My 4-year old son is a huge Thomas the Train fan, and Percy is one of his favorites. In this video, "Usefulness before cleanliness" is a lesson Percy learns. And that comes in handy, since Percy has plunged through a tunnel at Mr. Jolly's chocolate factory and come out on the other end doused in chocolate. Percy truly proves he is "responsible, reliable and really useful", something that is important for engines on Sir Topham Hatt's railway. "Faulty Whistle" features Duncan and his need for a new whistle. "Buffer Bother" centers around twin buffers Bill and Ben. And the whole gang helps Percy get singer Alicia Botti to the Island concert in time.
My only personal complaints about the Thomas series are:
1.) We've loved the VHS copies that are sold with a bonus car (this particular tape comes with "Terrance"). Since the cars themselves run around 12-17 bucks, it really is a great value. Our son has a Thomas train set that he is collecting cars for, and this is a nice way to do it (the cars run anywhere from 12-17 bucks, so it's a great value). However, we prefer DVD format, and as far as I've seen, they don't offer the same bonus car feature on the DVD's.
2.) I don't mind Alec Baldwin as narrator, I just wish he'd stop trying to do a Britsh accent for certain characters. First of all, it's inconsistent, since all the characters would be British, not just one or two. Second, he fakes a Brit accent so badly, most viewers just wish he's stick to his own American accent.
Still, most kids love these tapes, so an adult "Andy Rooney"-type observation is irrelevant. Get the tapes/DVDs, because kids are mesmorized by them.