I remember when season 5 was first released, I had mixed feelings about it - but one things for certain, it has always been one of the most beautiful seasons of the show. ❤️
Our premiere for An Unlikely Fandom is sold out! See you there!
I remember when season 5 was first released, I had mixed feelings about it - but one things for certain, it has always been one of the most beautiful seasons of the show. ❤️
Our premiere for An Unlikely Fandom is sold out! See you there!
I was reminiscing tonight and thought of this VHS release I had when I was a kid. A fun one for sure. It included interviews with fans at a Day Out with Thomas event between the episodes. This release was popular enough that it's been re-released multiple times, though the "10 years of" was only relevant in 1999. (It refers to Thomas having been introduced in the States in 1989)
For more interviews with fans, be sure to check out An Unlikely Fandom when it releases - or join us at the premiere in NYC in 91 days!91 days until the NYC premiere of An Unlikely Fandom!
Almost 15 years ago, this train set was all the rage, it featured a motorized metallic Thomas that puffed out mist resembling steam as it ran the track. I remember having a gallon of distilled water to refill him. I also remember sneaking a peek at my Christmas presents that year (this was one of them). One of my most memorable toys in all my years of collecting.
I remember watching Season 3 a lot when I was little, the VHS' were being released around that time. They don't make them like this anymore 🥺❤️
92 days until An Unlikely Fandom premieres in NYC! 🙂
A little appreciation for season 2 of Thomas the Tank Engine ❤️
Just 93 days until the An Unlikely Fandom premiere!
94 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom!
About a week ago, I mentioned the different artists that have brought Thomas and his friends to life. I have hard time choosing favorites, but for a time I cited Clive Spong as my favorite - and while my tastes have shifted somewhat since then, (Kenney or the Edward's are probably my favorites now) I decided that he still needs his own appreciation post in our countdown. 🙂
95 days until An Unlikely Fandom!
A little appreciation for the original Thomas intro today. ❤️
96 days until the An Unlikely Fandom premiere!
One of my favorite railways in the Thomas universe is the Culdee Fell Railway - a mountain railway, based on the real life Snowdon Mountain Railway with its rack & pinion system to help the trains climb the steep track. This railway with its unique purple engines with a face at each end, never made it into the television adaptation and is only in the books.
97 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom!
Another Thomas memory popped into my head tonight - this game "Railway Adventures." I'm not sure I ever got to play it, my memory is pretty fuzzy on this. My folks bought it for me (from Sam's Club?) and it wasn't compatible with our computer at the time. I don't remember for sure what the issue was. Anybody else have this game?
98 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom!
In 2015, the creative powers that be made the interesting decision to go back to the very beginning and tell the story of how Thomas' adventures began.
This is probably one of my favorite CGI episodes and definitely one of my very favorite specials.
Will make a more in-depth post when I begin reviewing the series.
I love unusual steam engines and one popped up in later seasons of Thomas & Friends - this is a character named Glynn that is based on a very, very old type of steam engine called a coffee pot engine because of its unusual shape. Very interesting bit of railway history and I'm not sure off the top of my head if any were preserved, but I'm going to find out.
100 days to the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom - Thomas has been illustrated by a number of great artists - including Reginald Payne, re-illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby, John T. Kenney, Gunvor and Peter Edwards, and Clive Spong.
101 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom! I can hardly wait!
Before I move away and put all this in storage, I'll do a little inventory of everything in my own Thomas collection (several hundred items) these totes and cardboard boxes are just some of it 😊
102 days until the An Unlikely Fandom premiere!
Season 4 of Thomas and Friends was my favorite as a kid, so warm and charming. I had all the VHS tapes growing up.
103 days until the documentary premiere!
Today, I want to share another of my favorite locomotives - Stepney. Stepney exists in the TV series, the books and in the real world - Stepney is an actual engine on the Bluebell Railway, though he is currently on display and awaiting repairs.
