Season 20

[Chaz]

I don't think Philip is that bad, I was never a huge fan of him but I can't say I hate him.  I found him to be more tolerable in this episode than both of his season 19 episodes.  Emily on the other hand seems to have gotten better from season 17 onwards, I'm glad she's at least getting better roles to work with in this era than previous ones.

Either way, neither of them are nowhere near as bad as Rosie.

[MeganekkoFury1126]

I agree. Emily is proving to be one of the best females in the franchise. Best Engine Ever was my favorite from last season, and yesterday's episode did give me some faith in Phillip...just as long as they keep it that way.

I think this is spoiling a bit, but today's episode, Henry Gets the Express, exceeded all my expectations. It has classic Awdry written all over it.

[donaldthescottishtwin]

Yeah it wasn't a bad episode but the problem with it is that Henry has pulled the express before many times already and the episode treats it as his first time.

[MeganekkoFury1126]

Well, with the first week of season 20 over (and unfortunately going into hiatus again until who knows when...), here are my condensed thoughts on all 5 of them:

Sidney Sings: This was an episode that was hinted at far before the episode came out, and I was curious to see how it would be handled. Fortunately, it turned out pretty good. After awhile of being kind of a blank slate, I really enjoyed how they wrote Sidney as forgetful, but can still be very helpful and not being another antagonistic diesel. Continuity between this and The Missing Christmas Decorations was very satisfying, and I particularly loved the turn of how Sidney's forgetfulness proved to be useful after all, plus the reintroduction of the red Express coaches. It's got a few pacing issues, Thomas being shoehorned slightly in, and some other things that aren't explained (seriously, who WAS supposed to take those passengers???), but still a very strong season opener. Also, I will not be able to get that jingle out of my head... 8/10

Phillip's New Friend: While I'm still not a fan of Phillip for his behavior, here Brenner executed it a lot better than either his season 19 episodes or the Great Race. First off, he's toned down a tad bit than any of those 3 instances, though I will say he still can get pretty tedious. Having him play off Toby provided much more entertainment than either Gordon or James, and how Toby was handled was very much in character. While some may say Thomas was shoehorned in, here it makes sense because it is his branch line, he's Phillip's closest friend, and was the right one to teach Phillip the lesson which he actually does take to heart. Though it doesn't make sense to me why Phillip and Thomas ended up on the same track. Eh, maybe Phillip was supposed to be trailing behind Toby, I don't know. 7/10

Henry Gets the Express: This is by far my favorite of the first batch of season 20 episodes, and I'm sure many fans will agree. Like Old Reliable Edward and Thomas' Shortcut, this is a modern classic. First off, this is Henry's best written role in awhile in the Arc era. He's snide, crafty and teasing like most older fans remember. All the characters mesh together sublimely that it screams classic Awdry, and nobody feels shoehorned in at all, and neither do any of the callbacks to previous episodes. A thing that some may overlook is Sir Topham Hatt's portrayal, which is equally great and feels exactly how he should be - as the father figure over the other engines and punishing them when they act out of line. Some may criticize Gordon's behavior being too immature, but I disagree. He got pompous over his importance, and was punished until he did what he was supposed to. Plus, I feel after pulling the Kipper, Sir Topham Hatt felt Gordon learned his lesson. 10/10

Diesel and the Ducklings: This episode is quite odd for me. As a whole, it is pretty good. I do like the concept of Diesel showing a soft side here and there rather than having a jarring turn of feelings like in season 14, and I didn't mind him acting all troublesome wherever he found opportunity (though at times it did become a bit confusing). 'Arry and Bert getting a role was a nice chance of pace, and yes, the moral is a very good one delivered extremely nicely. The sticking thing that bugs me is how Thomas' role feels incredibly miscast. Lee Pressman has a bad habit for shoehorning Thomas into episodes that really shouldn't have had him - look at last season's Salty All at Sea. I know some people complain that Duck was too shoehorned in season 18, but if there was any episode that would've benefited from Duck in the starring role it would be this one - it would've called back to season 2, and it would've been even funnier to hear Duck quacking himself. I feel this episode just kind of dropped the ball in that regard, and it bugs me how much better it would've been had they gone that route. 6/10

