I want to clear up some information I got wrong in the Production History section of this. At 3:10 I stated HiT went with Nitrogen Studios over Stardust, but that's not exactly accurate. Within the last few days Dino Athanassiou himself has been posting behind-the-scenes photos from Season 12 on his Instagram and spoke a bit about the production. Stardust was never in the cards to fully animate the series, and it was Dino himself who recommended Nitrogen Studios to HiT as he had worked with them before. Stardust was always just involved in the pre-production of the season, and their time with Thomas ended when the show went full CGI and thus weren't needed anymore. Keep in mind we were working with limited information on the season when the video was written. My apologies for that! You can read more on Dino's Instagram here: instagram.com/dino.athanassiou/
Literally love the cameo as well as the animations and edits trampy did. Really had some great comedic timing that was severely necessary for such a horrendous episode.
@@olivermensinger6022I think if Push Me Pull You killed him, I think just about any Season 15 episode (minus maybe Edward The Hero) is going to make him die five times over.
Much like the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour - a game show that combined two of the most popular TV games of the '70s - it had the potential to work, but wasn't well executed. (And when I say it wasn't well executed, I'm mainly referring to the Hollywood Squares portion of the show.)
Season 12 on a production standpoint was so interesting in theory but like much of what HIT did went horribly wrong in execution with blips of absolute brilliance here and there.
I have excitedly waited 929 days in anticipation for this video - since the first retrospective video dropped - and I was not disappointed. So fun seeing Tug rip this season a new one. (But also appreciate the - few - positives present!)
There were two instances in Looney Tunes where Daffy Duck says, “This is getting monotonous!” I think that phrase is a perfect sum-up of the three strikes formula and for seasons 12-16 in general.
As someone that had actually watched a large portion of Season 12 on PBS Kids when it was new, this retrospective episode is a trip down memory lane. I've also come to realize how bad it was, especially when Tug had the "Push me, pull you" rant.
Goodbye Model Series we will miss you, for even bad model seasons still at least had models. To this day while I'm running my HO scale Thomas models at model train shows I will encounter more people than not what will say the model series (HIT included) was way better than CGI. Even if the CGI were to stand the test of time in visuals, story telling and what not it will never beat the u ique feel of the model series. As a modeler myself I always have a wonderful time going back and seeing all of the little details put into the world for ideas for my very own. Its a testament to the talent of the people that came before and give me something to aspire to. While CGI does allow for more things to happen in the show it won't hold a candle to cozy feeling of watching the make believe world of the model series.
Funny story: I remember turning on the TV and slowly losing my mind at Mountain Marvel: "Why is the human moving?" "Did Freddie blink!?" then when he opened his mouth it terrified me so much I quit Thomas thinking this was the direction going forward. From the sounds of it... I didn't miss much afterwards.
You and I had a pretty similar experience but for me the episode was Tickled Pink. I was put off by there being a full voice cast and I didn't enjoy the episode.
I was about to write my comment about this, when I was a kid I would just watch Thomas on whatever it was on back when we lived in a pub. I'd go to the bar, usually in the morning with my cereal, and watch whatever Thomas episode was on that day. As soon as I saw the Season 12 intro, and got jumpscared by the CGI Thomas face, I noped the hell out of there. CGI Thomas has left a bad taste in my mouth ever since no matter how much I hear people like Nic praising it. It never did and is never going to look as good as Seasons 1-11 and I think changing my mind on that would literally require rewiring how my brain works. I liked the fact people were animated now, but I wish that was ALL they changed, and the engines' faces were left alone. (To be clear, this isn't me saying the writing style should've stuck, it's hard to watch HiT era Thomas, ESPECIALLY Season 12 footage, without cringing, but there was nothing wrong with the visuals, I never understood why there was any need for change. I still don't.)
Was not expecting Toby to get an MVP this year at all, but, y'know what, he deserves it. Can't wait to see what happens for the next one, even if it is shorter in runtime for the few after it
@@LimpBizkitMix it might be Hiro, because he had an episode in Series 13, episode 20 to be precise, whereas Spencer didn't show up until his cameo in MIR
I feel like Toby would’ve been second for MVP for the Season 9 retrospective but yeah here is totally deserved since he barely had any episodes in all the sludge and was barely out of character. And for next retrospective, I’m not sure.
Tho The Nitrogen era is my childhood along with the Hit Era There are some least bad episodes in my opinion I’m guessing the main reason why the 3 strikes formula became a trend is because for the younger audience to see what happens when you make a mistake and realize it and then fix it I’m only guessing cuz this shit kept going up until S16
@@asafjuarez1Children deserve better tbh. They are a lot smarter and more capable than adults give them credit for, and any flaws that develop are usually a result of bad parenting
@@mattevans4377 yeah fr tbh you ain’t wrong, but I’m guessing that was one of the main reasons behind the 3SF I’ve always hated seeing an engine getting told off and reprimanded in the Thomas show
Trampy recapping the three strikes episodes, with his "uh oh."s is something I need in my life, especially as the written spirals into absolutely nothing during the Nitrogen era. He is the only way we're going to get through what's coming up post Hero of the Rails.
Exactly. Shoutout to execrable stuff such as "Time for a Story" in the next season alone, in which books are transported in an open rail truck exposed to the elements, careen off a "moving train" into a field (in northwestern England - one of the wettest parts of an already rain-drenched country - where that kind of field would be a permanent quagmire easily destroying any paper it touches) while somehow remaining readable and intact, and Thomas climactically fulfils a "problem-solving" educational mandate by chipperly inviting a group of children to sit in said desolate, rain-sodden field to read the miraculously-preserved books as if that were some form of viable solution. The fact that rhyming "time" with "time" is the least of the episode's issues unfortunately suggests that Trampy's probably set to be resurrected from the dead and hauled back out of drydock much more frequently in the near future.
