I always found it confusing that the execs/production company changed the name of "Thomas the Tank Engine" to Thomas and Friends 18 or 17 years ago lol I don't know ironically why they changed it was probably an revival, or Mandela effect .
10:53 holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit My ENTIRE life, I have remembered being deeply disturbed by _some_ scene of _some_ character from Thomas the Tank Engine going across a bridge at night and falling off, with the moon behind them... I HAVE *FINALLY* FOUND THAT SCENE!
What's worse is when you start believing conspiracy theories and think that the Island of Sodor is a n@zi concentration camp. The windmill in the opening title shot forms a spinning sw@stika!
The worst part as a kid, I realized the dark implications of the show, but I still loved it although I was utterly terrified at some aspects like the scrap yards full of dead trains. I had nightmares of Diesel 10 & his murderous intentions well into high school
I think those slightly darker themes are what make the franchise stand out. It’s more than just a kid’s show, or at least was when it was still based on the original source material and before execs threw it down a shithole
You should definitely do more stuff like this. I enjoyed the bemused, exasperated delivery of a totally unnecessary dissection of the deepest darkest lore of a treasured children's TV show. Make more things like this x
I agree! With more videos like this Thomas & Friends will finally be understood by everyone! Not enjoyed by everyone but at least people will understand the classic series is made for all ages!
Erm, anyone else find it terrifying that none of the examples of drowning actually say they die, only that ending up in the water is an implied terrible thing? What's worse? They died, or they are now doomed to eternal isolation until they literally just rust away due to a lack of interest in search and rescue efforts? These trains know they're disposable pawns on some level and that certain situations are just considered a write off where the train in question is just left to rot away.
They're constantly drowning and panicking whilst slowly rusting away. It's not quite death, more like what happens to a freshly cut Christmas tree or someone in a coma slowly suffering on a faulty life support machine that only gives them just enough oxygen to keep their respiratory system limping on.
My step brothers name is Thomas, the same thing happened to him where kids called him Thomas The Tank Engine. The only difference however is that *he was ACTUALLY named after the Tank Engine,* because his mom let his older brother pick his name while she was pregnant. He was still a small child and was obsessed with the show
Same thing happened to me actually! My cousin asked me (i was probably 10 at the time) what she should name her baby...I fully thought she was joking. I threw a few things out, and at the end I said "what about Thomas? like Thomas the Train..." and for some reason both her and her husband really liked that idea. So a few months later they had the baby and my mom ended up being the one to tell me they named him Thomas...I was genuinely shocked. They raised him on Thomas the Train and everything. Its still surreal to think about. Even more so to hear that somebody shares that story!
A similar thing happened to me, except it was *ME* who was named Thomas. Before I was born, my parents and brother were figuring out what to name me, and my brother, who was an avid Thomas fan back then, wanted to name me Thomas if I was a boy and Percy if I was a girl. And I *lived* off of Thomas, in particular, the widely famed Series 5, and it was when I was *two* years old as well, and I LOVED that season. (Yes, my older brother did in fact think Percy was a girl back then)
What a capitalistic nightmare we live in where The idea of TH-camrs collating on an AD is genuinely really appealing to me. But I would love to see Tom and Erik colab on the VPN wars
@@deafweasel99 it could be worse, I understand the sentiment but they are advertising vpn, and that's an overall benefit to internet security. At least the don't shill G Fuel or some other TH-cam shite.
The cool thing about Thomas is that the show was never afraid of throwing you a piece of reality in its own way like talking about things like engines being scrapped (which in the real world it would translate to a person actually dying) unlike many other shows that tried to refrain from touching such topics.
engines being scrapped means engines being scrapped. This show represents a time where BR (Brittish Railways) First build 9 classes of steam loco's, for then to come out and say nah scrap them all we gon use diesels.
Here in the United States steam locomotives were phased out in the 1950s after World War II, In fact there were farewell to steam excursions during this era as one by one locomotives were being scrapped
Ngl I miss when kids shows weren’t afraid to put some darker stuff in them, we underestimate just how fucked up kids’ minds are sometimes and how much they understand about the world, comfortably introducing them to uncomfortable topics is healthy and will help them when they are forced to confront said topics in their own life, whether it be death or just feeling creeped out by something.
Honestly as someone who used to work in a train museum, the scrapping of trains is almost as big of a threat to heritage professionals as it is to fictional sentient trains.
For those who don't know, the once extremely brutal Surfshark sponsorship segment was edited out of the video due to a ban, not from Surfshark themselves, but from the Advertising Standards Authority, which regulates ads in the UK. "The ad portrayed a realistic depiction of a man tied to a chair, beaten and attacked with weapons, in an attemps to convince him to take out a Surfshark product. The wan was shown with visible injuries, he was punched in the face, stabbed in the leg and tasered around the neck". Tom maybe hasn't found Surfshark's breaking point, but he sure did found the ASA's Godspeed Tom.
The most hilarious part about this is that the person Tom was producing the advert for allowed it, and it remained up until an actual Authority came in and said "No, y... you can't do that." where it finally got taken away. It was in no way the decision of Surfshark! They truly do not give a _fuck_ about how you asvertise their brand, as long as you bake the talking points into your script!
Always interesting how the human drivers etc NEVER get the blame for anything. OMG the bus has got stuck under the bridge, clearly that was his fault, the driver had nothing to do with it
The personalities of the vehicles are a representation of their various mechanical quirks and handling characteristics. Things like breakdowns are often treated as the thing having a tantrum and refusing to work.
I must point out that, at least in the later series, engines can survive underwater, at least until they're completely corroded by the salt water. Salty and Victor were both knocked into the water until they could be rescued at high tide. I don't know for sure, but Lorry 1 might also have had to wait for high tide before he could be loaded onto a barge and brought back to the island. So, drowning is definitely a threat, but it'd take a while to actually kill them.
If you haven't noticed, the trucks only have faces when the plot requires them to be troublesome. Otherwise, they're often depicted as faceless, lifeless rolling stock.
Sometimes they're doing it as a form of proletariat protest - S.C.Ruffy is basically a union leader organising strikes among the trucks, seizing their brakes on so they can't/won't do the engines' bidding. Other trucks seem to just run out of control and cause chaos out of some sense of duty to anarchy. There was an episode where the tender engines went on strike in protest at having to pull heavier loads than the tank engines; in another (briefly shown with Percy as the spokes-train) they form a "deputation", and that is the word used in this children's show, to plead their collective case for Donald and Douglas to stay. This lore goes *deep*.
Commendable performance from eddie too! Not many actors are willing to get so deep into their role that they'll be chopped up and stuffed into several binbags
2:43 there actually was a thing called the strategic reserve, many countries kept steam engines in tunnels in case the 3rd world war started. When rebuilding a world after a nuclear apocalypse, electricity and diesel may be hard to come by, steam engines don't have that problem since they're purely mechanical and will run on anything that burns for long and hot enough.
I personally think that some of the trucks used to be trains. This theory implies that they're made from old engine parts and have the faces (and consciousness) of the scrapped trains, but the process of repeatedly being ripped apart and reformed/re-shaped into what is essentially another species has basically made them snap, so now they're just batsh*t crazy, find everything funny, deeply resent trains as a whole and are pretty much just suicidal, welcoming death on a near daily basis... This is the only way I can rationalise their behaviour, otherwise it really doesn't make much sense why they act the way they do. The only normal trucks are the ones who don't have any faces, so they're most likely just made from regular materials, but the ones with faces are all nuts, so something must have made them mentally break, and I doubt it was purely from being bumped around and being filled with coal and stones.
That’s deep. I just kind of assumed that because the books are (very loosely) based on reality, the trucks were a stand in for unwieldy cargo that could derail the trains. Yours is better.
@Christopher Greig I actually wrote a story about why the trucks are so crazy and suicidal. 1st You have to take into account that they can’t move under their own power (except for slipping their brakes on), 2nd they are constantly being moved about so there’s a need for socialization, and the only way they know how is to be rude to the engines. 3rd If you read the railway series or watched the show, there are several moments where the engines will bump the trucks out of frustration or just for fun. So that could be a reason for the trucks being as rude as they are. Another reason could be a jealousy of the coaches getting better treatment regardless of the fact the coaches are more delicate. And lastly the only way they can feel in control of their lives is to cause trouble for the engines. Meaning that if they derail an engine or break away they can say “yeah, we did a thing!” Because being really useful isn’t that hard for them to do, it’s just boring.
My dad being a train driver and just general massive train nerd, I grew up on a LOT of Thomas the tank engine. (Born in 1997 for context) I know Thomas and the Magic Railroad is an objectively bad movie, but it's super nostalgic to me. We also had the original book, and wooden train sets. I feel like the "I need to be really useful" has been deeply ingrained in my head and therefore effected my work ethic and mental health somehow. Thanks for the nostalgia trip though lol.
I also used to be a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan as a kid, I owned the magic railroad on a VHS and played with the all the wooden and plastic trains alike. I still have a fondness for trains because of the nostalgia.
Seriously though I think a lot of what is shown to children to make them behave defo causes some issues. I was born in 93 and I feel like a lot of the stuff messed me up haha
"You shall be forged for one purpose. To carry. To be freight. You shall be given no vacation, no break, and barely any respect. Yet you will be conscious for all of it, little train. You will witness all of it. Live all of it. The biggest freight you will carry shall be the burden of your own existence, and none can carry it alongside you. And one day, we will tear you asunder for your flesh and parts, to reforge yet another servant to the great machine. Ride on, little train. Ride on."
Honestly these kinds of insane rabbit holes in fandoms is so fun to see. Would seriously love to see this as sort of a side series alongside Content and everything
Going in lore and fantheories etc are what makes franchises intresting. Even though he is using "trains" instead of engines, which is the right word. He should have known that because he watched the show
I feel you. I got called "Norah the Explorer", and was very insecure about it, even though the only person who even called me that was the gym teacher.
I'll never get over the fact that Ringo Starr narrated Thomas The Tank Engine for a good minute. I dont know why necessarily, I just find it a little funny.
Forget Ringo, just watch any of the George Carlin 18+ Thomas dubs out there... Nothing like having Carlin's Thomas narration suddenly cut in with his stand up routine for a bit of a shocking twist. 🤣
The story is that Britt Allcroft was watching Wogan with her family and was looking for a narrator, when she heard Ringo's voice, she decided to ask him and he agreed.
This unlocked so many memories of this franchise I had completely forgotten about, including all the implied body horror for the trains. Also the Magic Railroad movie was actually one of my favorites as a kid and I can still remember the entire movie, weird af flaws and all.
As a parent of littles, I’ve seen quite a bit of Thomas, particularly the classic show. I was struck by the apparent contradiction of the trains’ agency. The trains are frequently chided for causing “confusion and delay” when they make mistakes, so one would assume they control their own actions. But in a first season episode, a self-important Thomas discovers that he actually has no control over his movements, and is therefore completely dependent on his human operators. But if this true, how then can the trains be held responsible for anything that goes wrong, or be praised for “really useful” accomplishments? It would seem their human operators should be getting lectures from Sir Topham Hat, and not the trains themselves.
