Also props go to whoever decided in North America that Edward's Exploit be the closing episode to the Thomas, Percy And The Dragon VHS. Feels so deserving of that ending eith the final shot if Edward's shed door closing before the credits roll
To me, Season 2 is just the perfect season. Great stories, great character introductions, great music, great scenery, great narration from both Ringo and George….it’s a huge step-up from what was already a great season in Season 1.
Fun Fact: The opening shot of Saved From Scrap is actually from the Missing Couch. That brief glimpse of James’ tender just before the transition to Edward on the turn table and the recently unearthed photos featuring James in that siding points to it being from the Missing Couch.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 Still reusing the footage and having the narrator say how Sir Tooham Hatt does work his engines hard but they're proud to be useful is still a good setup
You have to appreciate the art that David Mitton and Britt Allcroft created. The concept of live action model animation is a really good choice that Britt had in mind, especially at the time with no CGI. All of the classic episodes have very simple stories, but what makes them so enjoyable to watch is the visuals and music. Those two elements makes the show’s universe look real, and it feels like your in the Island of Sodor and visiting the railway.
Woolly Bear was Thomas' final entry in REV Awdry's RWS books. In CHRISTOPHER Awdry's books after Thomas gains development. I feel like a big problem with this season is that the chronology is all over the place. The 'More From Thomas the Tank Engine' stories were supposed to show Thomas maturing, but they're put at the start at the series with its culmination, Drip Tank, not adapted at all, and the last half largely consisting of 'Thomas being a pompous ass' stories. It makes it more jarring Thomas is suddenly calmer by Season Three (though I suppose Thomas, Percy and the Dragon is their own method of calling a truce for Thomas and Percy), even if the TV series does show the results of Thomas' development in a more satisfying way.
I suppose you could be right about the Christopher Books properly progressing Thomas, but since in Wilbert's books, for all intent and purpose, Woolly Bear was going to be the end, it still bothers me. I'm happy that we at least got maturity from Thomas later in the show, and maybe Thomas, Percy, and the Dragon is where a turn happens. I also think since the airing gap between seasons was so large maybe an implication was being made that a lot of time had passed, and characters just mature naturally with time.
Hey, ThomastheSmallEngine! I just finished your reviews of Seasons 1 and 2, and I agree with you, Season 2 is definitely one of the better seasons of the series, probably second behind Season 4. Keep up the good work, man, and am looking forward to your review of Season 3!
Daisy: "I'm the latest diesel engine and I'm highly sprung!" Percy: "Sir, can she leave when Thomas comes back, sir?" Me: "Yes, sir, please. She won't let me ride in her- All she says is she's "highly sprung"."
Thank you! I don't really have a recommended technique of a Best of Carlin episode selection to watch. When I wanted to learn about Ringo I just started from episode 1 and got the full experience. If you want to do that with George, I hope you like the experience.
Season 2 Ranked Worst To Best Average 5/10 #26 Better Late Than Never Decent 6/10 #25 Thomas And Trevor #24 Woolly Bear Good #23 Saved From Scrap #22 Percy And Harold #21 The Deputation #20 Cows Great 8/10 #19 Thomas And The Missing Christmas Tree #18 Duck Takes Charge #17 Percy’s Predicament #16 Daisy #15 The Runaway #14 A Close Shave #13 Percy Takes The Plunge #12 Break Van Amazing 9/10 - 10/10 #11 Thomas, Percy And The Coal #10 Wrong Road #09 Thomas Comes To Breakfast #08 Bertie’s Chase #07 Pop Goes The Diesel #06 The Diseasel #05 Dirty Work #04 Percy And The Signal #03 Edwards Exploit #02 Ghost Train #01 Old Iron 👑 Season Rating: Amazing 5th best classic season and 5th favourite season in my opinion Notes and controversial opinions #1 TPATC is seriously underrated, aside from growing up with this episode I also feel it shows the worst of Thomas’ character and by the end he redeems himself and Percy shows his more stern side and also makes up with Thomas #2 Percy And Harold is overrated IMO, I like Harold but he’s rather uninteresting here and also IMO Thomas And Bertie done this story much better, not bad though #3 Dirty Work is my favourite of the Duck Trilogy, I can’t really explain why I just adore this episode, A Close Shave is my least favourite of the trilogy, mainly because I feel it doesn’t end the story on a satisfying note by seeing Diesel be punished, still very good though #4 Season 2 ranks below Seasons 1, 4, 5 and 6 for me mainly for nostalgic bias, I only grew up with Thomas, Percy And The Coal, The Diseasel, Pop Goes The Diesel, Cows and Percy’s Predicament. Thomas, Percy And The Coal was on Truck Loads Of Fun which was my first Thomas DVD and the other 3 were recorded on my TV (I’m 16) so rewatched often, Also I just feel some stories just aren’t as good, episodes like Thomas And Trevor, Percy And Harold and The Deputation are examples of episodes that just don’t stick with me and episodes I do love like Wrong Road, Bertie’s Chase and Percy Takes The Plunge took me a long time to really start enjoying. However this is still an amazing season and I just have some odd opinions
@@Regibump37 S2 in a way has that perfect sequel feeling for its music given most of the previous tunes dont sound too different from S1 just with slight modifications
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 Well I think that idea's gone now. Thanks Mattel for deleting the Classic Thomas channel, I hope your reboot rots in the bottom of the scrap yard!
