S15 Ep.9: Henry's Happy Coal

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

HENRY'S HAPPY COAL

Written by Sharon Miller

Directed by Greg Tiernan 

Produced by Nicole Stinn

Air Date:

11/3/11

Plot:

'Arry and Bert tease Henry about using special coal.

PRO:

- Despite the error of Henry having his welsh coal, at least kids are learning something that the Railway Series had before.

- This episode also reminds me of the Railway Series story 'Out of Puff' from 'Henry and The Express' by Christopher Awdry, one of my favourite books. 

- Gordon hauling five coaches?! Not three?, not two? not one? Thank you Nitrogen.

- I love the interior of Henry's cab.

CON:

- Many people have pointed this out since 'It's Good To Be Gordon' in Season 10, Henry doesn't need his special welsh coal. That's another problem, they just call his welsh coal 'special'. What's wrong with calling it Welsh?

- Thomas' appearance is really not needed.

- If the inspector is to inspect coal, why does he need to check on the 'Sodor Search and Rescue Centre'? Sure Belle was to be introduce in this series after 'Day of The Diesels' but since that she won't be appearing in a while, the visit was just pointless.

- 'Arry and Bert following around Henry.

- Where was Henry's fireman?

- When Henry splutters, he sound almost like a car.

I never like the idea of Henry having his special coal back when clearly since the first series, the Fat Controller says this to Henry in 'The Flying Kipper', 'I'm sending you to Crewe a fine place for sick engines, they'll give you a new shape and a larger firebox. You'll feel a different engine and won't need special coal anymore, won't that be nice?' So yes, Henry doesn't need his special coal anymore thanks to his new shape, period. But I do have to admit I like the RWS reference of his special coal, but why call it special when its called 'Welsh coal' in the show's earlier years and in the books. 

Speaking of the Railway Series, when I first saw this, it really reminded me of 'Out of Puff'. It'll be more better if the episode was called, 'The Wrong Sort of Coal!' as there are many type of coal around the world that could possibly damage an engine's firebox, like in the story. I'm glad that Nitrogen Studios gave Gordon five coaches, something that fans wanted since the beginning of the CGI series and I love the interior of Henry's cab with all the controls that you can find in a steam locomotive.

But still, the flaws, why is Thomas everywhere in this episode, first he was at the fields, then Knapford and then at the search and rescue centre. Why can't there be a different engine from the Steam Team or any character outside of the pack. Sure we know Belle was to be introduced in this season, but that's a few episodes away, but since the inspector is on the island to inspect coal, why does he need to go to the Search and Rescue centre? It's pointless, there are no steam engine's working there. And another thing, why were 'Arry and Bert following Henry around for the teasing? Shouldn't they be at work at the smelters yards? And where was Henry's fireman? We have his driver, but what about the fireman? As Henry was spluttering on his way to Boxford station, the summer house, Henry sounds like a car. When an engine is having steaming trouble, it needs to be checked. 

The episode has its flaws and its ok-good moments, but what's on my pro's list, the episode is far from being saved. It would make a lot of sense if its about Henry having the wrong sort of coal and not that normal coal is bad for his larger firebox.

Rating: 2/5

S15 Ep. 8: Up, Up and Away

THESE ARE SOLEY MY OWN OPINION 

AND NOT FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FAN BASE

UP, UP AND AWAY

Written by Sharon Miller

Directed by Greg Tiernan 

Produced by Nicole Stinn 

Air Date:

10/3/11

Plot:

 Thomas and Percy have to deliver Mr. Bubbles' giant balloon.

PRO:

- The balloons were nicely animated when they were floating around

- The last balloon flapping on the flatbed was a laugh too.

CON:

- Why deliver a helium balloon on a flatbed were it would most likely pop by the hot ashes from a steam engine?

- Why need two engines for such a light load?

- Honestly, Percy and Thomas act like such idiots thanks to the writing.

- 'Thomas and Percy are best friends', as much as I like the two, we don't need the words 'best friends' in every episode, we already know that they are best friends. 

I don't why this episode got its own DVD release earlier in the year and its own 'Greatest Memories' set in the Trackmaster range as there are more better and memorable events that happened in the show before this episode came onto our screens. When I first saw the name for this episode and the plot I thought it was the red balloon for season six, but after seeing this, I wished it was. Why deliver a helium balloon on a flatbed? It's unrealistic this episode and certainly the most unlikeable episode. At least in the next season, 'Express Coming Through' they did the most logical thing, have one engine hauling a flatbed with a box of balloons. Why would Thomas and Percy wait for the balloon to go back to the flatbed and why do they think going through a tunnel would be perfect even though the balloon would pop? Honestly I don't know. The best friend sentence, well you get the picture ;)

But this episode is such a disgrace to the good name of 'Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends' and the Rev.W.Awdry with the bad writing of this episode. 