I don’t think the stories were very consistent about that. Sometimes the trains have no control over themselves and rely on their human drivers, sometimes they can somehow influence something to make themselves move, in TATMR the trains drive themselves because magic..... I remember being confused about it as a little kid and essentially making a headcanon that the trains drive themselves but have human operators that ride along in case the train needs maintenance on the rails or something.
There’s a reason why they can be held accountable: Each Engine has their own mechanical “quirks” that they might have control over. You have to remember, they are meant to be modeled after real locomotives and how real railways operate. What carries over from this are how all the locomotives have “personalities” that they have tied to them, which is why they often can be “punished” for their actions. For example, Henry is kept held up in the tunnel because Henry already has mechanical issues. It wouldn’t be hard to rationalize that he could have had a mechanical fault that was unknown to the crew that led to him not wanting to move.
@@MatthewChenault This. Ask anyone who has driven, fired or otherwise worked with Steam locomotives and they will all tell you that, even though each engine in a class was built (mostly) to the same blueprint - because they were hand-made by different people in different factories over a period of years, and because they are complex machines that aim to harness the primordial and powerful natural forces of fire and steam, they are each of them unique. While a class may prove effective or ineffective overall, within that class each engine will have its own quirks, which the crews came to see as personalities. This is exactly the inspiration behind the anthropomorphism of the engine in The Railway Series in the first place. A crew that knew the engine well could get it to perform despite its quirks, a crew that was new to the engine would treat it like any other member of its class and find it difficult to get on with. This relationship between engine and crew is at the core of the enduring magic of steam engines. And it gives the Rev.Awdry the basis for many of the stories. For example, say we have 75076 and 75078 who work on the same railway. They are, members of the same class, built only a week apart, siblings of you will. But 75078 has always had an issue. In cold weather it’s breaks tend to stick on and only the burliest drivers can pull the lever hard enough to disengage them. He gains a reputation for being a stubborn engine who hates the cold. Meanwhile the team that built 75076 were having a really good day when they finished her. She’s the paragon of her class, mechanically perfect. She steams well, runs smooth and is responsive to drive. Better than perfect in fact, the right crew can coax power out of her that other engines in the class can only dream of, and she can deputise for more powerful locomotives in a pinch. She’s saved the day many time. There’s just something about her and she is beloved by the crews. Consequently she is taken out almost every day. There’s a lot of pressure on her, she’s worked hard. The truth that nobody wants to talk about is that she’s getting worn out. One frosty day 75078 is refusing to leave his shed again. Something about ‘if my usual crew were here they’d know what to do but I’m not going out in that for you.’ 75076 is supposed to be having some routine maintenance done today, but it will have to wait, she’s got to cover for her layabout brother, again. Of she goes, no grumbling from her, she’s the best engine on the railway. But she really needed that maintenance. They’ve relied on her too much. Deep in her workings a component finally wears out and she grinds to a halt. The controller is stunned, this never happens to 75076! Fortunately, 75078’s crew had arrived earlier. They’ve been called in from their day off. Since they arrived they’ve moved fire barrels that warm the shed crews closer to 75078. Appreciating the warmth and the care of his regular crew, 75078 puts aside his distaste for the cold and heads out to rescue his sister for a change. The truth is, 75078 was built like his sister, but for the fault with his breaks that nobody can put a finger on. It’s just part of who he is. When you ask him nicely, and work with him, rather than against him, he’s every bit a match for his superstar sister. Blah blah blah - you see how such machines can become characters, and how operating them can easily become stories that revolve around their personalities.
To be fair, I would had stopped watching the show after Henry got entombed alive, and never learned for years that he was freed in the next episode for years either.
10:46 the engine that pushed the yellow engine into the sea actually didn't. The crane did! The engine on the crane didnt have any choice in the matter! What makes it worse is that the poor train blames himself and everyone else is nasty because he says "I knocked the yellow train into the sea" rather than "I was on a crane which knocked the yellow engine into the sea!" I really think this probably ruined some kids perception of responsibility, haha.
THANK YOU SOMEONE SAID IT Blue Mountain Mystery was my favorite T&F movie as a kid, but looking back on it, there was some fucked up stuff in that movie...
@@acetraineraster5171 you're welcome. My childhood is full of watching people lie, and being too scared to speak openly about anything. I rushed to make this comment as soon as I realised what I had seen, perhaps it makes up for my silence in some small way. That poor train, and that rubbish crane.
Here’s what happened when he pushed the yellow engine into the ocean it was because the lock came loose and he fell into the ocean but a few years down the line they recovered the engine and repainted him red and he’s on the island of sodor now just at the Steamworks hes now know as Victor
despite the weird moral lessons, it's genuinely strange to just now realize how much Thomas the Tank Engine was about the real life reality of steam trains becoming increasingly more irrelevant and diesel taking over
Weird? Ok you do you You do you You do you You do you YOU DO YOU YOU ********** DO YOU AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ok you do you
@@michaelmoroney423 well yes and no, it wasn't that strangers who don't look like you are stealing your jobs but more you are being replaced entirely and killed in mass not by the strangers but by the people who own said strangers. Plus the series both in book and show made point to show many diesels were good and friendly and just wanted to help too and several engine's biases against diesel's are addressed.
13:22 this as a kid genuinely scared me. I remember thinking that the engine and the coal cars definitely died, that mixed with the atmosphere of that scene were just nightmare fuel for a five year old
Gods, it brought back some repressed childhood trauma seeing that scene again. Like, it didn't exist in my brain, and then i saw it here today, and remember it being my first time confronting an untimely death. Being silently horrified by dead animals, mauled by dogs on the property, a swan i had raised, gone missing to be found with its throat ripped out, my young uncle's heart attack killing him, all these things were different once this scene explained to me that "you can die before youre old and grey, and they may never find you, and not really care." I pack to go work at the Grand Canyon next month. What if i fall in some obscure place? Will they find me? Or will i be another body, lost and unrecovered, forgotten to cliffs and food for condors to feed their young? How children's media can make you fear things you try to forget, that you are fine to not remember.
I'm honestly amazed Surfshark gave the go ahead on that ad read. When Tom tweeted out the script for it, I thought there was no way they'd approve it. With Tom wanting to find Surfshark's limit, I can only imagine where the ads are going next.
10:40 actually, the heat from the engine making an igloo is a very solid scenario. Igloos get a lot of the insulation from the fire inside the igloo that makes a layer of ice, the fire would never melt the entire igloo because of how cold the outside it.
except the slight fact that igloos are primarily made of snow, not ice, because snow is a fantastic insulator. If they were made from ice, they would basically be the same temperature as outside the igloo, if not colder. Igloos are basically glorified, multi-person snow caves
My biggest issue with that scenario is the crew (and hell, the engine too, now that we know they breathe) not suffocating after being locked in a vault of ice with a coal fire 🤦
Fun fact; The original SurfShark sponsored segment (that SurfShark approved) was so dark that it was blocked by the British government. The contents were TomSka torturing someone in a basement for not using his promo code. Once he used it, he got released. Lots of blood.
Obsessed with the way that he meticulously researched this and not only cites his evidence in seasons and episodes but highlights the written parts in the book… the professionalism 😂 I would watch hours of him doing this honestly, especially for childhood tv series!
You know when you're a kid, you generally have an obsession. Mine was Thomas The Tank Engine. This video now very much explains my constant need for validation and almost instinctual need to feel useful to people.
Instead of blaming Bulstrode, the trucks, OR Percy, perhaps we can blame the person whose job it was to put up some buffers by the docks so the engines couldn’t drive off by accident and drown.
The answer to "Why is there a Steam Engine Genocide" is just that it's based on real events and Steam Engines were mostly phased out by the 80's. Also, if you're wondering, The Island of Sodor is actually supposed to be between the Isle of Man and Great Britain
More like the 50’s as by around 58 most of the Steam Locomotives had been retired (at least in North America where I’m from & where steam engines had been mostly replaced by EMD E & F-Units and Alco PA’s & FA’s)
The 1955 Modernisation plan of British Railways. Fasten the replacement of steam power to diesel and electric power. 5 years of research to make a new diesel engine locomotive for BR. And the 60s really were the dark times of BR steam. But those early years, some steam engines were bought back by BR from scrap as their new diesel keeps breaking down. After ironing out the problems in the mid 60s, it just keeps on rolling the steamers to scrap. So mush so, that the scrappers could not catch up to the amount of engines to be scrapped. And modernisation to the rolling stock to replace old ones also kept piling up. Scrappers found out that scrapping trucks and old rolling stock is easier than locomotive engines. So they left them for some time until the steam preservation kicks. Alot of the working steam engines of UK experienced the life of rotting away in a scrapyard. The narrow gauge is a different story. They kept running their old assets as theres no way they can buy new engines to run on the small line. Profits are tight. Some lines are sold in a package including whole assets. And their engines kept on running even if the line became a museum. Most of these engines never retire as they are cheaper to maintain than mainline ones. In Germany, theres a place were steam is not dead but is kept running. Their modernisation plan is not as fast as BR in uk. Most steamers of Germany didnt retire until the 90s. Heck, theres even a shop with complete tools to make a brand new engine. It supports maintenance to the steam locomotives currently running inside and its neighbouring countries. The techniques and experience to build a steam engine still lives on strongly there. They even made the new boiler of the brandnew A1 Peppercorn Tornado. And they'lle be building more for their own too.
The series also makes it pretty clear through context that Sodor has a vibrant tourism economy and the visitor's love for the steam engines is what allows management to justify their use. Scary stuff there
Which in of itself actually rings very true. Rev. Awdry was a volunteer of the Talyllyn Railway, one of the world's first heritage railways where its sole purpose was tourism. It brought a ton of tourists from far and wide into the Welsh countryside, and he saw how powerful these heritage railways were in not only preserving vintage locomotives and rolling stock but also providing a base economy for those around the railway. And the truth rings true as there are a ton of other successful heritage railways across Britain, and I can honestly believe in-lore that people would visit the Isle of Sodor just to see steam engines still working the mainline as part industrial equipment (Late in the books they were still hauling freight even far into the 90s and early 2000s eras) but also part tourist sightseeing.
Actually, when they tried to make the children of Sodor more racially diverse on old "Shining Time" episodes, an adult would notice that the only other Man or Woman on Sodor that same color was The Mayor. Don't worry. In later episodes, they added more Engineers and Townspeople of different colors. Those first couple of episodes, tho. Wait, What!?🤔😝😄
@XxRiskyPlanexX but he is probably going to get scraped. That can be the reason why he tried to comit suicide he rather drowns to dead than to be cut up.
I used to watch it all the time as a kid with the magic railway movie being my favourite movie, but I could still see the dark elements. My favourite episode was the one with that giant boulder. I liked the story and it was just so uncanny (what with a so-called boulder being perfectly spherical and a ghostly face on it) that it just sparked intrigue in my little mind. Makes sense as I’ve gone on to be a big fan of horror.
