- "You're finally in a poster! Maybe you are good enough after all!"
- ― Thomas seeing James in Edward's poster
James the Second Best is the twenty-seventh episode of the tenth series.
Plot
One morning, the Fat Controller comes to Tidmouth Sheds with a photographer, declaring there will be a railway poster, and he needs an engine to be on it. James is confident that he will be on the poster, as he is a splendid engine, but the Fat Controller chooses Edward, who is delighted. James cannot believe it, so while the photographer prepares his camera, James pulls in front of Edward. The Fat Controller then sternly orders James to leave the sheds, to James' dismay.
Later, the posters are put up all over the railway, each bearing a picture of Edward. James is upset and wonders why Edward was chosen instead of him. Henry, Percy and Thomas say that it is because Edward is gentle with his trucks, he does not mind doing dirty jobs and is always on time. This makes James cross, and he decides that he will do all those things as well to prove he is just as good as Edward.
At the coaling plant the following morning, Edward and Thomas are shunting coal trucks. Edward does his shunting gently, which James also does when he arrives. Thomas states that Edward has already finished and set off to deliver his coal, but James still wants to be just as good as Edward, so he rushes off to deliver his coal. All day, James delivers coal, and at the end of his job, he is very filthy. At Maron, James tells Henry that he can get just as dirty as Edward, and feels that he is just as good as he is.
Later, James is being cleaned before his passenger train, but it takes a very long time to clean him. Percy cheekily tells James that he is late, and that Edward is always on time. James decides to take Gordon's express track instead of the branch line, and therefore, he will collect his passengers before Edward, and he will be good enough to be the poster engine.
James and Edward crash into the poster
James puffs off to collect his passengers, and he switches onto the express track, racing as fast as he can to get ahead of Edward. When James finally switches back onto the branch line, he is indeed ahead of Edward (who is looking cross), but at that moment, the signal turns to red. James manages to stop, but Edward cannot stop in time and he biffs into the back of James, pushing him straight into one of the posters. Edward apologises for being unable to stop, but James owns up it was his fault for pushing in. Thomas puffs up on the track below and sees James; his face is sticking out of the poster where Edward's face should be. Thomas cheekily laughs that James is finally in a poster, and that maybe he is good enough after all. But James does not feel good, he felt very silly.
James feeling guilty of ruining Edward's poster
Soon, the Fat Controller arrives onboard Emily, who sternly tells James that his racing around the island has caused confusion and delay. Worse still, Edward's piston cylinder has been damaged from the crash, meaning he cannot take the children to the seaside. Seeing the children sad that they cannot ride on the poster engine, James feels even worse. To make up for his accident, James offers to be Edward's back engine so he can still take the children, which the Fat Controller happily agrees.
James sets off, pushing Edward and his coaches along towards the seaside. At Bluff's Cove, they stop to collect more passengers. The children cheer to see Edward, and they also cheer to see James as being a grand and kind engine. James feels proud and more useful than ever, and Edward remarks that the only thing more special than being the poster engine is being really useful.
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- James
- Percy
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Emily (does not speak)
- The Photographer (does not speak)
- Stephen Hatt (cameo)
- Bridget Hatt (cameo)
- Refreshment Lady (cameo)
- The Storyteller (cameo)
- Gordon (mentioned)
Locations
- Crosby Tunnel
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Brendam Canal
- Knapford
- The Coaling Plant
- Maron
- The School
- The Steel Arch Bridge
- The Second Three-Track Station
- Tidmouth Beach
- Bluffs Cove
- Ffarquhar (mistakenly mentioned in Polish dub)
Trivia
- One Wellsworth station building is altered and used to portray the Three-Track Station.
- Edward and James' original plastic models are used in this episode:
- Edward's model was used in the first scene and the posters.
- James' model was used when he was being cleaned.
- This was the last episode of a few things:
- The last episode to have faceless models of the Horrid Lorries.
- The last appearance of Edward and James' original plastic models.
- The last appearance of James' smiling face.
- The last appearance of Brendam Canal.
- The last appearance of Bluff's Cove in the model series and its last overall until the thirteenth series episode, Henry's Good Deeds.
- The US dub of this episode was never released on home media.
- The music that plays when James races to get ahead of Edward was reused from the ninth series episode, Keeping Up with James.
Goofs
- James' face is loose when he is at the washdown.
- When James crashed in the poster while being pushed by Edward:
- The latter's wheels are still moving forward.
- The track that leads to the poster can be seen.
- Despite his front crashing through the poster, only James' face and funnel are shown to have crashed through.
- In the Polish dub, The Second Three-Track Station is incorrectly referred to as Ffarquhar.
Merchandise
In Other Languages
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Home Media Releases
UKDVD BoxsetsAUS
DVD Boxsets
SPNDVD BoxsetsMYSTHAARAJPNKORHKNOR/SWE/DK/FIN/POLTWN |
| #01 Follow that Flour | #11 Fearless Freddie | #21 Emily and the Special Coaches |
| #02 A Smooth Ride | #12 Toby's New Shed | #22 Thomas and the Colours |
| #03 Thomas and the Jet Plane | #13 Big Strong Henry | #23 Thomas and the Birthday Mail |
| #04 Percy and the Funfair | #14 Sticky Toffee Thomas | #24 Duncan's Bluff |
| #05 The Green Controller | #15 Which Way Now? | #25 Missing Trucks |
| #06 Duncan Drops a Clanger | #16 Thomas and the Shooting Star | #26 Thomas and the Treasure |
| #07 Thomas' Tricky Tree | #17 Edward Strikes Out | #27 James the Second Best |
| #08 Toby's Afternoon Off | #18 Topped Off Thomas | #28 Thomas and Skarloey's Big Day Out |
| #09 It's Good to Be Gordon | #19 Wharf and Peace | |
| #10 Seeing the Sights | #20 Thomas' Frosty Friend | |