@@thehamgravyeffect4898 Oh my gosh, I forgot about the rhyming; it's been so long since I've watched those seasons! Oh man, I have no idea how Tug is going to not only sit through each of these seasons once, but twice since he critiques both dubs. I think it was one of BustedBuffers' riffs that had, "let me take my big expensive express engine and have him haul garbage!"
@@SNER333 Not to mention that Topham's anger threshold in that episode is somehow surpassed after Gordon fails to shunt a whopping three trucks. Sadly, this was nonetheless a higher threshold than my own, given my exasperation with having to sit through three scenes with virtually identical narrative functions and inanely copy-pasted rhyming dialogue (although I can, at least, praise Proteus that the logging locos didn't abruptly appear solely to bloat the already-excruciatingly-extended runtime further with stereotypical "twins-speak-in-tandem" dialogue and nine repetitions of "that's right", unlike certain other episodes that season).
“Oh its so bad it killed trampy” Me:*dead on the floor laughing after what i just watched* I like how when hes ranting about the brakes not being applied in the last wreck he goes gordon mode in his vioce as he slowly goes more and more insane each second lol
I have two theories on what Tug’s video that’s coming out on the show’s 40th is: 1. Sodor’s Finest - Gordon (Redo) - He said this video is very near and dear to his heart and Gordon is the very first character he covered in Sodor’s Finest 2. Why I love Thomas & Friends - Common, I know, but if it’s coming out on the day that the show turns 40 years old, it seems safe to assume it’s him basically doing a massive MTAKS like the older ones he made.
Please, please do more colabs! I loved that it felt like old tug was back, the humor and chaos felt like unanswerable Thomas question and that era of tugs, amazing video, thank you
31:33 Thinking about it. All the episodes mentioned are on at least one of the US Season 12 DVDs. Standout: Rosie's Funfair Special (High Speed Adventures) Worst: Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon (Percy and the Bandstand DVD) and Push Me, Pull You (Team Up With Thomas) Sum Up: Saved You (Railway Friends) Tug's Favorite (or in this case, the one he tolerated the most): James Works it Out (Team Up with Thomas) (EDIT: I failed to mention this, but Gordon Takes a Shortcut was also mentioned, and like Saved You, it’s on the Railway Friends DVD)
It's crazy how Stardust Pictures' test animation looks eerily similar to how the BWBA animation would eventually look where the engines would "bounce".
That Trampy bit made me imagine him passing out and plowing into the Wharf docks trapping HiT Skarloey in a shed and knocking Colin over ala Cranky Bugs.
Toby being the MVP pick of the season definitely caught me off-guard, but I think the way Tug framed it helped explain it pretty well. It's cool that they gave him some unique worldbuilding this season with the Sodor Tramways + Flora that could only really work for his character. I'm surprised that Tug didn't mention Toby getting new brass models for this season, though, neither during the production segment nor after giving him MVP. I will say that the shot of James leaving Knapford at 4:39 shows one of the biggest benefits of the added CGI IMO. The crowds of people moving around on the platforms make Sodor look more busy and full of life than the still wooden figures.
This season came out the same year Avatar ended, and it was in stark contrast to how the full model series went out with The Great Discovery. One thing to note is how the returnees were mostly light-engine in their appearances, a topic you previously brought up in the S10 retrospective. Also, I honestly didn't expect Trampy to show up, but his rant was hilarious. Can't wait to see how you'll celebrate 100K subs!
MVP winners of each season: Season 1:Henry Season 2:Edward Season 3:Duck Season 4:Peter Sam Season 5:Sir Topham Hatt Season 6:Percy Season 7:Arthur Season 8:Emily Season 9:Percy(again) Season 10:James Season 11:Thomas Season 12:Toby 46:23
13:36 Because if rocks started to hit Thomas' faces, they'll have something to bounce off of. While if it was a CGI face, it would go right through the faces.
Thomas’ Milkshake Muddle: Needs open wagons with milk churns because “required for plot” Series 12: Makes the characters not realise their mistakes until after the third strike because plot
Another problem with Push Me, Pull You is that the puppet train is apparently the heaviest train Skarloey has ever pulled?? This man had pulled rocks, stone, and more in the past but a flimsy puppet show train is the heaviest 😑
0:27 I can’t believe it either Tug, your seasons review series debut back in 2022 and now within 2 years we’ve seen you talk about the whole Model Era and if it takes 2 more years to complete the CGI Era, then so be it
@@vaclavmacgregor2464 I have a personal theory of what happened to Pierce Brosnan's dub of Season 12: after he left HIT Entertainment, I think Pierce privately owns the uncut version of Season 12 with all his narration intact.
The review we fans were waiting for a long time, and it was well worth the wait. But I have to say, "If I had a nickel for every time Trampy died in an Unlucky Tug video, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."
I know Thomas is have a torture in these hit era thumbnails mr tug made Season 8: he come off the tracks Season 9: he got covered in paint Season 10: got chased by Mr snowman Season 11: he come out from the mine And now in season 12: he was push aside by Diesel in the thumbnail
To me, the "Show up once and never again because merchandise" club had one banger in Season 12. That being Hank, because I'm an American and I was happy to see a PRR K4s in Thomas the Tank Engine.
@@liladoodle Also I just remembered something about Hank, in concept designs, he was supposed to be a Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4. But likely due to the constraints of the series and models, they re-designed him to me a PRR K4s.
Love the thumbnail of diesel in front Thomas not only a nod to the episode Thomas and the buildbord and it just feels like somthing diesel would do to get some attention
@@LightingHedgehogYTno, i think hes gonna spend most of the videos on the specials like he did with 11/TGD. because 13-16 are really nothing but the side dish to the the main courses of the Nitrogen specials their attached to
I love that we're finally getting to see the seasons we hate getting torn a new one. For those of us who have been here since 2016, rants are so special to see from you. :)
I don't know if someone already commented this or not, so I apologize if somebody else brought this up. There is something wholesome in Toby's Special Surprise It's this scene: "But Toby, you are special." "But only when I'm really useful, I know that now." "You've always been special. You're the oldest steam tram on Sodor!" This scene just makes the episode just a little bit better. Still not a great episode, especially for season 12, but it is nice to see some wholesomeness between Toby and Topham.
