All Engines Go! Review - S1 Ep.32: The Super-Long Shortcut

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

THE SUPER-LONG SHORTCUT

Written by

Peter Gaffney

Directed by

Jason Groh

Sean Jeffrey

Produced by

Rick Suvalle

Suzie Gallo

Air Date

14/02/22 - USA
16/04/22 - CAN

19/04/22 - UK
21/05/22 - AUS

Plot

Gordon is unable to make an important delivery on his own; when Thomas offers his help, Gordon insists on second-guessing Thomas' every move.

MY VIEWS

Honestly for an AEG episode this is actually a really nice episode. Sure it's mostly Thomas and Gordon backwards and forth but this episode brought out good chemistry between the two and something that I find better unlike 'A Thomas Promise'. In fact this episode was so good that I could see this working in the CGI era since there are a ton of tracks and shortcuts despite the production team following the Sodor map and to maybe make it for the older fandom, add in Thomas and Gordon's alliance. For an 'All Engines Go!' episode this one is really nice and I'm calling this a favorite, which is a rarity.

Series Rating:

A Thomas Promise - 4/10

Thomas Blast Off - 4/10

License to Deliver - 5/10

Rules of the Game - 6/10

A Quiet Delivery - 3/10

Kana Goes Slow - 3/10

Dragon Run - 1/10

The Biggest Adventure Club - 7/10

Percy's Lucky Bell - 5/10

Sandy's Sandy Shipment - 6/10

A Wide Delivery - 4/10

Counting Cows - 3/10

Music Is Everywhere - 6/10

Backwards Day - 4/10

Chasing Rainbows - 2/10

Nia's Balloon Blunder - 7/10

Capture the Flag - 8/10

Mystery Boxcars - 6/10

Super Screen Cleaners - 4/10

Overnight Stop - 5/10

The Joke is on Thomas - 3/10

Lost and Found - 4/10

Thomas' Day Off - 4/10

The Real Number One - 7/10

Rollercoasting - 1/10

No Power, No Problem! - 3/10

The Tiger Train - 7/10

The Can-Do Submarine Crew! - 7/10

Thomas and Percy's Eggsellent Adventure - 3/10

Calliope Crack-Up - 7/10

Tyrannosaurus Wrecks - 4/10

The Super-Long Shortcut - 8/10

Overall rating (So far):

147/320

All Engines Go! Review - S1 Ep.31: Tyrannosaurus Wrecks

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

TYRANNOSAURUS WRECK

Written by

Christopher Gentile

Directed by

Campbell Bryer

Produced by

Rick Suvalle

Suzie Gallo

Air Date

7/02/22 - USA
16/04/22 - CAN

18/04/22 - UK
20/05/22 - AUS

Plot

Thomas and the other Engines get to deliver some newly discovered dinosaur bones, but they must deliver them in the correct order for assembly, which isn't as easy as it sounds...

MY VIEWS

This episode was mostly meh. Just your usual 'All Engines Go!' episode where the characters act childish, mess up the job and try to put things right. Almost formulatic like what what we saw during the Miller/Barlow era. Though I will say the song at least added some purpose to the episode instead of just being forgettable, despite it being that. A pretty standard episode.

Series Rating:

A Thomas Promise - 4/10

Thomas Blast Off - 4/10

License to Deliver - 5/10

Rules of the Game - 6/10

A Quiet Delivery - 3/10

Kana Goes Slow - 3/10

Dragon Run - 1/10

The Biggest Adventure Club - 7/10

Percy's Lucky Bell - 5/10

Sandy's Sandy Shipment - 6/10

A Wide Delivery - 4/10

Counting Cows - 3/10

Music Is Everywhere - 6/10

Backwards Day - 4/10

Chasing Rainbows - 2/10

Nia's Balloon Blunder - 7/10

Capture the Flag - 8/10

Mystery Boxcars - 6/10

Super Screen Cleaners - 4/10

Overnight Stop - 5/10

The Joke is on Thomas - 3/10

Lost and Found - 4/10

Thomas' Day Off - 4/10

The Real Number One - 7/10

Rollercoasting - 1/10

No Power, No Problem! - 3/10

The Tiger Train - 7/10

The Can-Do Submarine Crew! - 7/10

Thomas and Percy's Eggsellent Adventure - 3/10

Calliope Crack-Up - 7/10

Tyrannosaurus Wrecks - 4/10

Overall rating (So far):

142/310

All Engines Go! Review - S1 Ep.30: Calliope Crack-Up

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

CALLIOPE CRACK-UP

Written by

Sarah Eisenberg &

Beckey Wangberg

Directed by

Campbell Bryer

Produced by

Rick Suvalle

Suzie Gallo

Air Date

31/01/22 - USA
10/04/22 - CAN

15/04/22 - UK
19/05/22 - AUS

Plot

When the engines are delivering attractions to the annual Norramby Beach Carnival, a series of mistakes causes the precious Calliope to break. Luckily, the engines come up with a creative solution.

MY VIEWS

Honestly, the title could've been different since the Calliope was just a part of the episode instead of the focus. Could've called it 'Carnival Crack-up' since most of the attractions that the engines were delivering had a part of the conflict. Apart from that the episode itself was really not that bad and its message that there is a solution to a problem is shown instead of told something that some previous episodes of AEG keep forgetting to do and Diesel really felt a bit like his character from the CG era with his boastful side. Strange how some episodes so far from S1B are actually becoming good instead of what we got from S1A. Honestly a much better episode about a Calliope than what we'd gotten back in S16 and also I do see this working in the original series but you might have to make some adjustments to make it fit. 

Series Rating:

A Thomas Promise - 4/10

Thomas Blast Off - 4/10

License to Deliver - 5/10

Rules of the Game - 6/10

A Quiet Delivery - 3/10

Kana Goes Slow - 3/10

Dragon Run - 1/10

The Biggest Adventure Club - 7/10

Percy's Lucky Bell - 5/10

Sandy's Sandy Shipment - 6/10

A Wide Delivery - 4/10

Counting Cows - 3/10

Music Is Everywhere - 6/10

Backwards Day - 4/10

Chasing Rainbows - 2/10

Nia's Balloon Blunder - 7/10

Capture the Flag - 8/10

Mystery Boxcars - 6/10

Super Screen Cleaners - 4/10

Overnight Stop - 5/10

The Joke is on Thomas - 3/10

Lost and Found - 4/10

Thomas' Day Off - 4/10

The Real Number One - 7/10

Rollercoasting - 1/10

No Power, No Problem! - 3/10

The Tiger Train - 7/10

The Can-Do Submarine Crew! - 7/10

Thomas and Percy's Eggsellent Adventure - 3/10

Calliope Crack-Up - 7/10

Overall rating (So far):

137/300

All Engines Go! Review - S1 Ep.29: Thomas and Percy's Eggsellent Adventure

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

THOMAS AND PERCY'S 
EGGSELLENT ADVENTURE

Written by

Brent Piaskoski

Directed by

Jason Groh

Sean Jeffrey

Produced by

Rick Suvalle

Suzie Gallo

Air Date

24/01/22 - USA
10/04/22 - CAN

14/04/22 - UK
18/05/22 - AUS

Plot

Thomas and Percy have a difficult delivery - getting eggs and other cake ingredients safely to Vicarstown for their bake-off.

MY VIEWS

Another pointless unmemorable song, fine moving on. I don't think this episode is bad I just don't think it's good. The boulder gag is getting old and with Thomas and Percy trying to move the rocks out of the way and despite the slide they'd made, they have the power to jump off the tracks! It can still work for the story regardless. I hate it when the show does that. I also hate the egg and cake puns in this episode, they are just not funny or clever. It's sad but unsurprising that we'd just came off from two good episodes in the show and we're then given a dud. 

