Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks: ThomasNATION Review (by SunilFan48 and Team)
January 21, 2017
#ThomasNATION member, Chris (SunilFan48) takes the pen as he shares with us his thoughts on the new episode of Season 20, "Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks!"
Hello everyone, Chris back again, and today I will be reviewing the Season 20 episode “Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks” written by Lee Pressman.
A pretty fandom-divided episode if you ask me. Some enjoyed the cast of characters and the humour. Others say it was too bizarre and the plot was all over the place. Well, right now I am going to give my (personal) thoughts on said episode.
Personally, I thought this episode was very enjoyable. I loved the humour between Topham and Dowager as well as the deal with his “safari” hat. Plus, as stated above I enjoyed the wide range of characters. Toby, Henrietta, Whiff, Belle and Flynn all got used.
Lee Pressman has had a habit of little variation of cast in the past, but I’m glad to see he has started to expand in Season 20. Also the clever use of the details of white item reflecting heat tying into the tracks being white (which has been done in real life in the UK* [Look below for adjoined reference]) very amusing.
Plus the Dowager’s picture talking to Topham was a nice touch and brought back some Thomas & The Magic Railroad vibes with the Topham portrait.
As for the plot, I don’t feel it is a jumbled mess. And here is why. This episode has what is known in television as an A and B plot. The A plot is the main, which is Topham's shenanigans with the hat and the heat. The B plot is Belle and Flynn dealing with the fires and buckled tracks.
Lots of cartoons nowadays do this and Thomas has even done it before too. Look at The Beast of Sodor or Thomas the Quarry Engine. Both feature two storylines that start from the same element, and then in the end reconnect with that element. Here the start element is the heat, then they branch of into Topham and his hat problems, and Belle and Flynn with the fires and tracks. Then at the end with the track issue and white items reflecting heat tie both back together. It really is pretty neat how it all ties together.
I also said this earlier but I enjoy the appearances of Belle and Flynn and they aren’t acting out of character or completely incompetent for once. Hopefully this will be a trend that continues into future seasons.
I also think that it was a clever touch to have the buckled tracks be the same ones that caused trouble in the Season 3 episode Thomas Gets Bumped. Talk about callback! That Goat was very funny as well!
So overall I really enjoyed this one for the above reasons, and I would watch it again.
I give this episode a rating of ⅘!
Rating: 4.5 / 5
The rest of the team had ratings to offer - raging from excellent to average.
RATINGS:
Lana Naoum: 5 / 5
Chris (BlueSunil): 4.5 / 5
Ollie (MrOliver): 4 / 5
Andy (Wellsworth1888): 4 / 5
Dan (Dakeslayer11): 4 / 5
Jainil (ThomasFan3000): 3.5 / 5
Jack (JFtheLOLZOR): 3 / 5
ThomasNATION Rating: 4 / 5
Thanks for Reading! We'll be back with new posts, soon!
About The Author:
Chris - SunilFan48
Follow Me On Twitter!
My YouTube Channel!!
Follow ThomasNATION on Twitter!
ThomasNATION is on YouTube!
Take the Ultimate Thomas Fan Quiz, now!
Hello everyone, Chris back again, and today I will be reviewing the Season 20 episode “Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks” written by Lee Pressman.
A pretty fandom-divided episode if you ask me. Some enjoyed the cast of characters and the humour. Others say it was too bizarre and the plot was all over the place. Well, right now I am going to give my (personal) thoughts on said episode.
Personally, I thought this episode was very enjoyable. I loved the humour between Topham and Dowager as well as the deal with his “safari” hat. Plus, as stated above I enjoyed the wide range of characters. Toby, Henrietta, Whiff, Belle and Flynn all got used.
Lee Pressman has had a habit of little variation of cast in the past, but I’m glad to see he has started to expand in Season 20. Also the clever use of the details of white item reflecting heat tying into the tracks being white (which has been done in real life in the UK* [Look below for adjoined reference]) very amusing.
Plus the Dowager’s picture talking to Topham was a nice touch and brought back some Thomas & The Magic Railroad vibes with the Topham portrait.
As for the plot, I don’t feel it is a jumbled mess. And here is why. This episode has what is known in television as an A and B plot. The A plot is the main, which is Topham's shenanigans with the hat and the heat. The B plot is Belle and Flynn dealing with the fires and buckled tracks.
 |
| The Plot A + B Theory |
I also think that it was a clever touch to have the buckled tracks be the same ones that caused trouble in the Season 3 episode Thomas Gets Bumped. Talk about callback! That Goat was very funny as well!
So overall I really enjoyed this one for the above reasons, and I would watch it again.
I give this episode a rating of ⅘!
Rating: 4.5 / 5
The rest of the team had ratings to offer - raging from excellent to average.
RATINGS:
Lana Naoum: 5 / 5
Chris (BlueSunil): 4.5 / 5
Ollie (MrOliver): 4 / 5
Andy (Wellsworth1888): 4 / 5
Dan (Dakeslayer11): 4 / 5
Jainil (ThomasFan3000): 3.5 / 5
Jack (JFtheLOLZOR): 3 / 5
ThomasNATION Rating: 4 / 5
Thanks for Reading! We'll be back with new posts, soon!
About The Author:
Chris - SunilFan48
Follow Me On Twitter!
My YouTube Channel!!
Follow ThomasNATION on Twitter!
ThomasNATION is on YouTube!
Take the Ultimate Thomas Fan Quiz, now!
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