Excellent Emily

"All of your engines are excellent engines!"

- Emily

Excellent Emily is the eighth episode of the twelfth season.

Plot
Following a terrible storm, many engines are stuck, except for Emily who is the only one to finish her jobs on time and is thus called "excellent" by the Fat Controller. The Fat Controller tells Emily that she must take Trevor from Farmer McColl's to the airport as some metal tanks are blocking the runway, making Jeremy, who is carrying Dowager Hatt, unable to land. Just as the Fat Controller leaves, Murdoch arrives; he is going to Farmer McColl's also and he advises Emily to take the Wellsworth track due to flooding. But Emily decides to take the forest track as it is much faster. Emily goes through a flood on the forest track, but it does not stop her.

In the forest, Emily meets Thomas, who warns her about a fallen tree on her line and tells her that she must wait for Harvey. But Emily says she does not need Harvey's help, so she finds the tree herself and decides to push it out of the way. However, the tree sticks on her front as Emily pushes it uphill. Once at the summit, the tree rolls out of the way and Emily carries on.

At a junction, Emily meets Duck, who tells her that not only is Trevor waiting for her, but the tracks ahead are very muddy and she must avoid them. But once again, Emily's belief that she is "excellent" causes her to ignore him, so she carries on regardless.

However, Emily gets stuck in the mud and the track sinks beneath her weight. Emily sees Murdoch already at Farmer McColl's, realising that she should have listened to him. Whistling to get his attention, Emily apologises to Murdoch and he pulls her out of the mud. After collecting Trevor from Farmer McColl's, Emily is about to leave when she remembers to ask Murdoch about which track to take to the airport. Murdoch tells her to take the valley route as Gordon's Hill is still being cleared of fallen trees.

Emily goes along the valley route, but soon sees a telegraph pole blocking her way. Remembering Thomas' advice, Emily waits for Harvey to clear the telegraph pole. Then, at a signalbox, Emily is told by the signalman that the short-cut is muddy; remembering Duck's advice, she takes the longer track. Once at the airport, Trevor clears the runway and Jeremy is able to land at last. The Fat Controller is happy to see his mother and praises Emily again, but Emily tells him that all of his engines are "excellent engines."

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Duck
 * Emily
 * Murdoch
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Harvey (does not speak)
 * Trevor (does not speak)
 * Jeremy (faceless cameo ; does not speak)
 * Dowager Hatt (does not speak)
 * Farmer McColl (does not speak)
 * Henry (cameo)
 * Gordon (cameo)
 * Bulgy (cameo)
 * Cranky (cameo)

Locations

 * McColl Farm
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Sodor Airport
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Wellsworth (mentioned)

Trivia

 * This marks the first of a few things:
 * Duck's first appearance since the seventh season episode, Peace and Quiet, and his first speaking role since the same season's episode, James and the Queen of Sodor.
 * Dowager Hatt's first appearance in CGI.
 * Murdoch's first speaking role since the seventh season episode, Best Dressed Engine.
 * The first episode Kiyonobu Suzuki and Ryoichi Fukuzawa joined the Japanese cast.
 * This also marks the last of a few things:
 * Bulgy's last appearance to date.
 * Trevor's last appearance until the fifteenth season episode, Emily and Dash.
 * Jeremy's last appearance until the twentieth season episode, Letters to Santa.
 * Murdoch's last speaking role to date.
 * The final appearance of the Sodor Airport to date.
 * This episode aired before Thomas and the Jet Plane in Australia, meaning the audience wouldn't know who Jeremy is.
 * Murdoch gains a Scottish accent in the UK narration.
 * The town Emily passes is made up of buildings from Great Waterton.
 * Throughout the episode, Emily's driver and fireman are not in CGI.

Goofs

 * The narrator said that lots of engines were broken down. This is wrong; the narrator should have said "and lots of engines were stuck."
 * When Murdoch arrives at Brendam Docks, his steam platform is visible.
 * When Murdoch pulls Emily out of the mud, her driving wheels aren't moving.
 * Trevor's driver is too big compared to Trevor.
 * Bulgy appears in his old red livery.
 * Duck's face is smaller and is missing its prominent cheekbones.
 * When Trevor trundles across the runway, his driver is steering him whilst sitting in his coal bunker, which is empty.
 * When Emily lands in the mud, either the driver or fireman is not seen in her cab.
 * When Emily goes through the flood waters, the tracker used for her CGI face is visible in the water's reflection. Also when Emily plunges into the water the first time round, a drawing of a terrified face can be seen on the tracker in the reflection, even though Emily is smiling all the while.

Merchandise

 * Take-n-Play - Emily Stuck in the Brush
 * Books - Excellent Emily

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * The Complete Twelfth Series

US/BRA/Latin America

 * Railway Friends

US DVD Boxsets

 * Adventure Pack
 * Full Steam Ahead
 * Extraordinary Engines and Railway Friends Double Pack

AUS

 * The Party Surprise
 * The Complete Twelfth Series

DVD Boxsets

 * The Essential Collection (5 DVD Boxset)

FRA

 * A New Arrival

KOR

 * The Emergence of the New Tram Flora

JPN

 * Unaired Video Collection (digital download)

THA

 * Henry Gets it Wrong (Thai DVD)
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 43 (Thai DVD)

MYS
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 * The Party Surprise and Other Adventures