Thomas and Friends: A Retrospective

In light of recent announcements made by Mattel, I figured that now was a good time to write this. It's not nearly as long as the Archie Comics Sonic one I did a while back, but this is a topic that many here may be attracted to. Some grew up watching the original series brought to us by Britt Allcroft and the late David Mitton, some watched the CGI seasons with their offspring, and some may have even read through the original Railway Series books. I only did one of those things.

This is a story of a father's love for his son, a woman who honored the vision of an author who was a stickler for realism, my relationship with the franchise, and a corporation that couldn't (and still can't) understand why these trains with faces mean so much to us.

This is the story of Thomas the Tank Engine, as told by someone who grew up loving it.

PART 1: A Father's Love

In his youth, Reverend Wilbert Awdry would listen to passing trains at night, interpreting the sounds he heard as the engines making small talk with one another. This fascination with locomotives lasted all his life, what with his involvement with railway preservation and construction of model railways. He was also a man of faith, preaching for 25 years of his 86-year life.

In 1942, his son Christopher was sick with the measles. As good parents would, Wilbert and his wife Margaret worked hard to get their young one back in good health. Like his father, Christopher had developed a fascination with trains, stemming from nursery rhymes like "Down by the Station". Wilbert drew a line of steam engines based on the rhyme in an effort to cheer up his son. One of these engines stood out to Christopher- it was small and blue, and looked sad. Wilbert explained that this morose engine hadn't been let out of his shed in a while. "What's his name, Daddy?" asked the still-curious Christopher.

"Edward."

Through his son's questions about the newly-christened Edward, the Reverend wrote out a short story about the blue tender engine. He even made a model of the character for his son! Two more engines by the names of Henry and Gordon (the latter of whom being named for a lad who gave Wilbert trouble when he was younger) were created and come 1945, The Three Railway Engines was published.

Prior to the book's publication, Wilbert didn't believe that his stories would gain enough traction to last in British bookstores. However, Margaret and his mother Lucy both insisted that he give it a chance. There were some squabbles between the Reverend, illustrator William Middleton, and his newfound publisher (hence why the book was finished in 1943 but not released for two more years), but things paid off in the end. The book was a smash hit, burning through three printings in one year.

After the success of the book, Christopher asked his father for a model of Gordon. However, whether by providence or coincidence, the Reverend didn't have the necessary materials to make the model. Instead, he cobbled together what he could into the form of a small tank engine. The small teal engine was then given to Christopher on Christmas morning...

... and this was where Thomas's story began.

In the Reverend's own words, "Once we made Thomas, I had no peace until there were stories about him too!" This led to the creation of Thomas the Tank Engine, the second book in what was now known as "The Railway Series". More books followed, and with them came more new characters. Cocky hotshot James, small but loyal Percy, oldie but goldie tram Toby, and many others came to be through the Reverend's pen and Christopher's imagination.

The books served as two things. The fictitious Island of Sodor allowed for the Reverend to use very real accidents that occurred on British Railways as inspiration for the scrapes that the often-misbehaving engines would get into and an in-depth criticism of how steam engines were being treated by British Railways- erm, the "Other" Railway- thanks to the introduction of diesel engines. Wilbert was a staunch supporter of steam engines and portrayed the Fat Controller (or Sir Topham Hatt if you prefer his real name) as a fatherly figure to his engines and as someone who would happily restore an engine to working conditions or take one in to prevent them from being scrapped. Just ask Oliver or Donald and Douglas!

Real engines like the Flying Scotsman, the City of Truro, and Stepney all appeared as "guest stars". More importantly, the Reverend never forgot who he was writing these books for. He wrote them and told them with the same gentleness a father would when telling their children a bedtime story. I believe the purest form of this can be found within the foreword to Thomas the Tank Engine.

"Dear Christopher,

Here is your friend Thomas the Tank Engine. He wanted to come out of his station yard and see the world. These stories tell you how he did it.

I hope you will like them because you helped me to make them.

Your Loving Daddy."

PART 2: Britt Allcroft Presents...

Prior to 1979, the Reverend was opposed to adapting The Railway Series into any medium outside of a printed one. This was thanks to a disastrous adaptation made by the BBC back in 1953 which included (aside from a lack of professionalism) a moment in which the model for Henry derailed and had to be picked up by a crew member's hand. Despite a proposal made by then-still-mostly-unknown composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to make an animated musical based on the books, the Reverend remained firm.