Bradford the Brake Van: New characters that aren't engines are kind of rare in the Arc era, so I was quite interested to see how Bradford would turn out. Fortunately, he turned out very well! Bradford definitely adds something unique and interesting to the Thomas world. His paint scheme looks much like soldier camouflage, and he delivers the drill sergeant attitude with a lot of entertaining enthusiasm. While some of his instructions, yes, can be extremely nitpicky and as a result kind of annoying (which is my only major issue with the episode), he does have merit to his actions, especially in Thomas' case - safety is more important in the long run, which is an excellent moral for kids. Plus, you gotta admire all those railway specific regulations. The crash was, as expected season 19 onward, great to see, and it was quite nice seeing Samson again after so long. Though Bradford may not be appearing very soon, he sure left a lasting impression, and I can tell he and Samson were made for each other. 9/10

All in all, I think season 20 is off to a pretty bang up start, and feels, at least so far, an improvement over its predecessor. Though, I'm really hoping that the team does have some focus on characters that Lost Treasure introduced or brought back for a change, and most importantly, that they don't put Thomas in EVERY single episode.

[Thomasfan39]

Well, with the first week of season 20 over (and unfortunately going into hiatus again until who knows when...), here are my condensed thoughts on all 5 of them:

Sidney Sings: This was an episode that was hinted at far before the episode came out, and I was curious to see how it would be handled. Fortunately, it turned out pretty good. After awhile of being kind of a blank slate, I really enjoyed how they wrote Sidney as forgetful, but can still be very helpful and not being another antagonistic diesel. Continuity between this and The Missing Christmas Decorations was very satisfying, and I particularly loved the turn of how Sidney's forgetfulness proved to be useful after all, plus the reintroduction of the red Express coaches. It's got a few pacing issues, Thomas being shoehorned slightly in, and some other things that aren't explained (seriously, who WAS supposed to take those passengers???), but still a very strong season opener. Also, I will not be able to get that jingle out of my head... 8/10

Phillip's New Friend: While I'm still not a fan of Phillip for his behavior, here Brenner executed it a lot better than either his season 19 episodes or the Great Race. First off, he's toned down a tad bit than any of those 3 instances, though I will say he still can get pretty tedious. Having him play off Toby provided much more entertainment than either Gordon or James, and how Toby was handled was very much in character. While some may say Thomas was shoehorned in, here it makes sense because it is his branch line, he's Phillip's closest friend, and was the right one to teach Phillip the lesson which he actually does take to heart. Though it doesn't make sense to me why Phillip and Thomas ended up on the same track. Eh, maybe Phillip was supposed to be trailing behind Toby, I don't know. 7/10

Henry Gets the Express: This is by far my favorite of the first batch of season 20 episodes, and I'm sure many fans will agree. Like Old Reliable Edward and Thomas' Shortcut, this is a modern classic. First off, this is Henry's best written role in awhile in the Arc era. He's snide, crafty and teasing like most older fans remember. All the characters mesh together sublimely that it screams classic Awdry, and nobody feels shoehorned in at all, and neither do any of the callbacks to previous episodes. A thing that some may overlook is Sir Topham Hatt's portrayal, which is equally great and feels exactly how he should be - as the father figure over the other engines and punishing them when they act out of line. Some may criticize Gordon's behavior being too immature, but I disagree. He got pompous over his importance, and was punished until he did what he was supposed to. Plus, I feel after pulling the Kipper, Sir Topham Hatt felt Gordon learned his lesson. 10/10

Diesel and the Ducklings: This episode is quite odd for me. As a whole, it is pretty good. I do like the concept of Diesel showing a soft side here and there rather than having a jarring turn of feelings like in season 14, and I didn't mind him acting all troublesome wherever he found opportunity (though at times it did become a bit confusing). 'Arry and Bert getting a role was a nice chance of pace, and yes, the moral is a very good one delivered extremely nicely. The sticking thing that bugs me is how Thomas' role feels incredibly miscast. Lee Pressman has a bad habit for shoehorning Thomas into episodes that really shouldn't have had him - look at last season's Salty All at Sea. I know some people complain that Duck was too shoehorned in season 18, but if there was any episode that would've benefited from Duck in the starring role it would be this one - it would've called back to season 2, and it would've been even funnier to hear Duck quacking himself. I feel this episode just kind of dropped the ball in that regard, and it bugs me how much better it would've been had they gone that route. 6/10

