Unpopular Thomas Opinions

I really don't like Ashima. Sure she looks great, but she's so unoriginal and bland. If they had given her a little bit of back-story, like they did with Gator, I would like her a lot more, but seeing as The Great Race is all we'll ever see of her (will be a shining streak of racing blue!), she doesn't have a lot going for, other than that she's friendly and sings a nice song. I'm personally way more intrigued by characters like Yong Bao, Frieda, or Ivan. All of there promotion have them some sort of character or history, or something interesting. Ashima's promo video really just said she was beautiful and mysterious. That sort of got me excited. The fact that there was "More than this engine than meets the eye," got me looking forward to seeing what that was, and sadly, there wasn't anything. She wasn't anything more than meets the eye. She's beautifully painted, and very friendly. A very friendly engine is exactly what I'd expect her to be! That is not mysterious! Yong Bao friggin' saved a hundred passengers' lives for gosh sakes! Tell me that's not more interesting than Ashima, who, even though she was in the movie for the whole time, got realm not much more development than Axel or Raul or Gina. Ashima really stole the show, but not in a good way. She stole all of the other international characters' potential for development, and didn't even use it for herself. Again, if she appeared in future seasons, and actually got development, and was given a back-story of sorts, I may warm up to her, but sadly, that's not the case.

I think that Season 13 is better than 14 and 15.
I like Season 6 better than 5.
I actually didn't mind the Logging Locos.
I despise Lady.
I actually think that Season 9 is one of the WORST seasons of TTTE ever created. It is almost worse than Season 15 and Season 10 is not far behind.
Season 6 and Season 7 are underrated.
Season 5 is overrated.
Season 4 is the best season of the whole television series.
Season 12 is not that bad of a season
I think the Narrow Gauge got too many appearances in Season 4. The Season was still a masterpiece though.

A bit of topic but if I had to rank the seasons in order, it would be:

Season 4
Season 2
Season 6
Season 4
Season 5
Season 3
Season 1
Season 7
Season 17
Season 18
Season 19
Season 12
Season 11
Season 16
Season 8
Season 13
Season 10
Season 14
Season 9
Season 15

I just want to point out a few things.

There is a separate thread for ranking the seasons.

Also, quite a few of these aren't really all that unpopular.

From what I've heard, Rob Rackstraw has already been given a bit too many characters, as if it's G1-G3 Bob the Builder. I never heard what Bradford sounds like, but I feel he should've been voiced by Keith Wickham with the Welsh accent he used for Glynn. That was how I imagined him when I saw the Wikia said he was Welsh.

I sort of agree, but at the same time, Keith Wickham already voices so many characters. Also, were you to hear Bradford's voice, you may change your mind. He sounds very militaristic, and I'm glad Rackstraw voices him, though you're right; he gets just about all the new male roles. He voices all the speaking, male internationals except Carlos, Vinnie, and probably Ivan, and he got Bradford and Hugo, and now voices Donald. However, so far, I will say that I like all of the voices he uses. Can't fault him too much there.

MarioLuigiGCFan wrote:I think that Season 13 is better than 14 and 15.
I like Season 6 better than 5.
I actually didn't mind the Logging Locos.
I despise Lady.
I actually think that Season 9 is one of the WORST seasons of TTTE ever created. It is almost worse than Season 15 and Season 10 is not far behind.
Season 6 and Season 7 are underrated.
Season 5 is overrated.
Season 4 is the best season of the whole television series.
Season 12 is not that bad of a season
I think the Narrow Gauge got too many appearances in Season 4. The Season was still a masterpiece though.

A bit of topic but if I had to rank the seasons in order, it would be:

Season 4
Season 2
Season 6
Season 4
Season 5
Season 3
Season 1
Season 7
Season 17
Season 18
Season 19
Season 12
Season 11
Season 16
Season 8
Season 13
Season 10
Season 14
Season 9
Season 15

The ones I bolded, I agree. The ones I left normal, I disagree.

As a kid and even to this day, I always preferred the trains on the Skarloey Railway to the trains on the main line. This included Stepney even though he is from he Bluebell line. I have always enjoyed something about the smaller trains ever since I was a kid. Also, because they were not shown as often in the TV series it always felt like it was kind of special when they were in an episode.

Another unpopular opinion:

Well, I'm not sure how many of you will agree with me here, but I don't know what to expect when it comes to Season 21 and Journey Beyond Sodor, even though I am looking forward to those, but at the same time, I hope that Thomas and Friends will come to an end eventually. I'm not saying I don't like the series the way it is now, but it's the fact the show exists to earn money. But even if the show does end, the franchise can still be kept alive, what with Thomas Land and the like.

ArthurEngine wrote:Another unpopular opinion:

Well, I'm not sure how many of you will agree with me here, but I don't know what to expect when it comes to Season 21 and Journey Beyond Sodor, even though I am looking forward to those, but at the same time, I hope that Thomas and Friends will come to an end eventually. I'm not saying I don't like the series the way it is now, but it's the fact the show exists to earn money. But even if the show does end, the franchise can still be kept alive, what with Thomas Land and the like.

I agree... unfortunately, so long as the show remains popular (which it is), the higher ups will likely continue it for a very, very long time.

Here's a doosey for many older fans out there. . .

Spoiler:

railwayfan03 wrote:

ArthurEngine wrote:Another unpopular opinion:

Well, I'm not sure how many of you will agree with me here, but I don't know what to expect when it comes to Season 21 and Journey Beyond Sodor, even though I am looking forward to those, but at the same time, I hope that Thomas and Friends will come to an end eventually. I'm not saying I don't like the series the way it is now, but it's the fact the show exists to earn money. But even if the show does end, the franchise can still be kept alive, what with Thomas Land and the like.