I think Season 2 has a better balance of stories compared to Season 4. In Season 2, it manages to shift around different parts of the railways from Edward’s branch line to the mainline and back again without feeling sudden. Plus we had a better mix of episodes with the season starting strong and ending strong and a good amount of focus on the various engines from the last season characters to this season’s newbies. The second half of Season 4 after the narrow gauge episodes became quite scattered in terms of momentum as though the crew had just remembered that they had to do episodes for the standard gauge railway and it’s clear they were trying to clear through whatever RWS stories they had on the back burner including Paint Pots and Queens to fill up the remaining episode slots. The first half is great but the constant appearances of the narrow gauge in a row is rather excessive and probably should have been sprinkling throughout Season 4 to make it a little less repetitive. However with Season 2, this wasn’t an issue as we got just enough focused on either Thomas’s branchline, Edward’s branchline or the mainline for a few episodes, switched to somewhere else for a while and then come back to that previous line for more episodes. Thus the season feels even in terms of focus.
there's three reasons why i prefer ringo to george. 1) george is american and ringo is english. these engines are british and the english accent suits them far better than the american accent. 2) i prefer ringo's deeper voice for characters like gordon and henry. ESPECIALLY gordon (my favourite main engine). it just sounds better on them. 3) i grew up with ringo and im biased as hell
Season 2 is really Edward’s season due to how much screentime he has in this episode and how good it is to him in general. Perhaps after doing the rest of the Classic Seasons, you could do a top 10 best and worst characters uses season by season similar to the Pensky Files’ Star Trek TNG podcast on how each season of the show utilised each main cast member.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 I think either Percy or Daisy might have gotten the worst treatment in this season. Percy for the sheer number of crashes/mishaps he suffered in this season alone while Daisy had her character focus episode Bull’s Eye stunted over to Season 4 which to this day still baffles me since they could have easily done it in this season instead of making Better Late Than Never and only showed up twice in Season 2 after her introductory episode ‘Daisy’. Then disappeared completely in Season 3 with her spot in Mavis taken by Devious Diesel, randomly shows up twice in Season 4 and disappeared from the rest of the Classic Series.
@@rayvenkman2087 Given they hadn't created a Hackenbeck Station yet, how would they have shot Daisy's scenes given the budget limitations probably being quite focused on bigger new locations such as the unnamed at the time Brendam Docks?
@@Thomasmemoryscentral They probably could have brought back the lesser used grassy sets from Series 1 and dress them up in a way to make them appear brand new, especially if we reuse the set seen once in Mrs Kindley’s Christmas and other one track model sets used throughout Series 1.
