ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Duck and the Slip Coaches
July 03, 2021
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have officially reached the peak of the summer season and that means that it's also the busiest time of the year for the engines of the North Western Railway as numerous of vacationers and holidaymakers from the mainland and all over the world are busy flocking to the beaches and other attractions. At this time of year, the engines are busier than they've ever been before and Sir Topham Hatt often worries about making sure everyone gets to their destinations on time...but it looks like Duck may have the solution to everyone's problems as long as James doesn't take credit for it first 'cause it's time to meet 'Duck And The Slip Coaches'!
DUCK AND THE SLIP COACHES: James steals Duck's idea of bringing special slip coaches to the railway.
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Of all the stories written by the duo writing team of Mark Huckeryby and Nick Ostler, this one would have to be their best one yet and probably the best story in the eighteenth season of the series at that time since 'Old Reliable Edward'. What's so good about the story is that it feels like like a Railway Series story that had never been used before and at the same time, this is another example on how the characters act like children. James is more prominent example in this episode in thinking that pulling slip coaches sounds rather easy but realizes that it's not-in fact, James' attitude towards Duck in the episode is kind of like how fans think how other fans praise Duck for just being in an episode and also that his Great Western passion was rather annoying and...to be honest, it does get annoying when people talk about the past while it is great what a time we've lived through it's best to move on from it and keep it as memories.
Plus, the joke with Emily losing her place to sleep in Tidmouth Sheds was rather funny especially since I've never understood the whole 'Emily Replaced Duck' theory: while it is funny that the writers and animators poke fun at it, the theory has been going for sixteen years since Season 8. If Emily really was the replacement of Duck, she would've been given the same persona since the only reason why that happened is because the show has been criticized for years for being sexist by its lack of female characters even if the cast is mostly male and so Emily was given the eighth spot of the Steam Team as some of the models were also out of service too at Shepperton Studios in London. And truth be told, I actually think having a main female engine in the series is an improvement especially considering what came later on in the series with Nia and Rebecca replacing Edward and Henry.
Now before you all send me to the smelters yard for that statement, allow me to explain: when Emily was introduced in Season 7 of 'Thomas & Friends', no one expected her to be a new main character since everyone just thought 'oh cool, another new train'...her character was established, she appeared a couple times and that was that. Then in Season 8, they really started pushing her and giving her leads...and by Season 9, she was in Tidmouth Sheds without replacing anyone: it was a gradual transition and thus felt fairly natural. But getting back to Emily's treatment in this episode while rather funny, it was honestly just unnecessary since it could've easily been cut or rewritten but it was mostly there to pander to the older fandom. I understand the production team was at least acknowledging the older fandom for existing and that one person was a member of the production team at the time but things like these don't need to be in the show - it's a bit like the Donald and Douglas joke from 'Sodor's Legend Of The Lost Treasure', it never adds anything to the story.
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But overall despite the unneeded pandering, I think 'Duck And The Slip Coaches' is still one of the best episodes in Season 18...it had a very realistic problem in railway practice, beautiful animation as always and a great cast of characters-what more could you ask for in an episode that gets a perfect 5 out of 5 rating? It just goes to show that there really are only two ways of doing things: the wrong way or the Great Western Way.
Final Rating: 4/5
About the Author: True Blue
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