I was terrified of the original Diesel as a child. Something about the way George Carlin growled made me afraid of going to sleep because I was feared Diesel would burst out my closet any minute and run me over. Now as an adult I can see the entire Island of Sodor is terrifying. "Magic land where dreams come true" More like "Refuge for Obsolete Trains Hanging by the Edge of a Knife"
@@isaacturner9306 For the American release of the series, oh yeah. Beginning with Season Three. Appropriately enough it opens with an episode where Percy tells Henry he has a small funnel. You know what that's a euphemism for.
Henry: As we know from later episodes (special coal, flying kipper), Henry had a flaw. His firebox was too small for his size and he was a bad steamer. The crew couldn't keep his fire big enough to keep him in steam, so he would have trouble starting in the morning, and run out of steam quickly. I think that rainy day, Henry was struggling to keep steam (what better way to make a fire even shittier than to wet the coal, then all that cold rain hitting his boiler making it even worse. then making the rails slippery so more tractive effort is wasted.) So Henry was MASKING his flaws (having trouble keeping moving) by pretending to "not want to get his paint wet" when he succumbed to his exhaustion and wanted to sit inside the tunnel for 10 minutes to gather his breath (out of the rain, so the coal gets dry and his boiler isn't getting cooled). He didn't want to admit (to himself or others) that he was having trouble moving, so he just put on a show of being an asshole about it so they wouldn't mock him for being a shitty fake Gresley A1 (what Gordon is) because he wants to prove to himself that he can be every bit as good as Gordon. It takes 3 seasons till we get to the bottom of Henry's penhance for being lazy... He's actually physically flawed, and needs special coal to keep his energy up... like a locomotive version of a Celiac. Once they get his diet right, he's just as capable as anyone (as long as he sticks to his diet). Then, just as he's settling into his new life as a capable employee, no longer having to find excuses to lay down or pass out every few hours, he has a massive accident through no fault of his own, and is then taken to Crewe. Where his memories are downloaded into a new Stainer Black5 and the old Celiac Henry is scrapped... er I mean "He was fixed" with his entire shape being changed.
I wasn't a fan of the "the original henry is dead" idea but, in RWS continuity, it does make some sense. I mean, literally nothing was salvaged from his old shape in the books, probably not even his wheels and definitely not his tender. He largely remains the same in the TVS but only because of budget reasons, it would've been fascinating to see a contrast between old and new shape Henrys in the TVS if the budget allowed such.
How exactly would they download his memories in the before computers were even a thing? I'd say it's more likely they just transplanted his face at the very least
Train with disability struggling to justify his own existence in a capitalist hellscape, afraid of admitting his disability for fear of getting fired (and thus killed) for it. Cool!
The old stopmotion look is honestly very pleasing. Not to mention how it was the most practical way of producing a cartoon back in the day. Build the models and sets and you could reuse them over and over again. Which was good because most British cartoons, especially back then, had a shoestring budget.
@@Mikeyalbum the coolest part is the fact that a lot of the models still exist and are owned by collectors! It’s really cool seeing how dedicated the Thomas fan base truly is.
@Full Thomas Episodes You do have to remember that the Discover Thomas attraction isn’t their main focus. Their top priority is the rides and park safety. I’m absolutely certain the people that are in charge of that part of Drayton Manor would love to have the models in good condition, but that’s just not possible. It’s a theme park, not a dedicated model railway museum.
I sort of have a theory as to why the troublesome trucks are so messed up. In the scrapyards, we see that the dead trains are missing their faces. As evidenced by the destruction of scruffy, a train can still live as long as it’s face is intact. My theory is that the scrapped trains have their faces placed on the trucks in order to become “really useful” again. This process irreversibly damages the train’s mind, rendering them insane, and those with any semblance of sanity left are suicidal.
Fun fact: Even though Henry was only in the tunnel for one episode, there’s canonically a one year time gap between those two episodes, so Henry was trapped in that tunnel for at _least_ 365 days.
About that one part, you said about Bulgy, yes he was turned into a hen house. But not forever later in season 7 bulgy was painted green and turned into a fruit stand. Then in season 21 bulgy returned and was back to be a normal bus again. You can find him in seasons 23-24 after that.
Fun fact: in the CGI seasons of the show Duke was never found. He’s still waiting in that shed since he was referenced, but he was never rescued and was left to rot away under the avalanche. Fun!
This makes me also think of the Jim Henson movie The Christmas Toy, how it had pretty much the same rules as Toy Story except that if the toys were caught out of place, they died on the spot 😬 it’s so damn dark
i was a boy. they were 138 girls. can i make it any more obvious? thats right, i had a crazy dream last night. HAHAHAHAHA!!! im the funniest youtube star ever. youre welcome for laughing dear neo
I literally nearly turned the video off at the end of that sketch because i forgot it was an ad in the middle of a wider episode with how engaging it was
Thomas & Friends follows the same principles in the show as real railroad operations (aside from the talking trains) railroads phase out older locomotives for scrap or parts. I love how this kids show was so accurate for worldwide railroad operations.
Series like Thomas and Friends always end up being the epitome of "Don't think about it" in terms of lore and implications, like a lot of the fans of the series get mad with this kind of analysis but realistically you can't give trains sentience and human faces and emotions then get mad that people think its messed up when they're still treated exactly the same way as average, non-sentient vehicles and objects.
That is if you assume trains think like people, but they don't. people have things like free will and ambition whereas all one of these sentient trains want is to be used and operated. all the trains want is to be useful.
Im not entirely certain that’s accurate Free will doesn’t exactly exist as an observable force so it’s difficult to say if it even exists unless you use stuff like legal precedent or definitional truth And let’s say we are using a ne if these methods then I would argue that the Thomas trains do have free will or at least the ability to physically express some desires Henry is probably the best example, a lack of free will as I understand it wouid be to have no control of your actions and since Henry was stubbornly refusing to exit the tunnel even under threats and most likely physical force through the train divers they do have done level of autonomy separate from the controllers and a will that allows then to disobey orders
""the troublesome trucks also like to kill themselves for fun" had me dying of laughter. I just imagine a chain of them saying to Thomas "your mom gay" and driving off a fucking cliff dying of laughter as they fucking explode because one was carrying gasoline and sparks ignited the gasoline, causing a massive fucking explosion shooting a lost train back up and landing back perfectly on the tracks. the best episode plot for an episode ever, with the source of info that could even have proved something like this is possible is you Tomska.
So around the end when you’re talking about Britt Allcroft being Lady in TATMR you said this implies “take me out of the show, and the show will die,” kinda accurate though.
12:56 turns out RW Awdry has his own opinion on this; when a train is pretty significantly modified and altered in its function, he considers the vehicle to no longer be the same, stating that the Henry from before and after he was rebuilt in the series are 2 separate engines, though there seems to remain memories. The TV series didn't really portray that, which is probably for the best.
I wonder if Awdry imagined a sort of middle reality where the island and the engines are real, but they don't really have faces and personalities, and the stories exist as fictionalised versions of real events to entertain people who enjoy travelling on Sodor's famous railways.
@@JamesGeiger23 that depends on what engine and how extensively rebuilt it is. A car or airplane engine should always be restored to new condition by a rebuild, or else there's no point in rebuilding it.
As a trains enthusiast, I can confirm that some locomotives are indeed kept just for spare parts in real life. I already find this a bit sad for non-sentient machines, but for alive locomotives? That's horrifying!
I mean with TTTE engines, they can talk, think, feel (pain and emotions). I imagine a parts Sodor engine would probably cry a lot, weep until it had no more tears left.
I think my favorite thing of Thomas and Friends is simply the fact that George Carlin served as the narrator (In the US) for a decade or so and came back to reprise his role in some spins offs and movies up until he passed away. Some creators have made some hilarious mashups using voice over lines from his comedy routines mixed in with the voice work for the show.
Also contrary to how people think about him and his personality, George Carlin actually spoke really fondly about the times he worked on Thomas the Tank Engine and Shining Time Station. I believe in an interview he said the stories told were simple with easy to learn but very valubal lessons for children, and he was happy to be a part of that and admired the work done in the books and show. I hear a lot of people are surprised to hear that, as they expect him to have a gruff or negative memory of the show.
Headcanon for the inspiration of the "I like trains" kid... Kids: Hello, Thomas the Tank Engine! Kid TomSka: Har har! Very creative... Kids: What's the matter? Do you hate trains? Kid TomSka: No... **creepy smile** _I LIKE TRAINS_
My favorite part about this video is a couple weeks ago I heard someone talking about how fucked up the “getting bricked in a tunnel” episode was, and when someone told them Henry gets out in the next episode, they just said “AND IF YOU NEVER WATCH THAT EPISODE THEN WHAT??? HUH??? YOU GOTTA TRAUMATIZED KID!!” and this video proving them right is great closure for me
You know, the "I like trains" is so ingrained in my mind that when it played, it took me just a moment to remember that this dude created that. Absolutely sent me.
@@screechwhisper I deeply hope this is sarcastic, because the idea that there are people who don't recognise I Like Trains from asdf movie or know Tom Ska as the asdf movie guy makes me feel very old for someone in their mid twenties.
@@Sophia-ku8ex Not everyone has had the same experiences, and as Aven said, their face wasn't even in most of those animations. They could have easily seen them re-uploaded elsewhere.
@@Avendesora Yeah, fair enough. I recognised him by name, not face, since I can't see. My comment was meant to be light-hearted and yes, I do realise that not everyone is going to instantly connect asdf and Tom Ska.
An actual answer to your question at 20:07 could be that the Island of Sodor is a heritage railway. Many of which still exist as a safe haven for steam engines
The way I conceptualized the humanity of trains, cars, etc. in Thomas the Tank Engine is like what you said about them being loved very much, except I think them being alive was figurative. A lot of people personify vehicles that they work with for long periods because we're human and complex vehicles like trains and cars will always have quirks much like our own personalities. This is corroborated by their very limited abilities to act on their own without drivers, like how sometimes your vehicle does something weird and you describe it as "having a mind of its own". So they're really the personification of the drivers' emotional experiences with the vehicles, which I think is kind of sweet.
Rev. Awdry also loved to photograph real life locomotives, and was also part of the historic Talyllyn Railway where he volunteered time to work on the railway. A lot of his Skarloey Railway stories are based on his experiences on the Talyllyn Railway (Like the time he was on guard duty and accidentally left the refreshment lady behind, which he enshrined in a story and eventually episode of Thomas the Tank Engine). A lot of the locomotives had quirks due to the way they were originally built. Some would run smoothly like clockwork whilst others would constantly give crew trouble. Coaches and rail cars would bump and rattle around, and sometimes be unreliable with hose pipes leaking, bogies becoming derailed on their own, etc. Working around these machines for a while it's easy to see why Rev. Awdry wrote such personalities for the train and railcars as he did.
Well yes, I think this is the normal way to look at it, and I think is the unspoken thing in this video. Like, this is how we'd normally look at the show. But if we were to take this assumption out just for fun, it provides a very different perspective on the same piece of media.
