THESE ARE SOLEY MY OPINIONS AND ARE NOT INFLUENCED FROM THE THOMAS AND FRIENDS FAN BASE
THE TRUTH ABOUT TOBY
Davey Moore
Directed by
Don Spencer
Produced by
Ian McCue (HIT)
Air Date
22/09/15
Air Date
22/09/15
Plot:
Rumours had been circulated about that old Toby is going to be scrapped, when really he was stranded due to having no coal.
PRO:
- Toby and Henrietta's dynamic
- The ending
CON:
- The lack of common sense in the engines
Some people say that this episode is better then 'Signals Crossed'. In my opinion I don't see any of these two episode being better then the other as this episode to me is a bit of a dud. I love the dynamic of Toby and Henrietta and even though fans say that she was a bit of a nagging wife towards Toby, it does show she cares about him, like a wife caring for her husband. I give credit to the episode for its ending with the Fat Controller saying that Toby would never be scrapped. If I digress here, over the years critics have bashed the Railway Series books for being, somewhat idiotically, filled with dictatorship with the Fat Controller punishing his engines by scrapping them, even though the Reverend Wilbert Awdry says 'They are punished but are NOT scrapped'. Shame that they don't have a copy of 'The Thomas the Tank Engine Man' or do there research through the BBC audio series from Brian Sibley that's on SIF's main page. The ending in my opinion would shut the critics up about what they are saying. After seeing the UK dub, I have to say I love Toby's voice by Rob Rackstraw. I'm warmed to his US James voice even though I'm not a huge fan of it, his voice for Toby is just warm and unique that it almost sounds like an East Anglian. I like Ben Small's voice too.
But the episode has its cons too and I hate how the engines lacked so much common sense! They are working on a railway with a controller who cares about the steam engines. Sure in reality they're not going to move around forever but on preserved railways they do keep them moving around for as long as they can until they are deemed unsuccessful. I think the episode could've been better if were about the Fat Controller not having enough money on restoring Toby and the tram engine has to go through his problem until money is sorted out. A bit like 'Quarantine' from TUGS.
In the end, it's a good but it could've been better.
Rating: 6.5/10
Episode Rating:
Who's Geoffrey - 9/10
The Truth About Toby - 6.5/10
Series Rating (So Far):
15.5/20
Series Rating (So Far):
15.5/20
