Reviews WesternAnimation / Thomas The Tank Engine

Every single question can be answered with "it's a kid's show". Like it's not even a cartoon for 8 year olds, it's literally a show for 3 years and up. The show is evidently not set in a real-world location, it is an imaginary island. It can have all the locations it needs, because it is not real. The diesels and steam engines dislike each other because sometimes the show wants to have a bad guy. You can tell which character is which by their face and color, like Thomas is blue with a round face and there's a larger blue train with a sterner face, and a big, straight nose - which I have remembered since I was a baby. And to be honest, though I don't remember many other trains, it does not matter one single bit. And the engines and their capabilities? Again - a changing variable changed to make certain episodes work.

This is not a show that was made to be seriously critiqued - it is a show that was made to appease young minds. Canon, continuity, consistency - it doesn't matter, because the target audience does not care, nor does it really impact on their lives. As long as Thomas is called Thomas by the narrator, and vice versa for the other trains, it doesn't matter.

Like okay, you enjoy the show, but still - are you a troll? No-one in their right mind should take Thomas the Tank Engine so seriously as to critique it like this.

Who cares if it's crap? It's only something we show to developing children.

It may well be intended for real little kids, but still, it's interesting to point out these issues.

1. Merchandising is to blame for this. The trend of "introducing one-off characters who had a spotlight episode and never appeared again (while at the same time shafting fan-favorites to either cameo status or doing away with them altogether)" began when the show started deviating from the books. They've since tried to develop them however.

2. This was handled much, much better in the original books. The author was so keen on world building that he even published an extensive manual about the series. Sodor was supposed to be, iirc, somewhere between England and the Isle of Man, and the stories themselves had plenty of Reality Subtext and references to real-world locations, such as the Mainland (England), and "The Other Railway" (BR). Gordon even went to London in a story that was never adapted to TV. When the books were adapted to TV the producers decided to omit most of these references, only retaining things like Donald and Douglas' homeland or that one time the queen of England visited.

The decision to keep Sodor's location ambiguous had mostly little impact on the storyline itself. The magic railroad movie (I haven't watched it) established Sodor as located in a magic dimension (which IMO makes absolutely no sense whatsoever) and I think the idea of Sodor's geography spiraled downhill from there (see Great Waterton).

3. Originally it was supposed to be a reference-slash-Take That to the then-relevant Dieselisation and mass scrapping of steam engines in railways all over the world. Though it isn't clear in the show, Oliver and Douglas took refuge in Sodor because diesels replaced them in their old railway. This was not helped by the very first diesel introduced in the series. So the tension between steam engines and diesels at least had an explanation, and irrational dislike towards diesels was never portrayed as a good thing. Later on more likable diesels such as BoCo, Daisy, Rusty and Mavis were introduced, and the conflict eventually died down.

Unfortunately when the TV series decided to make Diesel (who was sent away in disgrace after his arc) a recurring character, the only thing they had going for him was his racist views towards steam engines. Naturally the opposite had to apply as well. The terrible writing that prevailed from seasons 9-16 only worsened matters, examples including James casually telling Diesel that he will never be clapped and cheered by children simply because he's a diesel, Thomas saying to Diesel that "Sir Topham Hatt will only want a really useful steamie. You'll never be that!", etc. Note that neither characters were punished for their behavior in both examples.

TL;DR it can be chalked up to clumsy writing.

4. Willing Suspense Of Disbelief. In the early episodes engines could move freely (see "Percy and the Signal", "Thomas Comes to Breakfast") as long as 1) the points weren't against them, 2) their fire was lit, 3) they didn't mind not being able to stop. Later seasons made it so that the engines could go around the island freely, being able to choose which way to go and applying their brakes themselves. Seasons 17 and 18 have tried to remedy this, but they still rely on Willing Suspension of Disbelief for some episodes.

I do agree with all of your points though, both the good and bad. I'm still crossing my fingers for the rest of S18 being as good as S17.

