THESE ARE SOLEY MY OPINIONS AND ARE NOT INFLUENCED FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FANBASE
AN ENGINE OF MANY COLOURS
Michael White
Directed by
Dianna Basso
Produced by
Micaela Winter
Air Date
16/09/18
Plot
In Sodor, James needs to be repaired after a crash, but hears that there might not be enough red paint. That night he has a succession of dreams about being repainted different colours. Each colour seems fine once he gets used to it and even makes him more splendid. But each time that James starts to show off, he dreams that he has another crash.
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When I first saw this episode being announced, I thought it was going to be another story about James and his paint. But after seeing the episode, I was surprised to see that it set within S21. I think now after watching this episode, it's good that it was set within last season. This may as well be a pushed back episode from that season but why I find it good is because it stop people from assuming that this is a 'reboot'. Yeah I know the casual viewer might not know about 'The Fastest Red Engine On Sodor' despite being on TV last year, but kids would remember it and that's good.
As of the episode, it felt like a S21 episode but was rewritten to fit within the standards of the twenty seconded season. The fantasy elements were focused full on here and I think out of all the episodes, this did it right. It didn't feel forced and was treated right with James having these elements as dreams. It got repetitive but it didn't feel that annoying. I do like the direct reference of the episode 'James And The Coaches'. It didn't feel like fan service or a forced in nostalgia throwback. Plus we finally get to see James being painted in blue, despite it being a dream. Speaking of the fantasy moments, notice how when the camera pans out the saturated colours turned back to normal, I quite like that. The liveries that James had fantasied were good, I especially like the silver.
Some fans think that it was a missed opportunity to have Rosie mentioning about her repaint. I honestly don't see that. Sure it was set in S21, but having Rosie mentioning her red paint would feel forced as it would add nothing to the story. In the end, it had a nice moral about how showing off can lead to trouble. It was a very good episode, but it didn't beat the likes of Samson's episode and the Valentines Day episode.
Also one thing about this episode is that it was written by a Thomas fan! Don't believe me, here's the proof when the episode aired in the UK:
It was quite a surprise to see that this happened and Michael White had executed the episode very well. Welcome aboard to the Thomas production team and I can't wait to see what else he cooks up for Thomas & Friends!Thank you so much everyone for all your kind comments. TBH I wasn't sure how my episode would go down but now, I'm lost for words by how well it was received. Thank you again.— WhitehouseFilms (@WhitehouseFilms) September 13, 2018
Episode Rating
Number One Engine - 8/10
Forever and Ever - 8.5/10
Thomas and the Dragon - 10/10
Confusion Without Delay - 10/10
Trusty Trunky - 6.5/10
What Rebecca Does - 9/10
Thomas Goes to Bollywood - 6/10
Samson and The Fireworks - 10/10
Runaway Truck - 7/10
Rosie Is Red - 10/10
Thomas In The Wild - 5/10
Thomas' Animal Ark - 9/10
Thomas and the Monkey Palace - 7/10
An Engine of Many Colours - 8/10
Confusion Without Delay - 10/10
Trusty Trunky - 6.5/10
What Rebecca Does - 9/10
Thomas Goes to Bollywood - 6/10
Samson and The Fireworks - 10/10
Runaway Truck - 7/10
Rosie Is Red - 10/10
Thomas In The Wild - 5/10
Thomas' Animal Ark - 9/10
Thomas and the Monkey Palace - 7/10
An Engine of Many Colours - 8/10
Series Rating (So far):
114/140