S18 Ep.16:Toad's Bright Idea

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

TOAD'S BRIGHT IDEA

Written by

Davey Moore

Directed by

Don Spencer

Produced by

Robert Anderson (Arc)

Ian McCue (HIT)

Air Date
16/09/14

Plot

Gator finds himself at a loss as he waits to be loaded on to a ship which is delayed. When Oliver breaks down, he is more than happy to help out to pass the time. Gator collects Oliver's trucks and keeps on driving through the night even when his lamp fails. Toad, the brake van, does not think this is safe and he and Gator argue. In the end, it is Toad's bright idea which helps Gator to deliver the trucks in time.

PRO:

- The 'mid-equal' plot line
- Moral: The importance of a lamp and brake van
- The developing friendship between Gator and Toad

CON:

- The crew members being the hands of engines and rolling stock

To be honest after hearing about this episode I had a bit of a bad feeling towards it and was also hoping that this takes place during TOTB so it won't disrupt continuity. Thankfully the latter did and it was really good how they came up with the 'mid-equal' plot, it reminds me of the Christopher Awdry stories that he made of the nicknames that Diesel gave to Gordon, Henry and James during the Duck and Diesel trilogy. Plus the moral of the story is good too with its railway practice, it shows why an engine's lamp is very important as it guides their way through the night to warn signalman or approaching engines that there's another engines' presences and of course the importance of brake vans. My main gripe will have to be the crews being the hands of the engines' and rolling stock, but they're slowly getting back to that (e.g - the dock manager talking to Gator). It's only a nitpick but I do hope the writers bring that back one day. I also love the friendship between the alligator and toad, do you reckon that came into Moore's mind? It shows there little arguing but Gator resolves himself in the end and the two became friends. It's a nice way to end S18 until the Christmas period in December or October if you're living in the US. Still there's more things to come on this blog so keep a good look out. The overall will more likely be out possibly when 'Dinos and Discoveries' comes out on DVD early next year, as it might be filled with S18 episodes.

Rating: 8.5/10