Season 2 is another one of my favorite seasons of Thomas. I love both narrations by Ringo Starr and George Carlin (both did fabulous in this season, especially Ringo) and the characters introduced such as Trevor, Harold, Duck, Donald and Douglas, Diesel, Bill and Ben and Boco. My favorites from this season include Thomas Comes to Breakfast, Edward’s Exploit, Donald and Douglas’ episodes, The Duck and Diesel trilogy, Old Iron, Duck Takes Charge and Ghost Train. Here’s my ratings for the episodes and which narrators I think won in each: 1. Thomas, Percy and the Coal: 6.5/10 (Ringo Starr - UK) 2. Cows: 7.5/10 (Ringo Starr - UK) 3. Bertie’s Chase: 8.5/10 (Both Ringo and George) 4. Saved from Scrap: 9/10 (George Carlin) 5. Old Iron: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George) 6. Thomas and Trevor: 8.5/10 (George Carlin) 7. Percy and the Signal: 8/10 (Both Ringo and George) 8. Duck Takes Charge: 10/10 (Ringo Starr - UK) 9. Percy and Harold: 9/10 (Ringo - US and George) 10. The Runaway: 8/10 (Ringo Starr - US) 11. Percy Takes the Plunge: 10/10 (Ringo Starr - UK) 12. Pop Goes the Diesel: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George) 13. Dirty Work: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George) 14. A Close Shave: 10/10 (Ringo Starr - US) 15. Better Late Than Never: 8/10 (Ringo - US and George) 16. Donald and Douglas/Break Van: 10/10 (George Carlin) 17. The Deputation: 10/10 (George Carlin) 18. Thomas Comes to Breakfast: 10/10 (Ringo Starr, although George did good too in some parts) 19. Daisy: 8/10 (George Carlin) 20. Percy’s Predicament: 7.5/10 (Both Ringo and George) 21. The Diseasel: 10/10 (George Carlin) 22. Wrong Road: 10/10 (George Carlin, although Ringo did great too) 23. Edward’s Exploit: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George) 24. Ghost Train: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George) 25. Woolly Bear: 9/10 (Both Ringo and George) 26. Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree: 10/10 (Both Ringo’s UK Version and George) Overall, an amazing season that’s one of my favorites of the classic era and the show as a whole.
Agreed that Edward's Exploit is the best episode in the series. I think the Runaway is probably the weakest of the season though. Without the context of the other stories, it's just a "things happen" episode. Thomas gets sick, then they forget his brake, and he runs away. Nothing happens because Thomas or the other characters have a character flaw or need to learn a lesson.
We'll have to agree to disagree on that second point. I admit I haven't read More About Thomas the Tank Engine, so I'm not sure what context is missing that wasn't provided by Thomas Percy and the Coal being part of the season anyway. But even without an over-arcing character journey, I don't think that creates a problem with an individual story for me. (Especially since the "things happen" stories are always in the middle of a RWS book with a character arc. James and the Diesel Engines' Fire-Engine for instance.) Gordon the Big Engine has a really good character arc for Gordon with all 4 stories flowing nicely together. And though they are broken up in the series, I think all 4 are really enjoyable stories on their own. Again, I'm not sure what piece of Thomas' character was missing from the episode, but I don't think this creates a problem for the individual story. The things happen middle piece of the book is what The Runaway was. So I just judge the episode as it's own story, and I loved it for experience. I loved it for how much the score and tension made it adventurous. Sort of like what a Season 5 episode would do. It didn't need a moral to make the story interesting. I think a comedy without a moral can still be funny, and an action movie without a moral can still be fun. So I love the Runaway for the same reasons I love some of the other "action" stories in Thomas. Just for the experience.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 Well the main thing I think is the story is contextualized better because the book it's from is about Thomas and Percy experiencing fallbacks and failures. They're sort of "struggling together" so they have finally suffered enough that they reconcile at the end of the book. With the Runaway, none of the characters have any real agency. Compare it to Bertie's Chase, a simple story with few characters, but it has a clear pitch: "Bertie has to catch Edward's train after promising to bring Thomas's passengers." There's a goal, there's characterization, and there's stakes. We see him fail to catch Edward several times, we see him complain about how hard it is, but he still does it. When he catches Edward's train, there's catharsis for the audience, because he had a narrative obstacle. In the Runaway, Thomas has two narrative obstacles, being sick, and a broken brake. His first one is overcome offscreen. The second is only overcome because Harold appears in the final act. Neither of these actually have anything to do with Thomas as a character and Harold is only used as a plot device. I think if you were to make this episode better, maybe when Thomas comes home from being sick earlier in the episode, he teases Harold, then Harold proves he's useful by saving Thomas later in.This is just an example off the top of my head. I love season 2, it's filled with great stories and great characters, but at no point in the Runaway does a character make a choice or reflect on their words/actions, outside of background humans. It's better contextualized as a "middle story" in a book where Thomas and Percy both suffer and learn to put their feud behind them. Just my two cents anyway about a 40 year old show for toddlers, lol.