Series Rating:

A Thomas Promise - 4/10

Thomas Blast Off - 4/10

License to Deliver - 5/10

Rules of the Game - 6/10

A Quiet Delivery - 3/10

Kana Goes Slow - 3/10

Dragon Run - 1/10

The Biggest Adventure Club - 7/10

Percy's Lucky Bell - 5/10

Sandy's Sandy Shipment - 6/10

A Wide Delivery - 4/10

Counting Cows - 3/10

Music Is Everywhere - 6/10

Backwards Day - 4/10

Chasing Rainbows - 2/10

Nia's Balloon Blunder - 7/10

Capture the Flag - 8/10

Mystery Boxcars - 6/10

Super Screen Cleaners - 4/10

Overnight Stop - 5/10

The Joke is on Thomas - 3/10

Lost and Found - 4/10

Thomas' Day Off - 4/10

The Real Number One - 7/10

Rollercoasting - 1/10

No Power, No Problem! - 3/10

The Tiger Train - 7/10

The Can-Do Submarine Crew! - 7/10

Thomas and Percy's Eggsellent Adventure - 3/10

Overall rating (So far):

130/290

All Engines Go! Review - S1 Ep.28: The Can-Do Submarine Crew!

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

THE CAN-DO SUBMARINE CREW!

Written by

Adam Beechen

Directed by

Jason Groh

Sean Jeffrey

Produced by

Rick Suvalle

Suzie Gallo

Air Date

17/01/22 - USA
9/04/22 - CAN

13/04/22 - UK
17/05/22 - AUS

Plot

Thomas and Percy think they're great communicators, but when they're tasked with delivering a submarine to Vicarstown, communication becomes a bit more difficult to say the least!

MY VIEWS

I remember seeing Harold's new design for the first time and I'm still not a fan of him been given a grey face. Yes it may be to be consistent with the other character but he didn't need that in the original series but if it's for consistency then why give him the grey face and not Annie and Clarabel whose faces match their paint? As for the episode, this was another alright episode. It's nice to see a Thomas episode that talks about communication and how important it is when it comes to a job, wish they had done that in the original series. 

I could say Percy should be coupled at the front but like I said in a earlier review, if you give the character a more logical idea you're not going to have an entertaining story. Though they had done that when they were going down Canonball curve. Again, I don't have much critcism of the episode.  

Series Rating:

A Thomas Promise - 4/10

Thomas Blast Off - 4/10

License to Deliver - 5/10

Rules of the Game - 6/10

A Quiet Delivery - 3/10

Kana Goes Slow - 3/10

Dragon Run - 1/10

The Biggest Adventure Club - 7/10

Percy's Lucky Bell - 5/10

Sandy's Sandy Shipment - 6/10

A Wide Delivery - 4/10

Counting Cows - 3/10

Music Is Everywhere - 6/10

Backwards Day - 4/10

Chasing Rainbows - 2/10

Nia's Balloon Blunder - 7/10

Capture the Flag - 8/10

Mystery Boxcars - 6/10

Super Screen Cleaners - 4/10

Overnight Stop - 5/10

The Joke is on Thomas - 3/10

Lost and Found - 4/10

Thomas' Day Off - 4/10

The Real Number One - 7/10

Rollercoasting - 1/10

No Power, No Problem! - 3/10

The Tiger Train - 7/10

The Can-Do Submarine Crew! - 7/10

Overall rating (So far):

127/280

All Engines Go! Review - S1 Ep.27: The Tiger Train

After seeing all of Series 1A, we now move onto Series 1B of 'All Engines Go!' But first:

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

THE TIGER TRAIN

Written by

Brandon Violette

Craig Carlisle (song)

Directed by

Campbell Bryer

Produced by

Rick Suvalle

Suzie Gallo

Air Date
10/01/22 - USA
9/04/22 - CAN

12/04/22 - UK
16/05/22 - AUS

Plot

When Yong Bao visits Sodor, a jealous Thomas sets out to prove he's the braver train and challenges Yong Bao to a series of bravery challenges, only to have his plan backfire.

