Production Blog: 03/11/2019

Nearly six months since the last update, in which I spoke about the upcoming release of "Those Branch Line Engines" - whoops! Suffice to say, the episode has since been completed and released, so go watch it now, if you haven't already. If you like the soundtrack, then Mavis M has once again released the full score on their channel.

So, on to the current episode. Whereas Episode 2 took almost a year to complete (for various reasons relating to time and set pieces that were both in short supply) Episode 3 has actually progressed exceptionally quickly. In fact, filming is very near done as I write this.

Episode 3 has been written by Michael Evans (i.e. ThomasFan8 of "Jeopardy", "Mountain Engine" and "Bad Look Out" fame), and I am sure you will all love it. Michael has even been on set as assistant director, and decorated the sky backdrops with clouds. Mike is even working on some Visual Effects too; I love the outcome, and certainly feel that every episode is a step up from the one before - I hope you will agree.

There are some ambitious sets on this one too, new lighting and some new challenges arising from the subjects of the story. A rough edit with everything filmed so far has been reviewed, and there are one or two pick-ups to do, but otherwise everything is coming together nicely. 

Once again, Mavis is composing the score, and we already have some excellent pieces drafted, including something very special. In addition to my own Instagram and Twitter, keep watch on Mike's social media too for teasers - there are already a couple out there.

The Episode title will be revealed soon, with a target release of a vague "before Christmas" nature. Potentially two episodes in one year? Crazy!

Production Blog: 29/05/2019

It's long overdue, but it's time for an update. Firstly, is the confirmation of the title; this was revealed on Twitter and Facebook a few weeks ago to be "Those Branch Line Engines". The above promotional still serves as a teaser for the episode.

I had hoped to have the episode ready much earlier in the year, but this obviously was not to be. Production was delayed whilst I waited on the parts for and completion of a major set-piece for the final scene. I'm pleased to confirm that filming is now all wrapped up and the initial edit (set to the dubbing track) is complete. This is now in the hands of the lovely Mavis M for the score to be composed. I will shortly commence the sound effects edit, after which it will be on to final review, preview and then (eventually) release.

In the meantime, I've taken the quiet spell I'm currently experiencing as an opportunity to get stuck in to pre-production of Episode 3. The script has been written, and today the dubbing track has been recorded. Some more planning is to be completed, but filming could very well begin soon.

I appreciate this isn't much of an update, but I hope it will at least serve to fill the gap, and show that things are definitely happening behind-the-scenes!

Watch this space and follow the social media pages for up-to-date news and announcement of the release date.

Owen

Production Blog: 19/01/2019

Only a small update but an update nonetheless. Episode 2 is progressing quite well indeed, with about 90% of the filming completed. I have just one last scene to shoot, but I won't have the time to do this until the start of February; this also allows me time to complete a few essential parts for the location to be used.

The title will be revealed once this final scene has been shot and the final edit is underway; a rough edit currently exists setting out the already-captured footage. I'm hoping that if all is completed to my schedule, the episode will launch at the start of March.

I'm not giving too much away about this episode either. If you've been following me on Twitter you may have seen the odd Behind The Scenes still, plus a preview clip on YouTube, but none of these reveal what the story is about. Even the pictures here have been carefully selected - I'm hoping this will mean people will be drawn in by the story more, not knowing too much about it in advance resulting in more enjoyment drawn from the first viewing.

One thing I will say is watch out for references to projects past and future - it's nice to acknowledge my roots sometimes because, without my past work, I would't be where I am today (not that I'm anything "big" really, but certainly better quality control than I used to be...)

That's all for now. Until next time.

TRI

Reflection Time

 So, there we have it - "Feeling Sheepish" has been released to the world and seems to have gone down well. And that's good! Believe me - I kept wondering whether it would be well received, whether I still had it, and even if anyone would care. But there have been some very nice things said in the comments which has made it all worthwhile.

There was a lot going on for this project. Visually, the sets were much improved, and I hope to continue this with future episodes. They'll never be perfect as space at home is limited, but I will make good where I can. The story was properly written and re-written too, with several draft versions before we reached the script for the final cut (which was actually tweaked during the recording session, led my Michael Evans of ThomasFan8 fame.) I had originally intended Thomas and Duck's roles to be reversed, but I was quite drawn to the idea of Duck getting into a scrape for a change.

Overview of the Market Station set.
The bin and boxes would be used to prop
up the sky backdrops.