My top 5 list would probably be something like 5: old iron 4: duck takes charge 3: Thomas comes to breakfast 2: pop goes the diesel 1: Edward’s Exploit Edit: This list is already outdated
Ringo Starr does seem more energetic in the second season. I wonder whether it was due to him having no idea when doing the season one narrations just what a hit the show would be.
ThomastheSmallEngine thanks for the information, it’ll be worth the wait, one last question are Tugs and Season 3 being released together or Tugs then a gap until Season 3
You don’t understand. The reason he was mad was because of many things. 1. He ordered one engine but expected two. Not the first time that he’s had a bad costumer experience but still. 2. There were things like Donald misplacing thomas’ coach and Donald crashing tender first into the signal box that made him mad, and the engines weren’t being as reliable as he expected. 3. At the end of the story he states “I want to be fair douglas, but I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Plus he gratuitously gives the twins a second chance in the deputation. I really don’t like it when people say the fat controller is mean when he really isn’t.
@I need bootlaces to be ready agreed. I mean can you really blame Topham for being so strict especially in a season like this. In this season alone a barber shop is demolished, a break van is (supposedly) killed, a train is delayed, and James becomes a runaway. I really don’t blame him for being so upset.
In Thomas Comes to Breakfast, The Fat Controller is an idiot because he blames Thomas for the accident when really it was caused by the reckless cleaner.
I mean in Percy's Predicament, Sir Topham Hatt's remains an idiot here and you can probably tell why. Plus it has awful continuity because the quarry here is the same one Percy went to and raced his way to the harbour with Harold in Percy Proves a Point. What gives?
![The Complete Story of Destiny! From origins to Shadowkeep [Timeline and Lore explained]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9mbDXvDNqTU/mqdefault.jpg)
Ringo Starr also considers "Edward's Exploit" his favorite episode!
Really!?
@@superalsters3484 According to IMDB.
I never knew that. Awesome! That’s one of my favorite Thomas episodes too
@@anthonyvasquezactor Ah yes, the story that shows why Edward is technically the best engine.
Also props go to whoever decided in North America that Edward's Exploit be the closing episode to the Thomas, Percy And The Dragon VHS. Feels so deserving of that ending eith the final shot if Edward's shed door closing before the credits roll
Speaking of which, in Bertie's Chase, I love the way Ringo says "Bother" when Bertie arrives at the crossing.
I love Edward's Exploit too! This is like The Little Engine That Could.
To me, Season 2 is just the perfect season. Great stories, great character introductions, great music, great scenery, great narration from both Ringo and George….it’s a huge step-up from what was already a great season in Season 1.
Absolutely correct.
I prefer Ringo's version of cows, i just love the way he says "Shoo, shoo."
That was a good line of his.
"Moo..." -Bluebell the Cow, Cows.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 I don’t think you mentioned this, but George Carlin puts some realism into the animal voices like the cows.
A perfect video to watch before bed.
Yeah
Fun Fact: The opening shot of Saved From Scrap is actually from the Missing Couch. That brief glimpse of James’ tender just before the transition to Edward on the turn table and the recently unearthed photos featuring James in that siding points to it being from the Missing Couch.
Yep, I saw that on Twitter. Pretty Interesting.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 Still reusing the footage and having the narrator say how Sir Tooham Hatt does work his engines hard but they're proud to be useful is still a good setup
That's interesting all right.
I LOVE Edward's Exploit too!
You have to appreciate the art that David Mitton and Britt Allcroft created. The concept of live action model animation is a really good choice that Britt had in mind, especially at the time with no CGI. All of the classic episodes have very simple stories, but what makes them so enjoyable to watch is the visuals and music. Those two elements makes the show’s universe look real, and it feels like your in the Island of Sodor and visiting the railway.
At the time, CGI was primitive if the Dire Straits music video for Money For Nothing is anything to go by.
Woolly Bear was Thomas' final entry in REV Awdry's RWS books. In CHRISTOPHER Awdry's books after Thomas gains development. I feel like a big problem with this season is that the chronology is all over the place. The 'More From Thomas the Tank Engine' stories were supposed to show Thomas maturing, but they're put at the start at the series with its culmination, Drip Tank, not adapted at all, and the last half largely consisting of 'Thomas being a pompous ass' stories. It makes it more jarring Thomas is suddenly calmer by Season Three (though I suppose Thomas, Percy and the Dragon is their own method of calling a truce for Thomas and Percy), even if the TV series does show the results of Thomas' development in a more satisfying way.