Rating: 1/5

S15 Ep: 7 Happy Hiro

THESE ARE SOLEY UNDER MY OWN OPINION 

AND NOT FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FAN BASE

HAPPY HIRO

Written by Sharon Miller

Directed by Greg Tiernan 

Produced by Nicole Stinn

Air Date:

9/3/11

Plot:

Hiro is feeling homesick, so Thomas tries to cheer him up by taking him to Misty Island.

PRO:

- The Japanese music at the beginning was great to hear at the beginning.

- It was great seeing Hiro interacting with Charlie and the Logging Locos. 

- I'm glad Hiro was not on the Shake-Shake Bridge, I'm glad the bridge wasn't there at all!

- The angles and visuals were amazing around Misty Island.

CON:

- If Hiro is homesick why can't he ask the Fat Controller to send him back to Japan.

- Charlie's table joke was the dumbest joke to hear. It was unfunny and uncreative. 

- Instead of calling it an island, why can't Hiro mention 'Japan', kids might want to know where he came from.

- 'I'm an old engine Thomas.' Again, the D53 class (Hiro) was built in the 1930's and the E2's (Thomas) was built in 1913, so therefore Thomas is an old engine.

- Thomas is once again the idiotic and air-headed engine of the day for not listen to Hiro.

I do like Hiro, I like the basis they chose for him, I like the name they gave him. But I hate Hiro's persona, all he just is now is a depressing engine who misses his homeland. If he is so depressed about it, why can't he asked the Fat Controller to let him go home? Well there is one reason why he has to stay on Sodor. Merchandise. Another thing I don't like is that there is no mention of 'Japan', he just calls it, his island. Kids might want to know where Hiro came from. Sodor has its name, why can't they mention Japan? They mention England and its capital, London in the Railway Series. 

The age issue of Thomas and Hiro since Hiro says he's an old engine to Thomas, that's been mentioned 100's of time so you know what the answer is already. Charlie, as much as I hate the character, I hate his stupid jokes like the 'table' one. However I do like the nice touch of the Japanese music at the beginning and how Hiro was interacting with the Logging Locos and Charlie. I know Hiro and Charlie were in 'Emily and Dash', but they were treated as background characters and by interacting, I mean meeting them for the first time. 

I do like The Logging Locos, sometimes I can have a problem with them, but I hate the Logging Station on Misty Island, I wish we see more on the island instead of the logging station. The visuals and angles when Hiro was showing around Thomas were amazing, if only there was more life on the island filled with towns, people and roads and I'm glad that the 'Shake-Shake Bridge' was not in the episode at all! However, this episode is bad thanks to its writing and lack of knowledge. 

Rating: 1/5

S15 Ep.6: James to The Rescue

THESE ARE SOLEY MY OWN OPINIONS

AND NOT FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FAN BASE

JAMES TO THE RESCUE

Written by Sharon Miller

Directed by Greg Tiernan 

Produced by Nicole Stinn

Air Date:

8/3/11

Plot:

James refuses to work with Toby as the rescue engine, but soon regrets his decision.

PRO:

- The crash was the episode's highlight.

CON:

- James being discriminative to Toby for being a tram engine or 'steam tram' and cannot be a 'rescue engine'. 

- Obviously pulling Gordon back on the rails would not get him back on the rails and even pushing him from the tender won't help either. 

- How would the driver and fireman in James' cab survive such a deadly crash? 

 I've seen this episode many times before when it first came out right until 'The Best Of James' UK DVD and I have to say this one is a bad episode thanks to James being in a over the top vanity about himself being a rescue engine and not wanting Toby in it because he's a steam tram and he can't be a rescue engine because of that. The writers should know that these are the 'Steam Team' characters, the engines that kids are suppose to look up too with good morals, but no, we have these writers just writing whatever they want if they're the characters the kids look up too or not. 

Looking at this James and comparing it with 'Muddy Matters', I like the S16 episode, because to me, seeing James being vain about his red paint and not wanting it dirty until learning his mistake is a much more better episode then being vain and discriminative to Toby the tram engine, but I do have a bit of a 50/50 side towards this issue, James was discriminative Toby in 'Dirty Objects' in the Railway Series and the TV series calling Toby a dirty object, but then again Toby made fun of James for having a bootlace to mend a hole in one of the carriages, instead of being a wimp and having Thomas to defend him.

Plus, why would James pull and push Gordon to get back on the line? even the show 'Chugginton' would never do a thing like that. There was one episode in the first series were Koko and Wilson went to the countryside and Koko manage to derail herself on a passing loop and they got help by Calley with a crane. And, how would the driver and fireman survive such a deadly crash? I don't know. 

The only thing I like about this episode is the crash, if parents think crashes in Thomas are bad for their kids, they should know that engines on any railway around the world can have accidents all the time. The crash was good, but this episode, by its writing, is bad.

