In Defence of the HiT Era: The Debate Revisited

[@StuartStudios5]

In my opinion, the two biggest problems with the HiT era were 1, it valued quantity over quality with the new characters introduced, and 2, the writing was beginning its infamous decline in quality. But everything else ranged from mediocre at worst to great at best. For example, the model work still had its fair level of charm, the music wasn't entirely bad, and some of the stories were actually memorable.

[@spyfan62591]

Yeah. The Gordon eps were mostly good imo this Era is a mixed bag. Especially after all engines fail.

[@blue-ribbon-sparkler]

I grew up with a mix of the different seasons, I watched some season 1-7 , some 8-12 and I also grew up with early CGI era. The HiT era was a bit mixed if I look at it now, but to me it had a certain charm to it. When I was younger I didn’t pay attention to if it was a good episode or not but I just watched it and enjoyed as it was one of my favorite shows when I was younger (still is) The HiT era isn’t perfect nor is it entirely bad, it was mixed. It had some great episodes that will stick with me, but there were other episodes that were just poor in writing etc + the out of character stuff, like Skarloey and Rheneas having that child sounding voice even though they’re 2 of the oldest engines on Sodor. Season 12 was odd and I don’t think it’s anyone’s favourite if I’m honest. There’s a few good ones (in my opinion at least) like Excellent Emily. But episodes like Push Me, Pull you, there’s nothing good I can really say about it and if I did it would probably be a lie. But there are some great stuff in the HiT era, which is The Great Discovery. I adore this film it’s definitely in my top 5. (Also another thing is Thomas, You’re the leader is one of my favourite Thomas songs so) Another HiT era film is Calling All Engines. I have lots of nostalgia for it. But nostalgia ≠ good.

[@highoctanegames]

I agree on almost all of that myself I too grew up with many of the mixed model seasons and with early CGI too I just enjoyed it all

[@vaclavmacgregor2464]

I LIKE SEASON 12 AND HANK THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD K4 PACIFIC IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS.

[@highoctanegames]

@@vaclavmacgregor2464 I liked Hank too lol

[@NintendoGamer2600]

Same. I grew up watching basically the whole model era. I was born during the hit era so I grew up in a large transitional time.

[@architecturefan4]

I can relate with you. I grew up watching a mix of seasons 1-7 and 8-12 and I can relate with a lot of the other points you brought up.

[@dianessunders2290]

In my opinion the Hit era had some of the best model work in the show. The snow and storm affects look incredible and the scrapyard looks terrifying.

[@9975praj]

It's really refreshing to see someone going out of their way and producing something that is unique in it's own regard. Rather than just labelling the HIT Era as the dark age, the fact that you are defending it and bringing up such good points is just mind-blowing. The HIT Era overall is pretty decent. Season 8 however, is brilliant.

[@demonking3673]

The Dark Age is either the Miller or BWBA Era

[@9975praj]

@@demonking3673 yup

[@AlexsStopMotionAdventures]

@@demonking3673*laughs in aeg, Lacey gacha and other horse manure*

[@WatchVidsMakeLists]

For me, the HiT era will always have things that make it... sort of a chore to sit through: the mischaracterization of major portions of the cast, the slower pacing and less enthusiastic narration, the move away from railway realism and real-life inspiration, etc. That said, this video did definitely help me appreciate that a lot of my gripes with this era are mostly aesthetic/stylistic differences from the classic series, and hell, without having to listen to the brassy tunes or bored narration, some of those shots are really pleasing to the eye. If nothing else, you've given me a much greater appreciation for the model work and character dynamics of this era.

[@jonathanadair6847]

My problems of this era: stupid writing, atrocious character portrayals, learning segments, too much focus on the Steam Team, several classic characters being underused, the three strikes formula, food being transported in open freight cars, and poor handling of new characters. Things I like about this era: Some occasional good episodes, nice music, good narration from Angelis and Brandon, and enjoyable songs.

[@googlecorn1410]

The learning segments aren’t that bad since it doesn’t really effect the content

[@Zacman1123]

Agreed

[@thebatterymill]

The open-carriage food cars was something which the production staff were against displaying, but HIT demanded otherwise. I will certainly admit that there being more crunch was what might have derailed the show's writing and caused writers to rush. Rather than 26x4:30 episodes every 1 1/2 years, it was 26x7:00 episodes every year.

[@Slyarno2795]

Those are good points. The writing is bad yes and the way how the characters are written bad and they don't use the old characters like Boco Daisy Murdoch Arthur Harvey the skarloey railway engines Etc. As for Rosie Neville Molly and the ones who were shown between Season 9 and 11 never got an episode of their own instead only Thomas in or his friends. Also the episode with Molly, next time let there be a moment where Molly and Emily have a rivalry.

[@skydive7054]

This, and the crashes actually look realistic compared to the bouncy, unrealistic, jumpy lightweight crashes of BWBA

[@TrevortheTrainFan]

Great defense there dude! Personally, I think the HiT era for seasons 8-11 (as well as Season 12) are average seasons. But they are gold compared to All Engines Go! In fact, any bad or mediocre era of the original show is better than the reboot!

[@TrevortheTrainFan]

@Michael Butler You’re certainly right about that!

