NWR Editorial: 50 'Greatest' Kids TV Shows

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

NWR EDITORIAL:

50 'GREATEST' KIDS TV SHOWS

On November 8th 2013, channel five, a television station in the UK had aired their list of '50 Greatest Kids TV Shows'. Although there are shows that deserve the top spots such as Thunderbirds, Bagpuss and Blue Peter, but shows like Postman Pat, Sooty and even Thomas the Tank Engine were being overshadowed and they are of course in the same category, long running and successful UK kids shows (Sooty has been around for 65 years and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for 'Longest running kids show' in the UK, Postman Pat has been around for 32 years and Thomas has been around for nearly 30 years, on the television screens, nearly 70 years with the Railway Series books) and they've been snubbed down in lower positions:

- Postman Pat: 49th 

- Sooty: 42nd

- Thomas: 34th 

Yet an overrated show like Peppa Pig received top spot at 6th position. In my opinion, if there are any parents here who have kids who love Peppa Pig please be advised that I'm having my own critical opinion here about the show, the show's writing is atrocious. It is filled with repetition, the voice actors are bland, minus Brain Blessed, and not much moral value in the show (there may as well be some but what is the moral about shopping?) Yet a show like Thomas the Tank Engine, in the classic series as they were focusing upon that in the show, has better morals that both kids and adults can learn from. There are many good morals that kids today can learn from the show:

The Sad Story of Henry:

- Respect your elders (such as the Fat Controller)

- Vanity comes last 

 Thomas and Gordon:

- Teasing doesn't make you useful/What comes around goes around

   Dirty Work:

- Jumping to conclusions before knowing the truth

Escape:

- Helping someone in need

Oliver Owns Up:

- Pride comes last

These are the moral values that comes to mind and are perfect for children to learn from, despite that 'journalists' and 'experts' bash the first one through the overrated 'communist criticism' over the years. It seems that this 'list' of kids shows only care about marketability of a certain pig instead of long running classical shows and there are some shows, like Fireman Sam, that has been well over looked and so has Wallace and Gromit, they are regarded as something for kids. Fireman Sam should've been on the list for its excellent moral value on fire safety, even today's episodes in CGI have great moral value as well as the classical episodes from the 1980's. Wallace and Gromit have been praised by critics, fans and people alike over the years with its Agatha Christie style story lines too. The BBC's Timeshift programme praise Thomas to bring young children the interest of steam and railway heritage as well as model railways. 

Another thing I don't like from the list were the people who gave their own points and views on TTTE. Even though they have they're allowed to have their opinions, they seem to talk about, for example, why Britt Allcroft hired Ringo Starr. One person giving his point on Ringo talking slowly, which I have to disagree on that cause Ringo had good pacing around the 1st series, but he got better during the second season and one presenter talking about the Fat Controller, 'Are you allowed to say the Fat Controller anymore?' watch the recent series and you'll see, and the woman at the end could've, but to me obviously, been implying that kids aren't smart enough to know what trains (engines) do. When I was a kid I knew what an engine can do; seeing them carrying passengers and freight by going past me and seeing them on video or DVDs. They don't really give their points on the show's writing or moral value and is that what these lists are suppose to be about? But I give credit to milkshake for using the classic intro, if only they aired the classic episodes on their channel as well as ABC here in Australia, last time I saw a classic episode on television is 'Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure' in 2004 during Christmas.

In conclusion, this list is not the best and even though I'm a fan of Thomas, I do see brilliance from a children's show by its writing and teachings for children then something, like Peppa Pig, as a marketable show with its bland story lines and voice acting, I know that S13-16 of TTTE had its share of bad story lines from 2010-2012 that lost its touch, but the list show is more focused on what the classical series had done over the years between 1984-2003 and not the recent series and if those people think of the show like that, then they've missed out on some good ones.   

