Friday 1 January 2016

S19 Ep.11: Salty All At Sea

HAPPY NEW YEAR 
2016!! 

Welcome to 2016. While fans are looking forward to the 20th season of Thomas & Friends and the upcoming DVD special 'The Great Race', Season 19 is finishing off its run despite hold backs from broadcasting stations in the UK and US. So let us continue S19, but first: 

THESE ARE SOLEY MY OPINIONS AND NOT FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FAN BASE

SALTY ALL AT SEA
Written by
Lee Pressman

Directed by
Don Spencer

Produced by
Ian McCue (HIT)
Jennifer Hill (Arc)

Air Date
1/1/16 - AUS

Plot:
Salty has a history of telling tales of the sea. But when he's needed to do work on the mainland, he was worried about going on a ship due to his imagination.

PRO:
- Moral: It's good to have an imagination, but you need to control it
- The swooping camera angle at the Suspension bridge

CON:
- Porter seems redundant 
- I think the title should've been better

I will be honest, I wish Porter was given Thomas' role instead of...Thomas. Reading his personality on the Thomas wikia site, you could give him much more potential for his stories such as him being a bit of a perfectionist, which you can teach kids the moral that there's no such thing as perfection and keeping his head cool during a crisis could also teach kids that getting angry won't solve anything during a crisis. Porter is a great character and I do hope the writers give him the spotlight in future, I don't think this season. I think there could be better titles such as 'Salty's Imagination' but I have no big issue with the title that is there currently, just maybe there could've been a bit more work.

Other then those con's overall this is a good episode. It's quite unique that we see this character talking about the sea over the years and learning that he had never been on a ship in his life but it can be relatable to people who have a fear of going on things for the first time. There are people who fear of going on planes after seeing many things on the news about crashes or tragic accidents, but it also tells everyone that while it's good to have an imagination it's best to control it. So it can be a relatable and engaging storyline for viewers. 

One thing I love about Arc Productions is that each year they always give us the visuals when it comes to camera angles. The swopping shot of Salty and Thomas crossing the suspension bridge is fantastic and it definitely is such great improvement from the previous years. I hope we see more of these later on in future. I think out of all the brands from HIT Entertainment, Thomas has the best animation and camera technique. Overall this is a good episode for both kids and adults and despite that Thomas had referenced 'The Monster of Brendam', let's face it we have to accept the fact that the Barlow era is canon.

Rating: 8/10

Episode Rating:
Salty All At Sea - 8/10

Series Rating (So far):
89/110