Thomas Goes 2D

Well, this has caused some controversy, because... of course it has.

Some background. A couple of weeks ago, Mattel announced that there would be more content next year, but there would be, you guessed it, another shake up of the formula.

Whether that means the show moving away from the global aspect the show went in for the past few years is unknown (but it would be unsurprising), but it does mean that the storytelling style is changing again, with more focus on Thomas being the star of the show.

And this is the first issue. Executives want to put more focus on Thomas because kids identify with him more than the others. But the previous writing style enforced on the team by the executives hasn't allowed kids to fully connect with other characters!

BWBA had Thomas appearing everywhere. Other characters on Sodor barely got a starring role to themselves. And even if they did, more often than not, Thomas was always right behind them.

This problem was made ten times worse when things went international. The executives had so little faith (or, most likely, no interest) in the other members of the Steam Team (remember that?) that Thomas had to be in every single one, either as the star or as the character who, more often than not, caused the conflicts.

So, in essence, they're taking the idea of the global episodes and applying it across the whole series. This means that Thomas' personality could become even more muddled to the point where it becomes so dry and uninteresting that I wouldn't be surprised if the target audience started to notice. Whether they'll care or not, we won't know. Some, possibly most, parents still shove their kids in front of a TV (or a tablet now, if they can afford it) because it's easier for them than looking after their kids (in fairness, most parents barely get any help from governments so that they can have a proper break, so it's understandable in a way. And I'm not saying that using screens is a detriment to a child. There just needs to be a better balance of screen, parental responsibility and support for parents and carers).

Things went quiet for a while and it seemed like things would return to normal with older fans whining about insignificant things as per usual. And then... and then.

October 12th, 2020. Business Wire published a report offiially announcing that Thomas and Friends was returning for 104 new episodes (four series of 26) and two specials. Nothing special there, right? Well, they also announced that the franchise would be animated in 2D by Nelvana and Corus Entertainment, while publishing the above promotional image.

Cue massive meltdown from older fans. Especially the ones outing themselves as fascist sympathisers.

Now, let's be honest here: we all knew that there would be changes with the animation when the show returned. Jam Filled announced on their Instagram last year that they'd moved on from the franchise. And although the animation wasn't as good as when Arc was in charge (before they went bankrupt), it still looked unique from any other show.

The reboot, however... doesn't. It feels really cheap, and it looks bland and uninteresting. And that is something that has never been felt before with the franchise. Even the Railway Series had some top quality artwork for its illustrations. Series 13-16, in hindsight, rested on its laurels a bit by doing nothing to make things look better or more striking (Arc and Jam Filled constantly tweaked the lighting, camera angles and even the models). But that could never be described as unappealing visually.

Let's be fair here. This is just one promo image. That's not a good indicator of how good or bad the end product will be. That can only be judged when a trailer comes out and we see it in motion. Likewise, we can't be sure of the story quality until next year. But with everything that's been revealed so far, it's going to be interesting to see what the reaction from the target audience will be.

The biggest problem for me is that the show is in danger of losing its identity. Changing a show's formula every four or five years (seriously, since 2004, things have been altered every four years. Either due to a change in management, financial issues or, since 2017, just because) makes a show seem desperate and cloying. Shows like Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol probably haven't changed much since they were born, but they're still relevant and popular today. Hell, Fireman Sam hasn't changed much (other than the switch to CG and the use of updated tech) and that feels like it has more of an identity than Thomas at this point.

The sad thing is that, while it had a really slow start (and I was switched off by it during the first series), Big World, Big Adventures was really coming into its own. Thomas & the Forest Engines is one of my favourite episodes of that era of the show, maybe of the franchise in general (I've been meaning to talk about that since I saw it), and the episode quality in general was becoming more consistent. It could've been something really great had it been given time. But alas, executives have no time for slow burns when they demand instant returns.

How this next reboot will go over with younger fans, time will tell. I hope it's a success; it would be a shame if this generation of kids was the one that dropped off of Thomas & Friends. But if it is, there's no one to blame but the pricks at the top who constantly cut the tracks away from the franchise the minute it finds some stability.

"But what about the older fans?" Frankly, I don't care. The franchise has never been catered towards anyone beyond the age of 8. Older fans only watch it now either out of habit or because they want something to hate in their lives, which is a sad existence to lead.

Let's be blunt here, most older fans don't care about children (although some could care about them in an intimate way, but that's another issue entirely). They only care about themselves and going back to where things were. Every single complaint I see is one rooted in nostalgia. "I want the models back!" "Bring back BoCo and Bertram!". Hell, even if they got exactly what they wanted, they'd still find a way to bitch about it. That's all that older fans care about; whinging about a franchise they supposedly care about because they'd have nothing else to do otherwise.

