Monday, 21 September 2015

S19 Ep.1: Who's Geoffrey?

2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the Railway Series books being first published since 1945 and with the likes of 'The Adventure Begins' and the new DVD special 'Sodor's Legend of The Lost Treasure' fans are now wondering what the TV series will hold up. Surprisingly though this season is set before SLOTLT. So characters like Daisy, Ryan, Skiff and the Arelsdale Railway engines will not be appearing until the 20th season. With Wal*Mart releasing there third exclusive DVD 'Whale of a Tale and Other Sodor Adventures' back in June 2015 with five episodes some are a bit up and down on the episodes. So here are my views on S19: 

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

WHO'S GEOFFREY?
Written by
Lee Pressman

Directed by
Don Spencer

Produced by
Ian McCue (HIT)

Air Date:
21/09/15

Plot:
There's been an accident at Brendam Docks, which was started by Thomas, but Thomas told everyone that it was an engine called Geoffrey.

PRO:
- Moral: Always admit your mistakes
- Thomas' 'impression' of Geoffrey
- Percy's US voice
- Spencer's permanent lamps


CON:
- The ending has no purpose

So far this episode is my personal favourite and it was the season opener. It features a really good moral towards children saying that we should admit our mistakes or own up, as mentioned in the UK dub, and not to cover it up. I have been hearing from some people that Thomas wasn't given any discipline but you can see the remorse Thomas has for making up Geoffrey and causing much chaos over it. The moral of the story is fleshed out more then 'Duck in The Water'. I love the 'impression' that Thomas pulled towards the Fat Controller and Percy, it was comical and almost sounds like Kermit the Frog in the US dub and the UK dub was funny as well with Thomas almost sounding like Ringo Starr from The Beatles cartoon series. I love the small detail on Spencer and that is his lamps - just like the head codes for the express engines in the UK! 

I do have another con though for this episode and that's the end of the episode. Thomas smashed into something metal and a bouncy ball came out of nowhere. How I think it should've ended would be if Thomas made another mistake and own up to it.

As for the new intro, I think the ERC remix is a bit meh. But the new intro provided for the song actually show the meaning of the title 'Thomas & Friends'. We are seeing Thomas and his friends working on the busy railway of Sodor and not just Thomas passing by and the credits for it too was great to see Thomas standing next to Ffarquhar station. The new intro and end credits is just a fresh start to the new season.

Rating: 9/10

Episode Rating:
Who's Geoffrey - 9/10

Series Rating (So Far):
9/10