119 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

Took me a little while to find these pics, but I figured I'd talked about Day Out with Thomas, Thomas on the Big Screen, visiting Thomas Land in England and it was time to talk about "Explore the Rails" 

Explore the Rails was a traveling exhibit that was at COSI in Columbus in late 2017 - early 2018. I went in January 2018. There was a wall with information on the history of Thomas (quite possibly copy pasted from the Thomas Wiki, I though) and these photo opportunities pictured, as well as a very crowded train table (good to know trains are still popular with the next generation).

They also had a Thomas and Emily that were used in the show (I believe I've shared photos before). Another great Thomas memory.

119 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom!

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For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

New Thomas content coming soon to my YouTube. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

120 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

 We've 4 months until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom - and very few tickets left! If you're interested in joining us in NYC on November 27th - grab your tickets today... https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-unlikely-fandom-documentary-screening-tickets-645356517717

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For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

New Thomas content coming soon to my YouTube. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

121 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

121 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom!

This is my 50th post reminiscing and musing about Thomas the Tank Engine. So, in last night's post, I was trying to figure out the what and when of a vaguely remembered Thomas event from years gone by, and with the help of Ken & Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia - I'm now in the possession of the facts my memory failed to retain. 

The event was called "Thomas & Friends On The Big Screen" and was in select theaters on September 8th, 2007.

For the Thomas fans, the episodes screened were five of the eleventh season, which was just about to premiere on television. The episodes: "Don't Be Silly, Billy", "Thomas And The Runaway Car", "Emily's Rubbish", "Thomas Sets Sail" and "Smoke And Mirrors" - which were the episodes I thought I'd seen, but sixteen years is a long time to remember!

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For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

New Thomas content coming soon to my YouTube. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

122 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

122 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom! 

So, as you can imagine, I've been having a lot of fun reminiscing about my childhood and Thomas the Tank Engine... unfortunately a lot has happened between then and now and I can't remember everything. 😅

I do recall a special screening of Thomas & Friends episodes in 2007 in movie theaters - I have a few ideas of which episodes they were, but that is an aspect of which I'm uncertain. I'm currently trawling the Thomas Wiki to find out when it was exactly and which episodes they were. If I can't find out on Thomas Wiki, I'll find someone who does know and we'll add it to the wiki. :P 

I'll let ya'll know if/when I find out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

New Thomas content coming soon to my YouTube. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

123 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

When I was a kid, the two most popular Thomas toys were the ERTL die-cast models of the characters and the Wooden Railway toys - both discontinued now, but really fantastic in their heyday. The ERTL ones were discontinued sometime around 2003, and Wooden Railway ended sometime in the past 5 years or so, but I don't remember exactly. There are hundreds of items in each line of toys, and hopefully someday I can get them all, because even though they're still relatively common on resale sites, they'll become harder to find soon enough.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

124 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

Working on growing the Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia's social media! 

More on that in a future post. 

124 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

125 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

There are very few tickets left, but if you're able to attend the premiere in NYC on November 27th - it is gonna be a great night!

Also be sure to check out the absolutely brilliant website,  put together by the director - Carty. One of the coolest websites I've ever seen! www.unlikelyfandom.com 

Then there's this awesome poster, I don't think I've shared it yet!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

126 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

When I was a kid and still in school, math wasn't my strong suit and I had a hard time getting through it - Mom & Dad would occasionally motivate me by adding to my ERTL die-cast collection. That's how I got Splatter and Dodge and several other characters. 

(Pics found online)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

127 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

 One of the reasons I love Thomas is because of the beautiful models and scenery and the amazing amount of talent and skill that went into all the practical effects that brought the classic series to life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

128 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

When I was a kid, there was a brief period in which I believed (or at least wanted to believe) around six years old, that the Island of Sodor was a real place and there were talking engines out there in some part of the world. I was smart enough to realize it couldn't be real, but I still pestered my mom about whether there was a real Island of Sodor and talking trains.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

129 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

A fun behind the scenes fact from Thomas and Friends! The crew of the show had to keep track of all the faces for the characters to know at a glance what they needed for production - so they had these nifty books made up, with sheets like this one, to show all the faces available for a given character.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

130 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

Like Season 5 a few years earlier and Season 10 later, Season 7 of Thomas & Friends introduced a lot of new characters and even made a VHS release around those episodes - which incidentally was one of my favorites as a kid.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

131 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

Thomas is one of those properties that is difficult to translate into a feature film for general audiences - the leap from bedtime story to 5 minute episodic television is one thing, but an hour+ of a story about talking locomotives seems to be a difficult sell to the execs that make these calls (call me Mattel, I know the source material and have thoughts).

A feature film was attempted just over two decades ago,  by the beloved creator of the television show, Britt Allcroft, and met mixed reactions from fans and the general public. It's plot largely revolved around the magical portals between Thomas' world and the real world, something which was never addressed before or after the movie in any other media. But despite the mixed feelings towards this movie, Thomas fans have hoped another attempt would be made. For years a new film has been promised, being stuck in early development, it has long been teased to be another story of two generations reconnecting over a visit to Thomas' world, possibly amid WWII. 

Though the film has apparently been DOA for years, Mattel has promised to look at developing it if their first project out of their new film initiative is financially successful... that new film being "Barbie."

Now, while Barbie is a fascinating, humorous and surprisingly deep movie rife with social commentary and a plot about adults projecting their feelings and problems onto children's toys, it does hint at the possibility that it is possible to make a movie about a popular toy for an older audience. (I would hope that they would find a different tone and themes for a Thomas film, but you see what I mean about it being possible. Call me, Mattel; seriously.)

So we'll wait and see if the company makes any decisions about Thomas going forward! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

132 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

So, for anyone who's missed my earliest posts in this countdown - An Unlikely Fandom is a documentary about how Thomas the Tank Engine, the world's #1 preschool brand, found an unlikely audience in adult fans and who these fans are. Directed by one of our own, it sheds light into what makes Thomas popular and why we still love him after all these years.

I'm an executive producer on the film, my first credit as such, but hopefully the first of many, (I'll have to tell you about the sci-fi film I was an associate producer on another time) and I hope to get as many people to see this as possible. We're having a premiere in NYC (hence my countdown) and we only have a few tickets left. If you're interested in being one of the first to see this film with us and participate in a Q&A with the crew... tickets are few, grab yours today!

Hope to see you there!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion. 

133 Days: Countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom Premiere

I still remember the first edit I made on the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki all those years ago (July 2nd, 2008 - there was a missed opportunity to mark the 15th anniversary with a post on the 2nd) and it was on the page about Rosie, who was one of my favorite characters while we were going through some difficult times and living with my grandparents. Her debut episode was one of the ones I watched when it premiered on PBS Kids in 2006.

This is a screenshot of that article now, over 15 years after my first edit, the character even looks different, having had a redesign a few years back.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

we have a few tickets left, click here. 

For more about An Unlikely Fandom visit: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere, 

for the rest of these blogs - click here! 

I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well. 

Click here for that!

You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.

Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums, 

if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion.