Season 16 - Episode 18: Don't Bother Victor

March 2012 saw the eighteenth episode of Season 16 of Thomas & Friends...

...but before the review, the usual disclaimer:

The views below are entirely those of the author and not representative of the Sodor Island Forums as a whole.

On that note, it's time to get this review underway...

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Don't Bother Victor

Writer: Sharon Miller

The Thin Controller is off to a meeting and leaves Peter Sam in charge of the narrow gauge railway for the very first time.

Overall Thoughts

The only thing that set this episode apart from the rest was the fact that the narrow gauge engines received their first airing in full-CGI. The rest was indistinguishable from the other episodes of the series, using the same lame plot devices and structure we’ve had in place since Series 11.

I am an avid narrow gauge buff. I have done a lot of reading on the subject, watched a number of documentaries, and I have visited railways up and down the UK, and had the pleasure of travelling on the Durango and Silverton, Georgetown Loop and the Cumbres & Toltec Railroads in Colorado. However, the only narrow gauge railway I have come across anywhere with a double-tracked main line is the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Kent – the reason for that being that it is a ‘main line railway in miniature’, it’s a unique selling point for the railway.

So to see that the Skarloey Railway has somehow been double-tracked throughout is a bit of a strange anomaly to me – as it would be many others. Timetabling allows for engines to work on the principle of one-engine-per-section, thus allowing for the flow of traffic to be steady. Here, we see it used firstly for engines to run alongside one another in the same direction... given that on a main line network this would be used for ‘up’ traffic and the other for ‘down’, this wouldn’t happen either. It looks nice, but it simply wouldn’t happen. It’s also used as a plot device for Rheneas to appear randomly wherever Peter Sam happens to be at that time.

Turning to the episode itself, there’s far more holes here than the double-tracked line. Peter Sam is told “not to bother Victor with little things”. He’s faced with three engines who are unable to work due to defects within a very short space of time, and therefore tries to fix them himself, eventually running out of coal and leaving himself stranded. But at the same juncture, the only engine who seems to be doing any work whatsoever is Sir Handel, and due to his unidentified defect, it means he cannot continue hauling this train.

The lack of logical thinking in this episode was staggering. Not just from the point of view of the character, but from the writing itself! Whilst the suggestion of oiling Sir Handel to get him moving again was somewhat agreeable, what came next left me face-palming. Pumping water down Skarloey’s funnel to clear a blockage. Now, given that he’s a steam engine himself, Peter Sam would know that would put the fire out! Perhaps he should have been on hand during Fiery Flynn when Thomas’s firebox was on fire!

Rheneas’s evanescence is particularly grating. There’s no reasonable explanation offered as to why he’s randomly puffing up and down the railway ‘light engine’. Yet every time there is a problem, he appears to report it. Perhaps the Thin Controller gave him the duty of being the railway’s ‘Nosey Neighbour’ for the day prior to the episode beginning. And how he manages to turn himself around with such break-neck speed is nothing short of remarkable - either there's a turning triangle, a balloon loop or a turntable in the middle of this section which we don't get to see, or Mary the Magic Fairy is working her miracles again. (You can only see Mary if you truly believe in her. She spends most of her time off-screen with Duck, Donald, Douglas, Oliver et al, mostly setting fire to things... people think she's a pyromaniac, I just think she likes setting fire to things...)

Each time, Peter Sam duly ignores his warning to get Victor – until as such times as he himself is in trouble, and cannot get out of it without help. I’m unsure how to react to this. Has Peter Sam been selfish? Has he simply had good, but nevertheless misguided, intentions? Or has it simply been a case of stupidity and thoughtlessness? It leaves me wondering – if Peter Sam hadn’t run into trouble himself,would he have told Rheneas to get Victor at all? Most likely not – so it’s a mixture of all of the above. With the best of intentions, he didn’t want to disturb Victor, but he never thought about the needs of his friends until he himself needed help. Again, questionable actions from the lead characters – particularly ones who are meant to be the positive role models.

I also feel there have been a huge number of wasted opportunities here too. The majority of the standard gauge engines have not interacted with the narrow gauge engines since 1998. Thomas has been a regular visitor to the Transfer Yards since 2005... guess who gets to chair the welcome home party? We could have had Edward, Henry, Gordon, Toby, Emily or someone else – but nope, Thomas was sent up there.

If all had gone to plan, this would have aired after Blue Mountain Mystery. Thankfully it only provides an ice-breaker. Therefore, we don’t miss the likes of Luke, Merrick, Owen, Winston or anyone else who’s due to appear. So that’s probably a life-saver for HIT and for the number of viewers out there who would otherwise be scratching theirheads.

It’s also the first time we hear the narrow gauge engines speak with their own voices. Personally, I found the choice of voices to be quite fitting for the characters. Peter Sam’s voice actor, newcomer Steven Kynman’s first opportunity as a lead player was very well done, providing the youth and enthusiasm the character has always had from the Railway Series. Ben Small was very fitting as Rheneas, and Keith Wickham’s Skarloey gave depth to the character. Only Sir Handel can be said to be a rather ill-fit, although this may be developed over time.

Thoughts From Other SiF Members

Eric (SiF Second in Command):

Destined to be called "the episode where the NG engines come back," I think this story could have featured the standard gauge engines and been just as underwhelming. There was nothing "narrow gauge" that separated it from any other story --these aren't narrow-gauge problems, they are every-engine problems. The only redeeming feature was Nitrogen's work, who have brought these characters back to life, and have done an amazing job building the locos, as well as distinguishing the environments from the ones run on by Thomas & Co.

Christopher (ERS Mod):

My one main gripe of this episode was the biggest shoe-horning of Thomas of all - a Standard Gauge track right through a Narrow-Gauge Yard, of all things! His on-screen mention in "Skarloey the Brave" was pointless enough, but this was ridiculous! I'd have happily accepted the Wharf rather than an "addition" to the Season 6+Engine Depot.

Then again, it was quite hard to distinguish the Standard / Narrow Gauge tracks when they look exactly the same...

The episode content-wise was nothing new either. You can compare this storyline to so many before - Steamy Sodor, Sir Handel in Charge, the Green Controller (lol) - since most of 'em were written by you-know-who anyway. The same person I might add who, with her first Skarloey entry - Tuneful Toots, Season 9 - described Rusty the Diesel Engine having a funnel…!

However, while having ALL the little engines break down seemed far too coincidental (Kids aren't that naive), I did like how Sir Handel's scene in the opening montage actually tied in with his role in the episode. Nice touch.

I was also grateful to see it acknowledged that the Skarloey Engines DO have Drivers and Firemen again after Donkeys Years following the HIT takeover -despite them not playing a bigger role than they should have done here. And each of them (or those that starred here) having a Welsh accent respectively isa lovely nod to the Talyllyn Rail, right down to the rolling stock

But the one scene that truly did made me laugh-out-lout was Rheneas wearily repeating Peter Sam's phrase after the umpteenth time. Something we, the viewers, must have done countless times from previous seasons in the three-strikes structure…

So yes, great to see the Skarloey Rail back in service - but Blue Mountain Mystery, I feel, will be their TRUE fanfare reintroduction compared to this.

Ian (ERS Mod):

It does seem a little odd to go to all the trouble of putting the NG engines into CGI then giving them one special. What also gets me is that the huge quarry set due to feature in BMM doesn’t appear here at all- but maybe that is something to be explained at a later date?

Sadly, though the landscape is barely distinguishable from that of the big engines- in the model era there were more obvious differences, and while features such as the water-towers and halts are wonderfully done, the settings all look ‘wrong’. Again, maybe this will be worked on in time.

The voices seemed a little high-pitched and whiny for my liking- especially Sir Handel. In contrast I found Skarloey’s deeper, gruff voice rather charming-others have had different views so I shall put this down to ‘getting used to something new’- in fact all the above points come into that category.

There is no denying that the locomotives and rolling stock are miniature masterpieces- excellent work Greg and team. The paint schemes and weathering were all nice, and I’m pleased to see Rheneas was not quite as orange as his promo picture suggested. Some have moaned about face sizes, particularly Rusty. Given he had the small face only in series 4 (if memory serves) then it does make sense to stick with the larger face.

Music wise, I’m not quite sure about that- it sounded like half the time there was a banjo dual going on. Yes, that might suggest ‘remote countryside/rural’, but it doesn’t fit overly well when everything is trying to copy Wales! It sounded more suited to the Misty Island engines in fairness.

Now, a question for you, regarding Peter Sam’s Driver ‘oiling’ Sir Handel- I was always under the impression the boxes on his running boards were sandboxes, so I was surprised to see oil going in there. Maybe somebody with more technical knowledge on such things will correct me on this point? Quite happy to be learn something from those of you who know better!

Finally, let’s look at the story itself. Yes, it was lovely to see Victor out of the Steam Works. He is a good character in fairness and it was nice to see him doing something different for a change. The scene of Sir Handel breaking down during the (wonderfully short) opening monologue, which then became part of the story, was nicely done. The relationships between the characters (who all seemed to be IN character) were well handled. There were train crews. Yes, lots of ‘thumbs up’ points here.

But having 3 engines fail within minutes of each other? Steam engines being left in charge of railways? Steam engines referred to as ‘fixing’ other engines? No human characters intervening at the silly goings on, like firing gallons of water down Skarloey’s funnel? No mention of fixing poor Duncan, even if he was off screen for viable reasons? That bit about Skarloey’s firebox...why? What exactly was Rheneas doing, running here there and everywhere with trains and turning round at whim?

Alas, for every good point, a bad one cancels it out.

As with so many stories this season- and many from those past- the potential was there, but it failed in the execution.

I can’t in any honesty say I’m sorry to see Sharon Miller go after this series and forthcoming special- and I’m genuinely sad to say that. This series is no more than a rehash of various bits of past series, simply with some different characters and explanations fitted into the well-used storylines.

I genuinely believe the departing head writer has skill, talent and great enthusiasm for her work, and would argue with people who said otherwise.  However, I feel there has been a great underestimation of the audience of ‘Thomas and Friends’ and that is what has led to several series of poorly planned, uninspiring and lack-lustre episodes. Yes, the series if fundamentally aimed at ‘youngsters / pre-schoolers’- but when you know you have such a wide fan base, surely it is sensible to try and target them all? If anyone says that can’t be done, I argue it CAN- for proof, see a little set of books known as ‘The Railway Series’.

One more to go I think, bar the ‘Winter Holidays’ one (it’s OK Ian, you are allowed to say ‘Christmas’ now!), and we’re done.

Final Conclusions

There was potential here to make something unique and personalised, but it was completely wasted to make something generic and dull. The narrow-gauge railway is a distinctly different beast to the standard gauge one, and whilst I can appreciate that there are constraints at production level over what environments that Nitrogen can provide within a specific time frame, this was not making good use of anything they had to offer.

The voice actors carried this one through admirably. It was a treat to see the stunning detail of each narrow-gauge locomotive in action, and to see Victor finally working on the Skarloey Railway for once. But quite honestly, this was a dreadful storyline and a poor ‘welcome back’ for the narrow-gauge engines.

Individual Episode Score: 1/10 - Fiery Flynn 3/10 – Ol’ Wheezy Wobbles 7/10 - Express Coming Through 3/10 - Percy & The Monster of Brendam 2/10 - Ho Ho Snowman 8/10 - Flash Bang Wallop! 2/10 - Thomas & The Rubbish Train 1/10 - Thomas Toots The Crows 1/10 - Bust My Buffers 9/10 - Percy & The Calliope 2/10 – Thomas & The Sounds of Sodor 5/10 – Salty’s Surprise 1/10 - Sodor Surprise Day 1/10 - Emily's Winter Holiday Special 2/10 – Muddy Matters 4/10 – Whiff’s Wish 4/10 – Welcome Stafford 2/10 – Don’t Bother Victor

Total Season Score So Far: 58/180

Average Season Score So Far: 3.2/10

Quick Character Stats

Speaking Roles:

Peter Sam, Rheneas, The Thin Controller, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Victor, Thomas

Cameos:

Rusty, Peter Sam’s Driver