Man, I remember being here all the way back in 2017ish or so, always thinking about when we'd discuss season 12, and now we've finally made it, here's to many more years, gang
34:05 my choice is ABSOLUTELY Push Me Pull You, no contest. Let’s face it guys, we ALL came here for Tug and Tramp to rant this one HARD, and it’s easily my favorite part of this whole video, I mean I’d literally be in the same situation Tramp is when I watched it now 35:21
40:12 Not to mention that this sorta calls back to Gordon's relationship with the China Clay Twins in regard to Gordon asking Ben of all engines to help.
While I have great nostalgia for season 12 I can't deny it is plugged with problems but honestly I do have it as my second favorite hit season for many reasons. Overall I can't believe we've gotten through all 12 model seasons of Thomas and I was not expecting that cameo from Kyle it definitely feels like classic Unlucky Tug. Keep up the good work man!
"We CGI animators are taking over. We animate a show and improve it. We are revolutionary." "Oh. If you're revelthingergummy, then why don't you animate the next season of Thomas?"
As a season 4 apologist I can confidently say this season was the third most radical change I can think of in the production in the history of the TV Series
29:54 What's funnier about this is that Toby derailing due to Thomas's attempts to save him would've probably made for a better plot point because that's an actual clear mistake that Thomas makes, instead of it being "Toby's not supposed to be in the side track, even though it's safer there."
While "Wonky Whistle"(yes) is an episode deemed the worst, at least it's an episode we can all look back to laugh and make fun of it despite the cringeworthy presentation, while "Push Me, Pull You!" for some reason got off scot-free with no one paying much attention to how abominable that episode was because there is almost nothing redeemable about that episode. It deserves it way more than you think. And Trampy being told to review "Push Me, Pull You!" is the funniest part of this entire video, I just lost my marbles on him! XD
I think the intensity of the criticism surrounding S15 in particular was fuelled by Simon Martin's scathing reviews of the season on the SiF (ie: Sodor Island Forums) blog, which seemed to finally codify and focus most of the issues the show's remaining online fanbase had long harbored with the HiT run's shoddiness into wider outright frustration and protest. "Wonky Whistle", being situated towards the end of S15 (and, possibly, cursed with the additional issue of the titular whistle's ear-grating whine), therefore had the "benefit" of months of prior negative reviews (and mounting fandom irritation) building to a point where online fandom would more openly lambast its awfulness, hence its eventual adoption as a "flagship" emblem of seasons 8-16's awfulness despite arguably being no worse than, say, "Pop Goes Thomas" or "Push Me". Of course, it could also have been that S12 was, at the time, viewed in a relatively positive light by a surprising number of fans simply for dredging up many of the old secondaries (I've seen several SiF posts from 2013 claiming that the Brenner era had "the quality that seasons 1-7 and 12 upheld" or similar sentiments) and that "Push Me", due to the formulaic nature of its awfulness, was quickly forgotten and pushed under the rug by a kind of hasty association; by comparison, season 15 didn't have any guest appearances from, say, Duck or Oliver to nominally shield it from online scrutiny.
Well, I guess it's safe to say that "Push Me, Pull You!" deserves it because; what's there to come back to with that one? No wonder why that episode got swept under the rug until years later, even after the Nitrogen era and Season 12. Don't get me wrong, "Wonky Whistle" sucks. But at least it has a concept that could have been made into a really good episode despite being wasted to the dumb brainless stupidity we have gotten used to (except it's laughable at best but butchered at worst), while "Push Me, Pull You!" has almost no redeeming qualities of any kind and gets worse and worse as the years go by.
13:50 The illusion of looking like real machines is also lost too, due to Steve Asquith's filming style making them look more like models and less like a real railway.
16:19 it’s also kinda bittersweet because well this will be the final appearances of some of these lot. Arthur, Stepney, Freddie, they basically went sayonara after this.
It’s really nice that Hit Entertainment & the production crew tried so hard for Season 12 to work. Making CGI elements combined with the models & sets was probably not easy (especially in 2008) so it’s unfortunate that the episode stories aren’t that same quality
Season 12 is so Interesting to me. I can remember it coming out in 2008 and was blown away by the CGI and was Happy that Characters where Returning plus Rosie getting a story to herself. I kinda wished we got more Model CGI hybrid Seasons just to see how this would have played out. But I think if HIT didn't make a New Season EVERY year we could of had more quality writting and they would of had more Budget to spend on the show.
Series 12 always had an uncanny vibe to me, was never quite sure what to make from the bits I’ve seen online. Looking forward to seeing the deep dive into it!
Great video and i agree the production history was more interesting then the episodes themselves lol what I liked about Season 12 was the diverse of characters but was disappointed that they didn’t do much. Like Stanley was so underrated that he deserves a lot more character, like make him the Buzz Lightyear of Sodor. Hank and Flora had such great potential to be some characters but sadly never got the chance.
One way I could see Hank being justified as a PRR K4 could be him arriving before diesels started taking over, as the switchover in the US mainly happened in the 50s, so Hank could try to comfort them because he’s been through that situation. And now the potential justification of him being a PRR engine. After Connor gets introduced we could have a character dynamic referencing how the PRR and NYC were fierce rivals.
I want to clear up some information I got wrong in the Production History section of this. At 3:10 I stated HiT went with Nitrogen Studios over Stardust, but that's not exactly accurate. Within the last few days Dino Athanassiou himself has been posting behind-the-scenes photos from Season 12 on his Instagram and spoke a bit about the production.
