Quote from: AJW98Productions on August 09, 2017, 01:17:56 AM
Of the Bachmann Thomas models I own, Edward is my favourite. Whilst I am more of a fan of Thomas (especially in the earlier seasons) as a character, Edward's model is quite possibly one of the best in Bachmann's range, capturing the TV Series appearance of Edward at its time of release almost perfectly. The Edward model is also deceptively powerful for its size and weight, so I congratulate Bachmann for their efforts on Edward. I must also say that Bachmann's Salty model is (in my opinion) rather underrated. I mean, yes his cab does appear a little overscaled, and his wheels look possibly a touch too small...and the lack of weathering paired with the glossy finish does look a little odd to me, but none of that can change the fact that Bachmann's model of Salty is still a very good performer, and still does very much look the part (once you get past some of the design quirks of it).

I agree. Edward's definitely the nicest looking of the classic 7 steam members, right down to the black painted brake pipes and perfect classic era face. He's also the smoothest and quietest runner of the lot I have, and yes can pull a bit more than I would've expected.

Salty also is very good. I think the heavy weight on him gives him a feel of quality, and he also runs quite nicely. I do feel that the shade over his head though should've been plain black and not have that awkward striping on.

Overall though, Donald and Douglas are my favorites. They're the strongest pullers of the lot I have, and when double heading can pull impressive consists. The die cast motor frames also give them a lot of weight and quality. I think I'm one of those who doesn't care that they're based on their season 6 onward appearances, as I remember them quite well in the Twin Trouble episode. Though Duck would be a close second. Bachmann really nailed his look, despite the black buffer sockets, and he has a slight waddle to his operation. Whether that was intentional or not is a mystery... But he still is a very good runner and pulls much better than either Thomas or Percy.

Gotta love how all these complaints don't affect the special's overall quality at all. 

We've got a little more info on the episodes teased on that DVD, and am quite intrigued how they'll turn out.

Emily in the Middle is the one that peaks my interest most. Mostly because this'll be the first time we've really seen Emily interact with Donald and Douglas, for a whole episode at that. I'm just hoping it'll stand on its own from last season's Love Me Tender.

As for Terence Breaks the Ice, it's kind of nice that they've made it Terence the one who needs to be rescued for once.

And for Confused Coaches, I'm definitely looking forward to more of the Gordon Vs. Spencer rivalry.

Most of my friends who are Thomas fans have said that Terence is the old character they want to see come back most. Yes, even more than BoCo. Considering he has a lot of room to flesh out his character - much like Toad did in season 18 - and can be used in a lot of scenarios, the team should get a lot of use out of him.

The writing team seems to like Daisy since, like James, it's easy to write episodes for her character. I'm not quite sure why no new merchandise has been made for her...
It's kind of ironic since the only character returned in season 20 who got a lot of merchandise was Trevor. Donald and Douglas didn't even get a Wooden Railway reintroduction.

Is that a fact or just an opinion?...

I still need to get used to that rather uncanny rocking motion animation, which fortunately isn't overused on the characters minus the troublesome trucks and the experimental engines. The trucks especially doing that feels REALLY uncanny.

I'm not sure if anyone realized that is Commissioner Loeb from Batman Begins/The Dark Knight as Beresford. But about Beresford himself, I actually like him. He's definitely a lot more interesting than I was expecting, and Colin McFarlane does a great job as him.

I do think Andrew Brenner has got a better grasp on what this special's story should focus on compared to last year's The Great Race.

I'm not sure how there's a rumor that Sixteen will appear...that feels a little too far fetched.

If he does appear, however, it means he'll be the first Christopher Awdry character to be rendered into CGI.

Considering it's been 3-4 years since Duck and Oliver have returned, I'm now just used to seeing them. It's not really different from how they were used in seasons 3-7.

As far as BoCo, I'm not counting on him returning in this movie, but maybe they'll do what they did with Daisy in Lost Treasure and have him pop up at the end.

Considering anything related to Thomas and the Magic Railroad is considered taboo today, and the fact that Diesel 10 or even Lady haven't been brought into Bachmann's conception, Splatter and Dodge being made sounds like one in a million shot.

Do kids in this generation even know who they are?...

Getting into these shows isn't quite as easy as one might think. Plus, the majority of people who do attend aren't coming for Thomas the Tank Engine.

Even in train shows, in particular the TCA bi-annual meet in York, Pennsylvania, the majority of train enthusiasts are adults who aren't into Thomas. I am a regular attender of that show and ones similar, and I am generally the youngest person there - going on 24 - who came on his own free will and am very active in the Thomas community.

That is a good point, Chaz.

Consumers weren't notified about the cosmetic changes on products like the mail car and the milk tankers.

I think everyone's talked about how great Useful Railway was, especially with that hilariously over the top slow mo crash, and I can whole heartedly agree. Aside from wanting Thomas' role to go to Duck, the episode was pretty much perfect, much like the other two Arlesdale episodes. 10/10

Now for the last of season 20, Skiff and the Mermaid, this one was a rather unexpected treat. The focus of the episode isn't really much the railway at all - it's all coming down to the humans, especially Sir Topham Hatt, and Skiff. It was a particularly hilarious event of Sir Topham Hatt going 'Castaway' on us, and Skiff still manages to be a very entertaining character on his own, which is something I was a bit cautious over since Lost Treasure, but it proved to be very fruitful. Captain Joe feels a bit more distinguished in this episode, though I still think the writers could still do more with him. Even though Thomas does appear, it's only for like 4 seconds, and it was so satisfying seeing Duck, Oliver and Toad being the episode's core of the railway cast. All feel in character, and contribute greatly to the story. I think it might've been a bit more fulfilling to have all the cast at the end of the dock much like All At Sea, but the ending is still pretty clever. It's a great episode, and once again shows high quality consistency from Helen Farall. 9/10

So, how does season 20 fare overall? In my opinion, it gives season 18 a run for its money. I'm still annoyed by Thomas showing up in every episode, but compared to season 19, he doesn't speak in every episode fortunately. Other than that, the direction the team went with this season was particularly outstanding.

