What really gets me about this is this is how children learn new words, through the media they consume. Books read to them by their parents, through shows they watch, etc. Surely a kid can figure out what "frightened" means when the engine is in a scary situation and they have a scared face. Kids are smarter than they get credit for, and that's exactly why Rev. Audrey was such a stickler for accuracy and consistency, because he knew the kids reading his books would notice
We've finally reached the HIT era. I have a bit of a soft spot for it, as it's the era I grew up with. But looking back on it, it really doesn't hold up with the previous masterpieces. Still, Season 8 was a decent middle ground, where there was clear effort and the characters weren't completely screwed up yet. My favorite was a tie between "Squeak, Rattle, and Roll" and "Halloween." The former felt most like a classic episode, and the latter was a great change of tone. Also, for the next one, I'd cover "Calling All Engines" in the same breath as Season 9.
James Goes Too Far is one of the best episodes in the entire HiT era and honestly? It’s a good contender for top 5 best James episodes period The episode actually uses the longer runtime to its benefit, which is something I’m surprised Tug didn’t talk about It’s not just random fluff - they actually take the time to establish James’ personality trait of wanting to feel important but constantly being left feeling otherwise, before jumping into a story where James breaks down as a result of wanting to feel important, and then redeems himself by putting Diesel of all engines over his own work. Like this is genuinely good writing
12:23 My favorite usage of sound effects in Season 8 is James’ siderods breaking in Thomas and the Fireworks Display. The boisterous snap of James’ couplings snapping, and then the metallic sound of the siderods themselves dragging. Even kid me was impressed by the sound design of that particular sequence.
Squeak, Rattle, and Roll is honestly my favorite episode of this season too. It was like he let his fear overtake his pride and to be reminded like “hey, you pull the express for the reason”. Plus Gordon’s fear didn’t feel too unrealistic here. Gordon wouldn’t have had any fear from the squeaks alone, but having it happen not too long after Diesel implanting the thought of scrap made him have that “oh no” thought.
It’s an episode that really reminds me of Gordon’s stories in the railway series especially when we got into the later years if I remember correctly it was the one where Pip and Emma were introduced.
@vanguardtrainer924 ngl one character trait of Gordon I find underrated is his underlying fear that he'll be outdated or flat out replaced stories like Tenders for Henry, Squeak Rattle and Roll and Gordon High Speed Engine show that wonderfully. Another trait about Gordon I like is how he'll INSTANTLY save an engine in trouble even if they were being an ass earlier such as trouble with mud, Gordon and Spencer, percy runs away and ofc down the mine
Don’t Tell Thomas has always been my favorite of this season because ever since childhood the line “fine, if they won’t tell me, I don’t wanna know” and then he just runs off to be alone was always just a mood
You know, it's funny. I literally GREW UP watching these newer seasons, yet I STILL enjoyed the older stuff when I was younger. I could even tell the difference between different eras, though I didn't know which years they were from.
I agree, I was 6 to 8 when these seasons aired on PBS but even then I knew something was different and would just change the channel. I would keep my season 1-4 VHS if I wanted to watch thomas as a kid.
I was *born* when Season 12 was airing, but my memories from young childhood exclusively consist of Seasons 1-7. Goes to show how much better the old stuff was.
Same here, I was born the year season 7 came out. I used to watch both the newer seasons on PBS and the older seasons on both Sprout and home media. I have a soft spot for the Hit era even though growing up made me see how seasons 8-12 weren’t that good compared to 1-7. Even still, I’d take the watered down yet still feels like Thomas era of Thomas over the cartoony, wacky, wannabe Paw Patrol era that it’s currently in
wait I thought it was called the "new" series also I always called seasons 5-7 the neoclassic series because they stopped adapting railway series stories
One thing I like about James in this season, is how vivid he is In older seasons, especially on old cruddy vhs tapes, he'd look almost orange; so I love James being a medium vivid red
Being born in 2001, as good or bad as these HiT seasons are, I grew up with this era so I'll always hold some appreciation and nostalgia for this time.
I grew up in the early 2000s also, I was born in 1998. The original seasons I had on vhs, and I had season 5 on DVD. Lots of nostalgia for the Alec bawldwin years, and the daycare I went too had season 4, and I wondered who the hell these other engines were lol.
If there's one thing I appreciate about Season 8 is how Edward was written in this season. It's the first time since Season 5 where Edward didn't have any out of character moments. "Edward the Great" is the only "Hit era"/"New series" episode where Edward is the main character and is in his personality. It was nice to see Edward beat Spencer, even though Edward is slower than Spencer. There was a moment in “Chicken to School” where Edward humiliated Gordon. In "Don't Tell Thomas", Edward was the one who told Harold that he was looking for Thomas. It's nice to have a moment between Edward and Thomas where Edward isn't out of character. (I’m looking to “Saving Edward”). In “James Goes Too Far,” Edward told someone that James fell by the wayside even though he was pressed for time. Edward had a good time in S8. It's a shame that 9-12, CAE and TGD did him dirty. From an old and wise engine who never gives up to a weak and stupid engine who is sometimes an ass (with a few exceptions).
I personally think that season 11 is my favorite season of this era because of the nostalgia factor it brings to me. Episodes like Hector the Horrid really stood out for me. Season 8 is definitely the second best in my opinion.
I always found Percy's Big Mistake to be an interesting episode because of how it taps into how trigging the word "scrap" is to an engine when they are under stress. The convenient timing of the dockyard manager saying that he'll have to speak to The Fat Controller, and then The Fat Controller talking to his driver about the scrapyard is what sets Percy off. The only things that would have made it better is if Percy didn't speak to anyone after hearing The Fat Controller, and the scene with the pipes was removed. It would have given children a proper idea of what stress can do to the mind when they don't take care of themselves mentally and assess a situation.
And thus begins the era that many 2000’s children, including me, grew up with. Season 8 for me has the most nostalgia because I remember watching it through many DVDs like “It’s great to be an Engine”. For some reason, the sets and especially the models stand out from previous seasons, and I can’t tell if they’re better or worse, or if they ended up being bland or all the same from a rushed production. However, growing up with one of the objectively “bad” eras of Thomas might’ve inadvertently taught me how to appreciate the good aspects of bad media.
I don’t think that's a bad thing. All media deserves a nuisanced discussion, even the ones that are labelled as objectively bad. As “bad media” like hit era Thomas has good aspects that deserve acknowledgment, like the model work or occasional decent episode.
I feel that for a piece of media to be objectively bad, it has to be either bigoted and hate-filled (The Birth Of A Nation for example) or the people behind the scenes intentionally wanted to make something bad. As much as I dislike the Hit model era of Thomas, I don't think it's objectively bad, but I do consider it subjectively bad.
I can't bring myself to hate on this season. I had DVDs as a kid with Season 8 on them and I always loved them. Halloween and Fish were some of my favorite episodes, and I'd always go back to them I know it's just my nostalgia, but much like Magic Railroad, I can't help but be happy they exist
@@eastlancsesteemok, we get it, you don’t like the HIT era. I don’t either. But, you don’t need to be a dick to these people for not sharing the same opinion as you. Be more civil.
If I’d been the one writing that writers’ bible, I wouldn’t have said the Steam Team were all kids. I would have said Thomas and Percy were kids, James was a teenager, Emily was in her twenties, Gordon and Henry were middle-aged, and Edward and Toby were elderly.
As a little kid I saw seasons 1-7 pretty much all at once, season 8 was the first new one. I saw every episode on TV from then on when they aired, so I kinda have a soft spot for this era, especially with he current state of the franchise with AEG.
I remember when Season 8 first came out on PBS and I remember watching it and thinking "This feels so different." I felt so baby-ish to me and I found myself only watching to say that I was watching Thomas as a long-time fan, but it took me several rewatches to get involved. Maybe a handful of episodes stood out but overall, it's more filler to me or background noise at best. I also appreciate that you shared the Thomas Bible. I didn't know this existed and it was interested to see how they viewed the Island of Sodor.
Honestly, unpopular opinion, but I also kind of prefer how Emily is characterized in the hit era. I think having her be one of the “snooty big engines” is actually pretty interesting. In a perfect world I think there could be a better balance between her mother Leaside and her more queenly controlling side, but if I had to choose one, I think the queenly side is more interesting to work with as a writer.
It doesn't help that she gets extremely shafted in the CGI era, especially when Brenner et al. come around. I love the Brennaissance as much as the next person, but Emily didn't really do a lot that season, if I recall. I know she had an episode with Donald and Douglas that was pretty entertaining, as well as one where she's transporting a giant globe?
I believe that since Duck was to be apart of the steam team, they wrote a lot of episodes for him, however when he was swapped for Emily, they adapted Ducks stories for her. That being the reason why she is more rude and bossy than she was in Season 7.
Correct, but technically, Emily’s bossy personality mostly came from Lucy from Peanuts, as the writers wanted Emily to be more than just a generic girl character.
@@bartzacky9639 I always thought that was a good trait tbh. Yeah shes bossy, but that to me its more entertaining than her just being the nice girl of the group.
That’s kinda what I got out of the Production History section. They had good intentions and thought of great ideas to execute them (Like the Writers Bible for example) but they just didn’t use them correctly and didn’t understand Thomas. They didn’t understand Thomas was supposed to be a series for kids the age of I’d say 7 to even reaching up to teenagers and even for the parents watching with said kids as well as for railway enthusiasts in general.
Being born in 2007, I grew up mostly with the Clearwater Features era of Thomas with both Ringo Starr and George Carlin. The rest of the seasons felt pretty different to me.
06 baby here. I grew up watching mostly the early seasons, but I had some of the HIT era Thomas on dvd as well. I just never liked the cgi version for some reason, objectively I think there are most likely some pretty good episodes in cgi but for me I could never get into it. It just felt wrong for some reason haha, I was too used to the models I guess and I was never one to like change
I have to wonder if Tug had watched videos defending Emily's portrayal during those model seasons made by A Sodor Life and The Thomas Theorist before making his season 8 retrospective. He should have his own opinions on her written down before watching those recommended videos when he made his retrospective or while making a _Sodor's Finest_ on Emily in the future just to avoid bias from others.
This season came out the same year I was born and while I did watch the HIT era a lot during my childhood, I’m still glad I was able to watch the classic series.
I honestly like to think that the HiT era takes place in its own continuity. I remember when they officially stated that the CGI wasn’t a different continuity that they considered season 8 the reboot. Therefore, it can likely be assumed that season 8 might as well have been a completely new thing.
As flawed Season 8 (and the rest of the HIT era) can be seen, it was what i grew up with, and something i really loved, and even with me being older and appreciating the classic seasons more, this era of Thomas holds a special place in my heart.
We are finally here the true start of the HiT era and the notable 2nd major turning point for the show. While Magic Railroad started a reaction that caused the slightly veer, HiT was the notable point where the problems started to get really noticeable. Honestly excited to hear your thoughts.
@eastlancsesteem HIT doesn't suck! Sure, it does have some bad episodes, and some character personalities were messed up, like Edward, Toby, and especially Skarloey and Rheneas. But this era isn't all that bad though compared to series 12-16 and the BWBA. They both suck in general.
Season 1-7 are like your taking a trip across the country. Seasons 8-16 are like if you stopped and started driving back and forth between the places you we’re already in .
I do really like Tug bringing up how you can show sides of a character that differ from the norm, but that it only really works when done in moderation. "One-sided" characters are called that for a reason; showing off different aspects of a character makes them feel more grounded and realistic, as opposed to vehicles (ahem) to progress the story. Also when it comes to Squeak, Rattle, and Roll, I could honestly see this as the first story of _Enterprising Engines_ with a few tweaks. Include the first section of “Tenders for Henry”, where Gordon finds out from D199 at Barrow about the scrapping of steam engines, the latter taking on a role similar to Diesel in the episode, which leads into Gordon’s talk with the Fat Controller {Gordon knew about his other siblings as he met some during his rebuild, but asks if even the ones he was built with were scrapped, which saddened him even more}. He then sets off after Topham tells him this, and Topham decides he needs to do something to cheer Gordon up. After all that he experiences the squeaks and rattles, which leads to him depressingly worrying he’ll be scrapped for a diesel, leading him to move slower, and when he has to take the Fat Controller to Barrow, he starts to go slower until he starts to wonder what the Fat Controller would think and starts to pick up speed, deciding he’ll make his last trip his best. After arriving at Barrow, the Fat Controller speaks to Gordon and the reassurance him that steam will always be at work on his railway is given, and then sends him to the works to be checked over, telling him they’ll be a surprise for him once once he gets back to the sheds. Once Gordon settles down in the sheds that night, he witnesses Flying Scotsman’s arrival that night with the Fat Controller alongside, showing him that he will always be true to his word.
I like the idea of combining the specials with the seasons. It might mean more work in the long run, but it will help to streamline the series in a good way. It'll also help those who don't know which specials were a part of which series to keep better track of it.
I have a headcannon for why Spencer makes a jet plane sound. I think it’s all in his head. Like that’s what he THINKS he actually sounds like because he’s so fast. 😂
I wonder if the reason of not using any of the classic music was due to not having to continually pay Mike and Junior royalties. I doubt that's the case as I would assume the show would keep all the music rights but just a theory.
Still, their presence was missed. I remember watching Gordon and Spencer on a DVD, which had the UK dub, then seeing it on Sprout which was the US dub. You could imagine me as a child being confused as to why the music was different. Season 7 was Brandon's first time narrating, but did they have to drop Mike and Junior's music for that?
I've always had a soft spot for Season 8. It's the only HIT era season I watched as a kid, and I think it still has some charm going for it. It's certainly the last time Michael Angelis feels like he's enjoying himself (at least to me), before they had him start talking slower and more monotone.
@@eastlancsesteemdude. We get it. You don’t like season 8. But, you’re being a massive dick to everyone else just because you don’t agree with them on something. This season isn’t good, but the way you treat the people in the comments is shit.
I find the part of the writers bible at 5:50 absolutely hilarious cuz almost ALL of those words were used in the show prior to this. The selection of words was probably intentional to show that those words shouldn't be used *anymore* but I still find it really funny with them saying "we don't use" words that definitely have been used
When looking back at season 8, despite being 11 years old by that time, I did find it to feel oddly enough like a love letter to season 1, but still enjoyable in some cases. Hear me out on this: I was watching Thomas VHS way before, around 97 98, and until 2002, I wanted to check out a season 8 just for the curiosity of it.