Now, this episode's existence can almost be accredited to one thing. Some months back, MKTheInstrumentalist released an edit of Duck's theme without the iconic lead. There was something about this piece that instantly captured my imagination - I couldn't help picturing Duck on a journey somewhere after a scene with another engine, and that got my mind thinking; who, what, where, when and why? The segment of Thomas and Duck heading to their respective jobs had originally been edited to that piece of music, but ultimately I decided I would try something risky - commissioning an original score.

As is no doubt well-known by now, the fabulous Mavis M composed the score for this episode, and it was a delight to be able to secure their talent to bring this new era to life. I'm keen to work with them again in future, and I'm sure there'll be some interesting compositions for the episodes to come. I'm sure everyone can agree that what Mavis produced is sublime, and the full score can be heard on their YouTube and Soundcloud channels.

So, now lets look to the future.

Episode ideas are slowly forming and being written. I'm working to an 'as long as needed' basis for runtime; writing for a short duration is quite a challenge (a good challenge, as Feeling Sheepish shows) but I don't want my stories to feel rushed or have crucial elements cut. They shall be as long as they need to be, whilst still being 'short' stories. This will also help TTMA become its own thing, rather than trying to entirely emulate the classic stories on which they draw inspiration.

Set up to record a Fat Controller close-up.

The episodes will still be divided up into 'series' of sorts (or is 'chapters' a better word?) Series 1 is very much for testing the water, and centres around the branch lines and the engines that work on them. Series 2 will then expand slightly and moves on to re-introducing properly some of the original characters I created; kudos to those who spotted Benny the crane and Beth the brake van in the background during 'Feeling Sheepish.' As mentioned previously, many of the models of my own creations have been sold, but a select few remain; whilst not all will re-appear, I have another one or two in mind for a comeback. Beth and Benny will see roles too in some form.

Most of the stories will be written by myself, however I am delighted to say that some ideas have been put forward by ThomasFan8 and CombineHarvester01 (whom I both know personally in real life) and subsequently these are being developed too.

All in all, I have felt something that I haven't felt in a very long time - accomplishment! Things are looking good, and I shall be starting production work on Episode 2 very soon indeed.

The Farmer's Crossing set. Very basic, but did exactly what it needed to do.

Until next time, thanks for your support.

Production Blog: 19/06/2018

These won't be frequent, but I thought it would be nice to update you all on progress of the relaunch and future episodes through this blog. I've covered previously the characters and drive for this, so this will focus more on what has actually happened in the lead up to each release.

Previous stories were mostly filmed in a day, basically because my sets were so bare I could actually achieve this. However, as I hope you have witnessed, the new stories will utilise much better (in a loose sense of the word) sets. Filming for episode one spanned about four days; I was quite lucky that this episode reused a few throughout its course which meant I could film a lot in one go.

As such, filming has wrapped and editing is very near completion. The clips have been edited into order to the rough dubbing track (I shall be rerecording (for the fifth time?) the dubbing to make it stand out over the score better), and sound effects are in place. The score is now being composed and things are looking very good indeed. I may not make the proposed end-of-June release, but at least I will be happy with what comes out.

I have more ideas taking shape to form episodes that follow this one, so it shall definitely not be a one-off.

The Characters

On my recent Teaser video, some asked about my original characters, and whether or not they would be returning. Some may be aware that a year or so ago, I had a bit of a clearout of my OO stock, having started an O gauge collection too. I had to seriously look at what I had in OO, and whether it would be in line with my plans for future layouts.

A lot of my original characters used 'cheap' Hornby 0-4-0 models, or models in my care that belonged to my uncle. At the time, I had no plans to reboot the series, and this lead to a lot of these models being sold off. As it happens, looking at it now, many of the characters never really had any defining features to them - many were introduced because when I started, I was lacking in a lot of character models from Hornby (and later Bachmann)'s Thomas range, and they were simply to 'boost the numbers' so there was at least some variety in who was on screen.

Not all of the models were sold - some were retained for sentimental value. But I think it is fair to say that not all of these will re-appear in the series. However, I do have a few old faces appearing in the reboot. I shan't reveal who these are yet, as I am still working these out and defining their personalities, but there will be some. There will be teasers, so keep an eye out.

Episode 1 is nearing completion, and I'm hoping to have some big news in relation to its production soon. No set release date yet, but if all goes well, it may be launched at the end of June. To separate the new stories from my old content, TTMA will move over to a new dedicated channel - so be sure to subscribe and watch there for episodes, deleted scenes and possibly more in the future.

The Return

So, as teased in my previous post / on my YouTube channel, my model series "Thomas The Model Adventures" is being rebooted this Summer.