I agree... unfortunately, so long as the show remains popular (which it is), the higher ups will likely continue it for a very, very long time.

You're right. Why I say Thomas and Friends franchise can stay alive. I mean Phineas and Ferb ended a couple of years ago, Gravity Falls and Wander Over Yonder ended last year, and their legacies are going on to this day. Regular Show ended a few months ago, and I'm sure its legacy will always continue. Adventure Time will be ending next year, and I can see the legacy of that going on forever.

So if Thomas ever does end, I hope they'll end it in a similar fashion to the last Railway Series book.

Maybe the show can last tell Seasons 25 or 26. There is still a lot to make up from Seasons 8-16 and I would like Henry's old shape to be added back in canon along with the return of BoCo and Duke and introduce a few more RWS characters before the show ends.

-Seasons 6 and 7 are bland.
-Season 5 is a hit or miss.
-Half of Season 19 is good while the other half is bland.

I hated Bradford The Brake Van! But not for what you think. I loved Bradford as a character and concept, the more brake vans w/ personality the better I say. But the episode annoys me to no end, I mean, it's supposed to be about railway regulations, and not ONCE did they mention lamp codes. I mean, come on!

mca0004 wrote:I hated Bradford The Brake Van! But not for what you think. I loved Bradford as a character and concept, the more brake vans w/ personality the better I say. But the episode annoys me to no end, I mean, it's supposed to be about railway regulations, and not ONCE did they mention lamp codes. I mean, come on!

Oh my gosh! Same!

Signs of a true geek right here.

miipack603 wrote:Here's a doosey for many older fans out there. . .

Spoiler:

What he said. I personally could care less. I have better things to do with my life than worry about this nonsense.

Not unpopular, just weird; I ship Billy x Marion.

That's... interesting. :/

I guess this would be my unpopular opinion:

I despise the idea of shipping engines; to me it makes no sense at all and a rather pointless aspect of Thomas fanfiction that such stories would be far better without using

I don't know how unpopular that is. Anyways, here's my take on shipping.

If you just say in your fic "Oh, these engines are dating." That's weird. However, I think there can be good ways to incorporate romance in fan fiction. If you think about it, the engines feel the same things we do, so they should be able to feel love. That being said, eh, they can't really, you know, do anything about their love. The fact that two engines might have affections for each other, but are unable to express them due to being engines can be an interesting story by itself. However, for the most part, shipping fanfics are really cheesy and annoying. I often will "ship" certain characters as close friends, or sibling-like figures. BroTPs if you will. Such would include Millie and Luke, Caitlin and Connor, and so on.

I dislike that they introduced brand new characters series five onward. I feel there were so many characters from the books that could've been used instead.

I think that the entire series should have been rebooted when CGI was introduced, so rewrite the books but in a CGI format.

Well, with the introduction of 100% original episode plots, it would've made perfect sense to add exclusive, original characters in the same season. As you said, the time and money that were spent on the one-off characters from Seasons 9-12 probably could've gone into the Awdry family characters (which would've also given them a proper reason to merchandise them back then).

I have some more unpopular opinions.

-I really ain't looking forward to Big World Big Adventures.....at all!
-Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends needs to end. And before anyone tells me "Don't you want future generations of kids to experience what we enjoyed as kids?", they can still experience it through reruns. I'm saying because of how many people are displeased with the changes being made to the series. Besides, Thomas has been going on for over 30 years now! I mean lots of shows have passed their shelves, like South Park, Pokemon, Arthur, The Simpsons, Spongebob, and don't even start me on Family Guy!
-The Great Race could've worked had they used some actual British Railway engines instead of the internationals.

ArthurEngine wrote:I have some more unpopular opinions.

-I really ain't looking forward to Big World Big Adventures.....at all!
-Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends needs to end. And before anyone tells me "Don't you want future generations of kids to experience what we enjoyed as kids?", they can still experience it through reruns. I'm saying because of how many people are displeased with the changes being made to the series. Besides, Thomas has been going on for over 30 years now! I mean lots of shows have passed their shelves, like South Park, Pokemon, Arthur, The Simpsons, Spongebob, and don't even start me on Family Guy!
-The Great Race could've worked had they used some actual British Railway engines instead of the internationals.

-That's not unpopular. I don't think anyone is really looking forward to it. I'm gonna give it a fair chance, and I'm trying to be open-minded about it, but I do not have high hopes.
-I do kinda agree to be honest. I think about a year ago or so, this would be pretty unpopular, but I think at this point, more and more people are starting to share this opinion.
-Using international locomotives wasn't really the problem with that movie. The theme was a railway show with engines from all over the world. Using international engines was nice to get some variety. The problems with the movie were more on account of rushed and generally weak writing.

ArthurEngine wrote:I have some more unpopular opinions.

-I really ain't looking forward to Big World Big Adventures.....at all!
-Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends needs to end. And before anyone tells me "Don't you want future generations of kids to experience what we enjoyed as kids?", they can still experience it through reruns. I'm saying because of how many people are displeased with the changes being made to the series. Besides, Thomas has been going on for over 30 years now! I mean lots of shows have passed their shelves, like South Park, Pokemon, Arthur, The Simpsons, Spongebob, and don't even start me on Family Guy!
-The Great Race could've worked had they used some actual British Railway engines instead of the internationals.

1. You and me both.
2. I agree, the show does have to end sooner or later.
3. The special, while decent enough, was more rushed and suffered from weak writing than that.

Do you think you would be wishing for the show to end if only the classic series and Brenner era existed?