They adapted Railway Series stories for the first time in 16 seasons, they made an episode focusing on the Pack since the last of the unsuccessful spin off series, they brought back so many favorites and DIDN'T make them feel shoehorned whatsoever, and they made some great pairings of characters that we never could imagine, worked out beyond our expectations, or we haven't seen in years from Ryan and Daisy to Edward and James. Unlike last season, the older characters definitely dominated most of the episodes, but the newer ones like Sidney and Glynn who were kind of ignored before still got a great chance to shine in episodes of their own. Daisy got more use than she did in the classic era, and we even got the old fashioned breakdown train to be used frequently again.

The season isn't perfect, though. My biggest complaint with the season, other than Thomas appearing when he didn't need to, was Andrew Brenner's rather inconsistent quality in his writing. Don't get me wrong, the Arlesdale Railway adaptations were borderline perfect, but ones like Saving Time and Three Steam Engines Gruff feel like continuingly huge step downs that started last season to his previous season 17 and 18 writing. I do give credit Brenner for taking charge and pretty much saving Thomas from abysmal writing prior to season 17, but he needs to keep the quality consistent if he deserves remaining as head writer.

As for Hugo, he doesn't annoy me as much as Phillip, but I wish that they could've made him more than frequently feeling sorry for himself. It doesn't make him a particularly strong character. His basis does look cool, but he needed a lot more purpose and characterization to feel like a good character. As of now, he's just kind of...alright. I honestly wish they made more episodes with Bradford, because he was a much stronger and enjoyable new season character. Why they didn't sort of bewilders me.

If they smooth out these problems in season 21, it could make it even better than season 20. As it stands, despite its faults, I honestly think season 20 is the best Thomas CGI season to date, making it just a smidge better than 18, and that's really saying something.

Top 5 Favorites (some have changed overtime):
1) Love Me Tender
2) All of the Arlesdale Railway Episodes (Yeah, cheating... )
3) Mucking About
4) Ryan and Daisy
5) Henry Gets the Express

Top 5 Least Favorites:
5) Diesel and the Ducklings
4) Hugo and the Airship
3) Engine of the Future
2) Saving Time
1) Three Steam Engines Gruff

Guys, what are your opinions on season 20 now that it's over? What are you excited or expecting come season 21?

It should've been called the Mat-REX. 

Quote from: Rickenbacker 325 on January 23, 2017, 10:20:29 PM
As for new tooling, the only engine I can see them doing is Daisy. I would love to have Stepney but as he has not been seen since Season 12, I do not have much hope. Rolling stock on the other hand... I can not think of anything that has not already been done in some form or another that would sell very well. I even checked the Wikia.

Don't be so sure. After having the Arlesdale Railway engines and the Flying Scotsman incorporated into the show, Stepney doesn't sound so far fetched from a return now...

And now we get another pair of season 20 episodes, but this time, since 1994, we got episodes based off the Rev. W. Awdry's original Railway Series stories! Let me just say that I am very happy with all the new things season 20 has done, especially to get so deep into the original routes of the series in general. Plus, I've been waiting for decades since my youth to see TV adaptations of the Arlesdale Railway stories. Finally I can die happy!

Tit for Tat
First of all, the human interaction in both of these episodes gets huge points. They show just how crucial they are to completing Thomas' world - it isn't just about the talking machines to appreciate the Island of Sodor environment. I really like the voice they chose for the Reverend. Having watched the 90's interviews of him, his voice sounds like he would when he was younger when these stories were taken place. Now, I for one don't particularly like Bert's voice, unlike the other two's. Not that it's because Keith Wickham is running out of distinctive voices, but I just don't think it suits his character. I would've preferred a deeper, lower voice. Nonetheless, I think Andrew Brenner got his character right - naïve and somewhat petty, but otherwise friendly. I have to point out that the shots along the Arlesdale Railway, especially the woods, look absolutely beautiful. The episode pretty much follows the story to a T, but the opening scene of the visitors I felt would've been better if Thomas wasn't involved. If you took it out, the episode would've ended exactly the same. Otherwise, I would have no complaints about it. It's a fun adaptation with a good moral, and that ending scene was the icing on the delicious cake. 9.5/10

Mike's Whistle
Personally, Mike is probably my favorite of the Arlesdale Railway, so naturally I was really looking forward to this one. Now, yes, Thomas' role does feel shoehorned AGAIN, but I will give a slight pass that the episode actually took place before Oliver was around. Still, given that Donald and Douglas haven't been around much this season, I still would've preferred either of them instead. Plus, I did kind of wish the slip coaches would get some speaking roles again. Those nitpicks aside, what I love is how entertaining Mike constantly getting ticked off and being a complete grouch. I loved it with Duncan in season 18, and I really love it here. Andrew Brenner got his character perfectly, and I absolutely love how he captures the chemistry between the three. Much like Blown Away, Duck's character feels quite strong in this episode and he feels like he truly belongs here like he should. Also, huge points for acknowledging the small controller's actual name - that is the dedication I love that this season is really going for. I also love the comedy that Brenner is amazing at - the old man losing his dentures was hilarious, as was Duck's clogged whistle sound. While the ending is noticeably different from the story, I actually like it better since the episode felt like it came full circle with all the characters involved. Needless to say, I love this episode, and I can't wait for the last of the three adaptations to appear. 10/10