The first season for PBS/Nick Jr. Me being born in 2003 was a super fan of S8. Of course, this was before I knew about the classic seasons too, so that's probably why I like it so much. I see it as the best of the Hit Era as a whole, now that I think about it. Guess that's a good thing
According to Mike O'Donnel in an interview, Hit thought the current kids back in 2004 wouldn’t think the classic era is Thomas to them. Which I call BS on that, because as I got older, I realized that I watch the episodes from Seasons 1-7 the most. Season 8 was the only season from the Hit era I’ve watched the most. I’ve never watched the Hit era while it was airing.
Good video. We have finally reached the hit era of Thomas. Season 8 is a great season for me. I really like all the episodes where Thomas has the main focus and the rest of the episodes. The changes that were made don't bother me at all. For me Season 8 is the best season out of the hit era. It will be interesting to see the retrospective on Season 9.
I can't believe I never made the Lucy (from Peanuts) comparison to S8 Emily XD And you know what, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. A bossy sister-figure with a heart of gold.
The Thomas Theorist, in his defense of Emily as a whole, including the Hit era, made further comment of the comparison between Emily and Lucy Van Pelt, pointing out that it originated from an interview by Paul Larson, who was working on the show at the time, who said that Lucy was the inspiration of Emily's personally in season 8.
I've said this many times, but it's worth repeating here. Season 8 is like anti-nostalgia for me. It came at a time when I was growing out of Thomas' target demographic, and was kind of losing interest already. The new format didn't work for me at all, and I basically tuned out after that point, only occasionally watching when a younger sibling or cousin had the show on in the background. I don't think I saw any episode after S9 until I discovered this fandom. BTW, you hit the nail on the head with why all the sets feel so flat. I think the combo of fewer detail backdrops showing elevation change and the incredibly dull and flat color grading make the show feel so much more lifeless than it had previously. I'd never noticed how much the backdrops changed between S7 and S8! Makes a huge difference,.
It's so weird having grown up with both this and the classic series simultaneously because as a kid I really never differentiated it into two eras. I just figured the video quality got an upgrade as time went on. I never picked up on how different the two parts of the series were until now that I'm fucking 21
Something interesting I wanna point out. Before coming to work on Thomas for the songs, Ed Welch was part of this children’s Construction Vehicle type show similar to Jack and the Pack. Coincidentally titled: Jim Henson’s Construction Site. Funny enough, Simon Spencer was also part of Construction Site, being director for some of the episodes. I really think it’d be fun if Nic did a video on Construction Site. Then again, he probably has more important stuff to work on.
If your massively okay with more working on this topic, then yes including specials with their respective seasons would be pretty cool. And I thought you described Emily in season 8. And this season on its own pretty well I think.
What a tumultuous season of ups and downs to come. S8 is the best and worst of the model era. Honestly a perfect crash landing into the HiT era to come. This was my first exposure to Thomas as a young kid so it's very deeply burned into my soul. I will love Thomas forever and always have a soft spot for S8.
I had huge nostalgia for this season. I would always watch these episodes on DVD and love them and Didn’t had the attention spam of seeing the problems. Now rewatching them, I think it’s Okay at best:) It’s not terrible, it’s not bad, it’s not perfect, it’s definitely still acceptable to watch even despite all the problems it has. For HIT’s 1st attempt at their own season, it was an okay one:) P.S. I’m split on How you should give Calling All Engines it’s own review or combine it with season 9, especially since both were worked on around the same time, heck season 9 technically started airing BEFORE CAE was released on Home Media!!!
The biggest upvote for me, besides the crashes being visually satisfying, (something they managed to keep up with the classics) is season 8 having pretty gnarled, loud and original sounds. I honestly find the crashes sfx in season 4-5 a bit jarring because of how reutilized and out of place some fell. They served their purpose well but i get Wilhelm Scream vibes from them.
Great retrospective, but one episode I'm surprised you didn't mention at the end was Thomas Saves the Day. That episode was included in a '10 Hidden Gems of the HiT Era' video I made shortly after your first CGI episodes vid (Thanks for the inspiration btw). I really like Annie and Clarabel being Thomas's mentors. While I like their roles in the Brenner era, I adored seeing them be kind and patient towards Thomas and help him with his struggles with a difficult bend. I also find Thomas to be quite relatable as well. His anxiety about the bend reminds me of a crossroad I used to be terrified of crossing when I was younger. Seeing him conquer his fear through a not-so-bad runaway was good. Also, I agree with everything you said about Emily in this season!
Something I rarely hear in discussion when it comes to the HIT era is looking at it from a kids perspective. What I mean by that is when I think back to when I was younge, and I had the OG and HIT episodes available to me, whilst I enjoyed the older ones, I was, well... A kid. The brighter colours, simpler themes and having a theme song I could sing and not just hum, drew me to it more than the earlier seasons. By the time of the CGI era, I was old enough to realise bad writing and began to re-evaluate how I liked each season. But from a business perspective, I can see why switching to a more targeted audience with kids would make sense, and I think was actually pretty smart. Although I will add that I believe there's a limit as to how simple and babyish Thomas should be, so this view doesn't apply to many aspects of BWBA and especially all Engines go. Amazing vid, and id love to see each special get its own video, even if they're shorter than the main season episodes.
I think Calling All Engines is worth giving its own episode, even if it's shorter, because I'm sure there are movies you'd like to go more in depth with, and you may want to cover how the movies affected the seasons around it
One of the things I noticed upon rewatched the other seasons is that startin with season 8 there's a lacking sense of busyness. In prior seasons, yards were full of rolling stock and engines passing by when an engine of focus was parked somewhere. There aren't even engines just sitting in sidings facing away from the camera. An engine needs to be directly mentioned to be appearing in the episode. "James steamed by" "Emily puffed past" "Percy passed by". Another thing is that this season is start of episodes being in the middle of the day, but several engines at a time are just at the sheds not doing anything when they should have been working by now. There's just a big feeling of emptiness on the railway, and the simple three mainline tracks don't help it either.
A bit late, but here's an interesting observation. At @21:40, when talking about the snow, it seems that Hartshorne is subtly referencing the intro of The Doors' 'Riders on the Storm,' where the rain (instead of the snow) is simulated by a descending scale on a synth in the same fashion. Given the key of G Minor, this 'snow cascade' as I call it is nearly identical to the descending scale of the song 'Suppertime' from Little Shop of Horrors. It's a nice touch (though probably unintentional in the latter case, maybe not the former) from Hartshorne that does well to preserve some atmosphere.
44:16 In answer to that, I'd say tackle the movies and specials like Calling All Engines, The Great Discovery, Hero of the Rails etc separately to the season retrospectives. For most of these specials there's enough plot and production specifics that you'll be able to dive into. In a way you couldn't when you did your movies and specials ranking video. The Great Discovery, Hero of the Rails and Blue Mountain Mystery especially so. I think it'd be great seeing you tackle them the same in-depth way you did with The Magic Railroad. Also, great retrospective as always!
I knew "Halloween" would be the stand out episode. But then again, we all did right. And not to mention, you forgot to mention how Thomas' fear of ghosts is still one of his character traits in tack.
16:21 The Children's Television Act is probably why the HiT Era had to be more blatant in the messaging. Television was still prominent in 2004, so they needed to follow FCC regulations for children's programming in order to air Thomas in the US.
