Thomas & Friends: Season 8 (2004) in Retrospect - The Thomas Retrospective 

Season 8: “no big words! Everything is simpler and friendlier!” Also season 8: *constant hints to the imminence of death and existential dread*

You all gotta admit that the Atmosphere in Halloween is just chilling. The music and visuals make up for what sounds like a basic story on paper

Remember how much Awdry hated "Henry's Forest" way back in Series 3? I wonder what he would think of that writers' bible...

These stories and videos feel more like whole documentaries than just a look over a kids story and it’s amazing

I actually have a soft spot for this era. I don't think it's nearly as bad as many others say. At least it's better than BWBA or Nitrogen

We've finally reached the HIT era. I have a bit of a soft spot for it, as it's the era I grew up with. But looking back on it, it really doesn't hold up with the previous masterpieces. Still, Season 8 was a decent middle ground, where there was clear effort and the characters weren't completely screwed up yet. My favorite was a tie between "Squeak, Rattle, and Roll" and "Halloween." The former felt most like a classic episode, and the latter was a great change of tone. Also, for the next one, I'd cover "Calling All Engines" in the same breath as Season 9.

You know, it's funny. I literally GREW UP watching these newer seasons, yet I STILL enjoyed the older stuff when I was younger. I could even tell the difference between different eras, though I didn't know which years they were from.

If there's one thing I appreciate about Season 8 is how Edward was written in this season. It's the first time since Season 5 where Edward didn't have any out of character moments. "Edward the Great" is the only "Hit era"/"New series" episode where Edward is the main character and is in his personality. It was nice to see Edward beat Spencer, even though Edward is slower than Spencer. There was a moment in “Chicken to School” where Edward humiliated Gordon. In "Don't Tell Thomas", Edward was the one who told Harold that he was looking for Thomas. It's nice to have a moment between Edward and Thomas where Edward isn't out of character. (I’m looking to “Saving Edward”). In “James Goes Too Far,” Edward told someone that James fell by the wayside even though he was pressed for time. Edward had a good time in S8. It's a shame that 9-12, CAE and TGD did him dirty. From an old and wise engine who never gives up to a weak and stupid engine who is sometimes an ass (with a few exceptions).

Squeak, Rattle, and Roll is honestly my favorite episode of this season too. It was like he let his fear overtake his pride and to be reminded like “hey, you pull the express for the reason”. Plus Gordon’s fear didn’t feel too unrealistic here. Gordon wouldn’t have had any fear from the squeaks alone, but having it happen not too long after Diesel implanting the thought of scrap made him have that “oh no” thought.

One thing I like about James in this season, is how vivid he is In older seasons, especially on old cruddy vhs tapes, he'd look almost orange; so I love James being a medium vivid red

I have a headcannon for why Spencer makes a jet plane sound. I think it’s all in his head. Like that what he THINKS he actually sounds like because he’s so fast. 😂

This season was a semi decent start to the neoclassic era of Thomas (seasons 8-12) and had a few enjoyable episodes. “Halloween” is my favorite

I believe that since Duck was to be apart of the steam team, they wrote a lot of episodes for him, however when he was swapped for Emily, they adapted Ducks stories for her. That being the reason why she is more rude and bossy than she was in Season 7.

I always found Percy's Big Mistake to be an interesting episode because of how it taps into how trigging the word "scrap" is to an engine when they are under stress. The convenient timing of the dockyard manager saying that he'll have to speak to The Fat Controller, and then The Fat Controller talking to his driver about the scrapyard is what sets Percy off. The only things that would have made it better is if Percy didn't speak to anyone after hearing The Fat Controller, and the scene with the pipes was removed. It would have given children a proper idea of what stress can do to the mind when they don't take care of themselves mentally and assess a situation.

I’m probably most excited for these later Seasons since we never really see tug talk about them.

Unlucky Tug never fails went it comes to Thomas content

Being born in 2001, as good or bad as these HiT seasons are, I grew up with this era so I'll always hold some appreciation and nostalgia for this time.

And thus begins the era that many 2000’s children, including me, grew up with. Season 8 for me has the most nostalgia because I remember watching it through many DVDs like “It’s great to be an Engine”. For some reason, the sets and especially the models stand out from previous seasons, and I can’t tell if they’re better or worse, or if they ended up being bland or all the same from a rushed production. However, growing up with one of the objectively “bad” eras of Thomas might’ve inadvertently taught me how to appreciate the good aspects of bad media.