Rating: 1/5

S15 Ep.5: Edward The Hero

THESE ARE SOLEY MY OWN OPINION 

AND NOT FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FAN BASE

EDWARD THE HERO

Written by Sharon Miller

Directed by Greg Tiernan

Produced by Nicole Stinn

Air Date:

7/3/11

Plot:

Edward wants to be a hero like Harold.

PRO:

- This episode has a good moral of 'Being Yourself'

- Are my eyes playing tricks or is Charlie actually doing some work?

CON:

- 'I like to be a hero, but I'm not sure if I'll be good at it.' I got three episodes for this sentence, 'Edward's Exploit', 'Old Iron' and 'Edward The Really Useful Engine' .

-  How the way Edward applied his brakes during his rhyming scenes, his tyres would break.

- Why can't Dowager Hatt ask the stationmaster at Maithwate to call Maron about her case and let an their bring it for her?

- Why was Katie far away from Farmer McColl in the first place? 

Edward has already been classified as a hero in two episodes. First, the one we all remembered, 'Edward's Exploit' from Season 2 with taking passengers home in the wind, rain and storm with a broken crank pin, the other is 'Old Iron', dispite his old age, he still manage to save James from a runaway and the other from Season 6 'Edward the Really Useful Engine' when he pushed Duck's goods train and Gordon's express up Gordon's hill at once. That's Edward the older fans knew and loved. This episode is 'Being Percy' all over again. But there are two good things, one, Charlie is actually doing work again until he just goes back being the 'Jar-Jar Binks' of Thomas & Friends with episodes being centric to him or having an episode with someone. And the other is the moral 'Being yourself', but that can work in other episodes. It would be better if this episode is actually focused on the China Clay twins, Bill and Ben, that is if they were in the series since Season 12 and if there are more episode not focused on the 'Steam Team'. However, this episode is OK despite the flaws, its not a favourite to me, but maybe for a few fans young and old. 

Rating: 3/5

S15 Ep.4: Percy's New Friends

THESE ARE SOLEY MY OWN OPINIONS AND NOT FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FANBASE

PERCY'S NEW FRIENDS

Written by Gerard Foster

Directed by Greg Tiernan

Produced by Nicole Stinn

Air Date:

4/3/11

Plot:

After his friends say they are too busy to play, Percy decides to make friends with the animals on Sodor.

PRO:

- I love the animals were animated, especially the rabbit, they move so realistically

CON:

- Percy scared animals in the episode, but as Thomas racing past some squrriels, they didn't runaway.

- If Percy wasn't busy, he should be staying in the shed until he's given a new job. Not going around to have friends to play with.

- Cranky is really uncreative with names, he named a Segull, Segull.

- Percy should'nt be scared of Gordon, even when he's pulling the express. 

- The animals would never go on Percy's running board as they won't like the ride and noise.

This is another episode that his purely bad. What is Percy trying to be in this episode Snow White? The positive I give for this episode is the CGI of the animals, especially the rabbit, I just love how the way the move. Plus with Percy being scared of Gordon, I remember an episode were Percy teases Gordon about running late and for many years with Gordon running the express, Percy wasn't scared once until this episode. Kids can love this episode, but I don't.

Rating: 1/5 

S15 Ep: 3 Emily and Dash

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

EMILY AND DASH

Written by Sharon Miller

Directed by Greg Tiernan

Produced by Nicole Stinn 

Air Date:

3/3/11

Plot: 

Emily has to escort Dash to a steam fair, but thoughtlessly leaves him behind.

PRO:

- Charlie having a British Railway style whistle was great to hear

- The return of Trevor in full CGI in an episode.

CON:

- In real life, an engine can't sound like a bird chirping from its whistle.

- Why did the Fat Controller arrive on Thomas instead of Emily? 

- Why did Emily leave Dash on the mainline? Why can't she push him to Misty Island to get more oil?

- Hiro and Charlie are going the wrong way to the steam fair since Emily and Dash are heading to the right direction.

Out of all the three episodes of the 'Logging Locos' this one is the worst. Its good for younger kids, but not for me. Charlie having a British Railway style whistle was a nice feature, I give credit for that and so is the return of Trevor. Despite that he's in full CGI in the opening segment for the US audiences, this is the first time the UK and Australia get to see him in full CGI, sadly not a speaking role. 

But with whistles tweeting like a bird, that is something you'll never hear from a steam engine's whistle. Thomas' appearance in the past three episodes were pointless, as I said in the first episode, we all know he's the star of the show but there are other character in and out of the 'Steam Team'. Why did Emily leave Dash in the middle of the mainline, I don't know? 

This episode is bad with its writing and sense of realism. I don't know why it received a DVD release on 'Up, Up and Away' last month, but there will be more for the UK :P This episode is not perfect thanks to its writing. 

Rating: 1/5