For those who may be unaware, TTMA was my own Thomas-based web series, which also introduced a lot of own-creation characters; the sole reason for this was because, at the time, I didn't have most of the core Thomas characters and was keen to flood the stories with as many faces as possible.

The earliest episodes were filmed on a bedroom floor, with a pretty low-quality camera and next to no actual substance whatsoever - but what did I care? It was fun, I was young and had no real idea of what I was doing, I simply enjoyed it. I wasn't in the fortunate position to have stocks of buildings, stock, track etc. but I was content with simply creating adventures, with the visuals merely being second to that.

 Fast forward a few years and things hadn't really changed all that much. Sure, I had moved off of the bedroom floor and started building 'sets' rather than utilising a loop of track with sidings, but the stories were still lacking and the overall look wasn't much better. I had always wanted to make a film out of my series (mostly inspired by other series doing same, such as Thomas The Model Series (sound similar?)), and "When The Engines Split" was just that. But at release, the film used a script that was several years old, and full of countless plotholes and loose ends. It was around this time I was starting to look at my work more seriously, and wanted to produce work that I could genuinely be proud of. I had stopped enjoying my work and wanted to change that.

'Series 5' was meant to be that reboot, with better stories and sets planned, but ultimately it ended after 3 episodes. Life got in the way, time ran away from me, and I went through a patch of rough mental health that drained me of all enthusiasm. Quite frankly, I wanted rid of it all.

Some may be aware that I dabbled with animation for a little while, with 'Stick in the Mud' being completed during my time at college. I had (and still have) every intention of completing the other stories from 'Very Old Engines', along with some original ideas, but stop-motion takes a long time and requires sets to be left for a long time. Presently, I do not have the space to do this, and so these are more projects falling by the wayside.

So why suddenly relaunch a series I wanted rid of?

Because I found myself being inspired.

For the first time in years, I have ideas for decent stories, which I have sat down and structured and planned. With the TV series looking like it is heading for a drastic fall, it is the perfect time to jump back into the fray and produce the sort of stories that I would have liked to see the show tell. Seeing other content creators produce some excellent stories also made me miss my hobby.

It still won't be perfect, but I'm happy with that. I hope you will all enjoy the stories that are to come. There won't be regular releases, as time is still not on my side, but things won't be quite so rushed.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy.

The Teaser

I return to YouTube Summer 2018...

The Polls (Part 2): Which Secondary Characters Would You Like To See LESS Of?

I must apologise to all for taking so long to getting this posts done. Home life has not been a barrel of laughs lately, with all manner of things happening. I shall hopefully be able to catch up on these reviews this week.

The second of my polls; I must say I wasn't sure who would top this one. The results were:

• Charlie - 554
• Spencer - 62
• Rocky - 57
• Duck - 47
• Cranky - 43
• Hiro - 27
• Bill and Ben - 26
• Stephen - 24
• Caitlin - 19
• Kevin - 16
• Victor - 15
• Salty - 13
• Oliver and Toad - 11
• Connor, Porter, and Millie - 10

Some surprises in there, some not so much.

1. Charlie (554 votes)

I had suspicions that Charlie would bag the top spot. I wasn't certain, as there are numerous other characters that people share a loathing for. However, the shear number of votes that he received during this poll happily puts to bed any doubts about my reservations.

Following his introduction, Charlie was perhaps the most hated character ever to be introduced to the TV series. This shared hatred, I feel, brought the community together for a short while.

His odd choice of colour scheme, his poor jokes - being introduced when he was made us all feel the series had no hope left whatsoever.

Since the show has moved on and improved ten fold in the last two years, Charlie has subdued a little. However, he really doesn't do anything that any other characters do; or at least, nothing that more refined other characters do.

He's a joker, but so are Bill and Ben (though the latter two are more tricksters I suppose.) 

He's a shunter, but so are Stanley, Stafford, Rosie...........

He's a jolly, upbeat soul, but so is almost every other character in the series at the moment.

To me, Charlie is just another face. He serves no purpose as an individual. He was merely introduced as a gimmick, and has stuck around since then. Perhaps it would be best  if he were given better jokes? Or just returned to the mainland...

2. Spencer (62 Votes)

Perhaps Spencer was in the wrong category; he was part of the CGI switchover (and has been with us ever since) and each series, you are almost guaranteed an episode starring him.

Evidently not despised as much as Charlie, to take second place does still indicate that he's boring us.

For an engine who resides on the mainland as a private locomotive, he certainly spends a lot of time on Sodor. And this is the problem.