What a really awesome train journey on Sodor we’re having with Thomas and his friends and this amazing series of the Thomas retrospective made by the Unlucky Tug, I am so in love with this! 😂🥰👍
Even in a favorite TV show like Thomas, it does tend to go through a seasonal rot in the middle, then back up again, only to stomp backwards towards the end of its run despite continuing its success. But it still kept its moments and is consistent in its original timeline, unlike other TV shows I can recall. Out of the HiT seasons, S8 is my favorite. I'll admit when I first saw Steamies vs. Diesels through my first exposure to this season, I did get a little surprised by this change but I never let that irk me and I still have nostalgia memories of that season. I even remember seeing a couple of airings on PBS Kids in childhood once (the second half of Personality, Listening and Surprises), especially Responsibility a few times on PBS Kids Sprout on Demand. I won't say it's perfect due to that writer bible, character regressions and inconstancies, etc. The part where you mentioned repetitive themes in two or three episodes also reminded me of Hamtaro where in each the same season, there are two episodes with the same theme (Hamtaro going missing and Laura getting worried sick in S1, Mr. Yoshi's mother telling Laura and Kana a scary story in S3, and the Ham-Ham gang being worried about space in S4). I do agree that Emily is the MVP of S8 and actually did more of what they can w/ her character that are the first steps into becoming a main in that era onwards (even if it was a little worse). Also, what you said about Arthur being the MVP of S7, I respectfully disagree cause I think Gordon is the true MVP of that said season for me as they really did so well with his character that it feels like his arc has come full circle. Favorite episode-wise, mine is also the stand-out episode Halloween, and my least favorite is Emily's Adventure. Finally, I really enjoy Michael Brandon's narration for it (though a few Angelis episodes I do like as well like James Goes Too Far). He does state in an interview that he had the idea to give the engines improvs when they react to a situation, adding more life to them (similarly to Johnny Morris in the RWS, but better).
I am impressed there was no mention of the tonal change for the crashes. Before, there was a sense of urgency and looming danger before a crash. Now it's just silly horns and slo mo.
You know it's a good day when it's the day before Thanksgiving break, having a short day at school, Victor Tanzig posting new vid and the Unlucky Tug posting a new banger
I think having the specials separate from the seasons is a better idea, that way they can have more time dedicated to them and each have their own MVP, etc. Basically a smaller version of what Tug did for Magic Railroad
9:48: You know what? I’ll give out credit for that. Looks to me like the panning shot aspects from Season 2 have been brought back from 18 years prior to Season 8’s release year.
Classic Era Season 1- Complete Season 2- Innovative Season 3- Big Season 4- Comfy Season 5- Peak Season 6- Cute Season 7- Eye Of The Storm Jack and The Pack- Quaint Hit Era Season 8- Milquetoast Season 9- ? ? ? ? I have mixed feelings about Season 8 not just because it was the season when I was born. I didn't watch the HiT Era at the time until I was 5 years old I only watched the classic series of Thomas before watching the HiT era going back and watching those episodes I could see why some people like it and hate it for many reasons. But over time, I still have a soft spot for Season 8, even if their episodes are good and bad at the same time.
You all gotta admit that the Atmosphere in Halloween is just chilling. The music and visuals make up for what sounds like a basic story on paper
Agreed
To think the music in the Smekters and the chase is all composed on a tv budget and it sounds movie quality!
I recognise you from the Thomas wiki.
Thanks for remembering part of my past requests?
I wasn't expecting you here 😂
Season 8: “no big words! Everything is simpler and friendlier!”
Also season 8: *constant hints to the imminence of death and existential dread*
real
What really gets me about this is this is how children learn new words, through the media they consume. Books read to them by their parents, through shows they watch, etc.
Surely a kid can figure out what "frightened" means when the engine is in a scary situation and they have a scared face.
Kids are smarter than they get credit for, and that's exactly why Rev. Audrey was such a stickler for accuracy and consistency, because he knew the kids reading his books would notice
They showed one of the Troublesome Trucks getting totaled in "Fish." It literally fell apart when it crashed into Salty's rear end. Died.
@@tomalatorespecially if your consider the fact that they aired season 6 and 7 episodes in between which probably used said big words.
@@JonAschenbrenner Salty's ass
Remember how much Awdry hated "Henry's Forest" way back in Series 3? I wonder what he would think of that writers' bible...
"YOU CAN'T DO IT!"
@@NitroIndigo*_"RULE 55!"_*
“Once the Americans get a hold of it, it will be butchered and ruined”
He would’ve be pissed and vowed to fight with HiT on court to sell the rights of his creation to the Awdry family
His urn would be spinning *hard.*
These stories and videos feel more like whole documentaries than just a look over a kids story and it’s amazing
Well, they _are_ documentaries. Tug is documenting the creation of, history of, and the plot of this Thomas season
That's why I like tug's videos
We've finally reached the HIT era. I have a bit of a soft spot for it, as it's the era I grew up with. But looking back on it, it really doesn't hold up with the previous masterpieces. Still, Season 8 was a decent middle ground, where there was clear effort and the characters weren't completely screwed up yet. My favorite was a tie between "Squeak, Rattle, and Roll" and "Halloween." The former felt most like a classic episode, and the latter was a great change of tone. Also, for the next one, I'd cover "Calling All Engines" in the same breath as Season 9.
Got that right.
"Halloween" was so good.
Agreed
You're not alone. I too grew up mainly on this era.
James Goes Too Far is one of the best episodes in the entire HiT era and honestly? It’s a good contender for top 5 best James episodes period
The episode actually uses the longer runtime to its benefit, which is something I’m surprised Tug didn’t talk about
It’s not just random fluff - they actually take the time to establish James’ personality trait of wanting to feel important but constantly being left feeling otherwise, before jumping into a story where James breaks down as a result of wanting to feel important, and then redeems himself by putting Diesel of all engines over his own work.
Like this is genuinely good writing
12:23 My favorite usage of sound effects in Season 8 is James’ siderods breaking in Thomas and the Fireworks Display. The boisterous snap of James’ couplings snapping, and then the metallic sound of the siderods themselves dragging. Even kid me was impressed by the sound design of that particular sequence.
Thanks for explaining that, I always wondered what happened to him.
I don’t see well, so I wasn’t really able to see it.
Squeak, Rattle, and Roll is honestly my favorite episode of this season too. It was like he let his fear overtake his pride and to be reminded like “hey, you pull the express for the reason”. Plus Gordon’s fear didn’t feel too unrealistic here. Gordon wouldn’t have had any fear from the squeaks alone, but having it happen not too long after Diesel implanting the thought of scrap made him have that “oh no” thought.
Percy: Bust My Buffers! Sir Topham Hatt Wants To Scrap Me.
It’s an episode that really reminds me of Gordon’s stories in the railway series especially when we got into the later years if I remember correctly it was the one where Pip and Emma were introduced.
@vanguardtrainer924 ngl one character trait of Gordon I find underrated is his underlying fear that he'll be outdated or flat out replaced stories like Tenders for Henry, Squeak Rattle and Roll and Gordon High Speed Engine show that wonderfully. Another trait about Gordon I like is how he'll INSTANTLY save an engine in trouble even if they were being an ass earlier such as trouble with mud, Gordon and Spencer, percy runs away and ofc down the mine
Don’t Tell Thomas has always been my favorite of this season because ever since childhood the line “fine, if they won’t tell me, I don’t wanna know” and then he just runs off to be alone was always just a mood
I think it’s my favorite from the season two.
You know, it's funny. I literally GREW UP watching these newer seasons, yet I STILL enjoyed the older stuff when I was younger. I could even tell the difference between different eras, though I didn't know which years they were from.