That is, until he met a young woman named Britt Allcroft. Britt had become a fan of the books prior to a 1979 interview in which the Reverend featured and discussed the history of steam engines. Seeing potential in adapting the books for television, she borrowed some funds from her bank and made a proposition to Wilbert (who'd retired from writing in 1972 and left the books to Christopher) in hopes of gaining the rights.

The deal went through, and so what we know as Thomas [the Tank Engine] and Friends went into production. With the assistance of model-director David Mitton, narrator Ringo Starr (of the Beatles), and composers Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, she created an immersive, realistic and faithful adaptation of The Railway Series. Much like the books, the new series was a smash hit, and Britt soon set her sights on bringing Thomas around the world.

The Thomas series was localized and stuffed within a wholly American series known as Shining Time Station, which focused on the Lilliputian "Mr. Conductor" and the titular Shining Time Station. After Season 2 of the original Thomas show, Ringo stepped down as narrator and was replaced with George Carlin for Shining Time (which resulted in Mr. Conductor changing his appearance between Seasons 1 and 2 of STS) and Michael Angelis for the original UK release of Thomas. However, behind the scenes, tension was rising between the Reverend and Britt.

See, starting with Thomas's third season, Britt and her writers had begun adapting stories written by a young chap named Andrew Brenner for a Thomas magazine. One of these stories, "Henry's Forest", incensed Wilbert, as he felt the story violated a railway law that was related to how close rails could be to forests. Don't forget Brenner, now. He'll be relevant later.

Another thing that came out of Season 3 was a surge in Thomas-original content that didn't hail from either Awdry's books. The original content emerged from a stipulation put on the Thomas television series that, simply put, prevented the series from telling an Awdry-conceived story if that story had yet to see print. Christopher in particular was frustrated with the stories he wrote for More About Thomas the Tank Engine (a book which was intended for adaptation from conception), feeling as if they weren't up to either his or his father's standards. In other words, "they would never suit His Grace."

Speaking of which, the Skarloey Railway engines (based on the narrow gauge trains of the Talyllyn Railway) made their debut in the 4th season, which (presumably as a response to the Reverend's critique of "Henry's Forest") only had one wholly original episode and focused on establishing the narrow gauge engines. Conversely, Season 5 did away with Railway Series adaptations and opted to tell wholly original stories. This was thanks to Britt wanting to make Thomas appear as if it were all her own in hopes of getting a movie deal.

She did NOT know what she was in for.

Production problems, executive meddling, and a one-off merger of the Shining Time Station and UK Thomas canons led to the film we know today as Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Britt's original vision saw a darker villain by the name of "Passing Through" Boomer played by the late Doug Lennox, a Liverpudlian-accented Thomas, and a more fleshed-out story. But thanks to a test audience of heat-angered children reacting poorly to an early cut, Sony Pictures (the movie's distributor) demanded drastic changes to the film.

The resulting movie was slammed by critics and left British audiences confused, the latter of whom didn't know why this Mr. Conductor chap (played by then-current narrator for the TV show Alec Baldwin) was so prominent. Magic Railroad's failure led a dejected Britt to leave Thomas behind after Season 7. The two seasons she remained onboard for were much like Season 5- wholly original stories, new characters, and the same quality model work.

Britt's appreciation of the Railway Series and level of care shown within her adaptation led to the first seven seasons of Thomas being well-received by all who chose to watch them. The characters were well-rounded, the world was just as developed as the Reverend intended, and the music was impeccably composed, especially for a children's show. Sure, the Magic Railroad was a stain on the series's legacy, but it didn't outright kill the series. A factor that I haven't brought up thus far was the merchandise created for the series.

You may know a few of them. The "Wooden Railway" range, the metal Ertl engines, the other wooden engines from Brio, and Tomy's motorized road and rail line. Marketability made Thomas a lucrative property to own...

... but that very marketability would be its downfall.

PART 3: One of HiT's Wonders (and Brenner's Brief Bout of Brilliance)

Shortly after Britt left her production company Gullane Entertainment in 2003, HiT Entertainment purchased Gullane and with them, Thomas. Without wasting a second, HiT took to retooling the series to make it a tad more marketable. From Seasons 8-11, they adopted a new strategy when it came to writing and handling characters. The stories told were more lesson-focused, with a "three failures and THEN get it right" mentality being integrated into almost every story.

