Monday 30 September 2013

S17 Ep.11: The Lost Puff

Back in June 2013, the UK had first witnessed ten episodes of the new and improved Series 17. The episodes went on hiatus from June, as I believe it was done for it's autumn release that it was originally planned to do. Click the links below to see my opinions on the first ten episodes:

- Kevin's Cranky Friend
- Scruff's Makeover
- Wayward Winston
- Gordon Runs Dry
- Calm Down Caitlin 
- Steamie Stafford
- Henry's Hero
- Luke's New Friend
- The Switch 
- Not Now, Charlie

So let's us start of the next episodes with 'The Lost Puff', which made its debut in a Thomas & Friends magazine in the UK, please read the warning first:

THESE ARE SOLEY MY OPINIONS AND NOT FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FAN BASE

THE LOST PUFF
Written by
Davey Moore

Directed by
David Baas

Produced by
Kallan Kagan (Arc)
Ian McCue & Halim Jabbour 

Air Date:
30/9/13

Plot:
The Fat Controller warns his engines to be careful over broken track. But Paxton the diesel doesn't listen to his instructions and thinks it's fun to go over some wobbly tracks. He persuaded Thomas to try it out but it end up wetting his firebox when he backed into Toby at the water tower. When Paxton overheard from Toby that Thomas 'lost his puff', he misunderstood for what he had said and went around to look for it. Victor explains the misunderstanding and Paxton learns that he should must listen carefully.

PRO:
- 'Has buckled in the hot sun!' a nice possible reference to 'Thomas Gets Bumped'
- The duck
- Stephen's face
- The angles (e.g - Gordon goes under the bridge and Stephen and Paxton looking at the cloud)
- Moral: Paying attention to avoid silliness  

CON:
- The narrow gauge brake vans at Knapford
- Paxton's disappearing brake van
  
This is definitely one of Davey Moore's best written episodes yet. The buckled track reference reminded me of 'Thomas Gets Bumped', as the tracks in that episode suffered the same fate. The use of duck for comedic use was entertaining to see, the angles were fantastic such as Gordon running under the bridge:

Including the scene when Paxton was racing towards Ulfstead Castle, seems that there is a link on that bridge now that we've seen since 'Hero of The Rails' and with him and Stephen looking at the cloud. Stephen's face when he was confused by Paxton's words was priceless to look at as well. However in the end, the episode has a nice moral about paying attention so you can avoid any kind of silliness. But there are some problems with this episode and it's pretty much Arc's use of animation, notice the brake vans that are in a siding are narrow gauge and that after the panning shot, you can see that Paxton has no brake van but when he left, it was there! Arc really need to notice these flaws as they do look unrealistic towards a railway enthusiasts eye, as Thomas the Tank Engine is popular for its realistic charm since the dawn of the Railway Series books. Well, now that we see started with the second half S17, I'm really looking forward for tomorrow's episode, even if it has a certain GWR pannier tank engine in it with a bigger role, which I'm glad to see. 

Rating: 5/5