[@maceogrady1238]

So dang true

[@warsthemarvel8608]

@Michael Butler nitrogen yes but BWBA let’s not go to far lol

[@hamishthedockchugger351]

I agree with Trevor the hit era is so nostalgic I was born during seasons 8 and 12

[@robinswift9450]

Yeah, the reboot threw out the magic and technology of steam trains. They barely pull trains and the fat controller is very wimpy and seems to not be able to handle anything. It's so opposite of what I knew Thomas was about.

[@Wowee100]

I feel if Thomas’ Frosty Friend was written with Sidney instead who forgets what’s behind him and where to go, along with some rewrites, it would be a pretty solid episode tbh. Of course he didn’t exist back then but if someone rewrote it now it could work

[@adamperkins4814]

I have alot of nostalgia for this particular Era. I was young when these seasons were coming out and I admit Season 12 was a big deal to me at the time. Sure none of it holds a candle to the early seasons, but I remember them fondly. Gordon and Emily's S8 themes are extremely underrated.

[@dysr]

I think when most people talk about the Hit era having a reduced cast, they mean that the number of characters that were leads in episodes was heavily reduced. Sure, characters like Murdoch and the Caledonian twins appeared in episodes like Percy and the Magic Carpet and Gordon and the Engineer, but they only have minor roles and don't do anything in those episodes that isn't something generic that a lot of other can do as well. It probably doesn't help that the incessant rhyming that plagued the Nitrogen era also originated in the Hit era as well.

[@thebatterymill]

Where in the HIT era was there rhyming? I don't really remember. I feel like the rhyming might have been exacerbated by trying to conform towards the new voice cast.

[@dysr]

@@thebatterymill It's not nearly as common as in the Nitrogen era, but it is in episodes like The Magic Lamp.

[@JustCallMeHeavy]

They often also only appear in few episodes per season.

[@LegendaryCaptain]

Season 12 was most infamous you suddenly have characters like Duck Oliver and Stepney reappear briefly only to dissappear again another instance was calling all engines with daisy and derek

[@selinapersaud7629]

@@thebatterymill there was definitely some in season 12. Look at season 12 episode 16 I believe it was?

[@NorthWestern1919]

Alright, I did it. I watched the whole thing. And I can say, I can certainly see why you like the HIT Era. Personally, I enjoy it to, to an extent. Several episodes you commended for having good modelwork, and I agree. Whether Classic or HIT, I can always appreciate the work that went into an episode's sets and models. My personal opinion on the HIT Era is that it could've been worse. It is without a doubt better than the Miller and BWBA Eras, and there are a good few episodes that I genuinely enjoy and have nostalgia for. I also counted, and it turns out that the Skarloey Railway has exactly 1,385,824 bridges. Turns out that the "Bluebell Railway" from Season 4 was the actual Bluebell Railway, and the SKR needs all those bridges so that it can stretch all the way to southern England.

[@fanofeverything30465]

Congratulations on counting all those bridges 🌉

[@fatboyjd2489]

I grew up during the HiT era beginning and watched all the way until halfway through season 10. I know everyone trash talks this era but it is true to some extent. Just because I grew up on it doesn’t mean it’s good. Am I still gonna love it everytime someone says something good about it? Of course, am I gonna act like it has no redeeming qualities? No because it does, and some of the new engines were bangers like Mighty-Mac and some new engines were kinda eh like Neville or Dennis. I still love every aspect of the Thomas franchise, except season 25 and the horrible reboot. If your reading this comment, I hope you have a good day/night!

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

The reboot is not season 25, season 25 doesn’t exist

[@thejammycollector8512]

I watched a 1 hour and 40 minute defence video for the Hit era and I don't regret it.

[@thethreerailwayengines825]

I think one of the issues with the HiT era was that there were a lot of "marmite" episodes, examples being: Thomas, Emily and the Snowplough, Chickens to School, Percy and the Magic Carpet, Mighty Mac, Thomas and the New Engine, Thomas' Day Off, Saving Edward, Keeping Up with James, The Green Controller, It's Good to Be Gordon, Fearless Freddie etc. Some people might love all of them and see the era as very good, others might hate all of them and see the era as very bad. This isn't the case in most of the eras. The Brenner and, to a lesser extent, the Gullane era also partially suffer, but it's only really the HiT era that gets the real marmite issue

[@garrettsmith2776]

What is the “marmite” issue exactly?

[@thethreerailwayengines825]

@@garrettsmith2776 People either love it or hate it with little middle ground

[@EpicFurbynerd76YO]

Does Gullane era mean season 6 or 7? Or just the model season

[@thesecondbestengine828]

I love how you structured this, I'll always love this era, it didn't have the best episodes consistently but the good ones are really good imo. Also Surprises is such a goddamn catchy song

[@Trickshotter]

I love how absolutely dead he sounded when he talked about Don't be silly Billy

[@TDRyan]

I was going to comment this but I checked if someone had said this first I was going to stop and comment it myself so may aswell reply to it. He sounded so dead it was hilarious also we all can agree on one thing if you don’t why BILLY SUCKS!