MY VIEWS

Again, the songs aren't really needed in the show. The episodes can work fine without them. As for the episode, this was actually alright especially when it comes to the message that even though we're brave we can be scared as well. After coming off from two bad episodes in a row it's nice to see something good for a while. I do like Thomas and Yong Bao's friendship it was nice and it reminds me of Thomas and Edward in the original series. I really don't have much qualm with the episodes, apart from the pointless song.   

Series Rating:

A Thomas Promise - 4/10

Thomas Blast Off - 4/10

License to Deliver - 5/10

Rules of the Game - 6/10

A Quiet Delivery - 3/10

Kana Goes Slow - 3/10

Dragon Run - 1/10

The Biggest Adventure Club - 7/10

Percy's Lucky Bell - 5/10

Sandy's Sandy Shipment - 6/10

A Wide Delivery - 4/10

Counting Cows - 3/10

Music Is Everywhere - 6/10

Backwards Day - 4/10

Chasing Rainbows - 2/10

Nia's Balloon Blunder - 7/10

Capture the Flag - 8/10

Mystery Boxcars - 6/10

Super Screen Cleaners - 4/10

Overnight Stop - 5/10

The Joke is on Thomas - 3/10

Lost and Found - 4/10

Thomas' Day Off - 4/10

The Real Number One - 7/10

Rollercoasting - 1/10

No Power, No Problem! - 3/10

The Tiger Train - 7/10

Overall rating (So far):

122/270

All Engines Go! Review - S1 Ep.26: No Power, No Problem!

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

NO POWER, NO PROBLEM!

Written by

Dan Salgarolo

Directed by

Campbell Bryer

 
Produced by
Rick Suvalle
Suzie Gallo
 
Air Date
29/10/21 - USA
20/11/21 - CAN
28/01/22 - AUS

18/08/22 - UK

Plot

Thomas is so excited to show Annie and Clarabel's passengers the scenic views of Sodor. However, the power is out, and the outage causes problems all over the island.

MY VIEWS

'Everything that does need electricity is connected.' and so why would Percy and Kana help Thomas to get through when even the things that are connected are not working because a power outage? That includes signals and crossing gates. Plus Gordon says that he would postponing deliveries due to the power outage which is implying that running around on the railway in a power outage can be dangerous as well. I know the new show isn't focused on railway realisim but the writing should've been better with its continuity and yes if we'd done it logically then there would be no plot. This might come off as a nitpick but I just want to point it out. 

Also while the episode was about not using electricity it was more about Thomas trying to take his passengers along the scenic route to Vicarstown which can work in different scenerios like why not have the whole railway be clogged up in traffic? And Thomas trying to find other ways to the scenic route. Maybe along the way he was trying to give the passengers something new along the way instead of the usual, maybe Annie and Clarabel can be quite fussy about the idea since they like the usual way or maybe a storm had blocked the usual way instead. 

The electricity part of the story feels more like it was added in as a second thought.

I'll be taking a break from the first part of this season and would review the second part sometime in April. I need one after watching this part of a total mixed bag. 

Series Rating:

A Thomas Promise - 4/10

Thomas Blast Off - 4/10

License to Deliver - 5/10

Rules of the Game - 6/10

A Quiet Delivery - 3/10

Kana Goes Slow - 3/10

Dragon Run - 1/10

The Biggest Adventure Club - 7/10

Percy's Lucky Bell - 5/10

Sandy's Sandy Shipment - 6/10

A Wide Delivery - 4/10

Counting Cows - 3/10

Music Is Everywhere - 6/10

Backwards Day - 4/10

Chasing Rainbows - 2/10

Nia's Balloon Blunder - 7/10

Capture the Flag - 8/10

Mystery Boxcars - 6/10

Super Screen Cleaners - 4/10

Overnight Stop - 5/10

The Joke is on Thomas - 3/10

Lost and Found - 4/10

Thomas' Day Off - 4/10

The Real Number One - 7/10

Rollercoasting - 1/10

No Power, No Problem! - 3/10

Overall rating (So far):

115/260