Bradford the Brake Van: New characters that aren't engines are kind of rare in the Arc era, so I was quite interested to see how Bradford would turn out. Fortunately, he turned out very well! Bradford definitely adds something unique and interesting to the Thomas world. His paint scheme looks much like soldier camouflage, and he delivers the drill sergeant attitude with a lot of entertaining enthusiasm. While some of his instructions, yes, can be extremely nitpicky and as a result kind of annoying (which is my only major issue with the episode), he does have merit to his actions, especially in Thomas' case - safety is more important in the long run, which is an excellent moral for kids. Plus, you gotta admire all those railway specific regulations. The crash was, as expected season 19 onward, great to see, and it was quite nice seeing Samson again after so long. Though Bradford may not be appearing very soon, he sure left a lasting impression, and I can tell he and Samson were made for each other. 9/10

All in all, I think season 20 is off to a pretty bang up start, and feels, at least so far, an improvement over its predecessor. Though, I'm really hoping that the team does have some focus on characters that Lost Treasure introduced or brought back for a change, and most importantly, that they don't put Thomas in EVERY single episode.
Where did you see Bradford the brake van???

[Titanic5972]

What was the point in quoting that whole post?

[Thomasfan39]

Sorry about that I put my question in the quote on accident.

[donaldthescottishtwin]

Bradford is the character we always needed to counter the ridiculous unrealism in the modern series, hopefully he appears again soon.

[Titanic5972]

Bradford is the character we always needed to counter the ridiculous unrealism in the modern series, hopefully he appears again soon.

Ridiculous unrealism? They are talking trains with faces. How real can they ever get?

[TrainFan97]

So far, this season is good. About time Sidney gets character development. Though, Norman still has yet to get an episode to himself.

The over-usage of Thomas is really starting to get on my nerves. Especially in episodes written by Lee Pressman, Thomas gets shoehorned when the episode REALLY doesn't need him. Diesel and the Ducklings would've worked better if it was Duck, and not Thomas. Talk about wasted opportunity. I thought Thomas' role in Sidney Sings was also forced.

I just wish we can see Duck's other traits than just bragging about the Great Western. Oliver still has yet to get an episode to himself since his return. I just hope soon, they'll stop throwing certain returning characters in for fanservice, and just treat them like actual characters. In Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, and The Great Race, Duck, Oliver, Donald, Douglas, and Daisy were shoehorned for fanservice. Bill, Ben, Harvey, Toad, and Duncan are the returning characters who are not suffering the fanservice issues, but rather, treated like actual characters with their original personalities.

[MeganekkoFury1126]

Even though Duck, Donald, Douglas, and Oliver didn't contribute too much to the story of Lost Treasure on a whole, it does make sense why they're there as the Harwick Branch is right next to the Little Western.

Plus, honestly, I'd like to see those four pop up for an episode rather than Thomas. They've only appeared for the sake of it like ten or so times since their returns, and that's nowhere near as annoying as Thomas appearing in almost every single episode a season - something we were already irritated by in seasons 8-16.

[TrainFan97]

The only reason Thomas was shoehorned in every episode of Season 19 was because of the 70th anniversary.

[ClrwtrMK2]

The only reason Thomas was shoehorned in every episode of Season 19 was because of the 70th anniversary.

Same can be said for Season 9 & the 60th anniversary.

[Captain Crutch]

Has anyone else noticed that lately they've been making engines that won't be returning. Or if they do it will be extremely rare. Almost all the characters added in the Great race, Bradford, Hannah and maybe others we don't know about. Seems kinda odd.

[MeganekkoFury1126]

Considering how many characters are going to be in season 20 (old and returning), that's kind of a relief. Don't want to get too crowded after all.

Aside from Bradford, the only other recent one I'd like to see again who's only appeared once would be the Flying Scotsman, because he was in my opinion the best thing about the Great Race, and he may appear again...

Unlike in past seasons, at least the new team does have reasons why certain characters won't appear again.