[@inkywright]

Thank you so much for your dedication and effort to this one, Thomas Cynic. I never really grew up with this era and your old video got me into this channel. So when I noticed you made a 100-minute revamp of the entire thing, I got really hyped. You present your points and really emphasize your defenses in ways that I could never do since my nostalgia is somewhat miniscule when I take a look at these episodes. So many of your views make me want to go binge certain parts of these seasons. Two things stuck out with me watching this video and thinking about what I've seen from this point in the show's history: 1. Thomas and the New Engine is the episode me and my friend Kailier will defend until the end of time. We really enjoyed the misunderstanding of Neville's presence and how each engine got the story more twisted than the last version. Kailier treats the bridge scene so preciously that I have to love it, too. He has massive nostalgia for this era so I have a lot of these opinions solidified thanks to viewing some of these episodes with him. 2. James bursting his face through Edward's billboard is weirdly meta to me and I treasure it for that reason. I say that because Edward was supposed to have James's face and you can see this goof a few times in Season 1. These are the kind of gags that get me through the sludge that is contained in certain eras. Anyway, I really enjoyed your magnum opus and I'm eager to see what you'll continue to make in the future! I'm very sorry that your PC got the axe, hopefully your editing can still keep up through that! Take care!

[@NewPatek_]

In terms of writing this era might not have been the best, but just like the entire model series the sets, and props are beautiful. And that you can’t take away.

[@joshuaW5621]

Although the Hit era isn’t brilliant, I’m not too ashamed that I grew up with it.

[@fexploder3281]

I can say the exact same thing myself, I grew up with it too.

[@IceLuigiStarPictures]

It’s good to see you doing a remake of you defending the HiT era. I still have high nostalgia for it since this was where I started watching Thomas in general! Maybe when you get a chance you could do a defence video on the Miller era as well. While I do look back at these seasons not being exactly perfect by any means whether it be certain characters flanderized or the writing being formulaic at times, I still enjoy a good handful of some episodes and especially the morals that are well executed. Season 8 will always remain my favourite of this era. Overall HiT Entertainment themselves may have had plenty of their ups and downs when handling the series, but they certainly have got better with the series in the later years. (Until Mattel bought the rights to owning Thomas)

[@TankEngineMedia]

You know, you reviewing the hit era makes me think that maybe it’s not all the episodes here are all bad. thanks for showing me that the hit era is not all bad.

[@jackroberts2747]

Loved the video! It’s clear you’ve put a lot of time and effort in it. Just one nitpick though, the gain static is quite noticeable. I’m not sure what your audio setup is but you should be able to remove it either with a plug-in or by turning your gain down while recording. Besides that I still really enjoyed the video! :)

[@Old_Known29]

Honestly, I love season 8. I feel it is a great season. With great visuals, with multiple fun moving shots. Then with it main target is to set up the Steam Team Characters, I thought it did it greatly. So I enjoyed that season greatly.

[@JosephHk743]

Wow, just wow. The HiT era defense video actually gave me a better perspective on the more positive gems and the what actually was done correctly each season, but also highlight the big flaws at the same time. This video changed my whole indifferent perspective initially watching this video. I’ve come to now appreciate Season 10 and 11 more than I have through the reasons you explained in the video. I really enjoyed listening to this and your analysis was very in-depth. Good job!

[@Ryder-a-Blaze]

Oh boy a premiere, I’ll definitely be watching this live.

[@Ryder-a-Blaze]

@Ben A.K.A The Wanted Raccoon have you watched any of my videos yet?

[@Ryder-a-Blaze]

@Ben A.K.A The Wanted Raccoon can you please go and leave some comments on them?

[@Ryder-a-Blaze]

@Ben A.K.A The Wanted Raccoon thanks buddy, I’d appreciate it.

[@stanbwildin4749]

Awesome work dude! As someone who grown up with the early series and the hit series. And personally the hit Era isn't that bad compared to something like bwba as it brought back some old characters occasionally. Overall I think its an alright Era for the show just not the best. Again great work mate!

[@quantumshock6620]

I was a young kid during the tail-end of the classic series (seasons 6 and 7) and the start of the HiT era. While I vastly preferred the former era, I liked seasons 8 and 9 as well (sort of stopped watching at season 10). In hindsight, this era's main weaknesses for me were that the episodes were usually slow-paced, predictable, and obsessed with explicit moralising. In contrast, the older episodes were generally fast-paced, individually unique, and more subtle in their life lessons. However, I definitely agree that the HiT era also had some well-written episodes.

[@MasterOfTheLemons]

Couldn't agree more with most of this; thanks for doing the New Series some justice! Some absolute bangers (clangers??) in this era!

[@Zacman1123]

My issue with this era, aside from the over use and often poor characterization of The Steam Team, (looking at you Emily), was that the writing felt childish in the worst way possible. Yes, the Thomas series is for children but neither the Railway Series or the Early Seasons talked down to the audience. The Hit Era, I felt, was often overexplaining something or acting like that the kids watching were morons. Granted I'll take the Hit Era over "All Engines Go" and most of the CGI series anyday.

[@flowerfrombfdi]

Yea

[@themonsterjamtalkshow8025]

I like the hit era because as a kid I grew up with that set of seasons

[@TopHat2375]

Edward the great is actually nostalgic for me. And I agree it is a nice Edward episode. The only issue I have with it is that the other engines agree that Edward is useless. Which given the previous episodes. You’d think they’d be on Edward’s side. I would have loved this episode if they had the other engines like Gordon, James and Henry. Stand up for Edward when he is mocked by Spencer. Showing how much they’ve grown to respect and care for him.

[@selinapersaud7629]

Yeah, but they kind of don’t. They might respect him, but not enough to defend him.