Not just with Spencer, but ALL the mainlanders. They seem to spend less time there than on Sodor, contradicting their designation of "mainland engines." In a similar vein to that of Thomas in the previous poll, we see too much of them to fully appreciate them and their appearances.

If Spencer went to the mainland and vanished for a while, we'd more likely enjoy his first episode back much more than any other episode. It would also allow time for some personality refinement; every episode is still very much "pompous old Spencer brags and gets his comeuppance." It would be nice to see him grow as a character a small amount in some way. Perhaps he could tone down his boastfulness, choosing not to brag. Then when he helps someone out or does something that is suited to solely himself, that can bring out bis egotistical side once more?

3. Rocky (57 Votes)

Ahh Rocky. The "replacement of the breakdown crane!"

Over the last few years, we've seen more and more characters be made from the everyday objects on Sodor. Such crazy heights we have reached, that we now even have a boilerhouse with a face.

Rocky is an odd one. I can't help feel that this may be the classic fanatics holding a grudge for his alleged displacement of the breakdown train. To me, he's no big deal - there are worse characters out there.

All I can think is that he suffers like Spencer - too much pointless screentime.

Rolling stock characters are awkward to write for. Whilst the trucks are troublesome and play a role in the everyday workings, and Annie and Clarabell are Thomas' faithful companions on the branch, Rocky can't do much else other than lift things.

He's not anybody's personal item of stock, he doesn't get collected and taken for joyrides. As a character, he doesn't, nor can, do much. He merely exists to give a fresh voice to the scenes that require him - nobody stops to have a conversation with Rocky during the day.

It's awkward, as without him, some of his rescue scenes would have awkward silences, or the narrator talking over. But at the same time, does he really contribute anything major on his own?

4. Duck (47 Votes)

Now we get to the controversial one.

After so many years of people begging for a return, why is Duck being requested to have less of?

I hark back to the originals. Duck, from the off, was popular. He made himself known to take no nonsense, but a hard worker above all else. He had his own way of doing things, which the others all accepted. Duck was not a constant on-screen presence. He cropped up for a few episodes, all spread out across the series, and then waited patiently for the next batch before returning to the limelight. This, to me, simulates the stories moving around the island. You visit each individual place which has its own set of characters, and return to favourites in their place again later on.

It is, perhaps, exactly this spacing out of his appearances, coupled with the fact he got maybe two or three lead roles, that made him such a popular character. I appreciate the current team bringing him back and including him to appease us.

At the same time, I don't want him to lose his appeal. Like Thomas, he has his own branch line. But also like Thomas, he seems to be everywhere. If he could be featured occasionally, and appear when necessary, I think people would be much more comfortable. (And perhaps less "Great Western Way" - it gets a bit repetitive.)

At the same time, people need to be much less picky - we have him back, which, above all else, is Great!

6. Cranky (43 Votes)

The first structure without wheels to don a personality perhaps?

Whenever we see the docks, you will inevitably get Cranky. But perhaps it would be nice to get some scenes away from the dock front?

I can't write much here, as I've never encountered much (or any!) negativity for this character, so seems a little odd him being voted to fifth place. Perhaps we just need less of the docks full stop and explore some of the other locations on the Island?

Other thoughts...

I would have thought Hiro would be higher up; he left at the end of Hero Of The Rails for the want to return to his homeland, and returned almost instantly. Did he not like it back home after all? He seems to be included in the background more these days, but could really benefit from some "away time" to make us miss him... or not.

Bill and Ben, I refer to Duck. They make great characters for a bit of true comic relief (unlike Charlie). If they do have so many appearances though, it will become increasingly hard to write fresh jokes, tricks etc for them.

I think with Stephen, people are still thinking about series 17, where he was a constant presence. Series 18, he appeared once (I believe?) I very much enjoyed seeing him in "Marion and the Dinosaur", and this is a perfect example of what I refer to previously; having been off-screen for a while, I really enjoyed the time he spent on screen, however short it may have been.

That's all for this one - next up, it's the supporting characters.

ORIGINAL PROP-MODEL ACQUISITIONS

It is with great excitement that I can announce to you all today, that Christopher Blower and I are the new owners of several props as used in the "Thomas & Friends" AND "Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends" era of the iconic show.

A few weeks ago, the website "The Prop Gallery" listed three items for sale on the website. These were:

• A large-scale Sir Topham Hatt figure;
• A small-scale workman figure; missing one arm;
• A Sodor Shilling crew gift coin.

Having seen the success of the James appeal, and the interest circulating the missed opportunity with the Peter Sam and Trevor models, we mutually agreed that these items would be worth investing in for the interest of the community.

