Simon Conway's Thomascember - 84. A Bad Day For Sir Handel

[@sodorrailwaystudios2006]

Yet another massive nostalgia trip for me. Definitely an underrated one too. I love how it shows more of Sir Handel’s character and how it sets up the events of Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady. I especially love his interaction with Gordon because it felt like until he met Spencer, Gordon basically met his match in Sir Handel. Overall, it may not be adapted brilliantly from the book, but it’s still one of my favourite Season 4 episodes and possibly my favourite Sir Handel episode too. A very easy 10/10 due to nostalgia bias.

[@BellHillMayor]

This episode is proof that if you're being Rude to others and refusing to do your work can get you into a lot of trouble! Glad as a kid I wasn't like that I always do my hard work and respect people myself to prove that I'm a nice person myself

[@CraneProductions27]

This was one of the best episodes I watched when I was a kid. You can see Sir Handel is just acting like a petulant child who isn't getting his own way. The part with him leaving Gordon speechless is funny. It was a surprise how there were two versions of the episode. One on the complete series dvd and on 'Rock 'n' Roll & Other Stories'.

[@TankEngine97]

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but in a close up shot of Sir Handel towards the end you can see a tiny bug on the table next to him.

[@supermariof0521]

COACHES: Ooooh what a horrid engine! GEORGE CARLIN: Eat my box!

[@thesudriana016]

This episode is one of the most underrated Classic episodes of Thomas, especially from this season b/c I don't see many Thomas fans recall it this as one of their favorites. Other times, I would often see a few fan reviews claiming it as the worst episode of S4 b/c it was not faithfully adapted in the way it was told. In my opinion, it was the fault of the production order that caused it - by having that being 5, Refreshment Lady 6 and Four Little Engines 7, it wouldn't be so bad. Back to the episode itself, it's my second favorite of S4 not just b/c Sir Handel was another one of my favorites as a kid, but also b/c I first saw it on Rusty to the Rescue VHS once before I got a copy of said release years later after I lost the original and it was never seen on more Thomas releases in the US. When I first saw YT, I saw the episode again and that is what introduced me to Michael Angelis as the UK narrator (I saw his re-narrations for New Friends for Thomas, but he didn't get a lot more exposure in the US unlike Ringo Starr). And to be honest, he was brilliant (given that S4 is one of his his best-narrated seasons) and so does George Carlin. The sets (particularly the mountains and forests) look so life-like, especially w/ the one featuring Skarloey and the mist rising from the bottom, the music is spectacular, the characters (I also love Gordon and Sir Handel's dynamic at Crovan's Gate) are on-point. So while it may not be faithfully adapted, but on its own, it's my favorite Sir Handel episode to come out from the show and I give it a 10/10!

[@thecinematicmind]

Another episode where I saw this years later after watching the next episode first on VHS.

[@JamieBoy-ij2ri]

Sir Handel was a very naughty engine in this episode.

[@natashamathis9418SMLYTP]

Sir Handel: What happened next? Those aren't coaches they're cattle trucks!

[@TheStationMaster-vw7nx]

I can symphaise with Sir Handel as I have acted rude towards others and refused to do as I was told and I ended up getting into trouble like he did. I first saw this episode when I rented the Rock N Roll VHS and I didn't get to see the episode again when I saw it on The Biggest Party Video Ever and The Complete 4th Series VHS releases

[@kristalkat7939]

I think Gordon has a temporary whistle during season 4 through 5

[@liljayyboi2]

After hearing that I'm sure Sir Handel will. Aren't you?

[@josephmarrison4606]

For me, I am nostalgic for the story, as I had the original books. As always I prefer the book version, as the writing and drawings were more realistic. But I’d say that this episode thankfully didn’t change the original story too much to the point of insult. And I understand why they made some of the changes, (such as changing “bogey” to “smart” because they didn’t want little kids to make snot jokes of their episodes). Though I would have liked to have seen Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jimmima and Beatrice, as they were funny characters in the books, and The Thin Controller, as he was based on the original controller of The Tyallyln Railway.

[@thesudriana016]

Or this case why not have the Manager (as mentioned before in a couple of episodes) be the controller instead of STH - though not w/ sharing the same figurine as the Mid-Sodor Manager.