I suppose you could be right about the Christopher Books properly progressing Thomas, but since in Wilbert's books, for all intent and purpose, Woolly Bear was going to be the end, it still bothers me. I'm happy that we at least got maturity from Thomas later in the show, and maybe Thomas, Percy, and the Dragon is where a turn happens. I also think since the airing gap between seasons was so large maybe an implication was being made that a lot of time had passed, and characters just mature naturally with time.
Hey, ThomastheSmallEngine!
I just finished your reviews of Seasons 1 and 2, and I agree with you, Season 2 is definitely one of the better seasons of the series, probably second behind Season 4. Keep up the good work, man, and am looking forward to your review of Season 3!
Can’t wait for Season 3
This is so good! Thank you for making these! :D
Daisy: "I'm the latest diesel engine and I'm highly sprung!"
Percy: "Sir, can she leave when Thomas comes back, sir?"
Me: "Yes, sir, please. She won't let me ride in her- All she says is she's "highly sprung"."
I really love the race theme with Percy & Harold.
Me too
I love these sorts of videos great work!
Speaker: “Imagine if a huge engine smashed into your kitchen.”
Me: Oh, ya, I’d b totally frightened, boi!
I never really watched George Carlin's versions of the episodes but i probably should. Also great video as always
Thank you! I don't really have a recommended technique of a Best of Carlin episode selection to watch. When I wanted to learn about Ringo I just started from episode 1 and got the full experience. If you want to do that with George, I hope you like the experience.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 sure will ...........in the morning
Season 2 Ranked Worst To Best
Average 5/10
#26 Better Late Than Never
Decent 6/10
#25 Thomas And Trevor
#24 Woolly Bear
Good
#23 Saved From Scrap
#22 Percy And Harold
#21 The Deputation
#20 Cows
Great 8/10
#19 Thomas And The Missing Christmas Tree
#18 Duck Takes Charge
#17 Percy’s Predicament
#16 Daisy
#15 The Runaway
#14 A Close Shave
#13 Percy Takes The Plunge
#12 Break Van
Amazing 9/10 - 10/10
#11 Thomas, Percy And The Coal
#10 Wrong Road
#09 Thomas Comes To Breakfast
#08 Bertie’s Chase
#07 Pop Goes The Diesel
#06 The Diseasel
#05 Dirty Work
#04 Percy And The Signal
#03 Edwards Exploit
#02 Ghost Train
#01 Old Iron 👑
Season Rating: Amazing 5th best classic season and 5th favourite season in my opinion
Notes and controversial opinions
#1 TPATC is seriously underrated, aside from growing up with this episode I also feel it shows the worst of Thomas’ character and by the end he redeems himself and Percy shows his more stern side and also makes up with Thomas
#2 Percy And Harold is overrated IMO, I like Harold but he’s rather uninteresting here and also IMO Thomas And Bertie done this story much better, not bad though
#3 Dirty Work is my favourite of the Duck Trilogy, I can’t really explain why I just adore this episode, A Close Shave is my least favourite of the trilogy, mainly because I feel it doesn’t end the story on a satisfying note by seeing Diesel be punished, still very good though
#4 Season 2 ranks below Seasons 1, 4, 5 and 6 for me mainly for nostalgic bias, I only grew up with Thomas, Percy And The Coal, The Diseasel, Pop Goes The Diesel, Cows and Percy’s Predicament. Thomas, Percy And The Coal was on Truck Loads Of Fun which was my first Thomas DVD and the other 3 were recorded on my TV (I’m 16) so rewatched often, Also I just feel some stories just aren’t as good, episodes like Thomas And Trevor, Percy And Harold and The Deputation are examples of episodes that just don’t stick with me and episodes I do love like Wrong Road, Bertie’s Chase and Percy Takes The Plunge took me a long time to really start enjoying. However this is still an amazing season and I just have some odd opinions
Edward's Exploit sticks to me stronger the more I hear about it.
Season 2 is my favorite out of all the seasons because it has some favorite stories and introduces new characters that become favorites to many.