Yeah same
Right on the nose with this one
I agree, I was 6 to 8 when these seasons aired on PBS but even then I knew something was different and would just change the channel. I would keep my season 1-4 VHS if I wanted to watch thomas as a kid.
I was *born* when Season 12 was airing, but my memories from young childhood exclusively consist of Seasons 1-7. Goes to show how much better the old stuff was.
Same here, I was born the year season 7 came out. I used to watch both the newer seasons on PBS and the older seasons on both Sprout and home media. I have a soft spot for the Hit era even though growing up made me see how seasons 8-12 weren’t that good compared to 1-7. Even still, I’d take the watered down yet still feels like Thomas era of Thomas over the cartoony, wacky, wannabe Paw Patrol era that it’s currently in
This season was a semi decent start to the neoclassic era of Thomas (seasons 8-12) and had a few enjoyable episodes. “Halloween” is my favorite
10:00 A Layout?
wait I thought it was called the "new" series also I always called seasons 5-7 the neoclassic series because they stopped adapting railway series stories
One thing I like about James in this season, is how vivid he is
In older seasons, especially on old cruddy vhs tapes, he'd look almost orange; so I love James being a medium vivid red
I mean, while I prefer his look in the previous seasons, yeah I do agree.
In season 5 I definitly see it he looks like a firetruck
Being born in 2001, as good or bad as these HiT seasons are, I grew up with this era so I'll always hold some appreciation and nostalgia for this time.
You and I are in the same coach my friend
(Yes I purposely changed the pun; DEAL WITH IT)
“MuH nOsTaLgIa!!1” - 🤪🤓
I grew up in the early 2000s also, I was born in 1998. The original seasons I had on vhs, and I had season 5 on DVD. Lots of nostalgia for the Alec bawldwin years, and the daycare I went too had season 4, and I wondered who the hell these other engines were lol.
If there's one thing I appreciate about Season 8 is how Edward was written in this season. It's the first time since Season 5 where Edward didn't have any out of character moments. "Edward the Great" is the only "Hit era"/"New series" episode where Edward is the main character and is in his personality. It was nice to see Edward beat Spencer, even though Edward is slower than Spencer. There was a moment in “Chicken to School” where Edward humiliated Gordon. In "Don't Tell Thomas", Edward was the one who told Harold that he was looking for Thomas. It's nice to have a moment between Edward and Thomas where Edward isn't out of character. (I’m looking to “Saving Edward”). In “James Goes Too Far,” Edward told someone that James fell by the wayside even though he was pressed for time. Edward had a good time in S8. It's a shame that 9-12, CAE and TGD did him dirty. From an old and wise engine who never gives up to a weak and stupid engine who is sometimes an ass (with a few exceptions).
I personally think that season 11 is my favorite season of this era because of the nostalgia factor it brings to me. Episodes like Hector the Horrid really stood out for me.
Season 8 is definitely the second best in my opinion.
14:21-14:22 STH: Percy Has Been Late Too Often This Week, He Must Go To The Scrap Yard Tomorrow.
@@TroublesomeSlateTruckPercy: 'Sir Topham Hatt wants to scrap me And all because I was late'
Fun “possibly dangerous” drinking game, take a shot every-time “confusion and delay” is said
I already feel wasted!
Or the infamous: "This made Thomas very cross."
I’m probably most excited for these later Seasons since we never really see tug talk about them.
He never had the opportunity before; he kept having his channel taken down by copyright strikes.
😮
@@Xalerdane😢 i try 2 post often btw
Unlucky Tug never fails went it comes to Thomas content
Why does Tug sound like Trey the Explainer?
I always found Percy's Big Mistake to be an interesting episode because of how it taps into how trigging the word "scrap" is to an engine when they are under stress. The convenient timing of the dockyard manager saying that he'll have to speak to The Fat Controller, and then The Fat Controller talking to his driver about the scrapyard is what sets Percy off. The only things that would have made it better is if Percy didn't speak to anyone after hearing The Fat Controller, and the scene with the pipes was removed. It would have given children a proper idea of what stress can do to the mind when they don't take care of themselves mentally and assess a situation.
And thus begins the era that many 2000’s children, including me, grew up with. Season 8 for me has the most nostalgia because I remember watching it through many DVDs like “It’s great to be an Engine”. For some reason, the sets and especially the models stand out from previous seasons, and I can’t tell if they’re better or worse, or if they ended up being bland or all the same from a rushed production.
However, growing up with one of the objectively “bad” eras of Thomas might’ve inadvertently taught me how to appreciate the good aspects of bad media.
I don’t think that's a bad thing. All media deserves a nuisanced discussion, even the ones that are labelled as objectively bad. As “bad media” like hit era Thomas has good aspects that deserve acknowledgment, like the model work or occasional decent episode.
I feel that for a piece of media to be objectively bad, it has to be either bigoted and hate-filled (The Birth Of A Nation for example) or the people behind the scenes intentionally wanted to make something bad. As much as I dislike the Hit model era of Thomas, I don't think it's objectively bad, but I do consider it subjectively bad.
I actually have a soft spot for this era. I don't think it's nearly as bad as many others say.
At least it's better than BWBA or Nitrogen
Me to an underrated gem
Same I grew up with this from a year old to around 8 and nitrogen then I discovered RUclips and watched the classic era. Horn battle
Fr
@@Hanglow25I grew with nitrogen
I mean, EVERYTHING'S better than Nitrogen. XD
I too love the scene where Edward calls Gordon out. I love the way Brandon delivered Edward's line!
Another great Thomas season review! I love how you manage to analise each detail of the series
I can't bring myself to hate on this season. I had DVDs as a kid with Season 8 on them and I always loved them. Halloween and Fish were some of my favorite episodes, and I'd always go back to them
I know it's just my nostalgia, but much like Magic Railroad, I can't help but be happy they exist
“MuH nOsTaLgIa!!1” - 🤪🤓
@@eastlancsesteemok, we get it, you don’t like the HIT era. I don’t either. But, you don’t need to be a dick to these people for not sharing the same opinion as you. Be more civil.
If I’d been the one writing that writers’ bible, I wouldn’t have said the Steam Team were all kids. I would have said Thomas and Percy were kids, James was a teenager, Emily was in her twenties, Gordon and Henry were middle-aged, and Edward and Toby were elderly.
As a little kid I saw seasons 1-7 pretty much all at once, season 8 was the first new one. I saw every episode on TV from then on when they aired, so I kinda have a soft spot for this era, especially with he current state of the franchise with AEG.
Wasn’t expecting Big Blue as the first background song in the video. Made me a little more excited for the episode
I remember when Season 8 first came out on PBS and I remember watching it and thinking "This feels so different." I felt so baby-ish to me and I found myself only watching to say that I was watching Thomas as a long-time fan, but it took me several rewatches to get involved. Maybe a handful of episodes stood out but overall, it's more filler to me or background noise at best.
I also appreciate that you shared the Thomas Bible. I didn't know this existed and it was interested to see how they viewed the Island of Sodor.
Honestly, unpopular opinion, but I also kind of prefer how Emily is characterized in the hit era. I think having her be one of the “snooty big engines” is actually pretty interesting. In a perfect world I think there could be a better balance between her mother Leaside and her more queenly controlling side, but if I had to choose one, I think the queenly side is more interesting to work with as a writer.
I could see Emily as being the big sister figure to Thomas.