DVD Review: Merry Christmas Thomas/Big Bang Surprise

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

MERRY CHRISTMAS THOMAS

Written by

Sharon Miller
Max Allen 
Jessica Kedward & Kristy Peart
Geread Foster
Lizzie Ennever 

Merry Christmas Thomas! Episodes

The Christmas Tree Express
Ho Ho Snowman 
Salty's Surprise
Emily's Winter Party Special 
Percy the Snowman
Tree Trouble

Big Bang Surprise Episodes
Sodor Surprise Day
Thomas and The Sounds of Sodor
Percy and the Calliope 
Happy Birthday Sir!
Percy and the Monster of Brendam 

MCT! Special Features
Down at the Station - Points
Guess Who? Puzzles

BBS Special Features
Guess Who? puzzles
Down at the Station - Engines

Directed by

Greg Tiernan

Release Date:

28/10/13

Distributed by

HIT Entertainment

My theory from last year was correct, in my 'Merry Winter Wish' DVD review, that they'll release this DVD this year. But with all four episodes from 'A Very Thomas Christmas', it's unlikely that the DVD may as well be a US only release like 'Schoolhouse Delivery'. Which means the UK is most likely to have 'Santa's Little Engine' released in time for Christmas in 2014. So since that it's now nearly a month until Christmas, let's see if this DVD is good enough for a Christmas present for the young Thomas fans of the UK.

EPISODES

With the episodes from 'Merry Christmas Thomas' the selection is in a mixed taste. I personally find 'The Christmas Tree Express' to the the worst of the S16 episodes due to its writing and character development, and considering at the time of its television run, the television stations in Australia and the UK had delayed the episode until the Christmas period. But the UK voice actors were good but with the way the script was written it was bland and bad and worth only one watch. 'Ho Ho Snowman' comes second, the whole idea of Henry being scared of a snowman that can 'talk' is just confusing. Charlie was right behind the trucks and Henry would know what he sounds like anyway! Of course there are two episodes from the 15th season, that were originally intended to be released for 'Merry Winter Wish' two years ago, to be honest I don't find these episodes enjoyable either considering that these two are from the worst written series in history of brand. But 'Percy the Snowman' had a nice hinder of S5 nostalgia but it didn't execute the episode well with its blandness and 'Tree Trouble', despite that I find the steam vs. diesel plot fun, it wasn't great episode as well. I kind of enjoyed 'Emily's Winter Party Special' but as Callum Walker (SI3DFilms) says on his views of the episode it is more of a 'fun comes first before work' storyline and it's certainly not a good moral for children of the target range. Plus it has the rehashed feeling of two episodes fused together from S9 or 10?, it's in the episode review but I do see as an OK episode, but the message is kind of wrong for kids when I look back at the episode. 'Salty's Surprise' is another episode that I liked, but not in the style of the classic episodes. I do have to say it was a rehashed plot of 'The Biggest Present of All' and Edward's role would've gone to someone like Percy or Thomas. 

Considering its writing at the time, before the changes in S17, it was nice to hear 'Christmas' again. I don't like to go through a religious or PC debate as I have no interest in the issue. Though it wasn't great hearing 'Happy Christmas Holidays', since I know they just omitted the word 'Winter'. But I'm glad that Andrew Brenner had cleared that up in the 'Santa's Little Engine' DVD that was released last month.

Now onto 'Big Bang Surprise'. There are episodes on that DVD that I don't like. 'Sodor Surprise Day' is weak and stupid. It is more of the Island's version of 'April Fools Day'. 'Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor' was OK but the music scene was just pointless since the people are only hearing the music for a few seconds. 'Happy Birthday Sir!' was a good episode and it shows Thomas has put his work first before fun, but the episode was too repetitive. 'Percy and the Monster of Brendam' is bad. Instead of being at Brendam docks, it's more like it's the 'Monster of Sodor' and I'm not mentioning the working title of the upcoming special 'Tale of The Brave' in 2014. If it were a S17 it would've worked for the Brendam branch line, since that Andrew Brenner and his writing team are focusing the Island with the Railway Series books. 'Percy and the Calliope' is the episode I liked the most, not just because of Hartshorne's rendition of the classic Thomas theme song, but because of it's moral about restoration and it's educational part about Calliope's and of course the vocabulary for the title. But the episode is still have some repetition and Percy did get air headed in the episode, such as putting coal and water in the Calliope and pushing it up the hill, considering that he pushed the whole thing along the main line! To make the Calliope work.

