Season 17

[Fergusfan17]

What about thoughts on Percy's Lucky Day? I enjoyed it, and Bill and Ben returned in full character. Why are their wheels red? Something I'm missing? A reference, maybe?

[Chaz]

Chaz, I thought of another punishment for James in the Phantom Express, from James and the coaches, that James will have his red coat taken off of him and have him painted blue.

Same as the tar tanks one you used earlier.  It'd be interesting to see how they would pull that one off though if they did.

Now then...
Percy's Lucky Day
This episode was easily better than what I witnessed yesterday.  It was interesting how Percy and Stephen are starting to build a good friendship together, two episodes in a row of supporting one another in some way.  I actually like that since it gives Stephen a bit more of a variety to connect with as opposed to a new character always associating with Thomas.  Hopefully we can see more of that later.  I also liked the little details they added at the beginning of the episode.  Anyone notice the pumpkin that fell off Bill and Ben's train right as they pass Percy after the bag explodes?  It's little things like this that make me like the effort that's being put into the animation this season.  Even the envelopes flying around was a fun bit too. 
I think the best thing about this episode, inevitably, had to be Bill and Ben.  There's no hiding this one, these two (like Duck), really have their original personalities down and they have them down pretty well.  More of a reason to look forward to tomorrow's episode based on the preview!  Their arguments with each other was pretty funny as well as Sir Topham Hatt watching them getting irritated is done quite well.  
"I'm not heavy!"
"Yes, you are! You weigh tonnes!"
This right here is probably one of my favorite quote(s) from this season, hands down.
Two things did have me confused while watching this episode.  The first was why did Sir Topham Hatt have a package just for the Duchess?  Not the Duke and Duchess, but just the Duchess herself?  Seemed a little strange to me.    Another is how were percy's wheels still sticky at the castle after being washed earlier?  I guess to be fair on that one, the writers were trying to find a way to have Percy lose his good luck charm but I personally felt there would have been a better alternative. 
And no, I'm not gonna gonna complain about Bill and Ben having red wheels just because it really doesn't make that much of a difference to me.  I do prefer the black wheels and I don't understand why they did the change.  But then again Duck's footplate is black and that didn't really bug me all that much and the same could be said for the twin's wheels.
Otherwise, once again, another fun episode.  Worth the watch! 9/10

[chris123678]

I like Bill and Ben with the red wheels. I think it fits them better. I also like the way the side-rods are arranged. I really enjoy this season. I think the writers are trying to incorporate older aspects of the show when it was under BRITT into the new series and it's working. The animation is amazing. At times, it really looks like the models again. The track-bed looks good. The engines look very realistic. At some points, it looks like the models with the CGI faces.

Bill or Ben was excellent. It reminded of "The Dieseal"

It really brought me back to when the show was in it's first 3 seasons.

Well Done!

[Chaz]

Here are my thoughts on the episode:
This was a really fun episode!  Bill and Ben make just about any episode good, even when they appear in it briefly.  This episode is no exception.  Their trick on Connor made me feel like I was watching a classic episode, and even their tricks on Victor and Kevin were pretty funny too.  It was just one trick after another, and them going straight back to their old ways despite being punished just made the episode all the more enjoyable.  As BoCo said "You two never stop, do you..".  This episode really does prove that quote.  
Connor's role in this episode was really quite well too.  He didn't start off as a bully, a jerk, or even in the slightest bit vain.  He just acted like a simple everyday character.  Which is why this episode worked unbelievably well.  It makes the victim of the episode just all the more interesting.  Especially when he nearly crashes into Henry.  
And of course the punishment...being painted blue (Wow seanrail, you were close on this one!) was a fun to see too.  The way how Ben even manipulated Kevin to be repainted was a very clever move on the writer's part. 
This is another perfect episode, highly recommended for old and new Thomas fans alike.  10/10

[seanrail]