We, like the new owners of James' model, see an opportunity to do something big - preserve these important artefacts, but give the fans a chance to see them up close and personal.

But that's not all.

 The Prop Gallery informed us straight away of two more props they had in storage:

• A small-scale Sir Topham Hatt figure (used in Series 11);
• An ORIGINAL SERIES 1 figure - unlike the others, this is solid lead.

Obviously, we were delighted to be offered this chance, and opted to purchase these too. We have, at time of writing, been notified of two further items - one of these is the hand-knitted scarf worn by Mr Perkins in some of his early segments. 

The gang's all here!

Given the close nature to James' crowd-funding appeal, we have made the decision to purchase these props off our own back. Should any other models become available in the future, we will look at Kickstarter / Indegogo backing, with suitable rewards for those who contribute. We understand that to ask the fans to back the purchase of everything is not financially viable, so will contribute as much as we personally can, when we personally can.

At the current time, options are being discussed for the displaying of these items. We hope, however, that we will be debuting them NEXT WEEKEND (November 22nd and 23rd) at the Shoeburyness Model Railway Exhibition (www.shoeburynessmrc.co.uk), at which my personal layout, Thomas-On-Sea, is already booked to appear. This will be confirmed within the next few days.

Current considerations include displaying them at Day Out With Thomas events, railways with Thomas connections or hobby fairs / exhibitions, occasionally touring with my Thomas-On-Sea layout. We will update you of developments on a dedicated blog, which we will set up and launch at some point soon.

The picture everyone wants to see...

That said, some of my followers from Twitter may recall that I have proposed the idea of a big Thomas-fan gathering sometime next year, celebrating 70 years of all things Thomas. Should this go ahead, then the models will be brought along to the venue for all and sundry to see up close. Details on this will follow at a later date.

These are indeed exciting times, and we hope that we will have more good news in the future.

Owen Hayward; @RailInspector

Christopher Blower; @cbanimator

Preserving by fans, for fans.

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to The Prop Gallery for their assistance with these acquisitions.

The Polls (Part 1): Which Core Charatcer Would You Like To See LESS Of?

As some may well be aware, I am presently running a sequence of polls in conjunction with the TTTE Wikia site, based on gaining some insight into what the fans all would like to see in (or out of!) the series.

I was going to run a much larger set of polls, but another well-known site beat me to a whole set of questions I had planned. (I had been discussing this for a few weeks prior to the launch of the first poll before the other site made the announcement regarding theirs.)

So, the first question went live and it was clear within the first few days that there was only to be one winner. The results are as such:

Thomas - 478

Diesel - 153

Emily - 94

Sir Topham Hatt - 82

The Narrow Gauge Engines - 46

James - 34

Percy - 26

Mavis - 16

Henry and Gordon - 13

Edward - 12

Let me first off apologise. Yes, Toby is missing. No, it was not deliberate. In all the sorting of characters and questions, he completely slipped the net. (Surprisingly, nobody made any comment about this! Or at least, nothing myself of Wikia staff picked up on.) When I spotted this error, it was too late to do anything - to add him in would have completely reset the poll responses.

Nevertheless, we do have results. Now for my thoughts on them...

1. Thomas (478 votes)

I think, when I planned this particular question, I knew deep down that there would be one leader in this. The little blue engine is the frontrunner of the show; so it's only fair that he has a fair chunk of screen time yes? So why do people feel like this particularly?

 I have counted the CGI era episodes, which currently stand at a released total of 126 (one hundred and twenty six) (not including those yet to be released on the Dino and Discoveries DVD, obviously.) I could have counted EVERY episode, but I don't have that much time, so I'm working to the current era for the purpose of these polls.

Of the 126 episodes, Thomas has appeared a collective 122 times! That is including all major roles, non-speaking cameos, one-line appearances and supporting/secondary roles. Breaking it down, we get this:

• Lead Roles (The main character): 48 episodes
• Silent Cameo: 5 episodes
• Other minor speaking roles: 69 episodes

To have a mere 4 episodes that do not feature him is mind boggling. He appeared in EVERY episode in Series 13 - Series 16 (80 episodes), 24 out of 26 in Series 17 and so far, 17 out of 20 in Series 18.

The character is renowned for being given single, pointless lines, which make it feel he is being crowbarred in for the sake of an appearance. Take, for example, his recent part in "Duncan The Humbug." Was Thomas absolutely crucial to the story? His role didn't need to be included. Any of the little engines could have said that all the small engines were being treated to a new coat of paint and the story would have continued exactly the same.