SPECIAL FEATURES

It is the usual on many UK DVDs. Have a segment with Mr. Perkins and then the episode. When you look at the major differences on the DVDs in the UK (this one) and the US (Santa's Little Engine). The US one, from this year, are more better. After a segment with Mr. Perkins we have a transition of silhouette engines and signals and then on with the episode without the theme song and leaving the credits until the end, this may as well go out to the past DVD releases prior the S17 ones. But the Perkins segments are enjoyable and entertaining to watch and I do hope we see the new and improved Perkins segments like in the recent Thomas DVD that was released last month soon. 

Of course we have the 'Down at The Station' segments and they're nice to watch and to let kids learn about what goes on on a real railway. Of course with a segment like 'Engines', it teaches kids about the differences of steam and diesel engines, this segment is used in the 'Big Bang Surprise' DVD. The one on 'Merry Christmas Thomas' is about 'Points', it is simple to showcase about the different tracks on the steam railway. I believe it would've been better if the new writing team (Andrew Brenner) did these segments, there are more things along the steam railway then points. Such as the people who work on the railway (e.g - stationmasters, guards, workmen) but with the Mr. Perkins segments that are written now for use on PBS over in America and hopefully other networks around the northern hemisphere about the steam railway, such as this one, hopefully we see these on DVDs as extras maybe? 

OVERALL

Both DVDs have a mixed bag of episodes that aren't as great as the ones from S17, obviously. But it is great value of two DVDs for the price of one, despite the stories. Now that Michael Angelis had left the series and compare his narration to Mark Moraghan, I think HIT had done the right choice. When you compare MM's narration, as I stated in my 'Railway Mischeif' review, Angelis' narration sound so bland and boring and had lost all enthusiasm and it shows in S16. Moraghan has that fusion of Angelis, Starr and Morris together and had put some enthusiasm towards the series to make the target range entertained. However when it comes to recommending Thomas DVDs for Christmas, I recommend buying 'King of The Railway' as it has a good story and with the history of Sodor at the beginning, it makes the Island of Sodor feel so real at first. Or if you're opened up to Thomas DVDs or if you're from the US, 'Santa's Little Engine' and the upcoming DVD 'The Thomas Way' from the US will be another recommendation as well. 

Rating: 3.5/5

S17 Ep.16: Too Many Fire Engines

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

TOO MANY FIRE ENGINES

Written by

Andrew Brenner

Directed by

David Baas

Produced by

Kallan Kagan (Arc)

Ian McCue and Halim Jabbour (HIT) 

Plot

When a team of railway inspectors came to the Island of Sodor, they question the Fat Controller whether he needs two fire engines? This caused some concern for the fire fighting team, Flynn and Belle. When Belle beats Flynn to two fires in a row, Flynn feels useless and asked Belle to take his place on guard at the Ulfstead Castle Fireworks display and he sulked in the shed. But when another fire started on the same night, Flynn came to put it out. Proving to the Fat Controller that he does need two fire engines. 

PRO:
- Flynn not afraid of the roads
- Flynn's voice
- Moral: Fire's are emergencies 

CON:

- Rocky knowing the emergency
- TFC's US voice sounds forceful and robotic 

With an episode like this, you can tell that Andrew Brenner had experience from his days writing for Fireman Sam, another of HIT's most popular brands. There is a great moral about fire's being emergencies and not episodes like Flynn being afraid of the roads or not knowing what a fire is. Since that Rupert Degas left the series, Flynn had been given a new voice and is voiced by Ben Small, who voices other characters like Thomas, Toby and, in the US, Stanley. His voices sounds much better then Degas' one in my opinion. But there are two cons I have for this episode one is that Rocky still knowing an emergency and not letting one of the workmen telling Flynn or Belle about it. It misses that human interaction with the engines and when you watch the US and UK version of the show, TFC's US voice sound forceful and robotic and that makes him off putting while the UK sounds a bit neutral. But the episode is good and enjoyable.  

Rating: 4/5

DVD Review: Santa's Little Engine

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

SANTA'S LITTLE ENGINE

Written by

Andrew Brenner

Paul Larson & Laura Beaumont 

Alan Hescott

Directed by

David Baas (Arc)

Greg Tiernan (Nitrogen) 

Produced by

Robert Anderson (Arc)

Ian McCue and Halim Jabbour (HIT)

Episodes

- Santa's Little Engine

- No Snow For Thomas

- The Frozen Turntable

- The Missing Christmas Decorations

- Snow Tracks

Special Features

- Sir Topham Hatt's Frosty Friend

- Guess Who?