The best theory I have for the engine's sentience is the fact that objects have names, even though all the 'troublesome trucks' don't have individual names they're still labeled troublesome
as a TTTE/RWS fan, I was expecting the typical "henry got in a tunnel and DIED" but the way you actually got EVERYTHING 100% right is fantastic!! great vid mate
as a Thomas fan I am quite happy that someone outside of the community is shedding light on this. btw Henry was going to remain there forever but the publisher wanted to bring all 3 engines and give a happy ending also the controllers aren't evil, they are really just very stern, a tough love sort of thing, the reason why the controller hasn't replaced the engines isn't because they are still usefull, but sentimental value, I mean his grandfather worked for one of the early railways on the island. and bulgy was repaired, but he kept being stupid, lying, and having accidents that they then turned him into a hen house
The issue is stern and actively abusive we’re a bit blurred in the past Teachers could literally beat students for petty reasons and be considered normal people when now a days we would consider that child abuse
Favourite bits "Why can the tumbleweed talk? WHY!?! 9:08 "He's still covered in sand tho..." 12:09 "That's f**ked up..." 15:10 "Rail me daddy" 17:10 "Yah boo snubs!" 23:42 "I got nothin... Idk what they are about..." 25:27
In terms of train morality it’s important that to know; Rev W Awdry always just saw trains as having innate personality and the faces are an extension of that. He prised realism, and all of his stories are based or inspired by real events. The show gets weirder with it but the RWS kept semi consistent with that concept
Fun fact: In Hungarian, "(el)Sodor" is literally one of the most common words we use to indicate that someone was ran over by a train. I can't get this out of my head now, send help.
I think that the only thing you got wrong is that they are forced to work against their will, its shown that they actually enjoy working and when they act naughty, their punishment is usually being prohibited to work. they hate doing nothing so working is the only thing they can really do. i have the same opinion on this as "the unlucky tug" which stated "i see them like dogs but with more intelligence" if the owner keeps them fed and go on walks time to time then they're happy, same goes with engine's, but instead of going out on walks, its working on the island
I find it very fitting that this channel is called TomSka & Friends, and he’s reviewing Thomas and Friends.
Coincidence?
I think not
Never
I always found it confusing that the execs/production company changed the name of "Thomas the Tank Engine" to Thomas and Friends 18 or 17 years ago lol I don't know ironically why they changed it was probably an revival, or Mandela effect .
In the caddicarus video he was called tomska the tank person
You’ve finally embraced your true self
TomSka the Tank Person
"what the hell is that on your head"
"HA HA its my short stumpy funnel :)"
The return of the king… or maybe train… with a short stumpy funnel…
Aight nothing funny comes to mind. Hello Caddy
what about his short stumpy dome?
Since you`re here, does this mean we must now refer to Tom as TomSka the Tankendanken? (I may have misspelled the word an I appologize)
The background loop with the windmill is very satisfying
:(
Could be an awesome background for zoom calls!
yes
It really started stressig me out once I saw your comment. It's the train constantly shifting with every cut! Why did I have to read the comment? xD
Love your content bro, was the beach hot wheels video filmed in Kitty Hawk?
10:53 holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit My ENTIRE life, I have remembered being deeply disturbed by _some_ scene of _some_ character from Thomas the Tank Engine going across a bridge at night and falling off, with the moon behind them... I HAVE *FINALLY* FOUND THAT SCENE!
dude same😅
Isn't that scene from Duncan Gets Spooked?
Isn't it meant to be Proteus that falls?
@@ElldoTrainsFanon
What's worse is when you start believing conspiracy theories and think that the Island of Sodor is a n@zi concentration camp. The windmill in the opening title shot forms a spinning sw@stika!
The worst part as a kid, I realized the dark implications of the show, but I still loved it although I was utterly terrified at some aspects like the scrap yards full of dead trains. I had nightmares of Diesel 10 & his murderous intentions well into high school
I fear no man, but that thing
*Psycho Train*
It scares me
Pinchy was rather intimidating, I’ll give him that. It’s like Diesel 10 had a mind-controlled shark attached to him.
I think those slightly darker themes are what make the franchise stand out. It’s more than just a kid’s show, or at least was when it was still based on the original source material and before execs threw it down a shithole
That was terrifying
When I was little, I had a knob light switch in my bedroom that scared me because it reminded me of Gordon.
You should definitely do more stuff like this. I enjoyed the bemused, exasperated delivery of a totally unnecessary dissection of the deepest darkest lore of a treasured children's TV show. Make more things like this x
I agree! With more videos like this Thomas & Friends will finally be understood by everyone! Not enjoyed by everyone but at least people will understand the classic series is made for all ages!
I would've never expected to see you here, Dan, but I completely agree with you!
I'm going to be scrapped by my college for not doing homework
DAN BULL.......douglby
@Dan Bull Thomas rap pls 😂
Erm, anyone else find it terrifying that none of the examples of drowning actually say they die, only that ending up in the water is an implied terrible thing? What's worse? They died, or they are now doomed to eternal isolation until they literally just rust away due to a lack of interest in search and rescue efforts? These trains know they're disposable pawns on some level and that certain situations are just considered a write off where the train in question is just left to rot away.
They're constantly drowning and panicking whilst slowly rusting away. It's not quite death, more like what happens to a freshly cut Christmas tree or someone in a coma slowly suffering on a faulty life support machine that only gives them just enough oxygen to keep their respiratory system limping on.
Thomas the tank engine is supposed to subliminally train mechanically enhanced super soldiers from an early age. It works pretty well too.
Slow corporal corrosion in freezing darkness to the ultimate end of non-existence. Worthy of a death metal scene.
I imagine it'd at least be a fairly quick death since such a thing would surely stop a train's boiler and kill it that way.
@@dirtydan9785 I’m not so sure, loads of engines in this universe have survived cold boilers and being defuelled for years.
My step brothers name is Thomas, the same thing happened to him where kids called him Thomas The Tank Engine.
The only difference however is that *he was ACTUALLY named after the Tank Engine,* because his mom let his older brother pick his name while she was pregnant. He was still a small child and was obsessed with the show
thomas the tankin' dankin'
My sister wanted to name my other sister Shark. I find that hilarious. This reminded me of that.
Same thing happened to me actually! My cousin asked me (i was probably 10 at the time) what she should name her baby...I fully thought she was joking. I threw a few things out, and at the end I said "what about Thomas? like Thomas the Train..." and for some reason both her and her husband really liked that idea. So a few months later they had the baby and my mom ended up being the one to tell me they named him Thomas...I was genuinely shocked. They raised him on Thomas the Train and everything. Its still surreal to think about. Even more so to hear that somebody shares that story!
My kindergarten teacher was named Mrs Thomas, and I was one of those kids that related her name with Thomas the Tank Engine
A similar thing happened to me, except it was *ME* who was named Thomas. Before I was born, my parents and brother were figuring out what to name me, and my brother, who was an avid Thomas fan back then, wanted to name me Thomas if I was a boy and Percy if I was a girl. And I *lived* off of Thomas, in particular, the widely famed Series 5, and it was when I was *two* years old as well, and I LOVED that season.
(Yes, my older brother did in fact think Percy was a girl back then)
I'm biased since I did music for it, but I think that ad finally dethroned Nobbleberry/Nubleborsky as the best TH-cam VPN ad
nah sorry, the "lose the nord vpn contract speedrun" ad by internet historian is above this
@@xXRunDeathXx false (in my opinion)
What a capitalistic nightmare we live in where The idea of TH-camrs collating on an AD is genuinely really appealing to me. But I would love to see Tom and Erik colab on the VPN wars
@@deafweasel99 it could be worse, I understand the sentiment but they are advertising vpn, and that's an overall benefit to internet security. At least the don't shill G Fuel or some other TH-cam shite.
“It is surprisingly hard to kill a train” is the best out of context thing ever
I feel like him saying “I love children” Is the best thing out of context.
SekiThom: Trains Die Twice
Sounds like the tag-line for a Thomas and Friends as well as Hitman crossover game…
Sabin disagrees
I mean have you tried to kill a train? A pistol isn’t gonna do it, trust me.
I can't believe SurkShark greenlit that advert, hahaha! Amazing stuff.
Yo! Harry! Love your songs and animations
What magic did he have to perform to let them basically endorse torture becuase I need it
@@josediaz1966 and make fun of nord that is probaly illegal
@@josediaz1966 it it Tom, he is known for his crazy stuff.
@@ghostEatsDirt why would that be illegal?
The cool thing about Thomas is that the show was never afraid of throwing you a piece of reality in its own way like talking about things like engines being scrapped (which in the real world it would translate to a person actually dying) unlike many other shows that tried to refrain from touching such topics.
There was actually 2 events that inspired Henry's Kipper accident
engines being scrapped means engines being scrapped. This show represents a time where BR (Brittish Railways) First build 9 classes of steam loco's, for then to come out and say nah scrap them all we gon use diesels.
Here in the United States steam locomotives were phased out in the 1950s after World War II, In fact there were farewell to steam excursions during this era as one by one locomotives were being scrapped
Ngl I miss when kids shows weren’t afraid to put some darker stuff in them, we underestimate just how fucked up kids’ minds are sometimes and how much they understand about the world, comfortably introducing them to uncomfortable topics is healthy and will help them when they are forced to confront said topics in their own life, whether it be death or just feeling creeped out by something.
Honestly as someone who used to work in a train museum, the scrapping of trains is almost as big of a threat to heritage professionals as it is to fictional sentient trains.
This is the embodiment of “I’ve learned something horrible and I need to share it with you”
my favorite genre of video
@@ShadowWolf1395 i didn't know you were still here.
I am the embodiment of that lol
hey funny that i know another o'donnell
@@anoxylitol don’t forget junior campbell
For those who don't know, the once extremely brutal Surfshark sponsorship segment was edited out of the video due to a ban, not from Surfshark themselves, but from the Advertising Standards Authority, which regulates ads in the UK. "The ad portrayed a realistic depiction of a man tied to a chair, beaten and attacked with weapons, in an attemps to convince him to take out a Surfshark product. The wan was shown with visible injuries, he was punched in the face, stabbed in the leg and tasered around the neck".
Tom maybe hasn't found Surfshark's breaking point, but he sure did found the ASA's
Godspeed Tom.
I was looking for the explanation, thank you
I didn't even notice that it was gone
The most hilarious part about this is that the person Tom was producing the advert for allowed it, and it remained up until an actual Authority came in and said
"No, y... you can't do that." where it finally got taken away.
It was in no way the decision of Surfshark!
They truly do not give a _fuck_ about how you asvertise their brand, as long as you bake the talking points into your script!
thanks dude -some people just don't understand great art!
Luckily, I have the original downloaded.
Always interesting how the human drivers etc NEVER get the blame for anything. OMG the bus has got stuck under the bridge, clearly that was his fault, the driver had nothing to do with it
Why do they even have drivers are they just their to give them coal and that’s it it’s clear they don’t need people to drive them
Why even have a driver if the vehicle is alive?
The personalities of the vehicles are a representation of their various mechanical quirks and handling characteristics. Things like breakdowns are often treated as the thing having a tantrum and refusing to work.