The consensus from the fans, it would seem, is that there is too much Thomas. Whilst he is the "star" of the show, he shouldn't be forced into (almost) every episode.  His minor roles could, perhaps, be best suited to other minor characters. Make his own appearances more special by spacing them out and having less of them.

Is the show not called "Thomas & FRIENDS"? Let's see more of the friends, and less of Thomas I think.

2. Diesel (153 votes)

The stark contrast between first and second place voting total just shows how strongly people feel about Thomas' overuse at the moment. Second place, however, was taken by someone I was not expecting.

Diesel made a few recurring appearances as a visiting engine up to series 7. From series 8 onwards, he has become a regular appearer as the show's main protagonist and, it seems, absorbed into the list of Sodor residents.

To say his taking second place in this poll was not a surprise would be a complete lie. I was honestly expecting Percy, for example, to take this spot. However, I think I can see why Diesel is here in stead.

Over the recent years - since "Day Of The Diesels" I think - we have been seeing more diesel engines appear on the Island. Whilst Diesel is, and probably always will be, the most recognisable diesel character, his character is used very much the same as Thomas. If a "bad guy" is needed in a storyline, Diesel is the default choice, as witnessed recently with Paxton in "Disappearing Diesels." Whilst Diesel is being used in a way best suited to his character, it is taking opportunities away from some of these new faces. Why is it Diesel is the only "bad" engine? (Diesel 10 may have seemed bad in DOTD and "The Missing Christmas Decorations", but he was acting more out of jealousy that spite towards the steam engines. Diesel, on the other hand, is genuinely out to cause trouble.)

It would seem that, like Thomas, people would prefer to see less of this particular character, paving way for the development of other characters. Perhaps such characters could, in future episodes, work well alongside Diesel, keeping things fresh and vibrant...

3. Emily (94 votes)

Again, the difference in votes between second place and third place shows how strongly the fans feel about certain characters. Taking third place is the resident female representative of the "Steam Team."

I can't help but wonder if she is here solely for the "She replaced Duck" argument? Nevertheless, the fans have voted, and so I must convey my thoughts.

Looking back on the CGI series, none of the characters, in the early days, were really unique. The stories were all the same three-strike formula, so none of the engines were really "unique." Emily has undergone several personality changes in her time on the show though. When introduced, she was a timid yet cheery soul who had the best intentions at heart. After being accepted, she learnt to stand up for herself and those around her she felt were being ridiculed (e.g. Salty, Henry.) She then became very cocky and full of herself, bossing her fellow engines around. Now, she seems to have become the voice of reason - a sensible, level-headed engine who once again sticks up for those she sees being victimised. 

It is perhaps just this constant change of character that is putting viewers off of her. Perhaps a little time needs to be taken to fully define her character; decide who she is, what she stands for; what are her strengths, what are her weaknesses? Maybe then, when she is her own character, people will warm to her once more.

Another contributing factor could be that she seems to be the only used female steam engine presently in the series. Rosie is rendered in CGI, yet hasn't said a word since Series 15's "Stuck On You." Whilst there is a divide between those who like Rosie and those who do not, she is a character in her own right. Perhaps more of both of these engines will benefit the show greatly by balancing out the female presence.

I'm not saying Thomas is sexist, but I do feel the female engines - steam particularly - need a bigger presence on the show in some form.

4. Sir Topham Hatt (82 Votes)

The Fat Controller has always been the authority figure, be it dishing out work orders or punishment. In the more recent stories, he's provided a fair few amusing moments (Duck In The Water, Tale Of The Brave.) I haven't counted his appearances in the CGI era, but I know he appears quite a lot, mainly dishing out work orders and attending incidents.

His key phrase, "Confusion and Delay", has been rather overused as of late. Every incident leads to " Confusion and Delay" and I think it's getting a little repetitive. Whilst it's good to see he is taking charge of his railway, it would perhaps be nice to let the engines figure things out on their own, or indeed receive their work orders off-screen. Sir Topham doesn't need to be at the top of every situation, his role perhaps being delegated to someone more key to the area of work, such as the docks manager when at Brendam, or a stationmaster at one of the stations for example. Mr Percival was victim to this, and indeed one praise of the episode "The Switch" from Series 17 was that conversation between the Earl and Percival was only mentioned and not shown.

People are loving the "show don't tell" aspect of the show at the moment, where the narrator lets the action play out on screen without describing every small detail. This could be taken a step further by the reverse; "tell don't show." It works, as we saw in "The Switch," so why doesn't it get used more?

