History Headscratchers / ThomasTheTankEngine

This troper is under the impression that Bulstrode's brutal punishment was a result of his aggravating the freight cars and Percy, thus directly causing the accident.

* This troper outright refuses to consider the new series canon on account of certain things he's seen in more recent episodes. One of the worst is "Fiery Flynn"'. Sure the moral of the story is okay (don't jump into situations you don't understand) but the "fire engine" we're supposed to be rooting for is a total idiot. For on thing, why would you have a fire engine that apparently cannot tell when an engine is on fire. In one episode he is told to help a "blue engine" and leaves before finding out which engine and where, but he ends up spraying ''three different'' engines and reacting with genuine shock when they pointed out they weren't on fire. Then when he finally found the engine who was burning, it ended up being a couple workmen who saved the day by pouring buckets of water on the fire (if they could do that why didn't they just do that to begin with?), then thanks the diesels who did ''absolutely nothing'' (it was their drivers who helped).

This troper is under the impression that Bulstrode's brutal punishment was a result of his aggravating the freight cars and Percy, thus directly causing the accident.

* Why exactly was Bulstrode punished so harshly? According to Percy's driver the worst he ever did before the truck incident was just being whiny and annoying. And the truck incident was a lot more Percy's fault than Bulstrode's. Sure, Bulstrode was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but even if he wasn't directly below the dock, the result would've hardly been any better. In fact, if he hadn't been there, all the materials the trucks were carrying would have been lost, similar to Diesel's mishap with the trucks back in season 3. At least then, some of the materials could be salvaged. And going back to Percy, he's done a lot more damage (and would eventually do even more) including his misadventures involving crashing into some trucks in a siding, plunging into the tide, smashing a collection of fruit (the trucks didn't even have anything to do with that one), and smashing passenger's luggage among other things, and still gets merely scolded. Bulstrode gets plundered by trucks once? [[DisproportionateRetribution He gets towed to the beach and left there for life.]]

* Why was Percy even allowed to go to the quarry in Toby's place in "Percy's Predicament"? After all, the whole reason that the Fat Controller bought Toby was because it's illegal for engines without cowcatchers and sideplates to travel on the quarry tramway, and Percy doesn't have either.

** Sodor is a DysfunctionJunction. Really, the number of engines who ''don't'' have a personality issue of some kind can be counted on one hand.

* Why are the engines such assholes to each other? Maybe it's just a British thing, but it seems like for a toddler story, the characters are remarkably rude to each other, often for no real reason. Standouts include Gordon saying Edward should "give up and be preserved" and James calling Toby and Henrietta "dirty objects." Maybe it's a reflection of how cruel children can be to one another?

* Most stories involving an accident have the accident caused by hubris or carelessness by the engines or what have you. The Runaway doesn't seem to have any of that. Thomas is sick, he goes to get mended, Duck takes over in his absence, Thomas' brakes were adjusted, and a replacement workman forgets to set the adjusted brakes properly, causing Thomas to run away, who is saved by Harold. Maybe in the original book the story made more sense, but this episode has always felt quite bizarre, smacking of RandomEventsPlot.

* We frequently see a lot of diesels plotting against the steam engines, and in one or two cases actively ''trying to murder them'', like when 'Arry and Bert were trying to kill Stephney. However it is clearly shown that engines on Sodor require people to operate them, so to what extent are the drivers in on it? Are the drivers actually steamophobes themselves and fully supporting the diesels (which is actually a somewhat creepy and not totally implausible explanation) or do they just go along with what the engine wants?

**** The Thomas comics (which for some reason include ''Railway Series'' characters that never appeared in the show) took a middle path, Godred is real, [[SparedByTheAdaptation but still a live and functioning engine]], meaning likely had the crash, but was in repairable state and learned from his mistakes.

** The biggest headscratcher I feel there is with Misty Island Rescue is that it '''promotes bullying.''' Early on in the film, Diesel suggests that he could take the train of jobi logs to the Search and Rescue Centre. Thomas, however, says that Diesel cannot take the train because Diesel is not a steam engine. (Something along the lines of "No, Diesel. I'm sure the Fat Controller meant that he wanted a really useful ''steamie'' to do the job."). Diesel tries to prove himself by delivering the logs. When Thomas spots diesel doing this, he chases after him, resulting in Diesel trying to run away from Thomas. This leads up to Thomas chasing Diesel to a dead end at an unfinished bridge, resulting in the jobi logs and the flatbeds toppling off of the edge and into the sea. Note that had Thomas not been what was effectively racist to Diesel, Diesel may not have tried to take the train of logs in order to prove his worth. Even then, had Thomas not chased after Diesel, it's likely that Diesel would have delivered the jobi logs safely. Following this, the Fat Controller praises Thomas for his actions. The Fat Controller is not remotely cross with Thomas for a) undermining diesel engines. (Imagine if, say, Mavis, BoCo or Daisy was in Diesel's role?) and b) Chasing after Diesel for no good reason, and being responsible for the loss of the jobi wood. (If Thomas wasn't chasing Diesel, Diesel would have been going slowly enough to stop and back up, though I'm not entirely sure why the track was set to the unfinished bridge anyway).