Stardust was never in the cards to fully animate the series, and it was Dino himself who recommended Nitrogen Studios to HiT as he had worked with them before. Stardust was always just involved in the pre-production of the season, and their time with Thomas ended when the show went full CGI and thus weren't needed anymore.
Keep in mind we were working with limited information on the season when the video was written. My apologies for that! You can read more on Dino's Instagram here: instagram.com/dino.athanassiou/
Literally love the cameo as well as the animations and edits trampy did. Really had some great comedic timing that was severely necessary for such a horrendous episode.
Beautiful into bud
Can I record lines for Toad in an Oliver Sodor’s Finest please, I love your work
Season 12 is post apocalypse to you lol! Did aliens attack in your cannon or something?
I really want Trampy be the one to talk about the worst episode of each Nitrogen season retrospective. His rant here is leaving me in stitches.
I NEED Kyle to be there for the season 15 retrospective.
@@olivermensinger6022I think if Push Me Pull You killed him, I think just about any Season 15 episode (minus maybe Edward The Hero) is going to make him die five times over.
Yeah I'm all for trampy dying for us a few more times. Make him the new Kenny McCormick
@@supergenesisstation1991 "They killed Trampy! YOU BASTARDS!"
@LoudToon99 don't you mean Edward the Hero?
Season 12 is a perfect example of an idea that could work in theory, but was terribly executed
You put it best said
I still think its decent,it really did feel finalesque.
Much like the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour - a game show that combined two of the most popular TV games of the '70s - it had the potential to work, but wasn't well executed. (And when I say it wasn't well executed, I'm mainly referring to the Hollywood Squares portion of the show.)
Henry on drugs: 23:16
This season had potential to be something fun but was a let down because of lazy writing.
Really liked the extra sprinkles of comedy in this video. Feels extra classic Tug with the Zeo/Kyle lore in the cinematic RUclipsr expansion universe!
Yo
Totally I'm hoping one day Zero will pop up in another Tug video one! They have great banter!
How was this comment made 1 day ago
@JohnSaavedraLikesTrains they joined the unlucky tugs patreon so they get early access to videos
@@JohnSaavedraLikesTrainspatrons got to see the video early.
I'll give Season 12 one thing. They fixed the size of Rusty's face.
Season 12 on a production standpoint was so interesting in theory but like much of what HIT did went horribly wrong in execution with blips of absolute brilliance here and there.
And then they fucked it up again
Yeah i noticed that.
And I'm so glad they did.
@@bkam9794 personally, I actually prefer Rusty with a large face.
I have excitedly waited 929 days in anticipation for this video - since the first retrospective video dropped - and I was not disappointed. So fun seeing Tug rip this season a new one. (But also appreciate the - few - positives present!)
929 days is super precise of a number.
How is this comment a day old and the video is 3 minutes old?
Is that for real that Tug has been doing this “chapter” of his channel for about 2.5 years??? Feels like just yesterday…
@@vladstanescu6193Patron members had two days of early access on this video
Totally with you NGL, ever since he announced this series s12 was the one I was most looking forward to
Having Trampy as a guest on the last model series retrospective is something I was NOT expecting but still appreciate wholeheartedly.
Yeah I think 12 season is way horrible
Welp can’t wait for trampy movie 59275 funfaire
He also mentioned Zeo, I wonder what happened to him?
@@kingadam69 he died of melted ice cream cancer
@@kingadam69 Died after being forced to watch the HiT era
This is the 2nd time we see Trampy dies since the Munitions redub. 😂
Surprised that they were both spearheaded by the unlucky tug
Trampy being thrown in Willy Nilly and then finding out he’s talking about Push Me Pull You of all episodes just made my day
Trampy: Why are his pupils so huge???
Clive Spong *cries in 1983*
**wheeze**
I love the fact that Trampy was literally just pulled in out of absolutely nowhere and acknowledged the fact of how this is incredibly rare
Fun fact about Push me and Pull you. This is the only episode Where Duncan has an accident and it wasn't his fault
That sounds so wrong
Nic mentioned that in the crash video
There were two instances in Looney Tunes where Daffy Duck says, “This is getting monotonous!” I think that phrase is a perfect sum-up of the three strikes formula and for seasons 12-16 in general.
Hey!S12 while yes used it,it was so much more different(And better)the S13-16 that I wouldnt call it monotonous.
"Hey we're getting in a Rut!" - Thomas
I feel like that's gonna be the summary word for one of the next 4 videos.
He'll probably use that clip in the Season 16 Retrospective
As someone that had actually watched a large portion of Season 12 on PBS Kids when it was new, this retrospective episode is a trip down memory lane.
I've also come to realize how bad it was, especially when Tug had the "Push me, pull you" rant.
"Push me, Pull you" ain't the only bad one. But there's so many I don't want to have a meltdown.
33:52 - 33:56 I'm pretty sure that episode is 99.9% universally hated & despised by the entire Thomas & RWS communities.
Goodbye Model Series we will miss you, for even bad model seasons still at least had models. To this day while I'm running my HO scale Thomas models at model train shows I will encounter more people than not what will say the model series (HIT included) was way better than CGI. Even if the CGI were to stand the test of time in visuals, story telling and what not it will never beat the u ique feel of the model series. As a modeler myself I always have a wonderful time going back and seeing all of the little details put into the world for ideas for my very own. Its a testament to the talent of the people that came before and give me something to aspire to. While CGI does allow for more things to happen in the show it won't hold a candle to cozy feeling of watching the make believe world of the model series.
It's a trip down memory lane for me too
TUT: I've never heard the Fat Controller so pissed before.
SLOTLT: Hold my goddamn beer.
I thought the Great Discovery was the most pissed we saw him prior to Lost Treasure.
@joshuaW5621 when was that? for the great discovery i mean
@@juanpablo.a Yeah he wasn't super mega angry in that special. Just standard cross.
@@juanpablo.awhen everyone was mad at Thomas for trying to frame Stanley?