Here are my thoughts on the episode:
This was a really fun episode!  Bill and Ben make just about any episode good, even when they appear in it briefly.  This episode is no exception.  Their trick on Connor made me feel like I was watching a classic episode, and even their tricks on Victor and Kevin were pretty funny too.  It was just one trick after another, and them going straight back to their old ways despite being punished just made the episode all the more enjoyable.  As BoCo said "You two never stop, do you..".  This episode really does prove that quote.  
Connor's role in this episode was really quite well too.  He didn't start off as a bully, a jerk, or even in the slightest bit vain.  He just acted like a simple everyday character.  Which is why this episode worked unbelievably well.  It makes the victim of the episode just all the more interesting.  Especially when he nearly crashes into Henry.  
And of course the punishment...being painted blue (Wow seanrail, you were close on this one!) was a fun to see too.  The way how Ben even manipulated Kevin to be repainted was a very clever move on the writer's part. 
This is another perfect episode, highly recommended for old and new Thomas fans alike.  10/10

Well Thanks, Chaz.

[seanrail]

You are right on that, I completely blanked that out, thanks for pointing that out! 

Also, personally a tar tanker punishment sounds like a far more suitable punishment for James, it almost sounds like something Andrew Brenner would have done too.  I definitely would have rated the episode higher if they gave James a more suitable punishment, but probably not all that much higher.

Also another thing, apparently we are getting 26 episodes! 

Here is no more mr. nice engine:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/thomas-and-friends/#episode/ZX9601A009S00

there is also three more announced; The Smelly Kipper, Away from the Sea and Thomas Shortcut. in The Smelly Kipper, Henry dares James to take the Flying Kipper (I might be also close on that one with James pulling the flying kipper).

information on ttte.wikia.com/wiki/Season_17

[ShadowMonk]

On the TTTE Wikia for the Smelly Kipper episode. The description says that James teases Percy because he is afraid of the dark. Ghost Train (Season 2 episode 25) says that Percy enjoys running at night time. :S

[Fergusfan17]

When does the next batch of episodes come out in the UK? Wondering why the UK, there's a channel on yt that shows all of the episodes from the UK in HD so yeah.....

[Chaz]

Just saw Too Many Fire Engines and most of the Christmas episodes.  I will post my thoughts on the Christmas episodes at another time, right now though I want to share my thoughts on Too Many Fire Engines. 
This episode I thought was just a little above average.  It is a huge improvement over every episode involving Flynn and Belle, and easily more entertaining.  I guess with this episode there are two things I want to address one good and one not-so good. 
To get the one main flaw out of the way I have with this episode is Flynn's personality during most of this episode.  He was completely out of character.  The scene with him turning down the offer to go to the castle from Thomas was just pitiful to watch, and just didn't work for Flynn's personality.  Personally I feel this episode would have made more sense if it was Belle getting discouraged and not Flynn.  Flynn made more appearances, is more iconic to the show and SSRC, on top of having a better overall design.  Belle is the exact opposite, so seeing Flynn getting discouraged because of her was a little degrading.
For what the episode is worth though, I like the message that the writers were trying to show with this episode.  The moral is, whenever there is an emergency, it is always good to have a back-up plan.  This is a very rare message for kids nowadays and the writers couldn't have picked a better way to show that moral.  Especially when the argument of whether or not Sodor really does need two fire engines actually is a legitimate concern. 
With everything else aside, it was great seeing Butch sticking around as a source of encouragement for Flynn and I liked seeing the railway inspectors visiting the Island.  Everything about this episode is great, but like I said earlier, it is a shame that they couldn't have swapped the roles Belle and Flynn had otherwise it would have been more effective for me.  It would have gotten a much higher rate from me if they did that.  Despite this, I thought it was an enjoyable episode and I have a feeling others may feel the same way. 6/10

[DinoNTrains]

I myself enjoyed the Too Many Fire Engines. And I actually felt sorry for Flynn whenever he didn't make it to the fires.