Fun “possibly dangerous” drinking game, take a shot every-time “confusion and delay” is said

Being born in 2007, I grew up mostly with the Clearwater Features era of Thomas with both Ringo Starr and George Carlin. The rest of the seasons felt pretty different to me.

Don’t Tell Thomas has always been my favorite of this season because ever since childhood the line “fine, if they won’t tell me, I don’t wanna know” and then he just runs off to be alone was always just a mood

12:23 My favorite usage of sound effects in Season 8 is James’ siderods breaking in Thomas and the Fireworks Display. The boisterous snap of James’ couplings snapping, and then the metallic sound of the siderods themselves dragging. Even kid me was impressed by the sound design of that particular sequence.

If I’d been the one writing that writers’ bible, I wouldn’t have said the Steam Team were all kids. I would have said Thomas and Percy were kids, James was a teenager, Emily was in her twenties, Gordon and Henry were middle-aged, and Edward and Toby were elderly.

Guy uses a "BIG WORD" to describe a season where use of such words were discouraged - mad respect!

Season 1-7 are like your taking a trip across the country. Seasons 8-16 are like if you stopped and started driving back and forth between the places you we’re already in .

Thomas and Friends's Season 8 Had Good Intentions.

I used to despise the Hit era for a long time but after watch The Thomas Cynic’s reviews on it, I was finally able to see the good it in.

To quote c.s.Lewis "a children's story that can only be enjoyed by children isn't a good children's story in the slightest" that pretty much sums up the entirety of the hit era in my opinion

Awdry would call this “Bible” the most sacrilegious text he’s ever heard and beat the writer over the head with the Island of Sodor book.

I honestly like to think that the HiT era takes place in its own continuity. I remember when they officially stated that the CGI wasn’t a different continuity that they considered season 8 the reboot. Therefore, it can likely be assumed that season 8 might as well have been a completely new thing.

Honestly, unpopular opinion, but I also kind of prefer how Emily is characterized in the hit era. I think having her be one of the “snooty big engines” is actually pretty interesting. In a perfect world I think there could be a better balance between her mother Leaside and her more queenly controlling side, but if I had to choose one, I think the queenly side is more interesting to work with as a writer.

As a little kid I saw seasons 1-7 pretty much all at once, season 8 was the first new one. I saw every episode on TV from then on when they aired, so I kinda have a soft spot for this era, especially with he current state of the franchise with AEG.

those padding intros are what I like to call AST intros: Adjective Season Time "It was a/n [adjective] [season] [time] on the island of sodor!"

As a kid, even I noticed differences the classic season and season 8 had, and not just with the new theme song.

We are finally here the true start of the HiT era and the notable 2nd major turning point for the show. While Magic Railroad started a reaction that caused the slightly veer, HiT was the notable point where the problems started to get really noticeable. Honestly excited to hear your thoughts.

I've always had a soft spot for Season 8. It's the only HIT era season I watched as a kid, and I think it still has some charm going for it. It's certainly the last time Michael Angelis feels like he's enjoying himself (at least to me), before they had him start talking slower and more monotone.

This season came out the same year I was born and while I did watch the HIT era a lot during my childhood, I’m still glad I was able to watch the classic series.

I'm just baffled as to why they needed to write an absolute atrocity that is the Thomas Bible that ruins so many characters & consistencies when they already had the IOS book to work off of. I get this was the model era and a brand new formatted season for those of younger ages, but they still had no excuse not to use it as a foundation and take a small handful of elements from it to craft a more grounded and recognisable world that not only stays true to Wilbert's, but at the same time could still feature all this new Hit-Era stuff they wanted that the kids can enjoy and also keeps us the fans happy. But, i digress. Season 8 is still pretty good for what it's worth with. I give it a 7/10.

Wasn’t expecting Big Blue as the first background song in the video. Made me a little more excited for the episode

First Hit Entertainment season bois , let's see how this era comes ✨

According to Mike O'Donnel in an interview, Hit thought the current kids back in 2004 wouldn’t think the classic era is Thomas to them. Which I call BS on that, because as I got older, I realized that I watch the episodes from Seasons 1-7 the most. Season 8 was the only season from the Hit era I’ve watched the most. I’ve never watched the Hit era while it was airing.