Funny story: I remember turning on the TV and slowly losing my mind at Mountain Marvel:
"Why is the human moving?" "Did Freddie blink!?" then when he opened his mouth it terrified me so much I quit Thomas thinking this was the direction going forward.
From the sounds of it... I didn't miss much afterwards.
You and I had a pretty similar experience but for me the episode was Tickled Pink. I was put off by there being a full voice cast and I didn't enjoy the episode.
This is why I only watch the classic series
You DID miss Hero of the Rails, Blue Mountain Mystery, Seasons 17-21 and their associated specials, but otherwise you're fine.
@@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho Calm your pistons I did come back when King of the Railway came out :)
I was about to write my comment about this, when I was a kid I would just watch Thomas on whatever it was on back when we lived in a pub. I'd go to the bar, usually in the morning with my cereal, and watch whatever Thomas episode was on that day. As soon as I saw the Season 12 intro, and got jumpscared by the CGI Thomas face, I noped the hell out of there. CGI Thomas has left a bad taste in my mouth ever since no matter how much I hear people like Nic praising it. It never did and is never going to look as good as Seasons 1-11 and I think changing my mind on that would literally require rewiring how my brain works. I liked the fact people were animated now, but I wish that was ALL they changed, and the engines' faces were left alone. (To be clear, this isn't me saying the writing style should've stuck, it's hard to watch HiT era Thomas, ESPECIALLY Season 12 footage, without cringing, but there was nothing wrong with the visuals, I never understood why there was any need for change. I still don't.)
Oh snap we're already at S12, it got here so fast! also Diesel stealing the thumbnail is just icing on the cake lol 😂
Thomas: Diesel move in front of me ON PURPOSE!
Diesel: I did not you rasict engine. Unlucky tug told me to move!
Unlucky tug: Yes!
I don’t think is on purpose of Diesel moving infront of Thomas but the photographer means back not front and also Steam Team accusing Thomas
😂
Thomas and the Billboard Reference
He does these pretty frequently
35:20 *TRAMPY SAYING "HOLY DAMN" LIKE THAT ALONG WITH THAT RUSTY'S FACE HAD ME LITERALLY IN STITCHES* 💀💀💀
Trampy turning into an actual ship during his rage attack had me dying! Lol
38:29 guess we'll never see trampy movie 17 now 😢😢
NO! 😭😭
Was not expecting Toby to get an MVP this year at all, but, y'know what, he deserves it. Can't wait to see what happens for the next one, even if it is shorter in runtime for the few after it
My money’s on either Hiro or Spencer for the HotR + S13 MVP
@@LimpBizkitMix it might be Hiro, because he had an episode in Series 13, episode 20 to be precise, whereas Spencer didn't show up until his cameo in MIR
@@LimpBizkitMixHiro is like literally the only contender after this era
I feel like Toby would’ve been second for MVP for the Season 9 retrospective but yeah here is totally deserved since he barely had any episodes in all the sludge and was barely out of character. And for next retrospective, I’m not sure.
I can’t believe we’re done with the model era. We just have to suffer from 4 more seasons, so we can get to the Brenner Era.
Tho The Nitrogen era is my childhood along with the Hit Era
There are some least bad episodes in my opinion
I’m guessing the main reason why the 3 strikes formula became a trend is because for the younger audience to see what happens when you make a mistake and realize it and then fix it
I’m only guessing cuz this shit kept going up until S16
@@asafjuarez1Children deserve better tbh. They are a lot smarter and more capable than adults give them credit for, and any flaws that develop are usually a result of bad parenting
@@mattevans4377 yeah fr tbh you ain’t wrong, but I’m guessing that was one of the main reasons behind the 3SF
I’ve always hated seeing an engine getting told off and reprimanded in the Thomas show
Seasons 13 and 16 aren’t as bad as 14 and 15 imo. Atleast they had good movies for each year
@@yeetboiwhatyesplease2095 true on that like HOTR and BMM
Then there are fan fav like KOTR, SLOTLT, and JBS
This is officially *THE END* of the Model Era...
*(1984-2008)*
The TRUE Era of thomas.
o7
@@olivermensinger6022 🫡
In the grand scheme of things that’s actually a REALLY good run where they stuck with the models
My favourite timeline
The Thomas & Friends Retrospective has no set schedule. Videos are done when they're done and will be released when they're done!
Nice reference!
He always seems to space them out by around 2 months.
the tugbringer...
@@taylorwoolston8856 It's a Linkara reference. Oney Plays fans will know.
@@Shark_Builds_BroHistory of Power Rangers anyone?
Trampy recapping the three strikes episodes, with his "uh oh."s is something I need in my life, especially as the written spirals into absolutely nothing during the Nitrogen era. He is the only way we're going to get through what's coming up post Hero of the Rails.
Exactly. Shoutout to execrable stuff such as "Time for a Story" in the next season alone, in which books are transported in an open rail truck exposed to the elements, careen off a "moving train" into a field (in northwestern England - one of the wettest parts of an already rain-drenched country - where that kind of field would be a permanent quagmire easily destroying any paper it touches) while somehow remaining readable and intact, and Thomas climactically fulfils a "problem-solving" educational mandate by chipperly inviting a group of children to sit in said desolate, rain-sodden field to read the miraculously-preserved books as if that were some form of viable solution. The fact that rhyming "time" with "time" is the least of the episode's issues unfortunately suggests that Trampy's probably set to be resurrected from the dead and hauled back out of drydock much more frequently in the near future.
@@thehamgravyeffect4898 Oh my gosh, I forgot about the rhyming; it's been so long since I've watched those seasons! Oh man, I have no idea how Tug is going to not only sit through each of these seasons once, but twice since he critiques both dubs.
I think it was one of BustedBuffers' riffs that had, "let me take my big expensive express engine and have him haul garbage!"
