ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Calliope Crack-Up

I think we can all agree that the lazy writing is undeniably the killing factor of the entire Nitrogen Era for Thomas & Friends and that's why it sucks, that's why it's hated since all these episodes feel like they were written by the same person in a single night and I think there's probably some truth to that considering it was the same writer of half the episodes every season. It's a shame the writing was so terrible during this time because everything else seemed to be bringing their A-game: the animation was pretty promising, the new voice actors were doing a fine job, former series composer Robert Hartshorne pumped out a pretty banger score and the marketing team were working wonders - I mean, Thomas had a presence in every store! Knowing just how good all these other elements were just makes me dislike this whole era even more, because with all that writing, we just couldn't win. But with that said, even if the writing killed any promise for this new chapter in Thomas history, that's not to say there weren't any hidden gems here and there and one of those gems is without a doubt Season 16's 'Percy and the Calliope' which - while still having things like the weird alliterative speaking and forced rhyming - had a wonderful idea for its concept as well as vocabulary used and of course we'll never forget the moment when the calliope comes back to life and plays the original 'Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends' theme song. The sweetest sound on Sodor is the sound of nostalgia, what many fans wouldn't give to relive those memories.

While 'Percy and the Calliope' may have been a hidden gem of an episode among everything we went through during the Nitrogen Era, it'll be pretty hard to top that when it comes to this musical ride that we're about to go on with our team of engines on the way to the Norramby Beach Carnival. But was this episode a symphony worthy of an encore or have we hit a sour note, the answer to that is...right down the middle!

While it does end up raising so many questions in regards to railway realism especially if you're one of the adult fans of the franchise like 'why weren't Thomas' bunny cars for the roller coaster on a flatbed' or 'why was Kana's bouncy castle already inflated when they should do that at the carnival' and let's not forget the return of an unhygenic transportation of food with Diesel's popcorn car, seeing our team of engines coming up with an idea to fill in for the calliope once completely busted by using their whistles and horns is actually a pretty creative idea and I have to admit that episodes centered around carnivals in the Thomas & Friends franchise whether they were good or bad always have that special something to help you remember how much fun you had while watching. 

So, while 'Calliope Crack-Up' is honestly inferior to what 'Percy and the Calliope' gave us ten years ago during the original Thomas & Friends series, it still gave me a magical musical ride that was fun to go on and maybe even revisit thus I'm gonna be giving 'Calliope Crack-Up' a rating of a 3.5 out of 5.

Final Rating: 3.5/5