Unfortunately, there were VERY visible cracks in this formula, as it required characters like Edward, Toby, Skarloey, Rheneas, and series-original Emily to act out of character when compared to their portrayals in prior seasons (or the Railway Series). A majority of the new characters had rather thin personalities and seemed to exist ONLY for the sake of being made into new toys. Still, the model work was still quite excellent and railway realism was still being adhered to... for the most part. (Fish trucks are to be covered)

Season 12, however, brought a major change with it- CGI. In order to give the engines moving faces (and to give the series mobile humans and animals), CGI was used to bolster the preexisting models. This didn't alleviate budgetary issues created by the use of models, resulting in Season 12 being the final season to use physical models.

Starting with the direct-to-video special Hero of the Rails, the series was fully animated in CGI and the characters all had distinct voices instead of the narrator having to voice everyone. However, the writing problems from the prior 5 seasons persisted, being amplified by annoying characters with very little room for growth, near-constant rhyming, and a general disregard for realism.

Near the end of the "HiT Era" of Thomas, Mattel made a bid to buy HiT (and Thomas) for $680 million dollars. This meant that all the merchandise was in their hands (save for anything made by TakaraTomy) and that the series was under new management. Andrew Brenner, now older and much wiser, had become the head writer.

With his first season (Season 17), it was clear the times were a-changing. Continuity errors such as Henry still needing Welsh coal despite his rebuild back in "The Flying Kipper" nullifying that need were amended, irritating engines from the HiT era were written out, new characters were introduced in a more gradual manner (but not TOO gradual; the show was now being run by a toy company, after all), and the writing was back to its Britt-era sharpness. Even better- Season 20 saw the adaptation of stories based on the Arlesdale Railway engines!

Not all of them made the jump to the series, but Mike, Rex, and Bert (not Iron Bert) finally had some of their stories told. How ironic that the man whose story was harshly criticized for a lack of realism by the Reverend Awdry would end up being the man who brought characters left untouched by the Thomas series for decades into the series. I just think that's neat.

However, despite the increase in writing quality and praise from older fans, Mattel wasn't happy. Little did they know that they had sown the seeds for the Thomas series's downfall themselves...

PART 4: Big World! Big Adventures! Big Problems?!

As mentioned earlier, Mattel gained full control over Thomas merchandise when they acquired the series through their purchase of HiT. This meant that the Wooden Railway line (formerly produced by Learning Curve), Take-N-Play (a small die-cast line), and the motorized "Trackmaster" range were now all under the same roof. Mattel already had control of Trackmaster and TnP prior to their buyout, but they were noticing a slip in sales in 2013.

In order to make up for this, Mattel began cheapening Trackmaster and Take-N-Play starting in 2014. Trackmaster fared better, although I can't say I'm particularly jazzed by how minimalist the sets became as time went on. Take-N-Play, on the other hand, suffered greatly. Tender engines were stripped of several wheels (making them show-inaccurate), plastic overpowered the metal on the engines, and the small two-way magnets were eschewed entirely, replaced by one-way magnets. And don't even get me started on how lackluster the sets got...

Mercifully, the Wooden Railway was mostly untouched for its time under Mattel. However, it was discontinued and reworked into the generically-named "Wood" line that left swathes of unpainted areas on the engines, buildings, and other objects. It didn't help that the tender engines were given the same "one-size-fits-all" approach that Take-N-Play had adopted. Parents were incensed by the incomplete paint jobs, fortunately, and Mattel quickly pulled the Wood range to replace it with a better-detailed iteration.

Mattel's cheapness, whether they would care to admit it or not, began to hurt the show. The "Brenner Era" (Seasons 17-21) was forced to include increasingly unrealistic scenes in order to prop up whatever Mattel wanted for the toys. Some of these were well-intentioned and worked around by Brenner, allowing for ideas such as the TV series introduction of the Arlesdale engines, a whole cadre of international engines, and "experimental" engines based on obscure real-world models (one of whom was voiced by Hugh Bonneville).

However, there were also ideas that hurt the series for older fans and younger ones. Starting with the direct-to-video special Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, songs performed BY the characters were integrated into the stories, often accompanied by imaginative visuals. The following years brought in more and more exaggerated elements, to the point where 2017's special had the engines bobbing around on their chassis and engaging in highly dangerous stunts.

The indirect cost of this "bouncing" (as the fans came to call it) was the bankruptcy of the series's then-current animation studio Arc Production. Luckily, no one had to lose their jobs, as Arc was purchased by fellow Canadian company Jam Filled Productions. This "bouncing" carried into Season 21, the last "normal" season. It was far more subdued, but this season... felt like it was building up to something. Something that would cause confusion and delay within the fandom.