@@SNER333 Not to mention that Topham's anger threshold in that episode is somehow surpassed after Gordon fails to shunt a whopping three trucks. Sadly, this was nonetheless a higher threshold than my own, given my exasperation with having to sit through three scenes with virtually identical narrative functions and inanely copy-pasted rhyming dialogue (although I can, at least, praise Proteus that the logging locos didn't abruptly appear solely to bloat the already-excruciatingly-extended runtime further with stereotypical "twins-speak-in-tandem" dialogue and nine repetitions of "that's right", unlike certain other episodes that season).
This season is such a fever dream, man.
Also, thank you Kyle and Nic for making me laugh through y'alls talk over the worst models episode.
For real, I wasn't expecting Trampy/Kyle to appear.
“Oh its so bad it killed trampy”
Me:*dead on the floor laughing after what i just watched*
I like how when hes ranting about the brakes not being applied in the last wreck he goes gordon mode in his vioce as he slowly goes more and more insane each second lol
Yeah I think season 12 suck but 13 and 16 are okay to me
What a fitting Friday to have this one be uploaded: The 13th. The cursed Season to go with the cursed day
Plus an almost week murders at Crystal Lake
I have two theories on what Tug’s video that’s coming out on the show’s 40th is:
1. Sodor’s Finest - Gordon (Redo) - He said this video is very near and dear to his heart and Gordon is the very first character he covered in Sodor’s Finest
2. Why I love Thomas & Friends - Common, I know, but if it’s coming out on the day that the show turns 40 years old, it seems safe to assume it’s him basically doing a massive MTAKS like the older ones he made.
Ironically, Japan didn’t get S12 because it would’ve scared Japanese kids with the Model CGI hybrid, so at least they got very lucky.
I’m jealous of them now.
"Very based of you Japan".
-Max0r, Final Fantasy XV
Only a few episodes made it to Japan, and that's it.
Please, please do more colabs! I loved that it felt like old tug was back, the humor and chaos felt like unanswerable Thomas question and that era of tugs, amazing video, thank you
31:33 Thinking about it. All the episodes mentioned are on at least one of the US Season 12 DVDs.
Standout: Rosie's Funfair Special (High Speed Adventures)
Worst: Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon (Percy and the Bandstand DVD) and Push Me, Pull You (Team Up With Thomas)
Sum Up: Saved You (Railway Friends)
Tug's Favorite (or in this case, the one he tolerated the most): James Works it Out (Team Up with Thomas)
(EDIT: I failed to mention this, but Gordon Takes a Shortcut was also mentioned, and like Saved You, it’s on the Railway Friends DVD)
12:00 Duck’s Kingpin empression😂. This should become a meme immediately.
It’s not always about the money Thomas
It’s About The GREAT WESTERN BABY LOVE THE GREAT WESTERN!!!
Great now I can’t unsee it. Where’s his wife Vanessa? Is she in another universe 😂
@@Railroadracer49THE GWR IS GONNA GO ALL THE WAY THIS YEAR
34:26 we interrupt our regularly scheduled Tugs video to bring you Trampy Movie A113: Electric Boogaloo
@@Railroadracer49
“There’s two ways of doing things. the wrong way and the Great Western Way”
It’s nice to have Trampy do a Cameo for the “Push Me Pull You” segment. Good on you Tug
It's crazy how Stardust Pictures' test animation looks eerily similar to how the BWBA animation would eventually look where the engines would "bounce".
Nitrogen made them bounce too. If you ask me, Stardust’s bouncing animation is a lot more like Nitrogen’s than BWBA’s.
That Trampy bit made me imagine him passing out and plowing into the Wharf docks trapping HiT Skarloey in a shed and knocking Colin over ala Cranky Bugs.
33:51-38:33 This was the funniest thing I have seen on this channel.
Something about Trampy’s unbridled rage towards that episode just made me laugh.
Toby being the MVP pick of the season definitely caught me off-guard, but I think the way Tug framed it helped explain it pretty well. It's cool that they gave him some unique worldbuilding this season with the Sodor Tramways + Flora that could only really work for his character. I'm surprised that Tug didn't mention Toby getting new brass models for this season, though, neither during the production segment nor after giving him MVP.
I will say that the shot of James leaving Knapford at 4:39 shows one of the biggest benefits of the added CGI IMO. The crowds of people moving around on the platforms make Sodor look more busy and full of life than the still wooden figures.
RIP Trampus. He became an Annihilape from watching a crappy episode. At least he didn’t get burned alive this time.
PLEASE have more Trampy guest appearances. PLEASE! I love seeing him get so angry and freak out on camera. It's music to my ears and a visual delight.
This season came out the same year Avatar ended, and it was in stark contrast to how the full model series went out with The Great Discovery. One thing to note is how the returnees were mostly light-engine in their appearances, a topic you previously brought up in the S10 retrospective.
Also, I honestly didn't expect Trampy to show up, but his rant was hilarious. Can't wait to see how you'll celebrate 100K subs!
MVP winners of each season:
Season 1:Henry
Season 2:Edward
Season 3:Duck
Season 4:Peter Sam
Season 5:Sir Topham Hatt
Season 6:Percy
Season 7:Arthur
Season 8:Emily
Season 9:Percy(again)
Season 10:James
Season 11:Thomas
Season 12:Toby 46:23
Now all we need is Gordon and then the whole steam team has gotten the MVP.
@@GumRobber yes
26:39 sounds like Michael Brandon doing a George Carlin impersonation
See, this is why I consider The Great Discovery to be the finale of the model era
I consider the great discovery the series finale
Giving Season 12 the hybrid treatment showed how unnecessary it was to end the model era off.
Fun fact: Annie and Clarabelle where supposed to get grey faces so they can be animated.
yes but no
RIP Trampy :(
Guess we ain't getting "Trampy Movie 1,256: Three Strikes" now
13:36 Because if rocks started to hit Thomas' faces, they'll have something to bounce off of. While if it was a CGI face, it would go right through the faces.