I'd go for a mix of both myself
It doesn't help that she gets extremely shafted in the CGI era, especially when Brenner et al. come around.
I love the Brennaissance as much as the next person, but Emily didn't really do a lot that season, if I recall. I know she had an episode with Donald and Douglas that was pretty entertaining, as well as one where she's transporting a giant globe?
Hmm maybe
Maybe Emily is still the mother figure just more overbearing
I believe that since Duck was to be apart of the steam team, they wrote a lot of episodes for him, however when he was swapped for Emily, they adapted Ducks stories for her. That being the reason why she is more rude and bossy than she was in Season 7.
Correct, but technically, Emily’s bossy personality mostly came from Lucy from Peanuts, as the writers wanted Emily to be more than just a generic girl character.
@@bartzacky9639 I always thought that was a good trait tbh. Yeah shes bossy, but that to me its more entertaining than her just being the nice girl of the group.
@@superxavxii421same here. It indicated she had some form of mildly aggressive personality.
@@robertrowley4929maybe it shows how she adapted to Sodor and took on the more aggressive no nonsense spirit of Sodor
@@GLee-oe3op indeed
Thomas and Friends's Season 8 Had Good Intentions.
That’s kinda what I got out of the Production History section. They had good intentions and thought of great ideas to execute them (Like the Writers Bible for example) but they just didn’t use them correctly and didn’t understand Thomas. They didn’t understand Thomas was supposed to be a series for kids the age of I’d say 7 to even reaching up to teenagers and even for the parents watching with said kids as well as for railway enthusiasts in general.
@@vanguardRailgun924Kind of like Thomas and the Magic Railroad
I used to despise the Hit era for a long time but after watch The Thomas Cynic’s reviews on it, I was finally able to see the good it in.
A few good only. This era is generally shit.
@@eastlancsesteemNah, it’s good.
Being born in 2007, I grew up mostly with the Clearwater Features era of Thomas with both Ringo Starr and George Carlin. The rest of the seasons felt pretty different to me.
I grew up with classic dvds, hit dvds, and Miller episodes on tv, bug mostly hit and miller.
Same.
I grew up with the classic era, hit era, Miller era, and early brenner era(king of the railway and tale of the brave)
06 baby here. I grew up watching mostly the early seasons, but I had some of the HIT era Thomas on dvd as well. I just never liked the cgi version for some reason, objectively I think there are most likely some pretty good episodes in cgi but for me I could never get into it. It just felt wrong for some reason haha, I was too used to the models I guess and I was never one to like change
Guy uses a "BIG WORD" to describe a season where use of such words were discouraged - mad respect!
this season is how i feel in love with Emily shes definitely in my top 5 favorite characters, thanks for all you're Thomas content.
I have to wonder if Tug had watched videos defending Emily's portrayal during those model seasons made by A Sodor Life and The Thomas Theorist before making his season 8 retrospective. He should have his own opinions on her written down before watching those recommended videos when he made his retrospective or while making a _Sodor's Finest_ on Emily in the future just to avoid bias from others.
@@1685Violin Maybe he'll make one himself
@@1685Violin Her shitty S8 personality never needed defending, unless you’re a simp.
L gay
This season came out the same year I was born and while I did watch the HIT era a lot during my childhood, I’m still glad I was able to watch the classic series.
Classic series clear
I honestly like to think that the HiT era takes place in its own continuity. I remember when they officially stated that the CGI wasn’t a different continuity that they considered season 8 the reboot. Therefore, it can likely be assumed that season 8 might as well have been a completely new thing.
I tottally agree with that. True Thomas the tank Enigne and Friends ended in 2003 with Season 7. everything after that is Reboot stuff.
As a kid, even I noticed differences the classic season and season 8 had, and not just with the new theme song.
As flawed Season 8 (and the rest of the HIT era) can be seen, it was what i grew up with, and something i really loved, and even with me being older and appreciating the classic seasons more, this era of Thomas holds a special place in my heart.
We are finally here the true start of the HiT era and the notable 2nd major turning point for the show. While Magic Railroad started a reaction that caused the slightly veer, HiT was the notable point where the problems started to get really noticeable. Honestly excited to hear your thoughts.
HiT sucks
@eastlancsesteem HIT doesn't suck! Sure, it does have some bad episodes, and some character personalities were messed up, like Edward, Toby, and especially Skarloey and Rheneas. But this era isn't all that bad though compared to series 12-16 and the BWBA. They both suck in general.
22:02 - YES YES! FINALLY someone acknowledged the triumphant theme from "You Can Do It Toby!"
Season 1-7 are like your taking a trip across the country. Seasons 8-16 are like if you stopped and started driving back and forth between the places you we’re already in .
Seasons 17-21 are like getting back on the right road
Seasons 22-24 are like if you began to slip off the road
Annd 25 is a massive car crash with 300 deaths and a parking ticket fine
Nah, that’s just seasons 13-16.
@@rizzonator987 More like 9/11
I do really like Tug bringing up how you can show sides of a character that differ from the norm, but that it only really works when done in moderation. "One-sided" characters are called that for a reason; showing off different aspects of a character makes them feel more grounded and realistic, as opposed to vehicles (ahem) to progress the story.
Also when it comes to Squeak, Rattle, and Roll, I could honestly see this as the first story of _Enterprising Engines_ with a few tweaks.
Include the first section of “Tenders for Henry”, where Gordon finds out from D199 at Barrow about the scrapping of steam engines, the latter taking on a role similar to Diesel in the episode, which leads into Gordon’s talk with the Fat Controller {Gordon knew about his other siblings as he met some during his rebuild, but asks if even the ones he was built with were scrapped, which saddened him even more}. He then sets off after Topham tells him this, and Topham decides he needs to do something to cheer Gordon up.
After all that he experiences the squeaks and rattles, which leads to him depressingly worrying he’ll be scrapped for a diesel, leading him to move slower, and when he has to take the Fat Controller to Barrow, he starts to go slower until he starts to wonder what the Fat Controller would think and starts to pick up speed, deciding he’ll make his last trip his best.
After arriving at Barrow, the Fat Controller speaks to Gordon and the reassurance him that steam will always be at work on his railway is given, and then sends him to the works to be checked over, telling him they’ll be a surprise for him once once he gets back to the sheds. Once Gordon settles down in the sheds that night, he witnesses Flying Scotsman’s arrival that night with the Fat Controller alongside, showing him that he will always be true to his word.
I like the idea of combining the specials with the seasons. It might mean more work in the long run, but it will help to streamline the series in a good way. It'll also help those who don't know which specials were a part of which series to keep better track of it.
I have a headcannon for why Spencer makes a jet plane sound. I think it’s all in his head. Like that’s what he THINKS he actually sounds like because he’s so fast. 😂
That makes sense
Hah! I like that!!
I wonder if the reason of not using any of the classic music was due to not having to continually pay Mike and Junior royalties. I doubt that's the case as I would assume the show would keep all the music rights but just a theory.
Still, their presence was missed. I remember watching Gordon and Spencer on a DVD, which had the UK dub, then seeing it on Sprout which was the US dub. You could imagine me as a child being confused as to why the music was different. Season 7 was Brandon's first time narrating, but did they have to drop Mike and Junior's music for that?
I've always had a soft spot for Season 8. It's the only HIT era season I watched as a kid, and I think it still has some charm going for it. It's certainly the last time Michael Angelis feels like he's enjoying himself (at least to me), before they had him start talking slower and more monotone.