@@capincrunch7695 they do need drivers
They have drivers???? As a kid I literally thought they drove themselves
I must point out that, at least in the later series, engines can survive underwater, at least until they're completely corroded by the salt water. Salty and Victor were both knocked into the water until they could be rescued at high tide. I don't know for sure, but Lorry 1 might also have had to wait for high tide before he could be loaded onto a barge and brought back to the island. So, drowning is definitely a threat, but it'd take a while to actually kill them.
Considering how comically and gleefully suicidal the trucks can be, I’m surprised people haven’t found ways to prevent them from gaining sentience.
Amazon would love to do the same for their human workers. [/politics]
You say that like they don't want the trucks to screw with the emgines
@@michealthekaminoshinagami54 yeah I do agree, but them being consciously destructive is counter productive to business.
If you haven't noticed, the trucks only have faces when the plot requires them to be troublesome. Otherwise, they're often depicted as faceless, lifeless rolling stock.
@@FightingTorque411 so the island Sodor is Amazon confirmed?
“And sometimes, they just straight up KILL THEMSELVES FOR FUN!” Was one of the best Tomska quotes for me
Sometimes they're doing it as a form of proletariat protest - S.C.Ruffy is basically a union leader organising strikes among the trucks, seizing their brakes on so they can't/won't do the engines' bidding. Other trucks seem to just run out of control and cause chaos out of some sense of duty to anarchy. There was an episode where the tender engines went on strike in protest at having to pull heavier loads than the tank engines; in another (briefly shown with Percy as the spokes-train) they form a "deputation", and that is the word used in this children's show, to plead their collective case for Donald and Douglas to stay. This lore goes *deep*.
@@FightingTorque411 as deep as a bricked up tunnel?
Nothing new for TomSka fans
OUR EXISTANCE IS PAIN
Though know that dying is better than being stuck in an eternity of torment
I absolutely adore how absolutely childish and silly Elliot is, but when he's acting he's hard as nails. It's absolutely fantastic
Johnny Knives is an Oscar Worthy Role
Commendable performance from eddie too! Not many actors are willing to get so deep into their role that they'll be chopped up and stuffed into several binbags
@@toryslapper69 Who’s Eddie? You mean Traitor?
Silly Elliot
How do we know that’s not his actual personality?
2:43 there actually was a thing called the strategic reserve, many countries kept steam engines in tunnels in case the 3rd world war started. When rebuilding a world after a nuclear apocalypse, electricity and diesel may be hard to come by, steam engines don't have that problem since they're purely mechanical and will run on anything that burns for long and hot enough.
Id figured steam trains would be the best in any apocalypse like the trains in metro exodus.
@@rijidernacht1157 OOOOHH IM STIFF IM STIFF🥵🥵🥵🥵
THE FUCKING CARGO KILL THEMSELVES FOR FUN, HE SAID
Edit: the troublesome trucks 22:16
...Holy shit, PLEASE tell me someone has used that idea for a Post-Apocalyptic Thomas AU.
@@LilypadPanda please elaborate
I personally think that some of the trucks used to be trains. This theory implies that they're made from old engine parts and have the faces (and consciousness) of the scrapped trains, but the process of repeatedly being ripped apart and reformed/re-shaped into what is essentially another species has basically made them snap, so now they're just batsh*t crazy, find everything funny, deeply resent trains as a whole and are pretty much just suicidal, welcoming death on a near daily basis...
This is the only way I can rationalise their behaviour, otherwise it really doesn't make much sense why they act the way they do. The only normal trucks are the ones who don't have any faces, so they're most likely just made from regular materials, but the ones with faces are all nuts, so something must have made them mentally break, and I doubt it was purely from being bumped around and being filled with coal and stones.
That’s deep. I just kind of assumed that because the books are (very loosely) based on reality, the trucks were a stand in for unwieldy cargo that could derail the trains. Yours is better.
@@elfiot his is horrible!
17:10
…What?
@Christopher Greig
I actually wrote a story about why the trucks are so crazy and suicidal. 1st You have to take into account that they can’t move under their own power (except for slipping their brakes on), 2nd they are constantly being moved about so there’s a need for socialization, and the only way they know how is to be rude to the engines. 3rd If you read the railway series or watched the show, there are several moments where the engines will bump the trucks out of frustration or just for fun. So that could be a reason for the trucks being as rude as they are. Another reason could be a jealousy of the coaches getting better treatment regardless of the fact the coaches are more delicate. And lastly the only way they can feel in control of their lives is to cause trouble for the engines. Meaning that if they derail an engine or break away they can say “yeah, we did a thing!” Because being really useful isn’t that hard for them to do, it’s just boring.
My dad being a train driver and just general massive train nerd, I grew up on a LOT of Thomas the tank engine. (Born in 1997 for context) I know Thomas and the Magic Railroad is an objectively bad movie, but it's super nostalgic to me. We also had the original book, and wooden train sets. I feel like the "I need to be really useful" has been deeply ingrained in my head and therefore effected my work ethic and mental health somehow. Thanks for the nostalgia trip though lol.
I used to be OBSESSED with trains, I had a huge collection of pretty much every train from Thomas the tank engine.
I had Magic Railroad on VHS as a kid, used to watch it constantly.
Same, however my dad doesn't know related anything to trains
I also used to be a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan as a kid, I owned the magic railroad on a VHS and played with the all the wooden and plastic trains alike. I still have a fondness for trains because of the nostalgia.
Seriously though I think a lot of what is shown to children to make them behave defo causes some issues. I was born in 93 and I feel like a lot of the stuff messed me up haha
No matter how many times I watch this, "the whole genocide thing" still hits so hard out of left field that it makes me chuckle
The best part!! XD
Mid 20th Century, the Order 66 of Thomas.
Sir Topham wearing a hooded top hat: “Commander Thin, the time has come, execute railway 66.”
Thin Controller: “It will be done my Sir”
I find it funny how he just casually puts "the whole genocide thing" on a Thomas logo and casually play the main theme.
Hang on, you've watched this multiple times?
"You shall be forged for one purpose. To carry. To be freight. You shall be given no vacation, no break, and barely any respect. Yet you will be conscious for all of it, little train. You will witness all of it. Live all of it. The biggest freight you will carry shall be the burden of your own existence, and none can carry it alongside you. And one day, we will tear you asunder for your flesh and parts, to reforge yet another servant to the great machine.
Ride on, little train. Ride on."
Honestly these kinds of insane rabbit holes in fandoms is so fun to see. Would seriously love to see this as sort of a side series alongside Content and everything
We need more Thomas videos!
Going in lore and fantheories etc are what makes franchises intresting. Even though he is using "trains" instead of engines, which is the right word. He should have known that because he watched the show
@Full Thomas Episodes i think from someone who didnt knew the difference between an steamengine and a train
Yeah, I feel your pain, as a guy with the name Rory, of course I got called a racing car a whole lot
I feel you. I got called "Norah the Explorer", and was very insecure about it, even though the only person who even called me that was the gym teacher.
Gosh that brings back memories, doesn't it _Rory The Racing Car 😂_
People who knew my name but didn't know me personally referred to me as and I quote "Reese's puffs Reese's puffs. Eat em up Eat em up"
My sister use to be called JJ so she got called JJ the Jetplane
@@amebee709 that's odd yet amusing
I'll never get over the fact that Ringo Starr narrated Thomas The Tank Engine for a good minute. I dont know why necessarily, I just find it a little funny.
Forget Ringo, just watch any of the George Carlin 18+ Thomas dubs out there... Nothing like having Carlin's Thomas narration suddenly cut in with his stand up routine for a bit of a shocking twist. 🤣
i only found this out really recently and it blew my mind like i’ll never understand
The show has been narrated by many famous people like Ringo Starr, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, and Pierce Brosnan.
The story is that Britt Allcroft was watching Wogan with her family and was looking for a narrator, when she heard Ringo's voice, she decided to ask him and he agreed.
He wrote a song about the octopus
This unlocked so many memories of this franchise I had completely forgotten about, including all the implied body horror for the trains. Also the Magic Railroad movie was actually one of my favorites as a kid and I can still remember the entire movie, weird af flaws and all.
As a parent of littles, I’ve seen quite a bit of Thomas, particularly the classic show. I was struck by the apparent contradiction of the trains’ agency. The trains are frequently chided for causing “confusion and delay” when they make mistakes, so one would assume they control their own actions. But in a first season episode, a self-important Thomas discovers that he actually has no control over his movements, and is therefore completely dependent on his human operators. But if this true, how then can the trains be held responsible for anything that goes wrong, or be praised for “really useful” accomplishments? It would seem their human operators should be getting lectures from Sir Topham Hat, and not the trains themselves.
I don’t think the stories were very consistent about that. Sometimes the trains have no control over themselves and rely on their human drivers, sometimes they can somehow influence something to make themselves move, in TATMR the trains drive themselves because magic..... I remember being confused about it as a little kid and essentially making a headcanon that the trains drive themselves but have human operators that ride along in case the train needs maintenance on the rails or something.
Haha i've pointed that out to my kids when we watched it
There’s a reason why they can be held accountable: Each Engine has their own mechanical “quirks” that they might have control over.
You have to remember, they are meant to be modeled after real locomotives and how real railways operate. What carries over from this are how all the locomotives have “personalities” that they have tied to them, which is why they often can be “punished” for their actions.
For example, Henry is kept held up in the tunnel because Henry already has mechanical issues. It wouldn’t be hard to rationalize that he could have had a mechanical fault that was unknown to the crew that led to him not wanting to move.
It's an allegory for communism.
@@MatthewChenault This. Ask anyone who has driven, fired or otherwise worked with Steam locomotives and they will all tell you that, even though each engine in a class was built (mostly) to the same blueprint - because they were hand-made by different people in different factories over a period of years, and because they are complex machines that aim to harness the primordial and powerful natural forces of fire and steam, they are each of them unique. While a class may prove effective or ineffective overall, within that class each engine will have its own quirks, which the crews came to see as personalities. This is exactly the inspiration behind the anthropomorphism of the engine in The Railway Series in the first place. A crew that knew the engine well could get it to perform despite its quirks, a crew that was new to the engine would treat it like any other member of its class and find it difficult to get on with. This relationship between engine and crew is at the core of the enduring magic of steam engines.