It started with "A Shed for Edward". This episode saw Edward looking for a new home after a prideful act on James's end in an earlier episode led to the sheds being damaged. The episode ended with Edward moving into Wellsworth, leaving Thomas, Henry, Gordon, Percy, James, and Emily (who'd formed a sort of "main cast" for the Thomas series after Season 8) behind. If this episode sounds forced, that's because... well, it was.

Much like the devious Diesel, Mattel had a plan, you see. They wanted to modernize Thomas. They wanted the series to be stronger than its competition, faster-paced, gender-balanced, ethnically diverse- all the sorts of things they hoped would earn them some much needed money from the Thomas brand. And cutting Edward (and later Henry) was the first step in setting that plan in motion.

In 2018, Mattel rebranded Thomas and Friends as Thomas and Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!. To avoid me boring you with a long paragraph detailing all the changes made, I'll just list them off here.

1. Thomas himself is now the narrator.
2. Episodes were faster-paced.
3. The "three failures and THEN get it right" formula returned.
4. Edward and Henry were removed from the main cast and replaced with two new female characters for the sake of gender balancing, despite the fact that both of them were still well-loved characters and that there already was a large female presence within Thomas (heck, the Reverend's final Railway Series book introduced feisty young diesel Mavis).
5. "Imagination" sequences were put in each episode, allowing realism to go right off the rails.
6. The series reinterpreted Thomas's desire to see the world as a desire to actually go around the world and visit different countries.

On the surface, change number 6 could have worked. However, it was severely stunted by the fact that most of what was done with the foreign countries was primarily focused on rather basic stuff. For example, if Thomas went to India, he would learn about Bollywood or monkeys and not specific facts about Indian railways. I'll admit, they did try in some areas. Some of the international engines mentioned earlier got fleshed out, but that wasn't enough to save BWBA.

The changes made had left Thomas near-unrecognizable to what it was prior to BWBA. Well, not entirely, it was still recognizable as Thomas, but realism and the Reverend's legacy were disrespected at every turn. It didn't help that Brenner had left early in the process of BWBA, so the series no longer had his guiding hand. That being said... it wasn't the worst that could happen to Thomas.

All Engines Go! was.

PART 5- Requiem for a Really Useful Engine

... if Mattel really wanted to save Thomas, they should have discontinued the BWBA rebrand and increased the quality of the merchandise. They could've kept some aspects (like international engines and gender balance), but they should have made the most of what they already had and built on that. They had 75 years of material to work with, and they could've made something beautiful.

But that is NOT what they did.

All Engines Go!, if you don't know, is a reboot of Thomas scheduled to release later this year. I'm not one to judge something too harshly before it comes out, but... this. This is NOT Thomas. If it weren't for the Thomas branding, I'd've thought it was a mediocre preschool show trying to imitate the series like Chuggington. The sad part is that even Chuggington looks like it has more realism than whatever All Engines Go! seems to provide.

No side rods on the engines, engines jumping off the rails with their own power, no firemen or engineers to operate them, and rollercoaster-like rails: these are the ingredients that make All Engines Go so darn... heartbreaking to us older Thomas fans. In both BWBA and AEG, Mattel is trying to compete with more popular preschool shows like Paw Patrol and their merchandise. There are two problems with this.

First, Mattel isn't putting in the effort to make quality merchandise that's available to mass markets. The Wood range is notoriously elusive, only being available online and in select retailers. The Push Along line, second replacement for Take-N-Play, is even cheaper than late Take-N-Play. Trackmaster is still doing well for itself, although Mattel really needs to bump up the quality of the sets. Back in my day (the early 2000s), you got a full loop of track with a destination that an engine could interact with! That's more than what Gen Alpha's getting nowadays.

Second, diluting what makes Thomas so beloved for the sake of beating another company's golden boy is going to hurt preexisting fans. While adult fans have been vocal about Mattel's post-BWBA treatment of the series, I'm more worried about how parents and their kids will react. Especially those on the autism spectrum. Those who are on the spectrum find comfort in Thomas due to its leisurely pace, simple expressions, and realism. And with the blazing fast pace and hyper energy that All Engines Go looks to bring, I have no idea how rough this is going to be for those kids.

In the words of a YouTube commenter, "how will [children on the spectrum] react when Mattel replaces their comfort blanket with fire ants?" That statement sums up how I feel about what Mattel's done to Thomas with BWBA and AEG. They've taken a story intended by a father for his ill son to cheer him up and injected it with corporate sterility, leaving the Thomas brand as the empty husk of the really useful franchise it once was.

But as we near the end of this story, you're probably asking something of me. Why am I writing this, other than to detail the fall of the Thomas franchise? How do I feel about it?

