The theme music, especially when given vocals to accompany Vienna's exit during Bigg Freeze.
The Bridge Cafe Band Music is perfect for the show's Roaring '20s setting, and it just makes you want to get up and dance.
Better Than Canon: The Unlucky Tug's unofficial US dub really is something to behold. All the characters' voices sound absolutely phenomenal here, there's Accent Adaptations where needed, and it's overall a vast improvement over the lost US dub.
Cult Classic: While the show had never gone past thirteen episodes, it retains a loyal and dedicated cult following to this day, consisting of fans who love the show for its visuals and effects, the strong stories, its surprisingly mature tone (for a young kids show) and the memorable characters.
Designated Villain: Zorran being stuck in quarantine in the episode of the same name is treated as Laser-Guided Karma even though he didn't really do anything to deserve it- the flaunting of protocol was done entirely by the Nantucket.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Sea Rogue is quite well-liked by fans for his rather sympathetic anti-villain role in "Pirates", doing the pirates' dirty work in order to save his uncle and his unique designs stands out quite well from the rest.
Friendly Fandoms: The show is popular among Thomas & Friends fans to the point where there are plenty of Crossover fanfictions between the two. Being produced by the same studio, having some of the models recycled starting in the latter's' third season (Big Mickey eventually became a speaking character again by season 21), and the fact that most of the research on the series (such as the identities of the other voice actors besides Chris Tulloch and Patrick Allen) was carried out by Sodor Island Forums (who also owns many of the original models used on the show via the Star Tugs Trust subsidiary) also helps.
Hype Aversion: Due to how the show only lasted 13 episodes, fans would boast on it being the best thing due to the stories and effects.
Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: Despite Izzy Gomez being a Mexican caricature, Mexican members of the fandom love him.
Periphery Demographic: Although the show is aimed at kids, the show has obtained a large following consisting of teenagers and adults, who adore the show for its bold storytelling, special effects and memorable characters. Nowadays, this older demographic makes up the majority of the show's fandom.
Uncertain Audience: This was the show's biggest downfall. The show was intended to be for children, however, the show wasn't able to successfully win over Thomas & Friends' target demographic, as the show frequently dealt with darker and more mature topics than its sister show did, such as suicide, death, criminal activities and violence, amongst other topics, all of which made it too dark and inappropriate for younger children, and the show being styled after Thomas meant that older audiences wouldn’t find it appealing either due to shows featuring Sentient Vehicles being perceived as being only for young children. In short, the darker tone of the show clashed too heavily with its Thomas-esque style and resulted in a show that lacked a well-defined audience and mass appeal, causing it to alienate American investors, which led to the show's cancellation after only thirteen episodes.
Values Dissonance: Izzy Gomez is portrayed as the lazy Mexican stereotype. If TUGS were to be made today, a caricature like that would not fly at all.
Vindicated by History: TUGS was never a ratings hit, only doing moderately well in viewership, and was only mildly successful with home video releases and merchandise sales. Nowadays, there are plenty of fans who love it, and it's now considered a Cult Classic. So much so that, many years later, Thomas & Friends would incorporate Big Mickey into its canon.
What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: One expecting this kids show to be akin to its sister show, Thomas & Friends, will likely be incredibly surprised by how mature and dark the show is compared to Thomas, with the show containing such kid friendly subjects such as a hostage situation, a character wanting to essentially commit suicide, several characters having implied criminal pasts and the implication of one character (Big Mickey) having outright died in one episode, all on top of frequent explosions, threats of violence and the like. Unsurprisingly, this ultimately proved to be the show's downfall, as its darker tone made it too inappropriate for a younger audience and would cause American investors to reject the show.