Release Date

8/10/2013

Distributed by

HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate

Another exciting release for the American Thomas fans this year with another S17 DVD release with 'Railway Mischief' being the first in April this year. Plus with the positive reaction that S17 had been in June, with the first ten episodes of S17 aired in the UK, this DVD release of unseen Christmas episodes, minus one, of the new and improved series has made it very exciting to see. So are these stories good? Well then let's find out. 

EPISODES

First off, I don't know why they put 'Snow Tracks' on the DVD? They must be less amount of episodes focusing on either winter and Christmas and even though Mark Moraghan re-narrated the episode, there is no improvement on the episode either, the script is still there from 2010, as for the other episodes, I won't go into too much detail, as I'm awaiting the air dates for the UK so I can keep them in chronicle order, but the S17 episodes are great and recommendable to watch. All written and animated well and it's a great Christmas present for the young and old Thomas fan. 

SPECIAL FEATURES

The Mr. Perkins segments are very different now and very enjoyable too. Instead of him doing something for the Fat Controller or Sir Topham Hatt as he's known in America or something for the other engine drivers such as a magic show or treasure hunt, we see him on the mainland, a heritage railway in the UK, getting all warmed up as a signal man was getting some coal. Instead of the things he needs for a party, he sat down and is telling a story towards the young audience, the story is 'The Flying Kipper' with some newly made illustrations by Loarine Marshall, which recapture C. Reginald Dalby's work very well, along with Dalby's art work as well. It's great to see that Andrew Brenner, who also writes the Perkins segments, is bringing the Railway Series towards a brand new audience and as well as showing the illustrations, hope they stick with this in future DVDs. Another segment of his shows us him reading some mail, which is fan mail from the audience according to sources, one letter is about the history of Sodor, with footage from 'King of The Railway'. There are two activities from the Fat Controller and the Earl of Sodor, one, the Fat Controller's segment, has specially made footage of Percy and the other, the Earl of Sodor, is a quiz from S13 episodes, 'Toby's New Whistle' and 'Tickled Pink'. 

I should also note that at the beginning of the DVD menu, they have the Christmas theme from the Season three episode, 'Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure' as well. As with the games, it's pretty much for kids and it has a difficulty level, it looks as though it was made for the Apple products or various mobile products, but it's not bad really and the 'Guess Who?' puzzles are Rocky, the Fat Controller and Thomas.

OVERALL

With such good written episodes, minus one, this definitely a great DVD to have in your collection. The four episodes from S17 are great to watch and I will have more info on them as soon as the UK dates are set. The segments are fun and enjoyable and I highly recommend this DVD as a Christmas present this year. Well all we do now is await the next S17 DVD, 'The Thomas Way' in December. 

Rating: 4.5/5

S17 Ep.15: Bill or Ben?

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

BILL OR BEN?

Written by

Andrew Brenner

Directed by

David Baas

Produced by

Kallan Kagan (Arc)

Ian McCue & Halim Jabbour (HIT)

Air Date:

4/10/13

Plot:

Connor is a new engine on the Island of Sodor. When Bill and Ben met him for the first time, they decided to play a trick on him. They pretended that they were super fast when really it was Bill at the start of the race and Ben at the other. When Connor raced them again, he nearly had an accident! The Fat Controller was very cross and ordered Bill to be repainted so they can be told apart. However, the twins had one last trick up their funnels.

PRO:
- The tint of autumn leaves
- Bill and Ben's blue coats
- The near miss with Connor and Henry 

CON:
- N/A

A second episode written by Andrew Brenner and this time about his favourite characters. This was a fine episode and I do enjoy greatly. Bill and Ben were given great amount of screen time and there was not much of Thomas in it as well. The animation of the autumn leaves are just fascinating to look at, the beautiful tints of the autumn leaves gives it such an autumn feeling. As of the twin's blue coats, they do look fine in it as well, but I prefer seeing them in green as a nice nod to their counterparts, but that is just me being a fan. I especially love the near miss that Connor had with Henry, it was tensed to see such a thing happening and it also shows a good moral to kids about the dangers of railway lines and that safety comes first. In the end, there was nothing bad about the episode and I do enjoy it. However if I might add about the blue paint, I don't think it'll be permanent, these are his favourite characters after all, Brenner, and he has such respect for the Railway Series books as well as Awdry's legacy. The episode is a nice watch and I recommend it.     