I think the problem can be pinpointed by the fact that throughout it's course the show has slowly started to aim at different audiences, from fairly young but developed minds that can appreciate continuity, to later more the infant range. As such, story and characterization had to be simplified and dumbed down.

I think some of the changes have also been to get rid of the Unfortunate Implications that were in the original stories (eg. giving the trains more free will to downplay the 'slave' links).

Mr Mallard, you are speaking from a point of total ignorance. "It's just a kids' show" being used to dismiss valid criticism is a cop-out. Mr.Movie's third point, regarding the Fantastic Racism was, at one point, a very big problem with the series. It's possible that the episodes and specials involving the more egregious examples of racism were indeed what Mr.Movie watched before writing his review. Misty Island Rescue, for example, comes across as promoting it. (In short, there's a scene where Diesel suggests that he can take a train of logs. Thomas says that he can't- not because of his past actions, but because he's a diesel. When Diesel tries to prove his worth, Thomas chases him and assists Diesel in dropping the logs into the sea. When Thomas rescues Diesel the Fat Controller praises him, rather than calling him out for his behaviour.)

Inconsistency is an issue no matter what the target audience. Would you say "It's just a kids' show" if Postman Pat's van could suddenly move on its own, completely ignoring the established continuity, and then go back to normal the following episode with no explanation? The Series has been guilty of flip flopping between engines driving themselves and engines being driven by crews for years. That is a valid problem. It seems to have been remedied somewhat in recent years, but older episodes are still shown and so he may have seen them on TV.

"Reality Subtext" means absolutely nothing like how it's being used in that comment.

Anyway, I agree that it being "just" a kids' show is no excuse for inconsistency and Unfortunate Implications like the Fantastic Racism against diesels. Little kids do pay attention. Even the consistency details matter, as kids do have an imagination and like to build their own little imaginary world, and it's better to teach them that things are consistent and make sense than to tell them that rules change all the time depending on the story.

Alright, fair enough.

But just one thing - the trains driving themselves versus having drivers is more or less an As The Plot Demands sort of thing. That sort of thing you can get away with.

And I just want to say that the difference between the engines and Postman Pat's van is that Postman Pat's van is not sentient in the least, while the engines are. It makes sense that they can control themselves, and if the writers need a plot where they can't then they can more or less turn the trains into sentient vehicles with no control over themselves. You may find that disturbing, but to an average 3-6 year old - it happens, just roll with it, it's Thomas the Tank Engine yo.

I was mad when I made the comment (because come on - the continuity of a train's operation isn't going to screw a child up for life) and I regret flying off the handle like I did, but I honestly don't see the big deal. So sometimes Thomas can drive himself, while other times he needs to be operated. It happens, and it's not a big deal. I don't think the slavery vibe is either - because yes, slavery is bad, but it's not going to make a child go "yes, slavery is the answer". It's an unfortunate implication of course, but it's not going to rub off on a child.

Though the whole diesel/steam engine racism argument is a fair argument, and could very well lead to something more malicious later in life - that much I can agree with. The rest I can see as flying over the target audience's head.

I think in regards to stuff like the slavery and racism allegations, it's less maybe kids will be impressionable to that sort of stuff, but more they might actually start to get annoyed by the unfairness of it all. Most fans here complain about the situations an engine was blamed for a situation that considering circumstances, a workman should surely be more responsible for, nor did they appreciate Diesel being the Designated Villain just for being diesel.

I think the engine's having more free will over themselves was kinda a necessary deviation, not just because of the aforementioned problem of looking like second class citizens, but because it allows more capacity to create plots based on their characters. Characters' personalities are usually required to make actions to create plots, the engines not even able to move on their own limits that immensely (I think that was something that eventually affected the original books, they eventually became just normal railway goings on with a little bit of funny dialogue here and there, like the fact the trains were sentient didn't even matter). Even at it's very worst, the show is about the engine's funny personalities causing stories.