Thomas’ Milkshake Muddle: Needs open wagons with milk churns because “required for plot”
Series 12: Makes the characters not realise their mistakes until after the third strike because plot
At least S12 existing means that Giant Monster Train Party could exist as well
*TIMAJH MENTIONED*🔥🔥🔥🗣🗣🗣*WHAT THE FUCK IS AN UNFUNNY RUclips POOPER*❓❗❓❗❓❗
Diesel overshadowing Thomas in the thumbnail is hilarious!
Well He’s Mr. Revolutionary
Tug you’ve been pumping the Thomas retrospective a LOT this year
At this rate, you’ll hit season 13 by Christmas lol
And Hero of the Rails too.
@@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967 I can’t wait for that re-review of HOTR I wonder what tug thinks about it now
Yes, he'll indeed HIT it
@@frostlord1246 this made me giggle
Another problem with Push Me, Pull You is that the puppet train is apparently the heaviest train Skarloey has ever pulled?? This man had pulled rocks, stone, and more in the past but a flimsy puppet show train is the heaviest 😑
R.I.P Model era of Thomas & Friends (1984-2008). 😔
R.I.P Model Thomas Retrospective
9:55 that smile….DEFINITELY for the worse. Jesus
0:27 I can’t believe it either Tug, your seasons review series debut back in 2022 and now within 2 years we’ve seen you talk about the whole Model Era and if it takes 2 more years to complete the CGI Era, then so be it
We've finally reached the finally model season of thomas. The end of the model era. And can I just say...
...It's been a ride.
"I'M GONNA TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE-"
So long model era.🥹👋
o7
@@kboy1158 Well miss you!
@@vaclavmacgregor2464 I have a personal theory of what happened to Pierce Brosnan's dub of Season 12: after he left HIT Entertainment, I think Pierce privately owns the uncut version of Season 12 with all his narration intact.
26:39 wow, Brandon’s S12 Topham sounds more pissed and booming than Kerry Shale’s Topham voice in The Nitrogen Era
The review we fans were waiting for a long time, and it was well worth the wait. But I have to say,
"If I had a nickel for every time Trampy died in an Unlucky Tug video, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."
I know Thomas is have a torture in these hit era thumbnails mr tug made
Season 8: he come off the tracks
Season 9: he got covered in paint
Season 10: got chased by Mr snowman
Season 11: he come out from the mine
And now in season 12: he was push aside by Diesel in the thumbnail
52:33 I feel like Tug’s gonna save Thomas for either the franchises 80th anniversary or the 100th.
The guest appearance was not at all what I expected.
Brought me back to his pre RUclips comeback era.
To me, the "Show up once and never again because merchandise" club had one banger in Season 12. That being Hank, because I'm an American and I was happy to see a PRR K4s in Thomas the Tank Engine.
I think Hank and Flora were the only newbies in Season 12.
@@liladoodle Also I just remembered something about Hank, in concept designs, he was supposed to be a Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4. But likely due to the constraints of the series and models, they re-designed him to me a PRR K4s.
Love the thumbnail of diesel in front Thomas not only a nod to the episode Thomas and the buildbord and it just feels like somthing diesel would do to get some attention
One thing is for sure, season 13, 14, 15, and 16 are probably going to be interesting.
Tug's probably gonna look at Seasons 13, 14, 15, and 16 in the same video at this point 😅😅😅
@@LightingHedgehogYTno, i think hes gonna spend most of the videos on the specials like he did with 11/TGD.
because 13-16 are really nothing but the side dish to the the main courses of the Nitrogen specials their attached to
I love that we're finally getting to see the seasons we hate getting torn a new one. For those of us who have been here since 2016, rants are so special to see from you. :)
I don't know if someone already commented this or not, so I apologize if somebody else brought this up. There is something wholesome in Toby's Special Surprise
It's this scene:
"But Toby, you are special."
"But only when I'm really useful, I know that now."
"You've always been special. You're the oldest steam tram on Sodor!"
This scene just makes the episode just a little bit better. Still not a great episode, especially for season 12, but it is nice to see some wholesomeness between Toby and Topham.
I think it's because it's overshadowed by the awkward pauses between the dialogue in that scene.
This is a video Tug promised us like 7-8 years ago. And he finally delivered 😁
Can't wait for you to do one video each for Seasons 13-16 and pretend that any of them are unique enough from each other to be seen on their own.
There are the specials too bruhhhh
He really should just combine those seasons into one big retrospective, there's hardly any substance to them
@@ARG0T Exactly my thoughts!
Man, I remember being here all the way back in 2017ish or so, always thinking about when we'd discuss season 12, and now we've finally made it, here's to many more years, gang
Thomas with another big amount of lead roles, to the surprise of nobody
Only Eight so not that bad...
Nitrogen didn't just do Series 13 - 16 of Thomas & Friends and Sausage Party, but they also animated the two Addams Family movies from 2019 and 2021.
Snoop Dogg has canonically worked with a Thomas the Tank Engine animation studio
They had a second Addams family?
@@TronicSSJ07yes and it’s just as mediocre as the first movie
The trampy bit is the best part.
Rest in pieces - Zeo 1829-1969
34:05 my choice is ABSOLUTELY Push Me Pull You, no contest.
Let’s face it guys, we ALL came here for Tug and Tramp to rant this one HARD, and it’s easily my favorite part of this whole video, I mean I’d literally be in the same situation Tramp is when I watched it now 35:21
I nearly died of laughter at Trampy reviewing Push Me, Pull You.
The grand finale of Model Thomas. Great to see the show halfway done.
"Grand" is being incredibly generous
40:12 Not to mention that this sorta calls back to Gordon's relationship with the China Clay Twins in regard to Gordon asking Ben of all engines to help.
11:59 Duck's Kingpin impression with his tiny face had me laughing 🤣🤣
Hey duck, push that green button for me.
The kingpin of the rails, lol.