Rating: 4/5

S17 Ep.14:Percy's Lucky Day

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

PERCY'S LUCKY DAY

Written by
Davey Moore

Directed by

David Baas

Produced by

Kallan Kagan (Arc)

Ian McCue and Halim Jabbour (HIT)

Air Date:

3/10/13

Plot:

After a couple of mishaps with the mail and some cargo, Percy feels unlucky. Stephen gave him a lucky charm that regains his confidence. But Percy lost the lucky charm and had to reign confidence for helping Bill and Ben back on the tracks.

PRO:
- Bill and Ben were in character
- Moral: You don't need lucky charms all the time
- The green flag incident reminds me of 'The Wrong Road' 

CON:

- N/A

Another good episode by Davey Moore, when I first heard this episode my money was on Andrew Brenner as Bill and Ben are his favourite characters. Speaking of Bill and Ben, it was great seeing them in CGI for the first time, however it was strange at first seeing them with red wheels, but I tend not to make that a big deal as their basis, Alfred and Judy, have green wheels as well. The twins were in great character, the banter they had and their own arguing are really much like what they were from S2-S7 and there voices are great as well, the twins are voiced by Jonathan Broadbent with their respective Birmingham accents, which really there basis came from Stafford in the West Midlands in England and that it is where Birmingham is located as their admin HQ, though I thought they would be having cockney youth voices, but I think we have enough of those in the show to be honest. However there voices make them sound mature, but there trickish behaviour gets in the way. The episode has a nice moral that you don't need lucky charms to be lucky, you can always be lucky any day. The episode was good and I haven't seen a bad thing about it, though I have to say it was stupid to have Percy moving and yet there's a crew member in his cab getting all worried, but this problem have been mentioned many times and the crew's are now used as the engine's hands. But in conclusion it was a good episode and worth the watch. However some fans are now moaning about BoCo, no personal vendetta against that as I too would love to see BoCo return towards the series but I think right now we should be thankful for what we got right now. Well tomorrow we'll see the twins again in 'Bill or Ben?'

Rating: 4/5

S17 Ep.13:The Phantom Express

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

THE PHANTOM EXPRESS

Written by

Laura Beaumont and Paul Larson

Directed by

David Baas 

Produced by

Kallan Kagan (Arc)

Ian McCue and Haliam Jabbour (HIT)

Plot:

One night James tries to scare Percy by telling him that there's the ghost of Ulfstead Castle. Stephen reassures Percy that there's no such things as ghosts. But James sneaks up to them and tries to scare them both which ended up Percy and Stephen in the moat. James didn't know where they are and when he hears them whistling for help, James thought his story is real! 

PRO:
- The mist is rendered much better
- James' cheekiness returns
- The camera angles
- The mention of Stephen's crew jumping clear

CON:

- Percy's mail van disappeared

- Percy looks slightly off angled when he was at the castle

- Stephen should know what an owl sounds like

 

The episode was good and I do love episodes that are focused onto James and Percy, such as 'Percy, James and the Fruitful Day', and we haven't seen an episode like that since season three! However 'Jack Frost' came into mind when I saw this episode, I would say that was the last we see an episode with Percy and James, but Percy seems to be the main character then James, as he landed a secondary role in that episode. I do love how the mist is rendered now, it's, admittingly, better then what Nitrogen pulled as there fog or mist grows to be more thick. The mist was a bit thick as well in the episode, but you can see better. James' cheekiness had returned, it feels of course like 'No Joke For James' from the third season and the camera angles were great, especially that close up of Percy when hearing more of James' 'ghost' story.

 

However there are some problems with the episode, as usual with Arc's animation. When Percy was telling Stephen about 'The Phantom Express' his mail van disappeared and then reappeared again later on when James pulled into the castle. Plus as Percy was at the castle, he looked angled slightly and of course, with Stephen's old age, you think he knows what an owl would sound like?! However in the end it was a good episode and I enjoyed it and it was great to air it at this time of the month as it's the Halloween month, though in my country we don't celebrate that much. Well tomorrow we witness the return of Bill and Ben in full CGI for the very first time.

Rating: 4/5