** The biggest headscratcher I feel there is with Misty Island Rescue is that it '''promotes bullying.''' Early on in the film, Diesel suggests that he could take the train of jobi logs to the Search and Rescue Centre. Thomas, however, says that Diesel cannot take the train because Diesel is not a steam engine. (Something along the lines of "No, Diesel. I'm sure the Fat Controller meant that he wanted a really useful ''steamie'' to do the job."). Diesel tries to prove himself by delivering the logs. When Thomas spots diesel doing this, he chases after him, resulting in Diesel trying to run away from Thomas. This leads up to Thomas chasing Diesel to a dead end at an unfinished bridge, resulting in the jobi logs and the flatbeds toppling off of the edge and into the sea. Note that had Thomas not been what was effectively racist to Diesel, Diesel may not have tried to take the train of logs in order to prove his worth. Even then, had Thomas not chased after Diesel, it's likely that Diesel would have delivered the jobi logs safely. Following this, the Fat Controller praises Thomas for his actions. The Fat Controller is not remotely cross with Thomas for a) undermining diesel engines. (Imagine if, say, Mavis, BoCo or Daisy was in Diesel's role?) and b) Chasing after Diesel for no good reason, and being responsible for the loss of the jobi wood. (If Thomas wasn't chasing Diesel, Diesel would have been going slowly enough to stop and back up, though I'm not entirely sure why the track was set to the unfinished bridge anyway). Later, when Thomas is on Misty Island, he doesn't ask Bash Dash and Ferdinand for help right away because they're different. He later does seek help from them, not because he feels it's necessarily the right thing to do, but because there is no one else to ask. The logging locos get a kick out of watching an old, dysfunctional crane, throwing logs about, most of which end up hitting Thomas. This behaviour is not amended. A little further on, Bash, Dash and Ferdinand encourage Thomas to try and cross the shake shake bridge, a bridge which is falling apart and very clearly unsafe. Thomas hesitates at first, but the logging locos keep on pressurising him until he gives in and crosses the bridge, to which he responds with "Maybe I was wrong to say no." Basically, Thomas was bullied into doing something highly dangerous just for the hell of it. Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, despite having universal appeal, has always been a show for young children, who are impressionable. Misty Island Rescue showcased a turning point in the series, where it got to the point where the writing was so poor that it was, quite frankly, unfit for young children. The film showcased racism, performing dangerous stunts and throwing heavy objects around just for fun, all in a positive light. Neither Thomas nor anyone else learns from their mistakes in the film, and in some cases they are praised for them. And throughout the film, we have cheesy, repetitive, alliterative dialogue to listen to (which is not good for children that are just starting to learn to talk). Picture a human child playing the role of Thomas in the film, having heavy logs slung at him and being bullied into crossing an unsafe bridge. Thankfully, Series 17 has undone most of the damage that this film injected into the series. To me, that's the main headscratcher regarding Misty Island Rescue. How could such a child-unfriendly film intended for preschool audiences have possibly been greenlit?

** The biggest issue with Misty Island Rescue is that it '''promotes bullying.''' Early on in the film, Diesel suggests that he could take the train of jobi logs to the Search and Rescue Centre. Thomas, however, says that Diesel cannot take the train because Diesel is not a steam engine. (Something along the lines of "No, Diesel. I'm sure the Fat Controller meant that he wanted a really useful ''steamie'' to do the job."). Diesel tries to prove himself by delivering the logs. When Thomas spots diesel doing this, he chases after him, resulting in Diesel trying to run away from Thomas. This leads up to Thomas chasing Diesel to a dead end at an unfinished bridge, resulting in the jobi logs and the flatbeds toppling off of the edge and into the sea. Note that had Thomas not been what was effectively racist to Diesel, Diesel may not have tried to take the train of logs in order to prove his worth. Even then, had Thomas not chased after Diesel, it's likely that Diesel would have delivered the jobi logs safely. Following this, the Fat Controller praises Thomas for his actions. The Fat Controller is not remotely cross with Thomas for a) undermining diesel engines. (Imagine if, say, Mavis, BoCo or Daisy was in Diesel's role?) and b) Chasing after Diesel for no good reason, and being responsible for the loss of the jobi wood. (If Thomas wasn't chasing Diesel, Diesel would have been going slowly enough to stop and back up, though I'm not entirely sure why the track was set to the infinished bridge anyway)

*** Later, when Thomas is on Misty Island, he doesn't ask Bash Dash and Ferdinand for help right away because they're different. He later does seek help from them, not because he feels it's necessarily the right thing to do, but because there is no one else to ask. The logging locos get a kick out of watching an old, dysfunctional crane, throwing logs about, most of which end up hitting Thomas. This behaviour is not amended.

