Rusty Saves the Day (Thomas & Friends)
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"Rusty Saves the Day" is the twenty fifth episode of the sixth season of Thomas and Friends.
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 This episode disrupts the day with its lack of continuity and poor writing.
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Plot
Sir Topham Hatt shuts down Rheneas and Skarloey's railway line and reassigns them to the quarry. However, with the quarry scheduled for blasting over the next two weeks, Rusty takes the initiative to assist Elizabeth in repairing the line during this downtime.
Why This Episode Didn't Save The Day
- The major problem with this episode is its clear disregard for the show's established continuity, seemingly rewriting Sodor's history without any prior discrepancies in its historical narrative. Sir Topham Hatt closes Skarloey and Rheneas' railway line just because Rusty spent too much time on it, despite having duties at the quarry.
- The content of the episode is largely irrational and implausible, appearing to be plagued with continuity errors and infused with nonsensical elements not previously seen in any Narrow Gauge Railway episodes.
- It is implausible for the railway line of Skarloey and Rheneas to go from functional to decrepit in just a few days. A more realistic scenario would be a gradual decline over months or even years.
- If Rusty is repairing the line for Skarloey and Rheneas with Elizabeth's assistance, it's likely that Duncan, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, or Duke would also contribute to the effort.
- Why does Rusty have to work at the quarry when pulling maintenance trains was the very reason he was purchased in the first place?
- The Skarloey and Rheneas line serves as the principal line of the Skarloey Railway. Despite this, they are still required to operate at the slate quarry, even when the line to Crovan's Gate is not open. The map produced by Sam Wilkinson in 2014 somewhat resolves this by illustrating multiple connections between the Skarloey Railway and the North Western Railway. However, this was not known in 2002, leading to the perception that The Fat Controller was closing down the Skarloey Railway.
- If Rusty is unable to assist at the quarry, then Skarloey, Rheneas, Peter Sam, Duncan, Duke, or any other narrow gauge engines should be able to step in. This situation could have been easily prevented.
- And who's to say The Fat Controller didn't engineer the crisis? He may have let the line fall into disrepair so he could justify shutting it down and replacing it with a standard-gauge line so he could give the North Western Railway more business. That's incredibly corrupt and out-of-character for him.
- There is an apparent discrepancy present. When the narrator states, "Rusty could see they were not happy," referring indirectly to Skarloey and Rheneas, the two engines appear pleased that their line is being closed down. This is quite jarring and certainly incorrect.
- Misleading title: Contrary to the title's implication, the rescue and restoration of the railway span over two weeks, not just one day. Moreover, a title reflecting Elizabeth's contributions would have been more appropriate, given that she, along with Rusty, Rheneas, and Skarloey, carried out most of the work.
- Aside from the character voices of Elizabeth and Sir Topham Hatt, Alec Baldwin's narration is notably lackluster, uninspired, and generally displeasing, as usual for Season 6. Given that this episode was produced towards the end of Season 6, Baldwin's delivery implies a possible weariness with his role. The quality of his already unenthusiastic performance appears to have waned further as the season progressed, suggesting a diminishing effort.
- As is typical for Season 6, the lighting and visuals are lackluster and unappealing.
- Overall, the episode served no impact to the 1984-2020 Thomas & Friends series whatsoever since none of the events of the episode were mentioned again. You can watch any Thomas episode you want, but only skipping "Rusty Saves the Day", as well as a few other stinkers that fans like to treat/call non-canon, and anything too important would not be missed.
- This story is considered one of David Mitton's least successful from the Classic era of Thomas, and unfortunately, Paul Larson's involvement in writing did not improve it. It's perplexing how Paul could falter in this instance.
Redeeming Qualities
- The story idea of Rusty repairing the railway is a good concept to start off with, even if it is standard. But the latter was executed poorly due to the lack of continuity and common sense.
- Although the US version sounded really bad due to Alec Baldwin's monotonous narration and voices, his voices for Sir Topham Hatt and Elizabeth are still passable.
- The narration by Michael Angelis in the UK version remains superior and more appealing than Alec Baldwin's narration in the US version.
- The sets and props are still great like always, despite the overall unappealing look of the lighting and visuals.
- Great music by Mike O' Donnell and Junior Campbell.
- Thankfully, this episode does not come off to be one of those episodes that tries to make the audience pity something but fail because the episode's story mocks and insults its audience. Unlike Some Episodes.
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