Season 19

[Jacob Wilson]

Yes, Jacob, hence why they're in this topic: Season 19.

They're online now.

I have not seen Series 19 yet. Has the UK version of Series 19 aired yet? I prefer the UK version of Thomas & Friends as I live in the UK.

[Chaz]

I figured that since this season basically finished airing all of its episodes I would share my thoughts on this season as a whole rather than each individual episode. 

Season 19 was... An interesting season to say the least compared to the likes of season 17 and 18.  It was the first season in a while to take place before the years special which wasn't a bad thing but at times I felt that there wasn't as much the writers had to work with like how they did last season.  There were a few clever and original ideas such as the first double-length episode as well as an episode taking place around the same time as three other stories.  It was also a lot of fun seeing some of the characters who hardly had any attention in the last two seasons get a episodes to themselves such as Henry, Stephen, and Salty while putting other characters who had a lot of exposure before aside such as Duck, Marion, and the narrow gauge engines.  It shows that the writers want to give balance to characters that they enjoy writing stories about equal treatment.  All these qualities really make this season very admirable and even though not a whole lot of the episodes were that incredible, the ones that were are simply amazing.

That being said this season definitely had a few flaws, and some were more glaring than others.  One of them was Phillip.  Yeah, I'm sure some of you saw this coming, but I don't think he is a particularly bad character but he is nothing unique compared to other characters who have a similar persona such as Kevin, Charlie, or even in his earlier days, Thomas.  There were also some episodes that really struggled as far as season 19 is concerned.  Some I found to be very undewhelming, others were very over-the-top with over-the-top moments.  The forced Sir Topham Hatt humor got old very quickly.  A lot of times not only did the forced humor do nothing for the episode but it even made episodes worse.

As much as I love what Arc has done with the show, I will say that while I do like season 19 I found it to be a hit and miss compared to the last two seasons.  The show took some chances with the season and while some worked and others didn't I can certainly say that for the most part I admire that they tried to do that and I am interested in seeing where season 20 will be heading from there. 

And just for fun here are my top 5 favorites and least favorites.

Favorites:
1. No Help At All
2. Snow Place Like Home
3. Den and Dart
4. The Truth About Toby
5. Diesels Ghostly Christmas

Least favorites:
1. Henry Spots Trouble
2. Rocky Rescue
3. The Other Side of the Mountain
4. Thomas the Babysitter
5. Helping Hiro

[sean1994rail]

At least TFC was not much of a scolder than in S17 and S18, and even admitted some of his wrongs, particularly in Who's Geoffrey? Where he teaches Thomas about owing up to mistakes by using his experience.

[MeganekkoFury1126]

I gotta agree Chaz. Looking back, some episodes I might give a little lower than I thought, though some may get higher.

With the two new episodes released recently, Rocky Rescue and Goodbye Sir Topham Hatt, they're both pretty meh in my opinion, the former more so.

Agreed, there are plenty of noticeably weak episodes like Rocky Rescue, Henry Spots Trouble, Helping Hiro, and Salty All at Sea.

There are also okay ones like Red Vs. Blues, Cranky Christmas, and  the Phillip episodes.

But we also got really stand out ones, like Best Engine Ever, No Help at All, Slow Stephen and Den and Dart.

I will say overall, season 19 has been a bit more consistent compared to season 17 and 18, but it did take awhile before it really felt as if it stepped up its game compared to the two predecessors.

Personally, if I could sum it up concisely, it feels like season 19 is to season 17 and 18 what season 3 was to season 1 and 2. It didn't introduce too much groundbreaking material or new characters, but still offered a solid list of episodes that seemed to do more with less.

That being said, I am DEFINITELY looking forward to what potential they can unlock in season 20. We have a lot to look forward to after all: Daisy, Ryan, Skiff, Rex, Bert, Mike, Donald and Douglas, and that's just what we know.