And it gives the Rev.Awdry the basis for many of the stories. For example, say we have 75076 and 75078 who work on the same railway. They are, members of the same class, built only a week apart, siblings of you will. But 75078 has always had an issue. In cold weather it’s breaks tend to stick on and only the burliest drivers can pull the lever hard enough to disengage them. He gains a reputation for being a stubborn engine who hates the cold. Meanwhile the team that built 75076 were having a really good day when they finished her. She’s the paragon of her class, mechanically perfect. She steams well, runs smooth and is responsive to drive. Better than perfect in fact, the right crew can coax power out of her that other engines in the class can only dream of, and she can deputise for more powerful locomotives in a pinch. She’s saved the day many time. There’s just something about her and she is beloved by the crews. Consequently she is taken out almost every day. There’s a lot of pressure on her, she’s worked hard. The truth that nobody wants to talk about is that she’s getting worn out. One frosty day 75078 is refusing to leave his shed again. Something about ‘if my usual crew were here they’d know what to do but I’m not going out in that for you.’ 75076 is supposed to be having some routine maintenance done today, but it will have to wait, she’s got to cover for her layabout brother, again. Of she goes, no grumbling from her, she’s the best engine on the railway. But she really needed that maintenance. They’ve relied on her too much. Deep in her workings a component finally wears out and she grinds to a halt. The controller is stunned, this never happens to 75076! Fortunately, 75078’s crew had arrived earlier. They’ve been called in from their day off. Since they arrived they’ve moved fire barrels that warm the shed crews closer to 75078. Appreciating the warmth and the care of his regular crew, 75078 puts aside his distaste for the cold and heads out to rescue his sister for a change. The truth is, 75078 was built like his sister, but for the fault with his breaks that nobody can put a finger on. It’s just part of who he is. When you ask him nicely, and work with him, rather than against him, he’s every bit a match for his superstar sister. Blah blah blah - you see how such machines can become characters, and how operating them can easily become stories that revolve around their personalities.
This makes the robot chicken short where Percy said "I love being really useful" right before exploding much darker than we remember
It’s good that someone outside the fandom did his research instead just assuming it’s a place of talking trains.
i am shocked to find that there is a tommy tanky fandom in 2022
@@spiceyicey its a pretty big one two, but it makes sense on how big the franchise is and it’s lore
I mean. It is? It’s just also a place with added train abuse, train genocide, and asshole trailers.
@@morallygary9098 I mean I know that but it at least has more than talking trains and that’s that’s
it’s got some sort of spark I can’t figure out.
@@spiceyicey It's full of freaks and pedos
To be fair, I would had stopped watching the show after Henry got entombed alive, and never learned for years that he was freed in the next episode for years either.
10:46 the engine that pushed the yellow engine into the sea actually didn't. The crane did! The engine on the crane didnt have any choice in the matter! What makes it worse is that the poor train blames himself and everyone else is nasty because he says "I knocked the yellow train into the sea" rather than "I was on a crane which knocked the yellow engine into the sea!" I really think this probably ruined some kids perception of responsibility, haha.
THANK YOU
SOMEONE SAID IT
Blue Mountain Mystery was my favorite T&F movie as a kid, but looking back on it, there was some fucked up stuff in that movie...
@@acetraineraster5171 you're welcome. My childhood is full of watching people lie, and being too scared to speak openly about anything. I rushed to make this comment as soon as I realised what I had seen, perhaps it makes up for my silence in some small way. That poor train, and that rubbish crane.
Here’s what happened when he pushed the yellow engine into the ocean it was because the lock came loose and he fell into the ocean but a few years down the line they recovered the engine and repainted him red and he’s on the island of sodor now just at the Steamworks hes now know as Victor
Fax
"I crashed into a bus :("
"My dad is drunk driving and crashed into a bus >:#"
despite the weird moral lessons, it's genuinely strange to just now realize how much Thomas the Tank Engine was about the real life reality of steam trains becoming increasingly more irrelevant and diesel taking over
It was also capitalist propaganda, with a good layer of trad protestant morals slathered on top
Weird? Ok you do you
You do you
You do you
You do you
YOU DO YOU
YOU ********** DO YOU
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
ok you do you
As a fan of TTTE, I can confirm that one of the reasons we love this show is because of it's realism
Dovetails nicely with TTTE's unfortunate lesson that "strangers who do not look like you are coming for your jobs"
@@michaelmoroney423 well yes and no, it wasn't that strangers who don't look like you are stealing your jobs but more you are being replaced entirely and killed in mass not by the strangers but by the people who own said strangers.
Plus the series both in book and show made point to show many diesels were good and friendly and just wanted to help too and several engine's biases against diesel's are addressed.
13:22 this as a kid genuinely scared me. I remember thinking that the engine and the coal cars definitely died, that mixed with the atmosphere of that scene were just nightmare fuel for a five year old
Same here! The one episode I remember creeping me out as a kid
YES. When I saw that scene here I immediately said out loud "wait I remember that"
maybe thats why I have a fear of heights
Same bro, same
Gods, it brought back some repressed childhood trauma seeing that scene again. Like, it didn't exist in my brain, and then i saw it here today, and remember it being my first time confronting an untimely death. Being silently horrified by dead animals, mauled by dogs on the property, a swan i had raised, gone missing to be found with its throat ripped out, my young uncle's heart attack killing him, all these things were different once this scene explained to me that "you can die before youre old and grey, and they may never find you, and not really care."
I pack to go work at the Grand Canyon next month. What if i fall in some obscure place? Will they find me? Or will i be another body, lost and unrecovered, forgotten to cliffs and food for condors to feed their young?
How children's media can make you fear things you try to forget, that you are fine to not remember.
@@SenkouNoMahimeEne Damn u had a sad childhood
3:50
I would HATE to meet the writer who was like "You know children? They're like trains, and I am like their conductor."
This franchise REALLY has not aged well at all.
@@ninjabluefyre3815 i can tell, lol
I thought that you talked to yourself for a second because of how similar your pfps are.💀
Now I can imagine his toys saying to themselves
"He'll come back for us someday..."
Or the narrators voice
Oh god
Fry's Dog but toy trains.
"oh well. we'll go to sleep. it'll help pass the time."
I can’t imagine the toys he found weren’t his old ones. What’s the likelihood two kids lose their Thomas the Tank Engine toys in the same beach?
I'm honestly amazed Surfshark gave the go ahead on that ad read. When Tom tweeted out the script for it, I thought there was no way they'd approve it. With Tom wanting to find Surfshark's limit, I can only imagine where the ads are going next.
They shoot up NordVPN headquarters in real life
Surfshark VPN ad lore
10:40 actually, the heat from the engine making an igloo is a very solid scenario. Igloos get a lot of the insulation from the fire inside the igloo that makes a layer of ice, the fire would never melt the entire igloo because of how cold the outside it.
except the slight fact that igloos are primarily made of snow, not ice, because snow is a fantastic insulator. If they were made from ice, they would basically be the same temperature as outside the igloo, if not colder. Igloos are basically glorified, multi-person snow caves
@@8-bitsarda747 but the heat would have created a ice barrier by melting the snow and forming a cocoon
@@ashleywhiteman2684 fair, but all that ice is doing is providing structure, the insulation comes from the snow
My biggest issue with that scenario is the crew (and hell, the engine too, now that we know they breathe) not suffocating after being locked in a vault of ice with a coal fire 🤦
@@8-bitsarda747 the ice forming is the snow doing its job insulating the heat.
Fun fact; The original SurfShark sponsored segment (that SurfShark approved) was so dark that it was blocked by the British government.
The contents were TomSka torturing someone in a basement for not using his promo code. Once he used it, he got released. Lots of blood.
Obsessed with the way that he meticulously researched this and not only cites his evidence in seasons and episodes but highlights the written parts in the book… the professionalism 😂 I would watch hours of him doing this honestly, especially for childhood tv series!
@@bigpogproductions9909 Based on what? TomSka shows a lot of the show that actually proves his points.
@@Calvarift What did the comment you are replying to say? It's been deleted
It sounds like a leaving cert exam answer, the professionalism
I can do that too..
Yet he got things wrong..?
You know when you're a kid, you generally have an obsession. Mine was Thomas The Tank Engine. This video now very much explains my constant need for validation and almost instinctual need to feel useful to people.
That's kinda dark
Same, Im looking at this now like "Wow, I'm not surprised Im cooked in head"
Aw😟
Yes, Thomas the tank engine is a symbolic representation on the corporate work environment and imposter syndrome
You’re a very useful commenter
Instead of blaming Bulstrode, the trucks, OR Percy, perhaps we can blame the person whose job it was to put up some buffers by the docks so the engines couldn’t drive off by accident and drown.
Fair point
12:55 "At what point do you accept the train is dead? I think it's when you're confronted with scenes like this:"
Tim Tam ad starts playing.
The answer to "Why is there a Steam Engine Genocide" is just that it's based on real events and Steam Engines were mostly phased out by the 80's.
Also, if you're wondering, The Island of Sodor is actually supposed to be between the Isle of Man and Great Britain
More like the 50’s as by around 58 most of the Steam Locomotives had been retired (at least in North America where I’m from & where steam engines had been mostly replaced by EMD E & F-Units and Alco PA’s & FA’s)
I thought it was between Gondor and Mordor. And possibly Hodor.
@@niliq the sodor triangle
The 1955 Modernisation plan of British Railways.
Fasten the replacement of steam power to diesel and electric power. 5 years of research to make a new diesel engine locomotive for BR. And the 60s really were the dark times of BR steam. But those early years, some steam engines were bought back by BR from scrap as their new diesel keeps breaking down. After ironing out the problems in the mid 60s, it just keeps on rolling the steamers to scrap. So mush so, that the scrappers could not catch up to the amount of engines to be scrapped. And modernisation to the rolling stock to replace old ones also kept piling up. Scrappers found out that scrapping trucks and old rolling stock is easier than locomotive engines. So they left them for some time until the steam preservation kicks. Alot of the working steam engines of UK experienced the life of rotting away in a scrapyard.
The narrow gauge is a different story. They kept running their old assets as theres no way they can buy new engines to run on the small line. Profits are tight. Some lines are sold in a package including whole assets. And their engines kept on running even if the line became a museum. Most of these engines never retire as they are cheaper to maintain than mainline ones.
In Germany, theres a place were steam is not dead but is kept running. Their modernisation plan is not as fast as BR in uk. Most steamers of Germany didnt retire until the 90s. Heck, theres even a shop with complete tools to make a brand new engine. It supports maintenance to the steam locomotives currently running inside and its neighbouring countries. The techniques and experience to build a steam engine still lives on strongly there. They even made the new boiler of the brandnew A1 Peppercorn Tornado. And they'lle be building more for their own too.
Welp, looks like they got to Quality.Garba-
The series also makes it pretty clear through context that Sodor has a vibrant tourism economy and the visitor's love for the steam engines is what allows management to justify their use. Scary stuff there
Which in of itself actually rings very true. Rev. Awdry was a volunteer of the Talyllyn Railway, one of the world's first heritage railways where its sole purpose was tourism. It brought a ton of tourists from far and wide into the Welsh countryside, and he saw how powerful these heritage railways were in not only preserving vintage locomotives and rolling stock but also providing a base economy for those around the railway. And the truth rings true as there are a ton of other successful heritage railways across Britain, and I can honestly believe in-lore that people would visit the Isle of Sodor just to see steam engines still working the mainline as part industrial equipment (Late in the books they were still hauling freight even far into the 90s and early 2000s eras) but also part tourist sightseeing.
Actually, when they tried to make the children of Sodor more racially diverse on old "Shining Time" episodes, an adult would notice that the only other Man or Woman on Sodor that same color was The Mayor. Don't worry. In later episodes, they added more Engineers and Townspeople of different colors. Those first couple of episodes, tho. Wait, What!?🤔😝😄
10:54 They couldn't have made this scene any darker looking if they tried. That engine didn't fall, he jumped.
