Oliver the Great Western Engine is regarded as a symbol of hope and prosperity, at a time when many engines - Sodor and Other Railway alike - needed one the most. But every 'hero' has to start from somewhere...
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Justified Biases
2:00 Branch Line Doldrums
3:19 A Driver's Promise
5:33 Deciding The Destination
7:15 Assembling Team Oliver
9:08 Into The Night
10:38 Mr Grimsby Grimesbottom
12:09 The First Hideout
13:50 A Matter Of Hatt and A Ghost In The System
15:26 Stars
16:54 'Baying and Growling Like Hounds'...
20:14 Only One Oliver
21:38 The End
24:47 Why've you gotta be so Rood?
Hi all,
Long time no see! (this thing took a lot of cues from Sonic, so might as well go the whole... erm.. 'hog', I suppose.)
I started working on this in January, it took a lot longer than expected due to life + getting a new computer, but alas, it's here at last.
Enterprising Engines was another strong favourite of mine when I was younger and discovering the RWS for the first time. I think it was the fascination with characters such as Bear and 199 who never made it into the TV show, and how different it felt from what the show was providing at the time really. When you've watched Escape from Series 3 and then read how different the story plays out in the book it's quite amusing!
This story was born from a scrapped subplot in Duke's Living Legacy where Oliver, frustrated with Duke being saved and no longer being the newest engine on Sodor, was actively jealous of Duke and hated him, but shared his story of running away from scrap, which prompted Duke to reconsider his own frustrations. It didn't work there, but I thought Oliver's story could be saved for later, as it's always been a fascinating part of Thomas lore in my eyes.
It is probably very obvious that Sonic The Hedgehog - in particular, Sonic Adventure 2 and the recent Sonic Frontiers - has served as an inspiration, from the name of the story to Oliver making it over to Sodor while the heads of the Other Railway proceed to mock Topham and his railway empire. I was playing Frontiers a lot when this video was in production, and that game features an ancient civilisation which was wiped out by an ethereal being and struggled to survive, which I considered somewhat fitting to what happened during the BR steam/railway wipe during the 60s.
I shall see you all again soon for whatever form the next endeavour takes. The possibilities are never ending... (i see it, i see it, and now it's all within my reach!)
Take care,
Ethan
18 сен 2024