FINALE- Thomas, We Love You

I don't remember how old I was when I first watched the show proper, but I remember one of the earliest pieces of Thomas merchandise I ever received. I was given a Take Along (pre-Mattel Take-N-Play) toy of Edward. I still have that Edward; he's just missing his tender. What I do remember, though, was watching the show religiously in my youth.

A majority of what I watched were from Seasons 1-8 and The Magic Railroad. I developed a massive recreation of Sodor using the various toys from different lines, recreating what I saw in each episode. I didn't know it at the time, but Thomas had become one of my special interests. For those who don't know, a special interest is something that someone on the spectrum is fascinated by and researches to an extreme degree. And yes, that DOES mean I'm on the autism spectrum myself*.

*DISCLAIMER: Not every person on the spectrum likes Thomas. If you've met one of us, you've met one of us. We're all different.

However, when the shift to CGI happened, my interest in the series began to wane. I wanted to move onto bigger and better things. I couldn't completely leave the series behind, though- on occasion, I would check to see how things were for the series. And I was pleasantly surprised by what the Brenner Era was doing. Believe it or not, Mike actually got a Take-Along toy modeled on his appearance in the Railway Series LONG before he was introduced in the series proper. I had that toy and was shocked to find out he was part of the series now with his Arlesdale buddies. I thought "wow, the writers are digging deep!"

(I'm still waiting on the Culdee Fell engines from Mountain Engines to appear in the show, but with All Engines Go being a reboot and not a continuation, that's very unlikely)

But my interest in the series waned once more when I started seeing the changes made for BWBA. It looked innocuous from what I'd seen, but I was NOT happy to see what Mattel chose to do with Edward and Henry. They were among the first engines ever created by the Reverend, and yet Mattel chose to throw them aside the same way Brenner did to irritating "HiT era" characters like the Logging Locos. I was also bitter about how cheap the merchandise had gotten, and I reverted back to watching the franchise from a distance. And then I saw what All Engines Go was going to do the franchise.

It hurt to look at.

I hold no ill will towards those who work on the reboot or those who thought it was a good idea, but Mattel dug themselves into this hole by cheapening the merchandise and expecting kids to not notice the difference between the old Wooden Railway and the new Wood ranges. One was well-painted and still holds up to this day; the other looked unfinished and babyish (the first iteration, at least). Unfortunately for them, kids noticed and parents spoke out against the changes. They spoke out against BWBA, and they'll speak out against AEG.

Even with all the problems BWBA brought with it, it was at least still semi-recognizable as a Thomas series. All Engines Go is Mattel's sad attempt at "solving" the problems they created in trying to "modernize" Thomas by starting over and making a series that doesn't have to honor realism. While she no longer plays a role in the development of the series, Britt offered her two cents on the whole situation with the reboot.

"Sadly, Mattel now has control of Thomas, and there is nothing I can do. I totally understand [the fandom's] feelings. Keep loving the Thomas that I brought to life for you and was faithful to the true Thomas as we know and love him and all his friends.

...

There is only one Thomas, and he is a little blue tank engine, and not a human being. It is all our imaginations that bring him to life in the way that we know and love and that I brought to life with the blessing of Wilbert and, importantly, his wife Margaret.

Blessings,

Britt"

Words cannot overstate how hard this was for me to write without tearing up. Britt really understood how much Thomas meant to us and how important it was to maintain the same spirit that the Reverend and his son's work maintained. Again, this all started because of a father's love for his son and their shared fascination with locomotives. And I couldn't be more grateful for it.

I have no idea if she'll ever read it, but here. Consider this my thank you to a woman who shaped my character and my original work.

"Dear Miss Allcroft,

I write this as a fan and artist. Thank you for all that you've done through your adaptation of The Railway Series. Thomas lifted my spirits, taught me valuable lessons, and was just as much of a friend to me as he was to little Christopher back in 1945.

I wish you the best in all you do. You were a really useful showrunner and you've created countless happy memories through all that you and David Mitton did for the original series.

No matter how hard Mattel tries to act like they were the ones behind the series, I and many others know who the real stars of the show were. Of course, I can't deny the role Wilbert and Christopher played- they're the ones who gave you permission to adapt the Railway Series, after all. Regardless, it was you who saw the potential in the stories of Sodor as a really useful television series. Again, I say thank you!

God bless you.

Sincerely,

Luke Canady"

Well, dear readers, thank you for reading and God bless. Now let's end this the way Mattel should've ended the original series!

Thomas Reorchestrated- "Thomas's Theme (Reprise)"