5. The Narrow Gauge Engines (46 votes)

Very few votes in comparison, but nevertheless still baffling. I would have thought people would like to see more of the little engines. Since their return in BMM/Season 16, they have only been the focus/key of 6 episodes (if you include "The Christmas Tree Express".) Unlike other characters, they've hardly been overused. To get a clearer insight on whether this is the little railway as a whole, or just particular characters, there will hopefully be a separate poll later on. 

The Rest...

Edward had the least votes, which I'm quite pleased by. I would imagine Toby would be somewhere similar, these two being perhaps two of the least used characters as of late. Toby needs some personality restored to his character. Edward, it would seem, is perfect. He's not overused, but when he does appear, his contribution is meaningful.

Gordon and Henry were tied with just one vote more than Edward, so they too seem to be enjoyed at the moment. The balance is just right for these characters.

Mavis is becoming somewhat of a series regular again, gaining several small cameos or an episode where she features heavily, which takes us back to the classic era of the show where she did much the same. Her persona has been fairly consistent in the years since her début; she's matured and stayed that way, which is nice.

James and Percy filled 6th and 7th position respectively. They're not the most hated of characters, nor the most loved. They could benefit from slightly less focus, but either way, people aren't too fussed.

The next poll is now live - vote now on the Wikia home page and check back next month for the results and review.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the TTTE Wikia for their co-operation in hosting and organising these polls.

Series 18: Week One

Old Reliable Edward

So the first episode came, and everyone is waiting with baited breath. Will this episode see Edward back in character? The synopsis holds some hope, but doesn't reveal enough to confirm. I was hoping it would be better than last year's series opener, Kevin's Cranky Friend.

(Defend it if you will, but I can't see the appeal - Cranky denies he needs help three times before something goes wrong, which is when he concedes and accepts he was wrong.) 

And boy oh boy, it was most definitely better. Edward still has a little reforming to do before he's perfect once again - he came across as a little whiny at the start - but given the circumstances, I think I can allow that. After all, if everyone has been making fun of you time and time again, I think you'd earn the right  to moan a little. 

On first viewing, when Thomas seemingly hijacks the episode, I was a little infuriated that the lead had been snatched from Edward. However, I can see why the story was written as such, and it definitely worked to its advantage. Gordon gets stuck and Edward comes up, not to help, but to remind Gordon, in that subtlest of ways, of his treatment to the blue banker. I rather enjoyed how this scene played. Some are criticising it for being somewhat anti-climatic, but I don't think you need something 'big' and 'wow'-ish to get the message across. I loved the simplicity of it, which is why it is so strong and stands out.

Stray Observations

• It's great to see human characters being involved more nowadays. Though the stationmaster doesn't need to blow the whistle to allow Edward to go. Note: Station-masters CAN blow whistles from the platforms; this notifies the guard that all the passengers are on-board (and if not, no more will be allowed on,) and all doors are shut and secured.
• I love the camera movement from Gordon's perspective when he follows Thomas up the hill. Arc are really going to town with their selection of angles and movements to keep things interesting.
• Clarabel's face. End of.
  

Rating: 8/10

Not So Slow Coaches

There was nothing old, or slow, about Coach...

The first episode broadcast which had previously been "previewed" on the US DVD Walmart exclusive. We knew what we were in for when this came on.

I don't overwhelmingly dislike this episode.

Don't love it, but I don't hate it.

It's great to see Thomas doing what he should do - working on his branch line, but being his cheeky little self. He loves his coaches, but he enjoys winding them up. However, this is without consequence, as he realises his mischievousness has caused him to start running late. I'm delighted to see that time-keeping is becoming important to the routines again. It seemed that everything and everyone was rather lackadaisical previously.

The shunting yards have been subject of a lot of comment. I tend to agree with those that see it as a dumping ground. There never seems to be much shunting going on here, nor many (or any!) sidings for stock to actually sit in. This feels more like it should be a junction to the main and branch lines from an industrial estate. We need sidings and loose trucks to give it a shunting-yard-presence to it.

Detest him if you will, it's good to see Charlie has found a dedicated job at these yards. Hopefully some of the other characters (Stafford, Stanley etc) will join him - I get the impression it is a big yard, and thus would surely require several engines to carry out the work, especially at busier times. I still don't like his jokes, but they're not as cheesy as they were. I'm prepared to accept that this part of his persona will not change, which is fair enough - there's always the 'class clown' that overdoes the jokes, and Charlie, it would seem, is just that.

This episode did feel like an anti-climax. Caitlin somehow makes off with Annie & Clarabel at the tail of her train (well, if Thomas just dumps them in the middle of the line, that's his fault.) Thomas then goes chasing after her to get them back.

