Percy and the Monster of Brendam (Thomas & Friends)

"Percy and the Monster of Brendam" is the fourth episode of the 16th season of Thomas & Friends. It aired early in Australia on February 19th, 2012 before airing four days later in the UK on February 23rd, 2012, and then aired seven months later in the United States on September 2nd 2012.

Why It's A Monster

 * 1) Percy is unbelievably stupid in this episode as he believes Salty's story is true enough to make him believe there is a Monster of Brendam. Why does this trigger his curiosity?
 * 2) What makes tables and chairs so special if they are for Dowager Hatt? If they were state-of-the-art recliners, then that would have been interesting.
 * 3) Edward, Henry, and Toby are gullible misfits and cowards in the same episode even though they are supposed to be wise engines.
 * 4) For the majority of the episode Percy is looking all over Sodor for the monster, even though the "monster" is called the Monster of Brendam, which means the monster would only be at Brendam Docks and not all over Sodor.
 * 5) The idea of having Percy search for a so-called "Monster of Brendam" is a pretty stupid idea and makes very little to almost no sense.
 * 6) Like with most of the episodes in the Sharon Miller era, this episode uses the three strikes formula, and you can tell what's going to happen.
 * 7) Diesel actually serves no purpose to the story nor does he have anything to do with the story. He is just there.
 * 8) Like usual, the constant narration never takes a break. It even ruins some certain scenes that didn't need to have narration by constantly pointing out the obvious.
 * 9) The pacing feels really bland and comes off as extremely boring. In fact, Salty telling the story about the Monster of Brendam to Percy also feels like filler.
 * 10) Percy and Toby have their lamps to see in the fog, but Edward, Henry, Salty, and Diesel don't. That is also another case of ignoring common logic since engines are supposed to have their lamps on at all times when there is a fog.
 * 11) Stupid plot twist: It is revealed that Cranky is the monster of Brendam even though Salty gave out obvious hints of who the monster really was.
 * 12) Speaking of Salty, even Salty himself is no better than Percy. While Percy did cause confusion and delay for Toby, Edward, and Henry at the same time because of Salty's story, he completely trolls the four engines by revealing that Cranky was the Monster of Brendam. This is more likely Salty's fault over Percy's for that matter. Let alone making the entire episode be a complete waste of time.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Like always, great narration from Michael Angelis. Even Michael Brandon did a good job too.
 * 2) Impressive animation from Nitrogen Studios. The best part is that the fog animation thankfully improved after "Spencer the Grand".
 * 3) For once, Thomas has been given a break from having a speaking role and is seen at one point where he is out on his branch line.
 * 4) At least a special is not called a "special special".
 * 5) In the beginning of the episode, you can see Stanley pulling a train with a brake van at the end. Even Edward has a brake van at the end of his train.

Reception
"Percy and the Monster of Brendam" received overwhelmingly negative reviews from fans and critics alike upon its release.

As of 2021, the episode is given a 2.6/10 on iMDB.com.