Yeah he comited suicide
He had enough of the Thin Controller’s B.S
@XxRiskyPlanexX but he is probably going to get scraped. That can be the reason why he tried to comit suicide he rather drowns to dead than to be cut up.
For real- like, how do you fall off the tracks by a sound that spooked you? He wasn't even wobbling or anything, he just straight up went *yeet*
@@acetraineraster5171
Exactly, we don’t see him *wobble* and fall off. We see him suddenly stop and fall into the water.
I used to watch it all the time as a kid with the magic railway movie being my favourite movie, but I could still see the dark elements. My favourite episode was the one with that giant boulder. I liked the story and it was just so uncanny (what with a so-called boulder being perfectly spherical and a ghostly face on it) that it just sparked intrigue in my little mind. Makes sense as I’ve gone on to be a big fan of horror.
I was terrified of the original Diesel as a child. Something about the way George Carlin growled made me afraid of going to sleep because I was feared Diesel would burst out my closet any minute and run me over. Now as an adult I can see the entire Island of Sodor is terrifying. "Magic land where dreams come true" More like "Refuge for Obsolete Trains Hanging by the Edge of a Knife"
THAT WAS GEORGE CARLIN?
@@isaacturner9306 For the American release of the series, oh yeah. Beginning with Season Three. Appropriately enough it opens with an episode where Percy tells Henry he has a small funnel. You know what that's a euphemism for.
Sounds like the stuff was coauthored by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.
George Carlin? You know the locos are all British, right?
I remember being scared about the Oliver episode. When they said 'scrap' it genuinely made me hide under the covers 🤣🤣🤣
Henry: As we know from later episodes (special coal, flying kipper), Henry had a flaw. His firebox was too small for his size and he was a bad steamer. The crew couldn't keep his fire big enough to keep him in steam, so he would have trouble starting in the morning, and run out of steam quickly.
I think that rainy day, Henry was struggling to keep steam (what better way to make a fire even shittier than to wet the coal, then all that cold rain hitting his boiler making it even worse. then making the rails slippery so more tractive effort is wasted.) So Henry was MASKING his flaws (having trouble keeping moving) by pretending to "not want to get his paint wet" when he succumbed to his exhaustion and wanted to sit inside the tunnel for 10 minutes to gather his breath (out of the rain, so the coal gets dry and his boiler isn't getting cooled). He didn't want to admit (to himself or others) that he was having trouble moving, so he just put on a show of being an asshole about it so they wouldn't mock him for being a shitty fake Gresley A1 (what Gordon is) because he wants to prove to himself that he can be every bit as good as Gordon.
It takes 3 seasons till we get to the bottom of Henry's penhance for being lazy... He's actually physically flawed, and needs special coal to keep his energy up... like a locomotive version of a Celiac.
Once they get his diet right, he's just as capable as anyone (as long as he sticks to his diet).
Then, just as he's settling into his new life as a capable employee, no longer having to find excuses to lay down or pass out every few hours, he has a massive accident through no fault of his own, and is then taken to Crewe. Where his memories are downloaded into a new Stainer Black5 and the old Celiac Henry is scrapped... er I mean "He was fixed" with his entire shape being changed.
I wasn't a fan of the "the original henry is dead" idea but, in RWS continuity, it does make some sense. I mean, literally nothing was salvaged from his old shape in the books, probably not even his wheels and definitely not his tender. He largely remains the same in the TVS but only because of budget reasons, it would've been fascinating to see a contrast between old and new shape Henrys in the TVS if the budget allowed such.
How exactly would they download his memories in the before computers were even a thing? I'd say it's more likely they just transplanted his face at the very least
@@digstrememcdingus1463 probably just move the face over and BAM. like putting your brain into a new body.
@@nyotamwuaji6484 Still a better thought than them just replacing him with a clone that's been told what he does
Train with disability struggling to justify his own existence in a capitalist hellscape, afraid of admitting his disability for fear of getting fired (and thus killed) for it. Cool!
The old stopmotion look is honestly very pleasing. Not to mention how it was the most practical way of producing a cartoon back in the day. Build the models and sets and you could reuse them over and over again. Which was good because most British cartoons, especially back then, had a shoestring budget.
It actually wasn't stop motion. It's live action using 1:32 scale models and huge studio sets, very impressive for the time.
@@Mikeyalbum Sometimes I get them mixed up. 😅 But yeah, it's definitely impressive.
@@Mikeyalbum that makes it even more impressive though 😮
@@Mikeyalbum the coolest part is the fact that a lot of the models still exist and are owned by collectors! It’s really cool seeing how dedicated the Thomas fan base truly is.
@Full Thomas Episodes You do have to remember that the Discover Thomas attraction isn’t their main focus. Their top priority is the rides and park safety.
I’m absolutely certain the people that are in charge of that part of Drayton Manor would love to have the models in good condition, but that’s just not possible.
It’s a theme park, not a dedicated model railway museum.
I haven't watched a TomSka video in ages, and it makes me so happy to see him again! Love video essays like this, so I'd definitely like more of em!
I sort of have a theory as to why the troublesome trucks are so messed up. In the scrapyards, we see that the dead trains are missing their faces. As evidenced by the destruction of scruffy, a train can still live as long as it’s face is intact. My theory is that the scrapped trains have their faces placed on the trucks in order to become “really useful” again. This process irreversibly damages the train’s mind, rendering them insane, and those with any semblance of sanity left are suicidal.
Oh... Oh dear god no...
….……………….. well, at least they get to enjoy it for a bit
wait how do they shape the faces? Do they stretch it?
There's also just some train faces that are left on the body and rust away with the body
Thanks! I hate it.
I generally do not like ads, but this one was extremely good. Honestly well done.
That was like a god damn horror film trailer
@@gun8737 That's why I loved it. The ending was pretty nice, how they turn towards you, and you are the last one. Executed perfectly.
@@tymadul1 exactly
His acting was so so damn good
Yes more scetches like this
Fun fact: Even though Henry was only in the tunnel for one episode, there’s canonically a one year time gap between those two episodes, so Henry was trapped in that tunnel for at _least_ 365 days.
That wasn't fun, you lied to me
If this was in Chile, surviving in a whole vertical or horizontal is not a problem.
That canon
166 likes, just 500 more...
EDIT: now just 465 more...
That’s why he is so dirty.
About that one part, you said about Bulgy, yes he was turned into a hen house. But not forever later in season 7 bulgy was painted green and turned into a fruit stand. Then in season 21 bulgy returned and was back to be a normal bus again. You can find him in seasons 23-24 after that.
Fun fact: in the CGI seasons of the show Duke was never found. He’s still waiting in that shed since he was referenced, but he was never rescued and was left to rot away under the avalanche. Fun!
Because Mattel didn't care
No there was an episode after that where they found him
What do you mean? The CGI seasons are still the same continuity as the rest of the show. Them being a separate canon is a fan theory
@@Sophiepotter2022 no this is the cgi series
Someone's been watching The Unlucky Tug recently
The worst thing about smudger is he's buried in that landslide still, and he's most likely still alive. Lol
I was having a good day until you said that
He was probably scrapped like Stanley the American loco.
I mean in the books he gets moved to a mine
@@joshuaW5621 Nah man stanley drowned in a mine flood
he is extremly suffering
8:48 You need to watch Tugs, mate. That's the good stuff.
a checkmark knows tugs?
Oh shit it's Masako!
Does every British TH-camr know each other?
OH MY GOD TUGS. I HAVE THE CASETTE!
Absolutely needs to watch tugs
This makes me also think of the Jim Henson movie The Christmas Toy, how it had pretty much the same rules as Toy Story except that if the toys were caught out of place, they died on the spot 😬 it’s so damn dark
THAT POOR CLOWN!
the GUILT this movie gave me!! omg
Toy Story has a lot of similarities with The Christmas Toy but it never gets called a ripoff curiously enough.
@@1Thunderfireprobably because it’s a bit obscure
I spent 27 minutes of my life watching a grown man talk about Thomas & Friends, and I don't regret it.
Just speed up the video.
More likely than you think.
@Full Thomas Episodes i have
@Full Thomas Episodes i watch his videos
Those are rookie numbers my guy! Try 3 hours…
I would like more of "Tom ventures into surprisingly dark kids shows" maybe bring in a certain two other people to experience it with you
That moment when Tom's sponsers are becoming sketches themselves. Like for rl that probably would've fit on TomSka.
The fact that someone legally signed off of that ad is the funny part
i was a boy. they were 138 girls. can i make it any more obvious? thats right, i had a crazy dream last night. HAHAHAHAHA!!! im the funniest youtube star ever. youre welcome for laughing dear neo
Comment etiquette has been doing this for a while
I literally nearly turned the video off at the end of that sketch because i forgot it was an ad in the middle of a wider episode with how engaging it was
It's incredibly on-brand for Tomska.
Thomas & Friends follows the same principles in the show as real railroad operations (aside from the talking trains) railroads phase out older locomotives for scrap or parts. I love how this kids show was so accurate for worldwide railroad operations.
I absolutely lost it when he said the troublesome trucks "sometimes straight up kill themselves for fun"
They don’t mean to destroy themselves, but they cause trouble out of boredom and lack common sense.
@@Mason58654 Sounds like some people I know
HOLY SHIT I FORGOT THEY DO THAT
He tells us this, and then just moves on... I need to know more!
At least Thomas had Annie and Claribel, who had a bit more sense lol
The best line I have ever heard "I'm dressed as a burglar because I'm here to steal your child hood"
@Full Thomas Episodes who would want to steal that?
@@MissMarigold32What did he say?
Series like Thomas and Friends always end up being the epitome of "Don't think about it" in terms of lore and implications, like a lot of the fans of the series get mad with this kind of analysis but realistically you can't give trains sentience and human faces and emotions then get mad that people think its messed up when they're still treated exactly the same way as average, non-sentient vehicles and objects.
That is if you assume trains think like people, but they don't. people have things like free will and ambition whereas all one of these sentient trains want is to be used and operated. all the trains want is to be useful.
@@jeremychicken3339 They're just regular trains that are just given human emotion as their only anthropomorphized trait.
@@robbiewalker2831 exactly.
Im not entirely certain that’s accurate
Free will doesn’t exactly exist as an observable force so it’s difficult to say if it even exists unless you use stuff like legal precedent or definitional truth
And let’s say we are using a ne if these methods then I would argue that the Thomas trains do have free will or at least the ability to physically express some desires
Henry is probably the best example, a lack of free will as I understand it wouid be to have no control of your actions and since Henry was stubbornly refusing to exit the tunnel even under threats and most likely physical force through the train divers they do have done level of autonomy separate from the controllers and a will that allows then to disobey orders
All you need to know is the trains talk. If you can accept that, you can accept other things that may not make sense IRL.
Poland:
What do you mean scrapped? We putt em' all in museums.We're the only country that still uses them for regular services
Time to move to Poland
""the troublesome trucks also like to kill themselves for fun" had me dying of laughter. I just imagine a chain of them saying to Thomas "your mom gay" and driving off a fucking cliff dying of laughter as they fucking explode because one was carrying gasoline and sparks ignited the gasoline, causing a massive fucking explosion shooting a lost train back up and landing back perfectly on the tracks. the best episode plot for an episode ever, with the source of info that could even have proved something like this is possible is you Tomska.
