Thomas The Tank Engine

The Bookmark documentary was interesting introspective into the books and show (I swear I watched before when it was on TV).

Also it's damn impressive that hand crafted train set from the 60s is still functional and is one piece, let alone in such lovely condition. I remember having train sets as a kid and being mesmerised by them. Now I'm old enough to understand a lot of the actual railway regulations and what does what I'm only more frustrated I didn't keep one.

Also have to give special notice to Sudrian Afro's remixes of the original Thomas themes. Never heard that medley before but it's amazing.

While not nearly of the same quality I suppose I may as well submit my own remixes. That 80s synth gold has stuck with me all these years:

Main theme: https://soundcloud.com/user-590548571/thomas-the-tank-engine-and-friends-original-theme-remix-ver-2

Thomas and the Trucks/Trouble For Thomas theme: https://soundcloud.com/user-590548571/thomas-and-the-truckstrouble-for-thomas-theme-remix-ver-2

Danger theme: https://soundcloud.com/user-590548571/the-danger-theme-remix

Terence the Tractor theme: https://soundcloud.com/user-590548571/terence-the-tractor-theme-remix-ver-2

Edited by Psi001 on Feb 22nd 2021 at 2:40:27 PM

This video analyses the Classic Series's music (well, the title theme at least).

Wilbert Awdry appears on Desert Island Discs. [1]
Though the link says 1st January 1970, it's actually from 19th October 1964 - a week after Jon Pertwee.

Edited by TommyR01D on Feb 28th 2021 at 2:13:45 AM

The entire timeline of the Railway Series.

Discussion here unfortunately seems to have run out of steam.

What are this community's thoughts on Sodor Fallout?

It doesn't yet have a TV Tropes page but it's very big within fan circles, potentially even eclipsing Shed 17. On YouTube there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of attempted adaptations which is quite impressive for a story that's not even finished yet. Sadly those videos themselves tend to be quite low quality.

The writer was interviewed recently and it was claimed that "Fallout" is now the top suggestion when you type "Sodor" into a search engine - although I haven't been able to personally verify that.

The Unlucky Tug has done another timeline video, this one for the CGI series.

There has been much sorrow online in the last few days due to Mattel's takedown of the Thomas HD Classics channel.

This video really hits the nail on the head for why the Railway Series and the Classic Series succeeded grandly, and also excellently points out the problems that a lot of modern shows and reboots wallow in.

Phew, I was getting lonely on this thread!

Mattel released a new investors flyer for the upcoming Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! series for the TV Kids Summer Festival Event agenda booklet. (Around Page 5)

The series is planned to have two, 60 minute specials. Additionally, 104, 11-minute episodes will be the planned length of this series. (Assuming it doesn't increase or decrease at a much later date.)

Edited by XMenMutant22 on Jun 3rd 2021 at 12:56:10 PM

The Unlucky Tug has revised his map. I would also like to sing the praises of The Train Modeller whose videos are the most artistically competent of any physical fan film makers I've encountered so far.

I had heard those details, but thought that the 104 episodes were spread across two seasons. Even so that still represents twice the output rate of the early CG era. Do we have any information as to the budget of the new series - and the old one for comparison of course? I suspect that the new animation style is meant as a severe cost-cutting exercise.

That's how it goes with a lot of cartoons these days.

Fair enough, for the hands of the poor animators, but why does the quality and logic of the writing also have to suffer usually?

Another video - Thomas the Tank Engine in Popular Culture

On another note, a few days ago I finally saw Thomas' Animal Friends, as Season 24 was released on Netflix this month. It felt a bit weird to be seeing the last regular episode more than a year after the true finale aired and several months after the reboot was announced.

I almost teared up, not because of anything in the episode itself (which was bland and forgettable as expected) but just because of the knowledge that this is where it ends. The upbeat, optimistic song "Let's Dream!" belies that BWBA has already been deemed a failure by Mattel and the whole series is to die with it. I also found it cruelly ironic that the Vicarstown segment still ended with Thomas saying "See you next time." when of course we know there won't be a next time.

Sorry to disturb you, but have you noticed the Thomas the Tank Engine page has been renamed to Thomas & Friends ?

Yeah, it's one of the redirecting names now. Notice how both titles are valid links.

Was this part of a Page Cleanup Project?

No idea, but the show certainly was not called "Thomas the Tank Engine" at any point.

It was either "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends", or "Thomas & Friends", so the change makes sense, and to be honest, it was a long time coming.

If you go back to the earliest posts you'll see that this very thread has the same problem.

Tonight Channel 4 aired a repeat of Coastal Railways with Julie Walters. The North Wales episode begins with the Tallylyn railway, including a ride in Dolgoch and a look around a recreation of Awdry's study. It was a little disappointing that the clips and music used are all from Thomas & Gordon instead of the more-relevant episodes about the Skarloey Railway.

Edited by TommyR01D on Jul 24th 2021 at 2:37:27 AM

The first few episodes of All Engines Go! (Spanish dub) are out and clips can be found on YouTube.

https://thomas-and-friends-all-engines-go.fandom.com/wiki/All_Engines_Go_Wiki:Exclusives/Rick_Suvalle_Interview

Rick Suvalle took part in an interview about All Engines Go, where he talks about the production of the series and his familiarity with the franchise.

Another church has made a memorial for Wilbert.[1]

The TUGS documentary:

In this JJ McCullough video on worldwide candy flavours, a small snippet of the classic T&F theme is played when discussing the British obsession with the blackcurrant (5:15). The exact connection is unclear, unless it's just supposed to represent British childhood.

I presume all the other little musical snippets are chosen on a similar basis. (Alex the Kid being used at 12:02)..

After an entire year's Schedule Slip, season four of The Stories Of Sodor resumes with Animosity.

I've forgotten how much I hate the trope of an engine getting blamed for actions caused by humans or the trucks.

The lessening of human involvement and the increasing of the engines' agency is arguably one of the best things the TV show has done, compared to the books.

Another thing I really disagree and loathe about the Railway Series is the insistence of the lore on sticking to real-life build dates, even when that means that the engines' characterizations don't make a lick of sense.

(There's no frigging way that Thomas and Percy are older than Gordon and Henry. The TV portrayals are superior for ignoring that aspect completely.)

I admit making the engines more independent felt like a necessary evil in the show, especially since the books still suffered from the Misplaced Retribution issue up till the very end. The Fat Controller definitely looked more benevolent in the show.

I commend the books attention to realism, but it felt like several times Awdry had to be reminded he had made characters out of the engines in the eyes of his young audience, and not just caricatures of the builds they were based on, especially with how many times he had to be stopped from getting rid of Henry. Definitely a more positive example of Executive Meddling there.

Edited by Psi001 on Dec 27th 2021 at 4:53:21 PM