it's nice to show how diverse Sodor is. Reg trying to play the broken trombone was funny, especially when it turned into a brick joke at the end by becoming a flower pot next to Dexter. Little things really do make a huge difference.

I do say this quite a lot in my season 22 reviews, but it's the strength of the characters that pull the Sodor episodes through, something that some international episodes (especially the India episodes) lacked. School of Duck is yet another contender for season 22's best, and there's only one rating it can truly get.

Rating: Excellent

Tiger Trouble
Written by Becky Overton

The more I think about this episode, the more I feel it's similar to Thomas in the Wild, only based in India. However, it's marginally better because it has more plot and interesting characters, especially Rajiv and Shankar; seriously, someone make an episode with those two as the stars!

But that doesn't mean I like the episode. They're adding more comedy to the episodes, but this episode is one where it's completely out of place with the theme they're trying to convey! Tigers being hunted as a trophy is a serious issue, and if you make a joke about it, it'll destroy the message you want to tell. Next time there's an episode with a serious issue - keep the comedy and the message apart!

Also, and this is nitpicking but I'll mention it anyway, when do hunters capture tigers with nets? They're something you'd use to capture rabbits! I understand why they can't use guns in a kids' show, but it makes the issue feel far too sanitized.

There's other problems; Shankar doesn't mention poaching until the episode decides he can, and how did Rajiv not suspect that he was taking tiger hunters from the start? Maybe the conflat with the cage covered in a tarpaulin would've been a clue? Yes, I know that if he knew what was happening from the start, there wouldn't be a story, but even for an arrogant engine, Rajiv would at least have some common sense on display! And why would a pair of hunters pose as tourists? The whole thing just feels disjointed.

And that's all we're getting from Thomas' trip to India; four episodes, and not one episode could leave me consistently entertained. Tiger Trouble sums up everything wrong with the India saga - characters shunted into the background to revolve around Thomas (only here, it's not as prominent), dull and uninteresting stories, and themes which feel like they were pulled from out of the arse.

Rating: Bad

Seeing is Believing
Written by Andrew Brenner

After Journey Beyond Sodor, I was hoping to see the engines introduced in it again in the show to see how they'd interact with Sodor. Well, it seems I got my wish with Merlin in Seeing is Believing. Not as great as many of the Sodor-based stories this season, but it's still a good episode in its own way.

I like how Merlin's eccentricity and thinking he can turn invisible becomes a driving plot point in the story. Many of the engines are impressed by this "feat", but Percy wants to see him for real. I don't think the plot would've worked with any other character (maybe except for Philip).

And I really like how, unlike Three Steam Engines Gruff, Trevor actually had his own part to play. He's gained a new whistle which later comes to play when Percy thinks he's come across the invisible engine, ironically not realizing he's actually speaking to Merlin. But that's what hurts the episode for me; the ending just feels rushed and incomplete, as if we don't know if Percy found out he'd actually spoke to Merlin. This is one of those episodes where the seven-minute runtime doesn't do the episode justice.

I do wish I had more to say, but there's not a whole lot to talk about there. It's nice seeing Merlin again, even more so that Hugh Bonneville is still voicing him, but the rushed ending kinda left me feeling a bit empty in the end. And the scene at the Blue Mountain Quarry makes me learn for more appearances by the Skarloey engines. They've got a lot of storytelling potential, even within the current format, and it's a shame they're constantly denied the opportunity.

Rating: Good

Apology Impossible
Written by Becky Overton

I was pretty certain that after the stories based in India, Becky Overton would feel much more at home Sodor. But this episode makes me feel like she doesn't understand the Sodor universe either, and considering she also gave us The Beast of Sodor and Wild Water Rescue, that's a shame.

The biggest sticking point is James being a jerk to Philip for an accident the box cab didn't cause at Brendam. I thought we were past James being arrogant about his paintwork, but instead, he's a jerk to Philip for the sake of being a jerk. I get that James is proud and vain, but you'd think after episodes like All in Vain and The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor he'd have matured a little more.

It does say a lot that Philip is more sensible than an engine who's at least seventy years old, and it is great to see him stand up to James for being rude, and you'd expect him to try and push him out of the way to let the other engines go past, right?

Nope! He reverses to let James pass and let Sir Topham Hatt do the scolding. That ending is what ruined the episode as a whole. We could've had a great message about standing up to bullies, but instead, it basically says we shouldn't stand up to bullies, and given the state of the world, that is a terrible message to tell preschool children.

Here's what I'd have done; have Spencer be the one picking on Philip (since they haven't interacted much) and have Edward scold Spencer for being rude, further expanding on the blue engine's relationship with Philip. Then when Philip and Spencer confront each other again, the boxcab calls out Spencer for his rudeness and demands an apology from him, which Spencer does. Some would say Gordon should be in the role, but I don't agree, considering his humility at the end of Philip's Number.

This could've been a decent episode and Becky Overton had a chance to redeem herself, but because of the unfortunate implications, I've pretty much given up on her altogether. This is the worst Sodor-based story of the season, and quite possibly one of the worst episodes ever made in the Brenner era, and that says a lot.

Rating: Terrible

The Water Wheel
Written by Davey Moore

Considering what happened back in Number One Engine, you'd expect Thomas to remember that taking shortcuts would only get him into trouble. But instead, it felt as though his character was once again written to suit the narrative. Why couldn't they have used Hong Mei for the lead role? Since her debut in the aforementioned Number One Engine, she felt... rather flat in terms of character. So did An An and Yin-Long, come to think of it. A story with those three would've been much more interesting! But once again, it's always Thomas...

As for the story, how does it relate to the message about conserving water? What we saw was Thomas delivering a water wheel and learning about bamboo being used to build things. Choose one story and stick with it! With School of Duck, at least it related to recycling, one of United Nations' global goals, and The Water Wheel... doesn't.

I'll be fair to this episode and say that the antics with the runaway water wheel are rather funny, but it does get a little tiring after a minute, almost like it's being used to fill up the runtime. If you had to make an episode about conserving water, why not have Thomas and/or Hong Mei (preferably the latter) disobey orders about staying in the sheds due to a water shortage and land in trouble? Then you get the Chinese Diesel from the movie (why did they bother rendering her if she'll never be used again?) rescue them and the blue engines get their tanks refilled with a water wheel; that would've A) ensured Hong Mei had a bit of character on display, B) related to a global goal, and C) given us a good story in the process.

Whilst I enjoyed the China episodes more than the India episodes even though they were generally hit or miss, this one was definitely a miss for me. Sure, there's comedy, but it felt like it came before story. It was basically a rehashing of Emily Saves the World, only not as interesting. Better luck next time, Davey Moore.

Rating: Bad

Week two had a very poor start but a strong finish. Week three started with a bang but ended in a whimper. Week two had the worst written episode of the entire series (Thomas Goes to Bollywood), but week three presented one of the worst morals the show has ever spewed (Apology Impossible). So no; week three wasn't much of an improvement over week two.

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