[@peloea8718]

Edward isn’t nearly as fast as Spencer, so you can’t really blame them for thinking he’d lose

[@steamdragon8550]

If there’s one thing I really appreciate about this video, it’s that you actually point out that the classic seasons weren’t perfect 24-7 (and even the books! truly scandalous). Like I get why everyone loves classic Thomas. It’s classic Thomas! It’s fantastic! But just because it wasn’t made by Awdry/Mitton/Allcroft/Brenner doesn’t mean it’s automatically worse. Also, the usage of CGI themes! They’re great tunes that don’t get used enough as background music :). And as a person who grew up with this era, this video makes me feel so vindicated. All around great video dude! 👍

[@Suitcasestudios1234]

I was here all the way when you only had 1000 scribers and oh my God you have become so much better at editing script writing and overall making. I love your videos and I hope you continue to make a wonderful Videos.(:

[@jonasdrexler3498]

I grew up with the hit era. I dont think its the best but it has a special place in my heart. Just seeing it here reminds me how stunning it was.

[@trainlover16]

REALLY looking forward to this.

[@RedMadMichael]

The HiT era I will always fight for. I do have a bias of it being the era I grew up on the most, I still watched re-runs of the first classic seasons but the HiT era was the one I watched the most. But even then I still think that there is stuff to defend. First of all the music. I absolutely adored it. It's not better than the classic songs but it's all still great, it makes it all feel so charming. The orchestral feel of the classic themes is great but this era's themes make Sodor sound like what it is: a small island with charming engines. Secondly - the model work. The engines are in tip top shape in this era, looking both realistic and charming to look at. I will admit, you won't get the sense that they're colossal machines as easily anymore but it still works. All the props and location, as pointless as some may be are all very realistic and fit in quite well. The two things that can't be as easily excused are: the writing and the marketing. And issues stem from these further. Firstly: marketing. This is the first time that the driving force of making money was more in the forefront rather than making a charming kids show, even if the people who worked on the show first-hand didn't intend on that. The amount of toys sky-rocketed during this era and I was a prime example with the 2 full boxes of merch and toys that I once had. This pushed them to make more characters all of which fell to the way-side. Its not like Molly, Denis, Billy, Frank, Flora or whoever else were going to be anyones favorites with each recieving one episode and a handful of background appearances at most. There are some okay ones in the mix, Hector comes to mind, but even then, none of them were made with any other goal than marketing, this I'm sure of. Other than characters the amount of locations ramped up too, as if they expected each one to be popular and sell enough toys. I can assure you, no one cared about the chocolate factory or ice cream factory or ballon factory (too many factories) enough to buy those. Secondly: writing. This is the main downfall of the era, I'm sure. The well known three-strikes-and-you're-out formula is the main example of lazy repetitive writing and it's pretty clear that plots were written with no particular character in mind, meant to be really used for any character so that the quota of a number of episodes needed for each character in the season is fulfilled, aside from few specific episodes like Henry's Wishing Tree, giving us out-of-character moments like petty angry Edward and such. The childish concepts don't help much either. But it does feel like this only affects certain episodes, I do feel like some episodes were properely written with great writing and characterization but the filler episodes do drag them down. But even then the worst episodes of the HiT era don't stand a chance in horribleness compared to the BWBA era, that really sucked. In a tier list of era's it would go: S: Classic Era A: Brenner Era B: Mid Era (seasons 6 & 7) C: HiT Era Model (+ season 12) D: HiT Era CGI E: BWBA Era F: All Engines (Stop) Go

[@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho]

Swap HiT era CGI and BWBA, and you’ll have my ranking of the series

[@fanofeverything30465]

Season 11 is in the HiT model era

[@joshuaW5621]

I bet he meant to type season 12.

[@fanofeverything30465]

@@joshuaW5621 Probably

[@RedMadMichael]

@@joshuaW5621 correct, oh well

[@DodotheWishFanboy]

I don’t think the HIT era is bad: I just think it has problems.

[@Thebreakingbadthomasfan23]

Like all it needs is some rewriting

[@DodotheWishFanboy]

@@Thebreakingbadthomasfan23 yeah, but that doesn’t always apply for every episode

[@Friendly_Lad]

The main ones are character rewrites, consistancy between episodes, endless forced morals

[@DodotheWishFanboy]

@@Friendly_Lad I don’t mind. The HIT era is still my least favorite Thomas era, but ironically, that isn’t to say it’s bad.

[@paisleepunk]

no dip, most things have problems

[@snowyfolfskyroo2739]

Chickens to School is my Fav. S8 episode because it's relatable to every highscholer, and imo hilarious

[@willbreckinridge8010]

Awdry: The Northwestern Railway has to get Coal imported from England because Sodor doesn't have any Coal Mines. Everyone: ok The HIT Era: So what you're saying is that we should make half of our episodes about Thomas screwing around at a Coal Mine? Awdry and Everyone: .....

[@joshuaW5621]

Seasons 5-7: also had both a coal mine and a coaling plant.

[@willbreckinridge8010]

We don’t talk about that 🤫

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

@@willbreckinridge8010 “... Half of our episodes about Thomas screwing around at a coal mine ...” what?

[@ToastTheThe]

Doesn't Percy blow up a coal mine in season 5

[@Michael-211]

Great video! Loved it! Duncan's Bluff is my favorite episode. James, Duncan and Gordon all had good episodes.

[@joeythecat7482]

To add on to the point of the Magic Carpet episode, it makes sense that Percy of all engines would believe it

[@imrandarr1094]

Plus the ending makes you wonder if the carpet is really magic.