Trampy randomly showing up and dying of rage made my day!
38:28 we need to secure this episode somewhere safe from the public it's so bad it can kill someone
The SCP Foundation will do it for us.
While I have great nostalgia for season 12 I can't deny it is plugged with problems but honestly I do have it as my second favorite hit season for many reasons. Overall I can't believe we've gotten through all 12 model seasons of Thomas and I was not expecting that cameo from Kyle it definitely feels like classic Unlucky Tug. Keep up the good work man!
I agree it has many highs and lows...but overally is nice and unique.
"We CGI animators are taking over. We animate a show and improve it. We are revolutionary."
"Oh. If you're revelthingergummy, then why don't you animate the next season of Thomas?"
As a season 4 apologist I can confidently say this season was the third most radical change I can think of in the production in the history of the TV Series
Fun Fact! A singular frame of the Trampy segment was better then the entirety of this season
Far more enjoyable imo.
If Hector had become James's Toad, I would have loved that so much
29:54 What's funnier about this is that Toby derailing due to Thomas's attempts to save him would've probably made for a better plot point because that's an actual clear mistake that Thomas makes, instead of it being "Toby's not supposed to be in the side track, even though it's safer there."
Predicting this now: Thomas' Sodor's Finest will be released on May 12, 2025, otherwise known as the 80th Anniversary of the franchise
34:13 I love the nice Trampy interlude. I was like “Wa- Trampy?” Epic.
36:08 PUPPET SHIT LMAOOO
While "Wonky Whistle"(yes) is an episode deemed the worst, at least it's an episode we can all look back to laugh and make fun of it despite the cringeworthy presentation, while "Push Me, Pull You!" for some reason got off scot-free with no one paying much attention to how abominable that episode was because there is almost nothing redeemable about that episode. It deserves it way more than you think. And Trampy being told to review "Push Me, Pull You!" is the funniest part of this entire video, I just lost my marbles on him! XD
I think the intensity of the criticism surrounding S15 in particular was fuelled by Simon Martin's scathing reviews of the season on the SiF (ie: Sodor Island Forums) blog, which seemed to finally codify and focus most of the issues the show's remaining online fanbase had long harbored with the HiT run's shoddiness into wider outright frustration and protest. "Wonky Whistle", being situated towards the end of S15 (and, possibly, cursed with the additional issue of the titular whistle's ear-grating whine), therefore had the "benefit" of months of prior negative reviews (and mounting fandom irritation) building to a point where online fandom would more openly lambast its awfulness, hence its eventual adoption as a "flagship" emblem of seasons 8-16's awfulness despite arguably being no worse than, say, "Pop Goes Thomas" or "Push Me". Of course, it could also have been that S12 was, at the time, viewed in a relatively positive light by a surprising number of fans simply for dredging up many of the old secondaries (I've seen several SiF posts from 2013 claiming that the Brenner era had "the quality that seasons 1-7 and 12 upheld" or similar sentiments) and that "Push Me", due to the formulaic nature of its awfulness, was quickly forgotten and pushed under the rug by a kind of hasty association; by comparison, season 15 didn't have any guest appearances from, say, Duck or Oliver to nominally shield it from online scrutiny.
Well, I guess it's safe to say that "Push Me, Pull You!" deserves it because; what's there to come back to with that one? No wonder why that episode got swept under the rug until years later, even after the Nitrogen era and Season 12.
Don't get me wrong, "Wonky Whistle" sucks. But at least it has a concept that could have been made into a really good episode despite being wasted to the dumb brainless stupidity we have gotten used to (except it's laughable at best but butchered at worst), while "Push Me, Pull You!" has almost no redeeming qualities of any kind and gets worse and worse as the years go by.
13:50 The illusion of looking like real machines is also lost too, due to Steve Asquith's filming style making them look more like models and less like a real railway.
16:19 it’s also kinda bittersweet because well this will be the final appearances of some of these lot. Arthur, Stepney, Freddie, they basically went sayonara after this.
The absolute shock I had when I saw diesel mean mug the camera was amazing
What
It’s really nice that Hit Entertainment & the production crew tried so hard for Season 12 to work. Making CGI elements combined with the models & sets was probably not easy (especially in 2008) so it’s unfortunate that the episode stories aren’t that same quality
Season 12 is so Interesting to me. I can remember it coming out in 2008 and was blown away by the CGI and was Happy that Characters where Returning plus Rosie getting a story to herself. I kinda wished we got more Model CGI hybrid Seasons just to see how this would have played out. But I think if HIT didn't make a New Season EVERY year we could of had more quality writting and they would of had more Budget to spend on the show.
A goodbye to the Model Era
I’m excited for the Retrospective on the CGI Era
I love how normal Trampy is Henry while Angry Trampy is Thomas. I hope I see any fan edits with all the other Engines over the weekend.💀
“It feels wrong to be looking at Thomas without a face”. Devil’s advocate, didn’t you build your Thomas model without a face?
Trampy: "Maybe it's (Push Me, Pull You) better than I remember"
*It was NOT better than he remembered*
It’s never better than we remember.
Nope. It was even worse than we remember.
Series 12 always had an uncanny vibe to me, was never quite sure what to make from the bits I’ve seen online. Looking forward to seeing the deep dive into it!
Great video and i agree the production history was more interesting then the episodes themselves lol what I liked about Season 12 was the diverse of characters but was disappointed that they didn’t do much. Like Stanley was so underrated that he deserves a lot more character, like make him the Buzz Lightyear of Sodor. Hank and Flora had such great potential to be some characters but sadly never got the chance.
One way I could see Hank being justified as a PRR K4 could be him arriving before diesels started taking over, as the switchover in the US mainly happened in the 50s, so Hank could try to comfort them because he’s been through that situation. And now the potential justification of him being a PRR engine. After Connor gets introduced we could have a character dynamic referencing how the PRR and NYC were fierce rivals.