It would seem that Hiro, like Connor and Caitlin, comes from 'the Mainland' now, given how many times we've seen him cross that bridge I'm sure. Here, this actually makes sense - he has seen these coaches disappear with an train they should not be part of, and has brought them back to save any trouble later on.

It feels chaotic. There's no proper structure or story here really. It's a filler episode I think, designed to have a bit of fun at the time but not properly sit in the rest of the series. 

Stray Observations

• I liked how exhausted Thomas was at the quarry. Little side-scenes like this show how the rest of the day can be affected by being silly at the start.
• How DOES Thomas keep even closely-up to Caitlin?

Rating: 5/10

Flatbeds Of Fear

Oh dear. I don't think I even want to review this one. 

We seem to get a bad episode each series; last year was the opener. This year, it's the attempted 'spooky' story. Ok, you may say things when nervous to reassure yourself, but nothing so cheesy as 'I will not fear the flatbeds of fear.'

Imagine - you're afraid of heights. "Try as I might, I will not fear the height; try as I might, I will not fear the height." It doesn't work does it?

I will make a point of saying this. The voice acting in this for Thomas and Henry was poor. They did not sound scared whatsoever. It was embarrassing as to how poor it was. Henry's character still needs a lot of work. Percy is the timid engine; Henry is the big, grumpy engine, who, underneath it all, is kind-hearted and cares about the world around him.

On a positive note - the fog is fantastic. Another reviewer made a point of saying that it didn't feel right that the fog lasted so many days. However, there is nothing to say that the fog did last the whole of these days. It could have rolled in thick in the early hours of the day, faded by afternoon, then drifted in again the following morning or that evening - it does have a habit of coming and going like this, and there have been many consecutive mornings where I have drawn the curtains only to be greeted by a wall of white.

There's not much else I can say about this one really. I can't see myself re-watching it time after time unlike some of the other stories, but it is by far much better than some stories we've had in the CGI era. A valiant effort I suppose.

Stray Observations 

• Good to see Stanley being used as the engine in the story. Anyone else would have probably been really recognisable, but he's just plaion enough in colour to be overlooked in these sorts of roles. Hopefully he can be utilised properly in the future.
• We've since found out that brake van on the train in the story, is none other than a narrow-gauge design. It has no buffers, and a chopper coupling if you look closely! A slight modification, and it could be an LSWR Road Van.
• Did anyone else start singing the 'Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons' theme when they heard the wailing in the UK version? No? Just me then...

Rating: 3/10

Disappearing Diesels

Paxton has grown on me.

From a merchandising tool in 'Day Of The Diesels', he has become a core member of the regulars. A well-meaning, if dim, engine, who doesn't see any difference between the steam and diesel engines on the island. He is friends with all - or at least wants to be.

However, it feels like his dim-wittiness is being focused on too much. This episode feels very much like 'The Lost Puff', albeit without Stephen's prize-winning expression. A lot of racing about done by Paxton believing that something is wrong; something which we all know is very silly to be fair.

It does play beautifully on the caring side to Paxton's persona. He doesn't see fault in Diesel for playing tricks, nor take offence to them being played on him. Diesel is just another engine in his wide collection of friends (or perhaps even family?) He treats him with no prejudice, nor punish him for being so cruel. When Diesel does run out of... *ahem*... 'diesel' fuel, he takes him to get more - because that is who Paxton is.

It's good to see Dart is still around; I do like it when pairs are split up (Bill without Ben, Donald without Douglas etc), but it is always comforting to return to normal. I would like to see more of these two - indeed, all the diesels - in future. There's potential for some good storylines with them, being underused as they presently are.

One important point I have to make about the episodes so far, is the day. It doesn't feel like 'another sunny day' any more. You get scenes, like at the start of this episode, that show the sunrise hours, with others that show the sunset. We've had rain, fog, sun - snow will come in due course.as we all know. Sodor feels like it is in the world again, and not in some perfect parallel universe.

Stray Observations

• The diesel crews included. Good to see they have the same treatment as the steam crews.
• Diesel's voice seems to have improved, or is that just me?
• Little touches like 'Who asked you to stick your hook in?' add comedic moments that don't detract from the story, but add a natural speaking pattern to the story.

Rating: 7/10

Signals Crossed

See separate review.

Rating: 7/10

Summary So Far

Not a weak week for episodes, but not the strongest of starts we had hoped for. There's a lot of room for improvement; hopefully the second week will knock our sock's off, given what we have coming.

Episode Of The Week:

Old Reliable Edward

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