[@joeythecat7482]

@@imrandarr1094 it's kindof reminiscent of season 5 like it never confirms if Rusty is wrong about the Boulder and that his ghost train is fake

[@fairlyoddenginecreations]

Wow, this video was something else. It certainly changed my perspective on some of these episodes. And I do agree that this era deserves a bit better of a reputation that it currently gets. still may not be a huge fan of it, but it would be sacrilege to ignore the gems that had. Great work again, man.

[@carlmatthews8338]

I feel like Billy is supposed to be annoying, you're supposed to not like him. Ssooooooo, in a way Billy actually is an ok character because he did what he was meant to do?:) I feel like I'm gonna get shot for that but that's just my opinion Great job btw:)

[@Planetkid32]

59:06, “There are only 2 of them (problems), and their names are Skarloey, and Rheneas.” I died right there. 😂😂😂

[@acelafan-mn4ub]

57:32 I find it ironic that Britt Allcroft canceled "The Missing Coach" because she thought that Donald & Douglas swapping tenders would be too confusing for children, only for Henry and Gordon to do just that in an episode years later

[@garrettsmith2776]

Henry and Gordon had different colors so that wouldn’t have been a issue unlike with The Scottish Twins. (One of them could have covered in mud or something before the tender swap to make it easier and give more context behind The Fat Controller’s correct guess on which twin was actually at fault).

[@fanofeverything30465]

Britt Allcorft had no input in It's Good to be Gordon

[@acelafan-mn4ub]

@@fanofeverything30465 I know, I'm just pointing out how similar the scene where Gordon and Henry swap tenders is to "The Missing Coach", specifically when Donald and Douglas do the same.

[@fanofeverything30465]

@@acelafan-mn4ub I think it was supposed to be a reference

[@acelafan-mn4ub]

@@fanofeverything30465 Possibly

[@LukimusPrime]

The HIT era may have its faults when I’ve watched it and I will always prefer the classic series of Thomas, but for what it is worth, I’d gladly watch it over what we get today for Thomas.

[@fanofeverything30465]

Season 8 is the most underrated season so I just know I'm going to love this video

[@willbreckinridge8010]

I'm a mid-2000's kid, so I grew up with the early HIT Era Seasons, like Season 8 and 9, and as a kid, I always felt that those seasons were different. They weren't all bad, but as a kid with the Complete Railway Series Collection and the entirety of Thomas Seasons 1-5 on DVD, I could tell that the production was lower quality (This is before I knew any background knowledge of Thomas). I think that the greatest problem with the HIT Era Thomas seasons is that they're trying to be THOMAS, and they don't do it well. I'm nostalgic for a handful of decent episodes, but even kids can tell when something was made with care and respect. The Railway Series and The Classic Series, as debated as they are within the fandom, are without a doubt quality productions, and kids knew it. Kids don't like to be talked down to, and the beauty of the Railway Series and Classic Series is that they're not condescending. The HIT Era is condescending, and it's proud of it. There were definitely a few good episodes, but the vast majority of the HIT Era is stupid kids-show crap, and kids don't want that. If anything, the HIT Era may have done better as a completely different show. Thomas is known to be very mature in its true form, and Awdry even said in his later years that children wanted to be talked to like adults. He didn't dumb down the choo-choo trains for them, they were Steam Locomotives in his books, and that's why they are still loved today after nearly 80 years. The HIT Era in comparison to the later Miller and BWBA Seasons is relatively OK, but it set the tone for the rest of the show, and is in a lot of ways responsible for the great decline of Thomas. The HIT Era was where Thomas officially became a stupid kids-show, and not a love letter to trains as it had been in the Awdry years. While perhaps nostalgic, with a handful of good episodes, the HIT Era in my eyes is one of the major reasons for the public perception of Thomas as a baby show, and for that, I don't like it.

[@andrea_cinnamonbun9927]

Boco: "OH! So I never existed apparently!?😠" "Did everyone forget I flat out vanished after Series 5???"

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

Another character: “Be quiet, your model was broken”

[@fanofeverything30465]

BoCo: Am I a joke to you

[@zoonitYT]

That Was A Great Video, The Chat Was So Much Fun

[@blue-ribbon-sparkler]

Yep it was and love the video too very enjoyable :)

[@zoonitYT]

Hi Paintpots!

[@blue-ribbon-sparkler]

@@zoonitYT Hi!

[@phantom557]

Don't get me wrong, i grew up with the HiT Era. Tho, now that I am older, I'm disappointed with it. It had so much wasted potential, characters like Neville, Molly, and Hank had wasted potential for great stories. At the same time, it felt like the correct way to reboot Thomas The Tank Engine. It brought in a new audience but stayed true to Thomas.

[@thethreerailwayengines825]

Ah crap. Now I have to decide whether or not to watch this live, and then miss some of the test match, or watch the cricket live and then watch this later

[@sglenny001]

What did decide

[@levimccallum7722]

10/10 on the disclaimer pal, I'm saying this positively because I can't have an opinion on the internet

[@joshuaW5621]

Opinions are illegal on the internet and I will never understand why.

[@lukeslocomotives]

That original video was the one that introduced me to your channel!

