r/thomasthetankengine

Credit to @speedking_alt

I actually think his portrayal in calling all engines is my favourite, the engines being afraid of him just because he looks intimidating but he ends up just being a quiet guy who enjoys his job could’ve had alot of storytelling potential for future episodes but we ended up not seeing him until misty island rescue where they tried to make him evil but not evil enough

I heard it off a mattel employee this is what will happen trust

Personally yes,

Especially for parents who can’t afford Netflix and want their child to watch Thomas without being overflowed with ads.

Plus PBS Kids curated the Thomas page in an easy to navigate way that it useful for kids and parents.

In 2024 PBS launched a channel called PBS Retro and the HiT era along with the 2 Angelina ballerina shows are on there which brings my hopes high.

Okay, firstly, I, David, being an adult, have always been worried about Thomas's legacy, as much as it pains me to say, it feels like what happened with the Muppets (Post-Henson era) to be precise.

I am actually hopeful of this reboot, but also very wary of this as well. Sure, the reboot looks good and all, but my concerns are the following, because after the horrible BWBA and AEG reboots, here are my biggest concerns:

1. Will the series ever get a US dub? I mean, think about it. Thomas has always had a US dub, even going back as far as Shining Time Station. Every Thomas special, and season has had a US dub, in the same vain as the UK dub, but then again.

2. Could this be as bad as Sharon miller? Probably. But I really, really don't want that to happen. (Season 13 anyone?) And judging by the way the show is, it won't even surprise me if this show fails.

My final point, 3. Who is animating the show? I don't mean what animator is running it, I'm talking about what animation studio is in charge. I think it will just be Mattel animation or another division.

What do you all think?

For me its BufferstoNowhere version of Ryan aka Charlie, i really don't understand why he is Dudley 2.0, a villain that is extremly jealous of Thomas and wants to take everything he has while also working with Sailor John, then again its implied he is not engine 1014

While this probably would have fit better yesterday, I feel like mentioning that there is a LOT of missed potential with hank. While I could list a few examples (his basis, the difference between British and American railroad practice causing issues as hank is versed in the latter, etc.) There is one interaction that we never got, and that is between Hank and Gordon.

Why Gordon and not, say, Rosie or another American character?

The answer lies in the strange relationship the Pennsylvania K4 class has with the A1. While calling it a direct inspiration is a stretch, there were multiple elements of the K4 that Gresley integrated into the A1, most notably the tapered boiler. (even if Gordon does not have one on the model, you get the point) One could then argue that, depending on how interpret it, Hank's class is part of what led to Gordon's existence. The parallels are even noticeable in their other attributes: Both are large, blue pacific with red accents that are best known for express work. Granted, this may be more of a coincidence (Hank's colors are Blue, with red and white , similar to the colors of the American flag, While Gordon is the same shade of blue as Thomas and Edward with yellow instead of white) One could even argue that the two share a few personality traits (both are good at heart, though Gordon is far more boastful while Hank is far more jovial.)

I could also 100% see Hank thinking Gordon is smaller than him (because he is, even in the model Hank's is a little larger) And Gordon taking that more as a jab than as a want to help.

Though this DID give me a dumb idea for a story: Gordon and Hank swapping stories of their respective express work, with the conversation eventually changing to talking about their classes. Hank would mention how he and his brothers were the basis for a lot of other engines (Which is technically true, as outside of the A1, the PRR created multiple loco designs that trace their heritage back to the K4) While Gordon would list his creator and siblings, with the former catching Hank's attention. When asked, Hank recalls meeting a "Nigel" before back in the states (This is not entirely outside of the realm of possibility, as the information I could find never listed which K4 Gresley saw, so in this case, it could very well HAVE been Hank.) and how the man was impressed with his power. Gordon does not catch the fact that they are the same person, though at least one other engine does (I would say Thomas, and the reason for using Thomas would be that he has worked with hank before and sees Gordon as a close friend, as seen by their alliance. Thomas would be the only one with enough of an understanding of both engines to really have to think about if they should tell Gordon.) The story would revolve around the character debating on how or even if they should tell Gordon. Thomas would be unsure if they even were the same person and was unsure how Gordon would handle it. Ironically, Thomas would decide to tell Gordon and would meet with the pair right as either Flying Scotsman or Spencer would be telling them the exact same thing (At least with Scotsman, he has been stateside so he may have picked up the connection to the K4s during his American tour, or from an American trainspotter.) In the end Gordon would still claim to be the best, having been an improvement on the innovations Hank pioneered. Hank would actually affirm this and state that he was so famous, that they named a hill after him (HE probably would have heard that it was called Gordons hill but not why it was called that) The story ends with Gordon spluttering and Thomas and Spencer/Flying Scotsman laughing while Hank tries to figure out what is so funny.

Idk, at the end of the day it is a fun interaction that we never got and some potential for stories for fan creators.

Over the past three months, I spent around 200 USD on a bunch of Thomas merch!

- 4 new motorised engines+3 rolling stock

- 15 new diecast engines

- 2 big track sets( the 6 in 1 and the barrel delivery set specifically)

- 4 second hand rolling stock

Even though I'm happy with what I got, I feel kinda bad spending basically 66 dollars per month..

I wanna know y'all thoughts on this