The trucks are less naive and optimistic than Thomas as they are less useful. They have gone completely bonkers
"Hey-Hey Thomas. Joe Mama" *explosions*
the sentence "driving off a cliff dying of laughter as they fucking explode" is extremely funny
Gives a whole new meaning to they died of laughter
thats probably canon
So around the end when you’re talking about Britt Allcroft being Lady in TATMR you said this implies “take me out of the show, and the show will die,” kinda accurate though.
To be fair that was more the American owners pushing for the CG as it was cheaper and faster
In many ways, the Awdrys' commitment to railway realism is the reason why so many of the dark stories exist.
A train hiding in a scrapyard is like an escaped prison hiding in his cell
Actually it's more like hiding from death row rather than hiding in prison
12:56 turns out RW Awdry has his own opinion on this; when a train is pretty significantly modified and altered in its function, he considers the vehicle to no longer be the same, stating that the Henry from before and after he was rebuilt in the series are 2 separate engines, though there seems to remain memories. The TV series didn't really portray that, which is probably for the best.
I wonder if Awdry imagined a sort of middle reality where the island and the engines are real, but they don't really have faces and personalities, and the stories exist as fictionalised versions of real events to entertain people who enjoy travelling on Sodor's famous railways.
@Just Some guy jesus, that is kinda creepy in a way...
It was for the best. An engine being rebuilt doesn't make it a brand new engine. It's the same engine with new parts. That's it.
So Riencarnation but you remember your past life.
@@JamesGeiger23 that depends on what engine and how extensively rebuilt it is. A car or airplane engine should always be restored to new condition by a rebuild, or else there's no point in rebuilding it.
As a trains enthusiast, I can confirm that some locomotives are indeed kept just for spare parts in real life. I already find this a bit sad for non-sentient machines, but for alive locomotives? That's horrifying!
I mean with TTTE engines, they can talk, think, feel (pain and emotions). I imagine a parts Sodor engine would probably cry a lot, weep until it had no more tears left.
I think my favorite thing of Thomas and Friends is simply the fact that George Carlin served as the narrator (In the US) for a decade or so and came back to reprise his role in some spins offs and movies up until he passed away. Some creators have made some hilarious mashups using voice over lines from his comedy routines mixed in with the voice work for the show.
Also contrary to how people think about him and his personality, George Carlin actually spoke really fondly about the times he worked on Thomas the Tank Engine and Shining Time Station. I believe in an interview he said the stories told were simple with easy to learn but very valubal lessons for children, and he was happy to be a part of that and admired the work done in the books and show. I hear a lot of people are surprised to hear that, as they expect him to have a gruff or negative memory of the show.
Headcanon for the inspiration of the "I like trains" kid...
Kids: Hello, Thomas the Tank Engine!
Kid TomSka: Har har! Very creative...
Kids: What's the matter? Do you hate trains?
Kid TomSka: No... **creepy smile** _I LIKE TRAINS_
The Hatt dynasty was a much needed burst of uncontrollable laughter, thank you, may the Hatts rule on 3000 years more.
That killed me
This was the most brutal, most terrifying sponsorship I have ever seen. You earned my respect
Definitely the most terrifying and original sponsorship I’ve ever scene. About time though really. Took me completely by surprise and I loved it.
and i still wont buy surfshark fr
@@theredvelveteer4721 youre next
I have no money, would Tomska let me go?
I loved it so much, and the acting was well done as well
My favorite part about this video is a couple weeks ago I heard someone talking about how fucked up the “getting bricked in a tunnel” episode was, and when someone told them Henry gets out in the next episode, they just said “AND IF YOU NEVER WATCH THAT EPISODE THEN WHAT??? HUH??? YOU GOTTA TRAUMATIZED KID!!” and this video proving them right is great closure for me
honestly same. How.
Getting bricked up in a tunnel sounds like my regular Friday night.
The Purge: Island of Sodor is the movie we never knew we wanted.
You know, the "I like trains" is so ingrained in my mind that when it played, it took me just a moment to remember that this dude created that. Absolutely sent me.
The way i had no idea he made that!! Thats incredible
@@screechwhisper I deeply hope this is sarcastic, because the idea that there are people who don't recognise I Like Trains from asdf movie or know Tom Ska as the asdf movie guy makes me feel very old for someone in their mid twenties.
@@Sophia-ku8ex Not everyone has had the same experiences, and as Aven said, their face wasn't even in most of those animations. They could have easily seen them re-uploaded elsewhere.
@@Avendesora Yeah, fair enough. I recognised him by name, not face, since I can't see. My comment was meant to be light-hearted and yes, I do realise that not everyone is going to instantly connect asdf and Tom Ska.
Nuke: Goes off
The Narrator: Luckily, no one was hurt.
Well it was the Nuke's fault for not being Really Useful!
*Are nukes sentient?*
The Narrator and DDOI being one sentient creature of safety when doing voice overs:
No one was hurt, because everyone was kil-
Yeah, the amount of incidents that should have casualties but don’t is just absurd.
An actual answer to your question at 20:07 could be that the Island of Sodor is a heritage railway. Many of which still exist as a safe haven for steam engines
When you get old enough to realized the "Scrap & Smelter yard" is just the vehicles version of an extermination camp.
The way I conceptualized the humanity of trains, cars, etc. in Thomas the Tank Engine is like what you said about them being loved very much, except I think them being alive was figurative. A lot of people personify vehicles that they work with for long periods because we're human and complex vehicles like trains and cars will always have quirks much like our own personalities. This is corroborated by their very limited abilities to act on their own without drivers, like how sometimes your vehicle does something weird and you describe it as "having a mind of its own". So they're really the personification of the drivers' emotional experiences with the vehicles, which I think is kind of sweet.
this
Rev. Awdry also loved to photograph real life locomotives, and was also part of the historic Talyllyn Railway where he volunteered time to work on the railway. A lot of his Skarloey Railway stories are based on his experiences on the Talyllyn Railway (Like the time he was on guard duty and accidentally left the refreshment lady behind, which he enshrined in a story and eventually episode of Thomas the Tank Engine). A lot of the locomotives had quirks due to the way they were originally built. Some would run smoothly like clockwork whilst others would constantly give crew trouble. Coaches and rail cars would bump and rattle around, and sometimes be unreliable with hose pipes leaking, bogies becoming derailed on their own, etc. Working around these machines for a while it's easy to see why Rev. Awdry wrote such personalities for the train and railcars as he did.
Well yes, I think this is the normal way to look at it, and I think is the unspoken thing in this video. Like, this is how we'd normally look at the show. But if we were to take this assumption out just for fun, it provides a very different perspective on the same piece of media.
The best theory I have for the engine's sentience is the fact that objects have names, even though all the 'troublesome trucks' don't have individual names they're still labeled troublesome
Kinda like being schizo?
I very distinctly remember “Duncan gets spooked” being genuinely terrifying to me as a child lmao
So that was the name of that traumatizing episode that terrified me as a 3 year old
Yep
I was always a very obedient child and now I think I know why I watched this show a ton as a kid. Tom this video has sacred me
I haven’t become sacred watching this, I guess I got on the wrong train.
@@BigA207 lmao I must have written that at like 3am
as a TTTE/RWS fan, I was expecting the typical "henry got in a tunnel and DIED" but the way you actually got EVERYTHING 100% right is fantastic!! great vid mate
Came here to say the same. EVERY TIME “thomas is dark” articles or videos start with “hEnRy iN tUnNeL” I immediately tune out, but this is brilliant.
Same XD
TomSka & Friends... Thomas & Friends... COINCIDENCE?
YEA
@FoxtheImpersonator incredibly so
Haha
@What Made Thomas Special look, Bernie-
My thoughts exactly
It never occured to me before that Thomas the Tank Engine was actually a survival horror show for kids.
@Full Thomas Episodes I am a masterpiece
@@mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnnn yes, you are. Your my number one.
Thomas is for kids not adults
Its not.
Its baded of real life.
Correction:thomas is for everyone but IT IS NOT A HORROR SURVIVAL SHOW
Knowing that City of Truoro scrap shows up through the entire series after this episode, gives of a little bit of creepy pasta vibe
Being called 'Thomas the Tank Engine' when young, is somthing every Thomas can relate too.
Speaking from personal experience of course.
Yep, I'm with you
Amen, brother.
This is the way 😔
Like how every Robin is automatically associated with either Batman or a certain medieval English archer.
@@LinguaPhiliax i dunno, being batman's sidekick is MUCH cooler than being a twee kids show character
as a Thomas fan I am quite happy that someone outside of the community is shedding light on this.
btw Henry was going to remain there forever but the publisher wanted to bring all 3 engines and give a happy ending
also the controllers aren't evil, they are really just very stern, a tough love sort of thing, the reason why the controller hasn't replaced the engines isn't because they are still usefull, but sentimental value, I mean his grandfather worked for one of the early railways on the island.
and bulgy was repaired, but he kept being stupid, lying, and having accidents that they then turned him into a hen house
The issue is stern and actively abusive we’re a bit blurred in the past
Teachers could literally beat students for petty reasons and be considered normal people when now a days we would consider that child abuse
Isn’t Bulgy turned into a vegetable bus though?
@@MilkDrinker218then the same bus again
Favourite bits
"Why can the tumbleweed talk? WHY!?! 9:08
"He's still covered in sand tho..." 12:09
"That's f**ked up..." 15:10
"Rail me daddy" 17:10
"Yah boo snubs!" 23:42
"I got nothin... Idk what they are about..." 25:27
"Rail me Daddy!"
“Rail me daddy, ægh”
Yaboo scrubs!
My favorite 21:15
Thomas and Friends will always be my number 1 favorite childhood show in my heart.
Same
In terms of train morality it’s important that to know; Rev W Awdry always just saw trains as having innate personality and the faces are an extension of that. He prised realism, and all of his stories are based or inspired by real events. The show gets weirder with it but the RWS kept semi consistent with that concept
Fun fact: In Hungarian, "(el)Sodor" is literally one of the most common words we use to indicate that someone was ran over by a train.
I can't get this out of my head now, send help.
Thomas and His friends are in court
oh no...
I- Oh my god...
Miért kellett elolvasnom ez a commentet?
I demand a refund! This wasn't a fun fact, instead I now need a shrink.😂
I think that the only thing you got wrong is that they are forced to work against their will, its shown that they actually enjoy working and when they act naughty, their punishment is usually being prohibited to work. they hate doing nothing so working is the only thing they can really do. i have the same opinion on this as "the unlucky tug" which stated "i see them like dogs but with more intelligence" if the owner keeps them fed and go on walks time to time then they're happy, same goes with engine's, but instead of going out on walks, its working on the island
So basically when a train “dies” *:so eventually, he stopped thinking*
Kars wanted the Red Stone so he could become a tank engine, otherwise known as the ultimate life form.
I did not expected a JoJo reference here XD
Wasn't expecting to see this in a comment section for Thomas the Tank Engine. Great minds think alike lol