[@ThomasTubeHD]

I grew up watching Thomas and friends when H.I.T entertainment run the show, and despite its bad episodes and “for kids” elements like the learning segments, the irony is that those SAME learning segments are the ones that STILL captivated and spark my interest on trains and engineering as a whole And then again, there are still great episodes during this era

[@HorwichWren]

1:10:27 I like to think that they made James crash through a poster in place of Edward's face just to tease the goof in Edward And Gordon where Edward had James' facemask

[@marctempranoagramunt5336]

You are right Thomas Cynic! I don't think the HIT is bad, I grow up with this era when I was a Child, and I think is decent, and in some cases, a litle good, good, and really good

[@graydizzle8499]

I love this video! It was fun to learn about an era I haven’t looked at since I was like 6 years a old. I also love the honk at 1:23:48 😂

[@wyattjaron8112]

The episode flour power terrified me as a child. Seeing how cursed Thomas face looks all white like that with the deep sunken eyes reminded me of it today

[@stingky3689]

Tell me why when you said season 8 is dark I actually thought your were talking about the lighting 💀 Also, yep season 8 is my favourite hit season! Love it

[@gabrielediconsiglio3206]

Finally Someone Who loves season 8

[@fanofeverything30465]

I consider Season 8 the most underrated season

[@gabrielediconsiglio3206]

@@fanofeverything30465 me too

[@JustCallMeHeavy]

I like how in Gordon Takes Charge, they say that Percy hadn't pulled coaches for a long time, not that he never did. Contrast this with The Early Bird and how they claimed Thomas never pulled the mail ever.

[@harrythered4-4-0production8]

But early bird was in the miller era, not the HIT era.

[@JustCallMeHeavy]

@@harrythered4-4-0production8I never said that.

[@imrandarr1094]

@@JustCallMeHeavy Well I have a head canon Gordon Takes Charge. Percy the Express Engine written by Richard Jordan is a prequel to do the episode. Percy didn’t forget how to pull passengers, he just lost his confidence after his incident with The fogman in Richard Jordan’s story.

[@iananderson5050]

I feel like this era to the Thomas franchises is like what the Star Wars prequels were to the Star Wars franchise. Poorly-received whenever they first came out, and now being fully appreciated when people realize just how bad things could get with the BWBA/sequels.

[@diabeticman2194]

About halfway through the video, really interesting discussion about the HiT era! It was really nostalgic seeing episodes I remembered watching when I was younger, there where some good ones in this era as this video shows

[@iceeblueburst03]

This was the era I grew up with first when I was a kid. I watched this show on PBS kids in my younger days in the 2000s. Looking back at it now, it brought me back so much memories although there’s bad episodes I wouldn’t rewatch.

[@ItzAppleXL173]

The season 8 segment gave me a lot of flashbacks and nostalgia when i used to watch them when i was like 4 years old, and you did explain why the Hit era isnt as bad as people make it out to be very well, i do like most of the new characters introduce in this season like Neville, Molly, Rosie, Dennis, Hector, etc, dont really know why, maybe because of how they look as most of the ones mention dont appear again after the model era, but overall, 10/10 video.

[@cooperfriends1964]

Holy crap an hour and 30 minutes that’s even longer than’s tugs movie ranking video

[@flyingScotsmanProductions]

This era is always perceived "bad" The reason I love it is because of the nostalgia it brings. I grew up with this era. And I'll aways cherish it!

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

There also some funny lines throughout the era, here are some I remember: (Chickens to school, season 8) Thomas: “Gordon says a really useful engine never needs help” Edward: “HA, I’m always helping up the hill!” Narrator: “Gordon was very embarrassed” (Thomas’ Tricky Tree, season 10) Duncan: “Are you looking for something, Thomas?” Thomas: “I’m looking for a christmas tree” Duncan: “Don’t ye know what a christmas tree looks like? It’s talk and green and pointy!” Narrator: “Thomas didn’t think this was funny at all” Duncan: “Hey! Peter Sam! Thomas needs our help, he doesn’t know what a christmas tree looks like!” Sir Handel: “Thomas! The christmas tree is-“ Thomas: “Tall and Green and Pointy, thank you Sir Handel I don’t need your help” Also I find the part where Thomas thinks he found the christmas tree and Skarloey is like “Wait what-“ is really funny (Duncan’s Bluff, season 10) The UK clip of Duncan saying “I’ll show you who’s fastest” while James is leaving, with the shot of him, looks to threatening and ominous

[@JustCallMeHeavy]

hah

[@williampulfer-melville8536]

One thing I don't get about Hector the horrid is how the narrator says that shunting is Thomas' favourite job when it was previously shown in both the Railway series and the TV series that Thomas actually hates shunting which was why he wanted to see the world or in other words wanted to leave the yard and see the rest of Sodor

[@imrandarr1094]

Maybe Thomas grew more of a appreciation for shunting as the years went on.

[@selinapersaud7629]

I honestly think he did. I think now, it’s just that, he doesn’t necessarily mind it, it’s just not what he wants to be doing all the time.

[@shadyoder6055]

Say what you want about writing, length, stories, but no one can argue that these seasons upped the visual quality so much. More detail, better lighting and cleaner picture, everything just looks better and bigger

[@drawingpower1]

Personally, Thomas, Emily and the snowplough doesn't really feel like a 2 flawed protagonist episode. Emily starts the episode telling Thomas to listen to her much to his annoyance, and ends with her telling Thomas to listen to her, this time with his affirmation. I understand Thomas's flawed side He was tired of having to listen to someone nagging him for his habits, but it was the ignorrance that got him stuck. Emily just acknowledges that the message can change depending on the messenger, which in all honesty doesn't make sense. It would have been better if she knew she was right for trying to help Thomas, but was wrong for trying to helicopter over him, acknowledging that she may have come off as annoying even if she meant well.