On another note, the Christmas episodes were pretty good, though I still wonder what led to having Diesel 10 appear for the first time in an episode. It's not a bad thing, but I did like the idea of him being a movies/specials character

[TobyTheTram16]

The return of these two, besides Duck is what really got me hyped....




They look incredible in blue!

[PasqualeCS96]

I like their blue color, but I hope the next time we see them they'll be yellow again.

[TobyTheTram16]

I'm pretty sure they will, I think they were only painted blue for that episode.

[Chaz]

Well No More Mr. Nice Engine just aired in Australia, so I figured I would share my thoughts on it.  To those of you who live in the UK/US do not read any further, as this review will contain spoilers.

Anyway the first thing I want to say right off the bat, is I am pretty happy that we are getting 26 episodes this season.  The more the merrier!  Especially when the episodes are in good quality.

For No More Mr. Nice Engine, I found it to be fairly enjoyable.  The moral of the story is to basically keep your cool and control your temper.  The fact they used Diesel and Hiro, who are opposite from each other in that respect was a really clever way.  I think what I liked too was seeing the troublesome trucks in their troublesome ways again.  Now granted, we had king of the railway but I really didn't get that classic "troublesome" feel from them as much as I would have liked.  This episode did that better, which I find to be a very strong point.  
Plus I liked seeing Edward getting a small role in this episode.  Edward hasn't really done so much this season so seeing him speak a couple of times is a plus.  This episode could have worked just as well if not better with Edward just because this kind of plot suits his original character so much more.  Using Hiro though wasn't a bad move at all though, and no complaint on my part.  
The only thing I have to question is Diesel behind Hiro's train... no one at the docks realized this, let alone the workman who coupled Diesel to the pack of Hiro's train...?  I feel like the episode would have worked better if Diesel whispered a plan to the trucks that would cause the extra trouble for Hiro.  It again would have made the episode a little more effective and not as blatantly obvious that it was Diesel's doing, but I guess it really was the only way they could have caught Diesel in the act of sabotaging both of Hiro's trains.  
It's an overall enjoyable episode, a great storyline, and of course a great choice of characters.  Glad to see this season still coming on strong! 8/10


Now I updated this post due to no responses and I wanted to avoid double-posting.  So here are my thoughts on "Away from the Sea"
I think it can be said that the best part of the episode has to be the beginning, the flashback to Salty's secret.  It was done in a very clever way and it really takes fans back to when Salty first came to Sodor.  It's surprising to me that I felt nostalgic while watching that flashback, to think that season six was so long ago from now.  Now despite my praise for the flashback for the episode, is it a good episode?  Well I feel after the flashback I was suddenly underwhelmed by the rest of the episode.
A letdown for me for this episode was Salty's personality in this episode.  He was completely out of character.  While I'm happy they gave Salty a role, it was bizarre seeing a character as optimistic as him overthink a new character like Porter.  Plus seeing him refusing to go to the Dieselworks, being careless and crashing into freights cars full of oil and then confetti just did not work for him.
There are still some positive moments throughout the episode, like seeing Den appearing in this episode, since he was absent in the missing Christmas decorations.  Plus the part with Porter annoying Cranky with the excessive questions was done really well.  Cranky usually makes for good speaking roles and moments throughout episodes, and this episode is no exception.  And of course when credit is due, the mention of how sandboxes work for different engines was pretty enjoyable too.  It's pretty clear Brenner has done his homework! 
As far as Porter goes I must be honest when I say this I found his personality to be a little dull.  But hopefully within the next episode (with the return of Harvey in mind) we can see more development from him. 
Overall though, it's an all right episode, I won't say it's one of the strongest episodes this season but if you like season 6 or are a fan of Salty you may enjoy the episode. 7/10

[thomasj219]

Thomas's Shortcut

Probably my favorite of the season, won't go into too much detail but let me know what you all think.