#jeremiah! freakin'! jobling!

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Idk if your still accepting episode asks so sorry if your not but.

James and the bootlace? (Or whatever the bootlace ones call? I think it's that but I can never remember aha /LH)

Ah, so, I'm pretty fond of this one!

Seems to be a minority opinion (judging from endless Twitter discussions). I've consistently seen "James and the Coaches" ranked among the worst episodes in Season 1—but, really? Ugh, why?

I don't really mind James the Red Engine (the "worst Wilbert Awdry book," as many have claimed, including Awdry himself), and I actively love the S1 James arc. Allcroft made an excellent call once again in combining one of the weaker RWS stories with another, and, as a result, this is probably the best of the three S1 James episodes. (I know lots of people like the following one for showcasing Jamesian determination, and that's cool too, but for sheer narrative structure "Coaches" leaves it in the dust.)

This was one of my top-tier eps when I was a kid. Season 1 James is so emotional and exciting and dazzling; I kind of dislike how he was portrayed afterwards as "irritable asshole supreme." He is such a nice rich character in this season. So up-and-down-y. Yes, he can be a right bastard (to Toby, and to the poor broken coach in this very episode), but it is also so clear in this season how sensitive he is to everyone's opinions, how ambitious he is for glory, how crushed he is by failure. I'm not saying the rest of it excuses the times when he screws up; just, from a character perspective, he is so much more relatable and interesting.

Also, his red paint was indeed very eye-catching and his theme song was super catchy. That definitely helped.

This episode remains a great example of how Season 1 could both do character arcs and let characters fall out of focus? I love how in this episode the narrative shifts from mostly-Thomas to James, I love how Gordon and Henry drop out of sight altogether, I love how Thomas is barely there (but he is there in a natural and useful small role, not shoehorned in—love his two lines so much! he's in the role of "encouraging the newcomers" that is used in later, non-RWS seasons, but he still remains so charmingly in-character and self-important here, not bland at all). Getting to pan over to James, with Edward as deuteragonist plus a focus on some human characters, is just such a great change in pace. In thes early days the show feels like such a terrific combination of "episodic" and "serial" TV.

Gotta love how this is one of the stories that end on an unhappy note. Season 1 was great at this sort of variety! It's not even an "unhappy ending" following a formula used a lot in the early Classic Series of "engine fouls up, gets scolded by FC at the end." Here James starts by flying high, gets scolded in the middle, fouls up, and at the end has regrets and has already "learned his lesson" without needing to be chastised by FC at all (even though it's coming, lol). There's something just so nice and natural and not-so-samey about these early stories. I adore the variety. Adore it.

Also, props to James's crew in this episode, they are so underrated. "Well, where is the bootlace coming from?" asks the guard, like THIS is the biggest objection to this bit of DIY audacity. Love it! And of course Jeremiah Jobling is a one-hit wonder.

Overall, to me it's one of the best "overeager new engine disregards sound advice and gets smacked down by hand of fate" stories out there, and the adaptation is easy on the eyes (and ears) to boot...

(don't say it don't say it don't say it)

... lace.