All true.
I like to treat season's 1 and 2 as their own era, because of the way the music and tone is slightly different to season's 3-6
@@Regibump37 S2 in a way has that perfect sequel feeling for its music given most of the previous tunes dont sound too different from S1 just with slight modifications
This is a great guide, you should make a playlist containing your favourite version of each episode.
Not a bad idea
Done, now both review videos have the playlist links in their descriptions. Thanks again for the idea.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 Well I think that idea's gone now. Thanks Mattel for deleting the Classic Thomas channel, I hope your reboot rots in the bottom of the scrap yard!
Awesome video!
More classic series guides! Luv the idea!
In 1983 Christopher Awdry revived the Railway Series
where is season 3 4 5 6 and 7?These videos are amazing dude WE NEED MORE!!!!
More videos are coming in the future. ;)
I grew up with ringo uk but I think gorge has some good lines too
I think Season 2 has a better balance of stories compared to Season 4.
In Season 2, it manages to shift around different parts of the railways from Edward’s branch line to the mainline and back again without feeling sudden. Plus we had a better mix of episodes with the season starting strong and ending strong and a good amount of focus on the various engines from the last season characters to this season’s newbies.
The second half of Season 4 after the narrow gauge episodes became quite scattered in terms of momentum as though the crew had just remembered that they had to do episodes for the standard gauge railway and it’s clear they were trying to clear through whatever RWS stories they had on the back burner including Paint Pots and Queens to fill up the remaining episode slots. The first half is great but the constant appearances of the narrow gauge in a row is rather excessive and probably should have been sprinkling throughout Season 4 to make it a little less repetitive.
However with Season 2, this wasn’t an issue as we got just enough focused on either Thomas’s branchline, Edward’s branchline or the mainline for a few episodes, switched to somewhere else for a while and then come back to that previous line for more episodes. Thus the season feels even in terms of focus.
In Diesel's Devious Deed, I love how the big engines had Duck's back at first.
Can’t wait till season 4!
there's three reasons why i prefer ringo to george.
1) george is american and ringo is english. these engines are british and the english accent suits them far better than the american accent.
2) i prefer ringo's deeper voice for characters like gordon and henry. ESPECIALLY gordon (my favourite main engine). it just sounds better on them.
3) i grew up with ringo and im biased as hell
Fair enough. To each their own.
Season 2 is really Edward’s season due to how much screentime he has in this episode and how good it is to him in general.
Perhaps after doing the rest of the Classic Seasons, you could do a top 10 best and worst characters uses season by season similar to the Pensky Files’ Star Trek TNG podcast on how each season of the show utilised each main cast member.
Interesting Idea. You are right Edward is treated very well here
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 I think either Percy or Daisy might have gotten the worst treatment in this season.
Percy for the sheer number of crashes/mishaps he suffered in this season alone while Daisy had her character focus episode Bull’s Eye stunted over to Season 4 which to this day still baffles me since they could have easily done it in this season instead of making Better Late Than Never and only showed up twice in Season 2 after her introductory episode ‘Daisy’. Then disappeared completely in Season 3 with her spot in Mavis taken by Devious Diesel, randomly shows up twice in Season 4 and disappeared from the rest of the Classic Series.
@@rayvenkman2087 Given they hadn't created a Hackenbeck Station yet, how would they have shot Daisy's scenes given the budget limitations probably being quite focused on bigger new locations such as the unnamed at the time Brendam Docks?
@@Thomasmemoryscentral They probably could have brought back the lesser used grassy sets from Series 1 and dress them up in a way to make them appear brand new, especially if we reuse the set seen once in Mrs Kindley’s Christmas and other one track model sets used throughout Series 1.
Ya, they should’ve made a “Best of Edward” video for the US.
Season 2 is another one of my favorite seasons of Thomas. I love both narrations by Ringo Starr and George Carlin (both did fabulous in this season, especially Ringo) and the characters introduced such as Trevor, Harold, Duck, Donald and Douglas, Diesel, Bill and Ben and Boco. My favorites from this season include Thomas Comes to Breakfast, Edward’s Exploit, Donald and Douglas’ episodes, The Duck and Diesel trilogy, Old Iron, Duck Takes Charge and Ghost Train.