*** A little further on, Bash, Dash and Ferdinand encourage Thomas to try and cross the shake shake bridge, a bridge which is falling apart and very clearly unsafe. Thomas hesitates at first, but the logging locos keep on pressurising him until he gives in and crosses the bridge, to which he responds with "Maybe I was wrong to say no." Basically, Thomas was bullied into doing something highly dangerous just for the hell of it.

*** Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, despite having universal appeal, has always been a show for young children, who are impressionable. Misty Island Rescue showcased a turning point in the series, where it got to the point where the writing was so poor that it was, quite frankly, unfit for young children. The film showcased racism, performing dangerous stunts and throwing heavy objects around just for fun, all in a positive light. Neither Thomas nor anyone else learns from their mistakes in the film, and in some cases they are praised for them. And throughout the film, we have cheesy, repetitive, alliterative dialogue to listen to (which is not good for children that are just starting to learn to talk). Picture a human child playing the role of Thomas in the film, having heavy logs slung at him and being bullied into crossing an unsafe bridge.

*** Thankfully, Series 17 has undone most of the damage that this film injected into the series.

*** To me, that's the main headscratcher regarding Misty Island Rescue. How could such a child-unfriendly film intended for preschool audiences have possibly been greenlit?

** The biggest issue with Misty Island Rescue is that it '''promotes bullying.''' Early on in the film, Diesel suggests that he could take the train of jobi logs to the Search and Rescue Centre. Thomas, however, says that Diesel cannot take the train because Diesel is not a steam engine. (Something along the lines of "No, Diesel. I'm sure the Fat Controller meant that he wanted a really useful ''steamie'' to do the job."). Diesel tries to prove himself by delivering the logs. When Thomas spots diesel doing this, he chases after him, resulting in Diesel trying to run away from Thomas. This leads up to Thomas chasing Diesel to a dead end at an unfinished bridge, resulting in the jobi logs and the flatbeds toppling off of the edge and into the sea. Note that had Thomas not been what was effectively racist to Diesel, Diesel may not have tried to take the train of logs in order to prove his worth. Even then, had Thomas not chased after Diesel, it's likely that Diesel would have delivered the jobi logs safely. Following this, the Fat Controller praises Thomas for his actions. The Fat Controller is not remotely cross with Thomas for

a) undermining diesel engines. (Imagine if, say, Mavis, BoCo or Daisy was in Diesel's role?)

b) Chasing after Diesel for no good reason, and being responsible for the loss of the jobi wood. (If Thomas wasn't chasing Diesel, Diesel would have been going slowly enough to stop and back up, though I'm not entirely sure why the track was set to the infinished bridge anyway)

Later, when Thomas is on Misty Island, he doesn't ask Bash Dash and Ferdinand for help right away because they're different. He later does seek help from them, not because he feels it's necessarily the right thing to do, but because there is no one else to ask. The logging locos get a kick out of watching an old, dysfunctional crane, throwing logs about, most of which end up hitting Thomas. This behaviour is not amended.

A little further on, Bash, Dash and Ferdinand encourage Thomas to try and cross the shake shake bridge, a bridge which is falling apart and very clearly unsafe. Thomas hesitates at first, but the logging locos keep on pressurising him until he gives in and crosses the bridge, to which he responds with "Maybe I was wrong to say no." Basically, Thomas was bullied into doing something highly dangerous just for the hell of it.

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, despite having universal appeal, has always been a show for young children, who are impressionable. Misty Island Rescue showcased a turning point in the series, where it got to the point where the writing was so poor that it was, quite frankly, unfit for young children. The film showcased racism, performing dangerous stunts and throwing heavy objects around just for fun, all in a positive light. Neither Thomas nor anyone else learns from their mistakes in the film, and in some cases they are praised for them. And throughout the film, we have cheesy, repetitive, alliterative dialogue to listen to (which is not good for children that are just starting to learn to talk). Picture a human child playing the role of Thomas in the film, having heavy logs slung at him and being bullied into crossing an unsafe bridge.

Thankfully, Series 17 has undone most of the damage that this film injected into the series.

To me, that's the main headscratcher regarding Misty Island Rescue. How could such a child-unfriendly film intended for preschool audiences have possibly been greenlit?