I can't bring myself to hate on this season. I had DVDs as a kid with Season 8 on them and I always loved them. Halloween and Fish were some of my favorite episodes, and I'd always go back to them I know it's just my nostalgia, but much like Magic Railroad, I can't help but be happy they exist

I remember when Season 8 first came out on PBS and I remember watching it and thinking "This feels so different." I felt so baby-ish to me and I found myself only watching to say that I was watching Thomas as a long-time fan, but it took me several rewatches to get involved. Maybe a handful of episodes stood out but overall, it's more filler to me or background noise at best. I also appreciate that you shared the Thomas Bible. I didn't know this existed and it was interested to see how they viewed the Island of Sodor.

I too love the scene where Edward calls Gordon out. I love the way Brandon delivered Edward's line!

I like the idea of combining the specials with the seasons. It might mean more work in the long run, but it will help to streamline the series in a good way. It'll also help those who don't know which specials were a part of which series to keep better track of it.

The first season for PBS/Nick Jr. Me being born in 2003 was a super fan of S8. Of course, this was before I knew about the classic seasons too, so that's probably why I like it so much. I see it as the best of the Hit Era as a whole, now that I think about it. Guess that's a good thing

16:21 The Children's Television Act is probably why the HiT Era had to be more blatant in the messaging. Television was still prominent in 2004, so they needed to follow FCC regulations for children's programming in order to air Thomas in the US.

this season is how i feel in love with Emily shes definitely in my top 5 favorite characters, thanks for all you're Thomas content.

When looking back at season 8, despite being 11 years old by that time, I did find it to feel oddly enough like a love letter to season 1, but still enjoyable in some cases. Hear me out on this: I was watching Thomas VHS way before, around 97 98, and until 2002, I wanted to check out a season 8 just for the curiosity of it.

I had huge nostalgia for this season. I would always watch these episodes on DVD and love them and Didn’t had the attention spam of seeing the problems. Now rewatching them, I think it’s Okay at best:) It’s not terrible, it’s not bad, it’s not perfect, it’s definitely still acceptable to watch even despite all the problems it has. For HIT’s 1st attempt at their own season, it was an okay one:) P.S. I’m split on How you should give Calling All Engines it’s own review or combine it with season 9, especially since both were worked on around the same time, heck season 9 technically started airing BEFORE CAE was released on Home Media!!!

22:02 - YES YES! FINALLY someone acknowledged the triumphant theme from "You Can Do It Toby!"

Interested people are interesting people, I have no deep connection to Thomas, but you make this seem so magical to me

I do really like Tug bringing up how you can show sides of a character that differ from the norm, but that it only really works when done in moderation. "One-sided" characters are called that for a reason; showing off different aspects of a character makes them feel more grounded and realistic, as opposed to vehicles (ahem) to progress the story. Also when it comes to Squeak, Rattle, and Roll, I could honestly see this as the first story of _Enterprising Engines_ with a few tweaks. Include the first section of “Tenders for Henry”, where Gordon finds out from D199 at Barrow about the scrapping of steam engines, the latter taking on a role similar to Diesel in the episode, which leads into Gordon’s talk with the Fat Controller {Gordon knew about his other siblings as he met some during his rebuild, but asks if even the ones he was built with were scrapped, which saddened him even more}. He then sets off after Topham tells him this, and Topham decides he needs to do something to cheer Gordon up. After all that he experiences the squeaks and rattles, which leads to him depressingly worrying he’ll be scrapped for a diesel, leading him to move slower, and when he has to take the Fat Controller to Barrow, he starts to go slower until he starts to wonder what the Fat Controller would think and starts to pick up speed, deciding he’ll make his last trip his best. After arriving at Barrow, the Fat Controller speaks to Gordon and the reassurance him that steam will always be at work on his railway is given, and then sends him to the works to be checked over, telling him they’ll be a surprise for him once once he gets back to the sheds. Once Gordon settles down in the sheds that night, he witnesses Flying Scotsman’s arrival that night with the Fat Controller alongside, showing him that he will always be true to his word.