Here’s my ratings for the episodes and which narrators I think won in each:
1. Thomas, Percy and the Coal: 6.5/10 (Ringo Starr - UK)
2. Cows: 7.5/10 (Ringo Starr - UK)
3. Bertie’s Chase: 8.5/10 (Both Ringo and George)
4. Saved from Scrap: 9/10 (George Carlin)
5. Old Iron: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George)
6. Thomas and Trevor: 8.5/10 (George Carlin)
7. Percy and the Signal: 8/10 (Both Ringo and George)
8. Duck Takes Charge: 10/10 (Ringo Starr - UK)
9. Percy and Harold: 9/10 (Ringo - US and George)
10. The Runaway: 8/10 (Ringo Starr - US)
11. Percy Takes the Plunge: 10/10 (Ringo Starr - UK)
12. Pop Goes the Diesel: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George)
13. Dirty Work: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George)
14. A Close Shave: 10/10 (Ringo Starr - US)
15. Better Late Than Never: 8/10 (Ringo - US and George)
16. Donald and Douglas/Break Van: 10/10 (George Carlin)
17. The Deputation: 10/10 (George Carlin)
18. Thomas Comes to Breakfast: 10/10 (Ringo Starr, although George did good too in some parts)
19. Daisy: 8/10 (George Carlin)
20. Percy’s Predicament: 7.5/10 (Both Ringo and George)
21. The Diseasel: 10/10 (George Carlin)
22. Wrong Road: 10/10 (George Carlin, although Ringo did great too)
23. Edward’s Exploit: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George)
24. Ghost Train: 10/10 (Both Ringo and George)
25. Woolly Bear: 9/10 (Both Ringo and George)
26. Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree: 10/10 (Both Ringo’s UK Version and George)
Overall, an amazing season that’s one of my favorites of the classic era and the show as a whole.
This is a great series I really hope more are made eventually
Agreed that Edward's Exploit is the best episode in the series.
I think the Runaway is probably the weakest of the season though. Without the context of the other stories, it's just a "things happen" episode. Thomas gets sick, then they forget his brake, and he runs away. Nothing happens because Thomas or the other characters have a character flaw or need to learn a lesson.
We'll have to agree to disagree on that second point. I admit I haven't read More About Thomas the Tank Engine, so I'm not sure what context is missing that wasn't provided by Thomas Percy and the Coal being part of the season anyway. But even without an over-arcing character journey, I don't think that creates a problem with an individual story for me. (Especially since the "things happen" stories are always in the middle of a RWS book with a character arc. James and the Diesel Engines' Fire-Engine for instance.) Gordon the Big Engine has a really good character arc for Gordon with all 4 stories flowing nicely together. And though they are broken up in the series, I think all 4 are really enjoyable stories on their own. Again, I'm not sure what piece of Thomas' character was missing from the episode, but I don't think this creates a problem for the individual story. The things happen middle piece of the book is what The Runaway was. So I just judge the episode as it's own story, and I loved it for experience. I loved it for how much the score and tension made it adventurous. Sort of like what a Season 5 episode would do. It didn't need a moral to make the story interesting. I think a comedy without a moral can still be funny, and an action movie without a moral can still be fun. So I love the Runaway for the same reasons I love some of the other "action" stories in Thomas. Just for the experience.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 Well the main thing I think is the story is contextualized better because the book it's from is about Thomas and Percy experiencing fallbacks and failures. They're sort of "struggling together" so they have finally suffered enough that they reconcile at the end of the book.
With the Runaway, none of the characters have any real agency. Compare it to Bertie's Chase, a simple story with few characters, but it has a clear pitch: "Bertie has to catch Edward's train after promising to bring Thomas's passengers." There's a goal, there's characterization, and there's stakes. We see him fail to catch Edward several times, we see him complain about how hard it is, but he still does it. When he catches Edward's train, there's catharsis for the audience, because he had a narrative obstacle.
In the Runaway, Thomas has two narrative obstacles, being sick, and a broken brake. His first one is overcome offscreen. The second is only overcome because Harold appears in the final act. Neither of these actually have anything to do with Thomas as a character and Harold is only used as a plot device. I think if you were to make this episode better, maybe when Thomas comes home from being sick earlier in the episode, he teases Harold, then Harold proves he's useful by saving Thomas later in.This is just an example off the top of my head. I love season 2, it's filled with great stories and great characters, but at no point in the Runaway does a character make a choice or reflect on their words/actions, outside of background humans. It's better contextualized as a "middle story" in a book where Thomas and Percy both suffer and learn to put their feud behind them.
