About

Thomas the Tank Engine (also known as: Thomas and Friends) is a British children's television series, which had its first broadcast on the ITV network on September 4th, 1984. The series deals with the adventures of a group of anthropomorphized locomotives and road vehicles who live on the fictional Island of Sodor. Many moments from the series have become staples of internet culture, including its main theme.

History

The first episode of the first season of Thomas and Friends, "Thomas and Gordon," was aired on October 9th, 1984 in the UK.^[3] The first season consisted of 26 episodes, airing weekly until January 8, 1985.^[4] A year later, the second season aired in the UK with once again 26 episodes. It would be until 1991 when the third season was released, followed by seasons 4, 5, 6, and 7, all 4 years apart. Starting with season 8, every season has been released a year apart from each other and containing 26 episodes. Starting with season 12, each season had 20 episodes.

Switch to CGI

In 2008, season 12 was released with CGI, animated by Nitrogen Studios.^[5] This was a transitional period between models and fully CGI, with CGI engine faces, people, and animals. In 2009, the show switched to entirely CGI and has been to present day.

Specials

Thomas and the Magic Railroad

In 1999, the feature film Thomas and the Magic Railroad starring Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda and Mara Wilson in her final movie role released, but it was financial box office flop and critical failure. The film was covered by Nostalgia Critic in 2012.

Originally, the film's main antagonist was P.T. Boomer, played by Doug Lennox. However, the character was deemed too menacing for young audiences and was replaced with Diesel 10. When the film developed a cult following, a Change.org petition created by Jake Vogler requested a director's cut of the film.^[2]

Series 25 and Switch to 2D Animation

On January 27th, 2021, the trailer for the series 25 of Thomas & Friends, known as Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! was leaked online.^[7] The series, a 'soft reboot,' introduced a 2D style different from the CGI graphics used in the previous seasons.

Boy the Thomas the Tank Engine fanbase will cross their arms so hard at this reboot and then watch it anyway. 😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/phsMMC0NmO

— DaftPina (@DaftPina) January 27, 2021

The change in style was followed by a viral debate on social media, with some users criticizing it of being generic and unfitting for the series. The change Thomas' voice to be more child-like also became a subject of discussions.

On January 27th, the moderators of Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki^[8] announced that a separate Wiki^[9] would be created for the new series.

Related Memes

Thomas O Face

The Thomas O-Face is one of Thomas' faces from early on in the television show, mainly used in Seasons 1 and 2. It is a popular gag in Thomas and Friends YouTube Poops, often accompanied with a specific synthesized tune from the show.

Thomas the Tank Engine Remixes

Thomas the Tank Engine Remixes are a series of YouTube videos that mix the original theme song with mostly popular rap songs.

Thomas the Tank Engine Mods

In the game modding community, 3D models of Thomas the Tank Engine became one of the most popular choices for replacing default monster models and other objects, with the show's theme song and other cartoon sounds also added. The trend first gained recognition when on December 10th and 11th, 2013, two videos highlighting a Skyrim mod that replaced dragon Alduin with Thomas the Tank Engine were posted to YouTube, with respective game sounds also replaced (videos shown below). The videos gained a combined total of 2.3 million views in five years.

On March 12th, 2015, YouTuber videogamedunkey showcased the mod in his video, which gained over 18.7 million views in four years.

In the following years, mods replacing various in-game models with Thomas the Tank Engine were made for a number of popular games, including Fallout 4 and Resident Evil 2 (shown below).

N.R.A. Controversy

On September 7th 2018, the NRATV program Relentless criticized the show for "adding girl trains" and bringing "ethnic diversity to a show that literally has no ethnicities, because they’re trains!" ^[6]

The show then showed a photoshopped image of some of the engines in Klu Klux Klan hoods (shown below) with the host jokingly reacting to said image "Oh. Was it because? I see it. It was the white hoods and the burning train tracks. Ok fine, fair point, I get it. Thomas the Tank Engine has been a blight on race relations for far too long. Clearly, this is overdue, right?"

Search Interest

External References