I'm willing to watch it and give it a chance. If it doesn't click, I won't watch it again. If the target audience likes it, that's all that matters. Older, entitled brats have no right to dictate what kids should and shouldn't like.

Emily the Enigma

It's been a while..! It seems the show is either coming to an end or going on hiatus for a year. So with series 24 beginning to air in the UK (after it's aired in Australia and the US), I think it's time to look back on the most controversial of the main characters. Well, until two years ago..!

Emily was a real base breaker from the get go. One year after a trio of solid appearances, she became a main character in an attempt to push more prominent female representation, while fan favourites from the Little Western were abandoned for years. The problem is that... well, it didn’t make much of a difference. Probably because they thought it a great idea to change her personality from stern, caring mother to spoiled, bossy brat. Because, for some reason, they thought that falling back on negative female stereotypes would be a good idea.

Not only that, but they didn’t put much focus on any existing, or newly introduced, females at all. And even when they did, it was always with the caveat that the males were the true stars while the females were portrayed negatively. Molly needed Thomas’ help to feel special, Rosie was a creepy stalker and Flora was what most uncritical people believe a Disney princess to be. Meanwhile, Annie and Clarabel only spoke once or twice, Daisy was only in Calling All Engines (and, obviously, didn’t speak), Henrietta wasn’t allowed to do anything due to a lack of face and Mavis only had a few cameos here and there (her personality wasn't butchered though, so... yay?). Because of this, Emily’s move to Steam Team member couldn’t have felt any more performative if it tried.

These problems only persisted into the CG era, and were only highlighted further by the fact that she and Mavis were the only non-human female characters (besides Annie, Clarabel and Henrietta) in the show until Millie and Caitlin were introduced in 2013. 5. Years. Later. As much as misogynistic fans don’t want to admit it, the show does have a problem with female representation. Or, at least, it did until they actually started to take the problem seriously, turned Daisy into the best character of the show, introduced more female characters, balanced out the main cast (in terms of numbers, the balance is still a bit off when it comes to personality. Although that could be due to the fact that the male characters have been around from the get go rather than only three years) and giving some of the female human characters much bigger positions on the global railways (still no female crew members on Sodor, though..!).

But despite all of this, Emily still felt as though she was being left behind. For the first four years of the CG era, she didn't have her own whistle sound, continuing to borrow Henry's instead. And her starring roles weren't much to write home about either. Her Nitrogen era episodes were rather average (although, in her defence, everyone got shafted during that era), while her starring roles during the Brenner era all amounted to her trying to find her place/feel as important as her other stars. Almost as if the writing team knew what the problem was, yet had no clue how to fix it..!

Oh, and before anyone mentions it, No Snow for Thomas probably was her best role, but she was a supporting character to Thomas' story of not wanting to wear his snowplough. That said, her motherly nature, combined with some excitability and cheek, on display in that episode was great. And it was consistently great when she wasn't in the spotlight. Heck, it was even more important once Edward left the shed.

But if you want a prime example of how much Emily got shafted, she was the last member of the main cast to get a number. Even Nia and Rebecca had them from the get go! And the funniest (in a really sad way) thing about that? She got it in the last series of the show (for now, at least) in the last episode she had a major role in. Frankly, she should've been given a number either from the get go or the second it was decided that she would be in the main cast. Visually, her lack of number made her stand out like a sore thumb. And while it was nice that she was given it as a reward for her bravery rather than it popping out of nowhere, doing it so late - and giving her nothing else afterwards - feels like a massive kick in the teeth for her.

To sum up, Emily is how I've described her in the title: a total enigma. There's been a lot of things done with her, yet everything has an asterisk next to it.

• She was given two coaches, but they were non-descript due to their lack of sentience.
• She became a main character and had a personality change, yet she only had one or two starring roles to work with per series (she might have had more in series 8).
• The sheds were rebuilt to accomodate her, yet she offered nothing of value until her personality was reverted in the CG era.
• She was given a number... in her last major role to date.

Honestly, it's hard not to feel sorry for her. The fans were against her since series 8 for replacing a popular character, and that only died down when Rebecca and Nia turned up. Meanwhile, the only memorable thing the writers did with her was a mean spirited "joke" dressed as fan service in Duck and the Slip Coaches (I'll forever hate that moment). Hell, they have the perfect idea of a character for her with the motherly/sisterly dynamic she has in supporting roles. Yet every time she stars, they go with the typical "girl characters with self confidence issues" trope for... no reason, really. Meanwhile, Daisy and Marion got some amazing starring roles and they're predominantly supporting characters.

It's difficult to say what the future holds for the franchise. But if it does come back to TV with a new series or special, they really need to figure out what to do with Emily. They can change the look of her as much as they want. But until they keep the personality consistent, and they start treating her as an equal to her colleagues like they did with Rebecca and Gordon, it will continue feeling like style over substance with her.

And, frankly, a character as tenured as Emily deserves better than that.