Just my two cents anyway about a 40 year old show for toddlers, lol.
Will there be a season 3
I still love edward,anyone else love james or am i just insane
I love him too
I love James. He has a really interesting personality that I don’t see many people talk about
I love Toby for sticking up for Edward too.
26:59 Did that bonus feature happen to be that "Character Scrapbook" thing?
21:03 Im pretty sure that’s supposed to be Brendam Docks
52:08 Percy was talking about Timothy
Thought I'd ask when will you do the Season 3 review?
It's in the Post-Production phase.
can you do season 3 and 4 i really enjoyed watching these two videos
Thank you very much. I'll hopefully get around to Season 3 soon.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 yay!
How is the one for season 3 going
The next one is coming along. As always it's a while in the making. I wish I could give you an ETA, but I can't.
Also hint hint: 1:02:39
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 OHHHHHHHHHHH ITS TUGS
I'm not gonna lie, I love Ringo Starr's US version of Percy Takes the Plunge.
I’ve barley listened to any of Ringo’s US dubs
Top 5 best season 2 Thomas episode
5 Thomas and the missing Christmas tree
4 Donald and Douglas
3 cows
2 double trouble
1 Edward expiot
Interesting list.
My top 5 list would probably be something like
5: old iron
4: duck takes charge
3: Thomas comes to breakfast
2: pop goes the diesel
1: Edward’s Exploit
Edit: This list is already outdated
You won’t want Thomas’s bumpy old Annie and Clarabel, now.
Ringo Starr does seem more energetic in the second season. I wonder whether it was due to him having no idea when doing the season one narrations just what a hit the show would be.
Maybe.
What dvd was it 28:59
30:27
26:59
“Thomas and His Friends Get Along”.
@@toadbreakvan0138 “Thomas, Percy and the Dragon” and “Thomas and His Friends Help Out”.
Sorry to ask but when about is tugs and season 3 coming
I'm not bothered by you asking, but I'm also sorry to say it's sometime soon but I can't say precisely when.
ThomastheSmallEngine thanks for the information, it’ll be worth the wait, one last question are Tugs and Season 3 being released together or Tugs then a gap until Season 3
Can you do season 3?
Yes, I will do Season 3 sometime maybe early next year. Hopefully within a couple weeks I'll have released the next video reviewing Tugs.
@@thomasthesmallengine7550 so, why didn't you?
The Donald & Douglas episode has Top Hatt being a villianous idiot. Does he love that troublesome brakevan more than the Scottish twins?
You don’t understand. The reason he was mad was because of many things.
1. He ordered one engine but expected two. Not the first time that he’s had a bad costumer experience but still.
2. There were things like Donald misplacing thomas’ coach and Donald crashing tender first into the signal box that made him mad, and the engines weren’t being as reliable as he expected.
3. At the end of the story he states “I want to be fair douglas, but I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Plus he gratuitously gives the twins a second chance in the deputation.
I really don’t like it when people say the fat controller is mean when he really isn’t.
@I need bootlaces to be ready agreed. I mean can you really blame Topham for being so strict especially in a season like this. In this season alone a barber shop is demolished, a break van is (supposedly) killed, a train is delayed, and James becomes a runaway. I really don’t blame him for being so upset.
BoCo >>>>>way way way>>>>> Daisy
In Thomas Comes to Breakfast, The Fat Controller is an idiot because he blames Thomas for the accident when really it was caused by the reckless cleaner.
I mean in Percy's Predicament, Sir Topham Hatt's remains an idiot here and you can probably tell why. Plus it has awful continuity because the quarry here is the same one Percy went to and raced his way to the harbour with Harold in Percy Proves a Point. What gives?
11:36 JAMES' FACE IS FALLING OFF!!!!
I think you meant 11:46, and yeah that is pretty funny
I have to say, the 3 big tender engines prefer villainous appearances from Diesel. Do they love making idiots of themselves? Where are their brains?
Better Late Than Never had Thomas being selfish and not caring about passengers.
I consider Edward a deaf idiot in Bertie's Chase 'cause how the horn did he or his driver and fireman not see or hear Bertie arrive?
I’d have to rewatch the episode