ThomasNATION Reviews - Good as New
August 16, 2025
Hey, remember the episode Thomas' Day Off? Not the Season 9 episode that introduced Dennis, but the All Engines Go! episode that reintroduced Bulstrode. I've gone on record saying that episode was actually pretty solid. The story was adorable, the song was nice, and it was overall a decent watch. But there's one element they brought in that hasn't gotten much attention, and that's Thomas' little boxcar friend Boxy. He didn't get much attention in the episode besides being Thomas' companion, but that's why we have this episode. Will this make me see this inanimate boxcar in a new light? I'm aware that's one of the stranger questions I've asked on this blog, but let's begin.
Boxy begins to start showing his age when he falls apart on a journey, so Thomas takes a page out of Whiff's book and decides to find the parts to fix him himself.
One of the biggest positives I named in Thomas' Day Off was its childlike innocence. While I said the whole "making stuff up" angle didn't work in something like Dragon Run, it worked in Thomas' Day Off because of how it genuinely felt like a kid going on an adventure in his head. So, now that we return to the Boxy dynamic, does the same apply here? No, but that's not a detriment. Instead, the episode has a plot similar to that of School of Duck - it even has a similar message about repairing and recycling. As a result, this does end up with the episode feeling like a copy at times, just swap Duck and Dexter with Thomas and Boxy.
However, despite its derivative plot, this episode does have some things going for it. Just like in Thomas' Day Off, the bond between Thomas and Boxy is really sweet. You can tell how much Thomas cares about this inanimate little boxcar in spite of this being handled better in a later episode. Also, I actually really like the song. The aptly titled "Good as New" is very catchy and despite not having the most imaginative lyrics, it does compliment the message decently.
Overall, Good as New should more so be called...Decent as New. While the story isn't anything that hasn't been tackled in School of Duck, the heart is what elevates it to being an okay watch. If you want my recommendation, I'd say to watch it if you're curious, but if not...I mean, School of Duck is right there. Overall, however, I think Good as New is an alright time, so it earns a 3.5/5.
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