I agree
Same here lol, I mostly watched Seasons 1/2 and a little bit of Seasons 3/6
“MuH nOsTaLgIa!!1” - 🤪🤓
@@eastlancsesteemdude. We get it. You don’t like season 8. But, you’re being a massive dick to everyone else just because you don’t agree with them on something. This season isn’t good, but the way you treat the people in the comments is shit.
@@eastlancsesteemyou’re not funny
I find the part of the writers bible at 5:50 absolutely hilarious cuz almost ALL of those words were used in the show prior to this.
The selection of words was probably intentional to show that those words shouldn't be used *anymore* but I still find it really funny with them saying "we don't use" words that definitely have been used
Interested people are interesting people, I have no deep connection to Thomas, but you make this seem so magical to me
When looking back at season 8, despite being 11 years old by that time, I did find it to feel oddly enough like a love letter to season 1, but still enjoyable in some cases. Hear me out on this: I was watching Thomas VHS way before, around 97 98, and until 2002, I wanted to check out a season 8 just for the curiosity of it.
I was today years old when I learned about the 'ghost' at the end of HALLOWEEN. Thanks for having faith in your US audience, HiT!
Entering a new era of Thomas with this one!!!!
The first season for PBS/Nick Jr. Me being born in 2003 was a super fan of S8. Of course, this was before I knew about the classic seasons too, so that's probably why I like it so much. I see it as the best of the Hit Era as a whole, now that I think about it. Guess that's a good thing
This guy is great at everything he does
First Hit Entertainment season bois , let's see how this era comes ✨
The era where the 'Top 3 characters with the most episodes' list will have Thomas at number one the whole time. Yeah, this will be a slog.
@@Iron_Blood_Enjoyer1933And not to mention that the SKR becomes nothing more than a glorified McDonalds Playplace.
I really feel bad that his old channel is still gone. Seeing him at nearly 69k is nice but still, I still feel bad for him ☹️
Can’t believe it’s the 20th anniversary of the 8th season
43:26 I don't know why this is the thing I noticed but Emily is puffing great smoke rings.
According to Mike O'Donnel in an interview, Hit thought the current kids back in 2004 wouldn’t think the classic era is Thomas to them. Which I call BS on that, because as I got older, I realized that I watch the episodes from Seasons 1-7 the most. Season 8 was the only season from the Hit era I’ve watched the most. I’ve never watched the Hit era while it was airing.
Seems like they were both out of touch with kids during that time and with the previous era, while also 14 years ahead of their time.
Same here lol, I kinda thought the early CGI era was a fever dream.
Absolute BS indeed
Good video. We have finally reached the hit era of Thomas. Season 8 is a great season for me. I really like all the episodes where Thomas has the main focus and the rest of the episodes.
The changes that were made don't bother me at all. For me Season 8 is the best season out of the hit era. It will be interesting to see the retrospective on Season 9.
30:49
Tug: TOBY IS A BOX!!
Me: **Wheeze** 😆😆😆
I can't believe I never made the Lucy (from Peanuts) comparison to S8 Emily XD
And you know what, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. A bossy sister-figure with a heart of gold.
The Thomas Theorist, in his defense of Emily as a whole, including the Hit era, made further comment of the comparison between Emily and Lucy Van Pelt, pointing out that it originated from an interview by Paul Larson, who was working on the show at the time, who said that Lucy was the inspiration of Emily's personally in season 8.
@@1685Violin Well, I hate it. I like how Emily was in Season 7, but I like how frustrated she gets with the trucks it makes sense.
I've said this many times, but it's worth repeating here.
Season 8 is like anti-nostalgia for me. It came at a time when I was growing out of Thomas' target demographic, and was kind of losing interest already. The new format didn't work for me at all, and I basically tuned out after that point, only occasionally watching when a younger sibling or cousin had the show on in the background. I don't think I saw any episode after S9 until I discovered this fandom.
BTW, you hit the nail on the head with why all the sets feel so flat. I think the combo of fewer detail backdrops showing elevation change and the incredibly dull and flat color grading make the show feel so much more lifeless than it had previously. I'd never noticed how much the backdrops changed between S7 and S8! Makes a huge difference,.
It's so weird having grown up with both this and the classic series simultaneously because as a kid I really never differentiated it into two eras. I just figured the video quality got an upgrade as time went on. I never picked up on how different the two parts of the series were until now that I'm fucking 21
I'd prefer to see the specials covered in their own videos rather than part of the whole season.
Great video as always!
Something interesting I wanna point out. Before coming to work on Thomas for the songs, Ed Welch was part of this children’s Construction Vehicle type show similar to Jack and the Pack. Coincidentally titled: Jim Henson’s Construction Site.
Funny enough, Simon Spencer was also part of Construction Site, being director for some of the episodes.
I really think it’d be fun if Nic did a video on Construction Site. Then again, he probably has more important stuff to work on.
If your massively okay with more working on this topic, then yes including specials with their respective seasons would be pretty cool. And I thought you described Emily in season 8. And this season on its own pretty well I think.
I really do wonder if Thomas will ever get the MVP Award down the line.
I honestly hated how the drivers and firemen didn’t interact with the engines as much as in the previous seasons.
Because HiT sucks
FIZZLIN' FIREBOXES & WOWSERS, WHAT A SPECTACULARLY EXCELLENT JOB WITH THIS OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR SURE!!!
What a tumultuous season of ups and downs to come. S8 is the best and worst of the model era. Honestly a perfect crash landing into the HiT era to come. This was my first exposure to Thomas as a young kid so it's very deeply burned into my soul. I will love Thomas forever and always have a soft spot for S8.
I had an audible gasp when you mentioned "Theodore The Tugboat". No one I know has heard of that show, and it made me happen to see it mentioned lol
I had huge nostalgia for this season. I would always watch these episodes on DVD and love them and Didn’t had the attention spam of seeing the problems. Now rewatching them, I think it’s Okay at best:)
It’s not terrible, it’s not bad, it’s not perfect, it’s definitely still acceptable to watch even despite all the problems it has.
For HIT’s 1st attempt at their own season, it was an okay one:)
P.S. I’m split on How you should give Calling All Engines it’s own review or combine it with season 9, especially since both were worked on around the same time, heck season 9 technically started airing BEFORE CAE was released on Home Media!!!
“MuH nOsTaLgIa!!1” - 🤪🤓
I'd say combine most of the specials with their respective seasons. However, I think the one that deserves its own video is the great discovery.
15:11
“magic carpets-“
*Usual Bloke Luke’s Magic Railroad persona opens the door*
“Did somebody say magic!”
The biggest upvote for me, besides the crashes being visually satisfying, (something they managed to keep up with the classics) is season 8 having pretty gnarled, loud and original sounds.
I honestly find the crashes sfx in season 4-5 a bit jarring because of how reutilized and out of place some fell. They served their purpose well but i get Wilhelm Scream vibes from them.
Great retrospective, but one episode I'm surprised you didn't mention at the end was Thomas Saves the Day.
That episode was included in a '10 Hidden Gems of the HiT Era' video I made shortly after your first CGI episodes vid (Thanks for the inspiration btw). I really like Annie and Clarabel being Thomas's mentors. While I like their roles in the Brenner era, I adored seeing them be kind and patient towards Thomas and help him with his struggles with a difficult bend.