At 104 days... we're at 92% of tickets sold! So if you're planning on attending, get your tickets today: http://bit.ly/aufpremiere
A lot of fantastic and interesting people work on any TV series, and Thomas & Friends is no exception - there have been several amazing music composers over the years (I'm an especially big fan of the original ones in the earlier years of the show) but today I'm going to talk about Robert Hartshorne.
Hartshorne composed the music (and some of the songs) on the show from 2003 until 2017. He has a number of other television credits but I think the most interesting credit he has outside of Thomas is composing a song for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee (60th anniversary of her reign).
Pretty crazy being tasked with composing for an iconic British character and the queen herself. I had the opportunity to ask Robert some questions about his work on Thomas & Friends some years ago. You can read that here.
Today's countdown post (107 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom) is a Thomas Trivia post.
The fun fact of the day is: renowned English actor John Hurt actually had a role in Thomas & Friends later in his career. He voiced the villainous Sailor John in the 2015 special "Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure."
I'm deliriously tired tonight but the first Thomas thought that popped into my head was the day that I received this VHS in the mail - June 6th 2003. My Dad had bought it for me on ebay, but we'd been away for a couple days and I was so excited to finally have my own copy and not have to get it from the library any more.
In 2017 something very exciting happened for Thomas fans - we got the first direct adaptation from the books to the TV series that we had gotten since 1996 with the introduction of the "Small Railway Engines" in 3 episodes.
One of the most famous steam engines, the City of Truro is a real locomotive that has appeared in The Railway Series, Thomas & Friends and other Thomas media, like the magazines.
It's definitely on my list of engines I'd like to see in person!
While cleaning my room, I found the activity book they handed out at the Thomas & Friends on the Big Screen event that I posted about awhile back. Still in great condition.
Following the 26 books penned by the Rev. W. Awdry - Thomas and his friend's adventures continued with 16 books written by Wilbert Awdry's son, Christopher. 15 of which are included in the omnibus volume pictured.
This book is much harder to find than the one I posted last night and though I've sought to buy a copy for years, I've not yet managed to aquire one. (Someone currently has one listed on Amazon for $300)
Fortunately, a friend has scanned the book for me to read whilst I continue my search for a hard copy. I'll be sure to let everyone know what I think of these stories.
So I've mentioned that Thomas the Tank Engine was originally based on books, called The Railway Series, published from the 1940's onward... the first 26 of which were published together in this volume - Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection. There are lots of stories and characters that never made it into the television series. I first discovered this book when I checked it out from the library when I was 11 or 12 years old. I have my own copy now, which I love very much. Good memories!
A little throwback today, before he became infamous for other things, Alec Baldwin played Thomas' friend Mr Conductor!
So, I've mentioned the insane amount of creativity in the Thomas fan community several times, but I've not yet mentioned the time that Mattel commissioned Thomas creators to create content for the official YouTube channel - as a platform for creators to get their stuff out there, and of course, to promote the brand on the internet. All sorts of Thomas merchandise was utilized as well as custom-made models and the creators collaborated create several multi-part adventures. The attached screenshots are from the first of these. A very interesting time in Thomas history.
Some behind-the-scenes shots from An Unlikely Fandom! Check out their Facebook page for more and get tickets to the premiere on November 27th in NYC!
I spent the day at the movies, and didn't have access to the internet on the drive to and fro, so I'm just now writing my daily Thomas post and after having spent 10 minutes or so looking for a good screenshot of Thomas dressed up as David Bowie (I'll have to find it another time)... I found out that Hot Topic used to sell Thomas the Tank Engine shirts. Was disappointed to see they are sold out - but it wouldn't have done me any good anyway, they only went as large as an XL.
Tickets to the premiere of our documentary, An Unlikely Fandom, are almost sold out. Get yours today!
Another favorite steam locomotive/ Thomas & Friends character: I've actually talked about this one quite a bit. Even made videos about him.