[@paulblichmann2791]

I like Emily, she's such a Karen. In today's time she would be perfect at everything because she's female, and faster than Gordon despite being older than dirt and looking like a grandfather clock.

[@drawingpower1]

@@paulblichmann2791 you mean like a Mary Sue. I really can't tell which emily I like better.

[@peloea8718]

@@drawingpower1 not a Mary sue sorry

[@drawingpower1]

@@peloea8718 Then you tell me how she can be faster than Gordon while still being older, smaller and of a way older Design

[@peloea8718]

@@drawingpower1 when’s she faster than Gordon again?

[@dragonpaladin5584]

This is around the time I stopped watching Thomas on TV, and just watched the episodes I had on DVD and VHS due to school. I had episodes up until season 8 and 9, but those two seasons were more sparse. I had the Molly episode, and that was one of my favorites as a kid. Correction: that is still one of my favorites, and I remember I had the bossy Emily one, and I can honestly recall that that one bored me.

[@dragonpaladin5584]

I also had the Madge episodes, I had forgotten that, I also had the ones after and ... one ... before.

[@Sammy_The_Umbreon]

grew up with a variety of seasons (aka, we just bought a lot of dvds and stuff and sometimes watched out of order) but i think HiT era was one of the more common ones we had. This is probably why I have a hard time knowing which season is which era and stuff. Though that general approach made me look at the franchise as a whole and not 'eras' which is probably why the fond memories outweight any negatives for me.

[@HeartCloud]

This and the Nitrogen era were my childhood because that is what got me attached to Thomas and Friends in the first place. These seasons will always be viewed as guilty pleasures for me because I know I see the obvious issues in the writing and quality of character appearances (especially in the Nitrogen era). I'm glad that you took the time analyze and be honest as to why you considered the HiT era as a good era for Thomas, despite its bad reputation. Season 8 is my personal favorite out of the four seasons of the HiT era because everyone in the main cast got a good episode role, Emily is not as infuriating as I remembered and enjoyed her bossy demeanor as a flaw for her, and it's the least bad out of the four. Season 10 is my least favorite despite this season being my first exposure to Thomas and the couple of episodes I watched when I was a toddler made me dislike them so much and those episodes were Thomas's Frosty Friend and especially Edward Strikes Out. Like I just cannot believe that I didn't have the brain to see how these two were horrible. But the rest of the episodes don't make it as unwatchably bad as the BWBA era for me. The HiT era will always be a guilty pleasure era alongside the Nitrogen era, I know these eras are really flawed, but I do enjoy them because I grew with these eras and still has its identity to stand out above the crowd. Great video explaining your defense to the HiT era! :D

[@Theshininggem]

As someone who grew up on hit era I really wish they gave Neville a personallity. I actually gave Neville a personallity and a arc. And wow it’s way interesting Anyway, I grew up on both Hit and Classic era Thomas which when you see both sides of this model era, you kinda get it. While the learning segments and other choices SUCKED. people can easily clip them out on KZbin now so it’s nice. I do not think you should ever like hit entertainment they are an AWFUL company, but they just nearly avoided going too overboard. I do believe that this era can be remembered as not a great season, but a self titled one where the commen norm depends on you. Don’t get me wrong this season is not Good. There is a balance of bad and good. But when they cared, they cared. I think we can say that Hit era should be remembered as a sort of line of where the good meets the bad. And I’ll always forgive them for the memories, now the nitrogen era can go screw itself

[@samuelfarris1949]

I well remember watching most of the Thomas stuff from this era when I was still rather young and not yet fully aware of the differences between how changes were made following the acquisiton of the brand by HiT from Britt Allcroft. In fact the characters introduced in Season 10 were inspired by a request of ideas I sent out to HiT at the time, which also suggested Sir Handel's return after seeing Proteus's model resembling him; it was probably going to happen anyway but I definitely thought of it. Since then I've had a confidential but turbulent ride but it remains my incentive to work on Thomas & Friends, now with a more seriously-thought out idea that is slowly but cautiously making its way into a fully-structured plan. All the ideas are there but bringing them all together in a cohesive manner is a telling challenge; however with the more recent reboot at hand, I have continued to plod along for the sake of the franchise's future. Regards, Samuel Farris.

[@Trainmaster16]

People dislike Thomas and the New Engine due to the way the steam engines seem to hate diesels. Especially with this episode being the season that follows Calling All Engines. The way the steam engines are so quick to shun and be hateful towards Neville because he is supposedly friends with the diesels is uncalled for and out of character. We all know there are good diesels who the steam engines are friends with, such as, Mavis, BoCo, Salty, and Rusty. So why they are so quick to hate Neville because he supposedly may like diesels doesn't make sense. Edward is also completely out of character with what he says. "That new steamie, Neville, is best friends with the diesels. He doesn't want to be with steamies at all." His face during this scene makes it seem like Edward is saying this out of hate. Edward, you yourself have diesel friends. If he were written properly in this episode, Edward would tell off the other engines for being hateful towards an engine most of them haven't even met and would make an attempt to get to know Neville for himself before disliking and warning the other engines about him. Despite everything I have said, I wouldn't have a problem with this episode if the engines were concerned about Neville being friends with 'Arry and Bert, instead of Neville being friends with diesels in the general sense. 'Arry and Bert have been shown to be troublesome diesels who cause problems for steam engines, so if the steam engines were solely weary about Neville because of this, I wouldn't have minded, albeit, perhaps switch Edward out for another character.