I also find Thomas to be quite relatable as well. His anxiety about the bend reminds me of a crossroad I used to be terrified of crossing when I was younger. Seeing him conquer his fear through a not-so-bad runaway was good.
Also, I agree with everything you said about Emily in this season!
Something I rarely hear in discussion when it comes to the HIT era is looking at it from a kids perspective.
What I mean by that is when I think back to when I was younge, and I had the OG and HIT episodes available to me, whilst I enjoyed the older ones, I was, well... A kid. The brighter colours, simpler themes and having a theme song I could sing and not just hum, drew me to it more than the earlier seasons. By the time of the CGI era, I was old enough to realise bad writing and began to re-evaluate how I liked each season. But from a business perspective, I can see why switching to a more targeted audience with kids would make sense, and I think was actually pretty smart.
Although I will add that I believe there's a limit as to how simple and babyish Thomas should be, so this view doesn't apply to many aspects of BWBA and especially all Engines go.
Amazing vid, and id love to see each special get its own video, even if they're shorter than the main season episodes.
I think Calling All Engines is worth giving its own episode, even if it's shorter, because I'm sure there are movies you'd like to go more in depth with, and you may want to cover how the movies affected the seasons around it
Always a great day when there’s a new Unlucky Tug video 😊
One of the things I noticed upon rewatched the other seasons is that startin with season 8 there's a lacking sense of busyness. In prior seasons, yards were full of rolling stock and engines passing by when an engine of focus was parked somewhere. There aren't even engines just sitting in sidings facing away from the camera. An engine needs to be directly mentioned to be appearing in the episode. "James steamed by" "Emily puffed past" "Percy passed by".
Another thing is that this season is start of episodes being in the middle of the day, but several engines at a time are just at the sheds not doing anything when they should have been working by now. There's just a big feeling of emptiness on the railway, and the simple three mainline tracks don't help it either.
Yeah I can kind of see that.
The most memorable things for me, were seeing it for the first time on CITV (with it's exclusive intro theme), and the Halloween episode
A bit late, but here's an interesting observation. At @21:40, when talking about the snow, it seems that Hartshorne is subtly referencing the intro of The Doors' 'Riders on the Storm,' where the rain (instead of the snow) is simulated by a descending scale on a synth in the same fashion. Given the key of G Minor, this 'snow cascade' as I call it is nearly identical to the descending scale of the song 'Suppertime' from Little Shop of Horrors. It's a nice touch (though probably unintentional in the latter case, maybe not the former) from Hartshorne that does well to preserve some atmosphere.
WE MAKING IT INTO THE HIT ERA WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥
WE MAKING IT TO THE SMELTERS YARD WITH THIS ONE 🔥🥶
44:16
In answer to that, I'd say tackle the movies and specials like Calling All Engines, The Great Discovery, Hero of the Rails etc separately to the season retrospectives.
For most of these specials there's enough plot and production specifics that you'll be able to dive into. In a way you couldn't when you did your movies and specials ranking video. The Great Discovery, Hero of the Rails and Blue Mountain Mystery especially so.
I think it'd be great seeing you tackle them the same in-depth way you did with The Magic Railroad.
Also, great retrospective as always!
This unfortunately embodied the beginning of the end for Thomas, and yet I still watched it because yes.
Imagine if Steamroller was in the Hit Era, Sir Handle and George has a friendly conversation on machine equality. 4:30
I knew "Halloween" would be the stand out episode. But then again, we all did right. And not to mention, you forgot to mention how Thomas' fear of ghosts is still one of his character traits in tack.
16:21 The Children's Television Act is probably why the HiT Era had to be more blatant in the messaging. Television was still prominent in 2004, so they needed to follow FCC regulations for children's programming in order to air Thomas in the US.
but the act was passed in 1990 and thomas was just fine for a decade as is with the act
What a really awesome train journey on Sodor we’re having with Thomas and his friends and this amazing series of the Thomas retrospective made by the Unlucky Tug, I am so in love with this! 😂🥰👍
Even in a favorite TV show like Thomas, it does tend to go through a seasonal rot in the middle, then back up again, only to stomp backwards towards the end of its run despite continuing its success. But it still kept its moments and is consistent in its original timeline, unlike other TV shows I can recall.
Out of the HiT seasons, S8 is my favorite. I'll admit when I first saw Steamies vs. Diesels through my first exposure to this season, I did get a little surprised by this change but I never let that irk me and I still have nostalgia memories of that season. I even remember seeing a couple of airings on PBS Kids in childhood once (the second half of Personality, Listening and Surprises), especially Responsibility a few times on PBS Kids Sprout on Demand. I won't say it's perfect due to that writer bible, character regressions and inconstancies, etc. The part where you mentioned repetitive themes in two or three episodes also reminded me of Hamtaro where in each the same season, there are two episodes with the same theme (Hamtaro going missing and Laura getting worried sick in S1, Mr. Yoshi's mother telling Laura and Kana a scary story in S3, and the Ham-Ham gang being worried about space in S4).
I do agree that Emily is the MVP of S8 and actually did more of what they can w/ her character that are the first steps into becoming a main in that era onwards (even if it was a little worse). Also, what you said about Arthur being the MVP of S7, I respectfully disagree cause I think Gordon is the true MVP of that said season for me as they really did so well with his character that it feels like his arc has come full circle.
Favorite episode-wise, mine is also the stand-out episode Halloween, and my least favorite is Emily's Adventure.
Finally, I really enjoy Michael Brandon's narration for it (though a few Angelis episodes I do like as well like James Goes Too Far). He does state in an interview that he had the idea to give the engines improvs when they react to a situation, adding more life to them (similarly to Johnny Morris in the RWS, but better).
I am impressed there was no mention of the tonal change for the crashes. Before, there was a sense of urgency and looming danger before a crash. Now it's just silly horns and slo mo.
The engine roll call song was MY CHILDHOOD
13:37 Glad somebody brought this up. It's so jarring to me every time I watch that episode.
13:53 I think the crew thought Spencer was electric. If I remember correctly, a learning game in a DVD directly said this
You know it's a good day when it's the day before Thanksgiving break, having a short day at school, Victor Tanzig posting new vid and the Unlucky Tug posting a new banger
I think having the specials separate from the seasons is a better idea, that way they can have more time dedicated to them and each have their own MVP, etc. Basically a smaller version of what Tug did for Magic Railroad
9:48: You know what? I’ll give out credit for that. Looks to me like the panning shot aspects from Season 2 have been brought back from 18 years prior to Season 8’s release year.
Classic Era
Season 1- Complete
Season 2- Innovative
Season 3- Big
Season 4- Comfy
Season 5- Peak
Season 6- Cute
Season 7- Eye Of The Storm
Jack and The Pack- Quaint
Hit Era
Season 8- Milquetoast
Season 9- ? ? ? ?
I have mixed feelings about Season 8 not just because it was the season when I was born. I didn't watch the HiT Era at the time until I was 5 years old I only watched the classic series of Thomas before watching the HiT era going back and watching those episodes I could see why some people like it and hate it for many reasons. But over time, I still have a soft spot for Season 8, even if their episodes are good and bad at the same time.
What do you think Seasons 9, 10 and 11 will be
We made it into the hit era with this one
Awdry would call this “Bible” the most sacrilegious text he’s ever heard and beat the writer over the head with the Island of Sodor book.
27:45 Actually, Season 15 also didn't iintroduce any new characters. But Season 8 is the only model series not to introduce any new characters.