ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Rusty to the Rescue
July 31, 2020
The first two seasons of Thomas and Friends prided themselves on being faithful adaptations to the original Railway Series stories, Then Season 3 came out and pushed the boat out by adapting magazine stories alongside its book adaptations - with two exceptions that kept the same feel as the adaptations and didn’t change much from Awdry’s vision.
Then came Season 4, and it seemed to be like 1 and 2 keeping it’s RWS adaptations pretty close, with a few changes to fit it into the timeline and keep the budget down, with the exception on one story which changed the show forever: Rusty to the Rescue, the 15th Episode of season 4. But how did this story change Thomas and Friends forever? Surely Thomas and the Magic Railroad or season 5 would take that? No, Rusty to the Rescue cemented Allcroft’s vision for Thomas and Friends - a sweet, loving place where, that could be anywhere in the world, as a kid growing up in the late 90s and Early 00s. This is my Thomas.
Rusty to the Rescue follows Rusty going to look for a new engine to run “the bluebell line”. He goes to Douglas and Percy (taking a note from The RWS Story “Bluebells of England” this story is “based” off) asking about Douglas saved Oliver before being told “only diesels go there” and, after talking to his driver setting off to the mainland Vicarstown the other railway to find a new engine.
The scene where Rusty arrives at the scrapyard is one of my favourites in the series, starting with a rendition of Rusty’s theme, which is uplifting and happy before transforming into bleak and spooky music accompanied by footage of the dark scrapyard. This sudden change really sets the episode apart from most others in my opinion. We then get interrupted by the loud booming voice of a diesel, accompanied with some of Sodor’s diesels facing away from the camera. Obviously I now understand why they did it but this really confused me as a kid, seeing the nice diesels in there!
Rusty then picks up courage and comes up with an excuse to see any engines they may have. After hearing there is only one, he goes to have a look and we are introduced to the fan favourite character: Stepney. In one of the most controversial changes to a character in Thomas’ history, taking his real life experience and RWS arc of being from the Bluebell railway and being the first standard gauge engine to having him become a Sodor resident, it’s a bold choice and like I said, earlier really fits with Allcroft’s vision of Thomas and Friends. Stepney and Rusty meet and then the epic music starts, building up as they get Stepney ready and the escape begins. It may not be as dramatic as Douglas and Oliver’s escape from the previous season but it’s still a fantastic scene, especially with that shot over the Viaduct.
The story concludes with Stepney and Rusty returning to the Bluebell railway, where Stepney is promised he’ll be repaired and repainted, and his driver tells him proudly “You’ve been saved by the Bluebell railway”. Stepney thanks Rusty and we then get an epilogue of Stepney running the Bluebell line, and having him called “The Bluebell engine”.
In conclusion, I have to admit going into this episode I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I remembered but honestly it’s incredible. It messes with the cannon and is a bit of a mess in certain places but it’s such a sweet and fun story. A true staple of that era of Thomas and Friends, Without it and Allcroft being willing to change the Reverend’s story, Thomas may be in a completely different place, We may have never have got the controversial Thomas and the Magic Railroad, the series wouldn’t have lost what made it special in the mid-late 2000s and early 2010s and we wouldn’t have had it’s return to grace in 2013 under Brenner.
And still I love it so much, and with that, it earns a 4.5/5. Bluebells Forever!
Final Score: 4.5/5
About The Author: Oliver (MrOliver1997)
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