[@roxaclock]

I feel like a good chunk of your points are pretty solid. (22:37) However the points about the character appearances being halfed I disagree with: I think the point people are making is how frequently the characters appeared. Quite a lot of the existing characters you were talking about appeared once, twice a season if lucky. Arthur appeared four times over the span of the 5 hit model seasons. Murdoch four as well. Spencer four. Donald and Douglas twice, cut once, and mentioned another. Bill and Ben seven times. Duck four times. Oliver twice. == Even some regularly appearing extras didn't appear as often. Diesel appeared a total of twelve times with an average of around 2-3 episodes a season and Mavis appeared a total of six times once a season for all seasons except 11 where she appeared twice.

[@TheThomasCynic]

And yet, those secondary characters appeared just as infrequently in Seasons 6 and 7, didn't they?

[@JustCallMeHeavy]

@@TheThomasCynic They usually had bigger roles.

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

26:15 And that shot right there, Thomas’ sad face looks like his eyes are wider

[@loganthe9f51]

Well, I’m three hours late, but this is fantastic, Cynic! Truly your magnum opus.

[@iPod1]

I watched the whole way through, and regret nothing

[@masterpeter1913]

Season 9 is my favorite of the new series .

[@Antluvstrains]

James was actually meant to originally be in Edward’s role in Edward Strikes Out. Would have been a much better episode if they kept that.

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

Where did you hear that?

[@joshuaW5621]

I’ve heard some say James’s model broke while the episode was being filmed, but that doesn’t seem too believable since both of them had 2 extra models made for them at the time so if one model was broken, they could still use another.

[@Antluvstrains]

@@merlinandmurdoch7837 It’s also explained on the wiki

[@JustCallMeHeavy]

@@Antluvstrains That might just be a rumor or something.

[@RickVG02]

You absolute legend. Brilliant video as always Carry on what you're doing please! Your channel has got a very very bright future ahead :)

[@verytallfriendfan6141]

“My only problem with season 10 is the continuity” 57:40-57:45

[@thebatterymill]

I’d argue it added some to the continuity too: building upon the Sodor Airport from CAE, having Gordon forfeit a speed record only to actually break it a few episodes later, Sir Handel returning after six seasons with a decent explanation and a nod to the Mid-Sodor Railway.

[@Da.Liar-Pig]

"It is continuity🙂🙃"

[@cooperfriends1964]

This was such an awesome video thank you cynic I love your videos

[@josedomingogonzalezquinter5386]

You and The UnluckyTug could be a great Team, Thats for sure, can you consider a video where you and The UnluckyTug are together to review something of Thomas and Friends? I can tell him about you.

[@mooseygoosey3749]

Oh god u brought back my sleep paralysis demon when u talked about flour power. I am more scared of that episode then Ghost train

[@snowyfolfskyroo2739]

The HiT Era may be bad at times but I love it. I didn't even grow up with it. I was a kid around that time, but my family was poor and couldn't afford cable, so I just had classic era DVDs. I still love this era despite its quality.

[@datguymiller]

Thomas being a jerk is very Railway Series, does this line sound familiar "If we went fast along the viaduct it might collapse and then you'd have no passengers, what would you do then?" "Run my trains to time for one thing"

[@Thomas_Morse]

This should become it’s own series too!!! I’d absolutely love to see more!

[@ninjacraftb]

Part 2 should be discussing CAE, TGD, S12, S7, and the S6 episodes America got as part of the HiT era

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

All of those already got videos

[@Empireofignorance7817]

As a kid, Mighty Mac was one of my favorite charecters

[@colewatson4830]

Mighty-Mac is my favorite character in the whole show.

[@gordontheengineswifedr.nirmal]

Mmmm to be fair gordon is looking incredible in that thumbnail

[@N00N01]

5:13 judt realised that henries buffering is like that of a southern railway king class engine

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

Henry’s what?

[@joshuaW5621]

@@merlinandmurdoch7837 his buffer bean, which holds the buffer housing and coupling.

[@N00N01]

Not that the southern railway king class didnt have a ultra slow running gear, so they smashed into the coaches, likely close to ruining the restaurant coach

[@masterpeter1913]

Where is my popcorn?

[@merlinandmurdoch7837]

I stole it muwhaahaha

[@qaisismail2662]

The hit era is considered the series gray area some good episode while the majority think the rest are bad but when you learn more about the episode the more you change your mind sure the hit era is bad but not unwatchable ( which some exceptions)

[@urbanderek]

I’m a firm believer that if they took like four or five of the episodes that Thomas was a lead in each season and gave the leads to secondary’s like Salty, Diesel, Mavis, Spencer, Harvey, and Bertie, or even second leads to the rest of the steam team for the season these seasons would be 30 percent betters

[@adamperkins4814]

"Duncan's Bluff" and "Cool Truckings" are some of my favorites.

[@thegabe2895]

Here’s My Top 10 Favorite Episodes Of The “Hit” Era: 10. “Don’t Be Silly, Billy” 9. “Smoke & Mirrors” 8. “Dirty Work” 7. “Hector The Horrid” 6. “Percy’s Big Mistake” 5. “James Gets A New Coat” 4. “Squeak, Rattle, & Roll” 3. “Thomas’ Milkshake Muddle” 2. “Mighty Mac” 1. “Thomas & The Birthday Mail”