Another great Thomas season review! I love how you manage to analise each detail of the series

I've said this many times, but it's worth repeating here. Season 8 is like anti-nostalgia for me. It came at a time when I was growing out of Thomas' target demographic, and was kind of losing interest already. The new format didn't work for me at all, and I basically tuned out after that point, only occasionally watching when a younger sibling or cousin had the show on in the background. I don't think I saw any episode after S9 until I discovered this fandom. BTW, you hit the nail on the head with why all the sets feel so flat. I think the combo of fewer detail backdrops showing elevation change and the incredibly dull and flat color grading make the show feel so much more lifeless than it had previously. I'd never noticed how much the backdrops changed between S7 and S8! Makes a huge difference,.

This guy is great at everything he does

That writers guide is bane of every Thomas fan’s happiness, a clear example of what the creative team had to put up with from the execs. I still believe that HIT’s acquisition of TtTE was the ripple that started the wave of children’s TV being dumbed down to increase production efficiency and make more money, blatant manipulation of children for profit if you ask me. I have so much respect for those who worked on TtTE, this video clearly shows how much passion they had for this and they definitely made great use of the new budget too. How different things would be if Allcroft wrote that writers guide, or even Mitton, RIP.

I was today years old when I learned about the 'ghost' at the end of HALLOWEEN. Thanks for having faith in your US audience, HiT!

Classic Era Season 1- Complete Season 2- Innovative Season 3- Big Season 4- Comfy Season 5- Peak Season 6- Cute Season 7- Eye Of The Storm Jack and The Pack- Quaint Hit Era Season 8- Milquetoast Season 9- ? ? ? ? I have mixed feelings about Season 8 not just because it was the season when I was born. I didn't watch the HiT Era at the time until I was 5 years old I only watched the classic series of Thomas before watching the HiT era going back and watching those episodes I could see why some people like it and hate it for many reasons. But over time, I still have a soft spot for Season 8, even if their episodes are good and bad at the same time.

I really feel bad that his old channel is still gone. Seeing him at nearly 69k is nice but still, I still feel bad for him ☹️

17:53 Yes, I remember Theodore Tugboat!!! I was OBSESSED with that show growing up And a fun fact for those who may not know, but, Robert D. Cordona worked as a director on the series ❤

I find the part of the writers bible at 5:50 absolutely hilarious cuz almost ALL of those words were used in the show prior to this. The selection of words was probably intentional to show that those words shouldn't be used *anymore* but I still find it really funny with them saying "we don't use" words that definitely have been used

That writer's bible is just a document of cringe.

If your massively okay with more working on this topic, then yes including specials with their respective seasons would be pretty cool. And I thought you described Emily in season 8. And this season on its own pretty well I think.

Polish version of Engine Roll Call: Przyjaciół przedstawiamy wam! Wciąż coś wożą tu i tam! Czerwień, błękit, zieleń, brąz. Oto ich kolory są! Poprzez pola, miasta, wsie, gdzieś każdy z wagonami mknie! Kto przyjaciół takich zna? Tomek takich ma! Tomek - Bardzo śmiały jest! Kuba - Lubi bawić się! Piotruś - Z pocztą gna przez świat! Gabryś - Szybki jest jak wiatr! Emilka - Dobrze zna swój fach! Henio - Sapie: OCH i ACH! Edek - Wszystkim pomóc chce! Tobik - Z nim wynudzisz się! Przyjaciół przedstawiamy wam! Wciąż coś wożą tu i tam! Czerwień, błękit, zieleń, brąz. Oto ich kolory są! Poprzez pola, miasta, wsie, gdzieś każdy z wagonami mknie! Kto przyjaciół takich zna? Tomek takich ma! *Kto przyjaciół takich zna? Tomek takich ma!*

WE MAKING IT INTO THE HIT ERA WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥

Aw yes. This is the Thomas era I grew up with. Very nostalgic

Entering a new era of Thomas with this one!!!!

I really do wonder if Thomas will ever get the MVP Award down the line.

As flawed Season 8 (and the rest of the HIT era) can be seen, it was what i grew up with, and something i really loved, and even with me being older and appreciating the classic seasons more, this era of Thomas holds a special place in my heart.

Great retrospective, but one episode I'm surprised you didn't mention at the end was Thomas Saves the Day. That episode was included in a '10 Hidden Gems of the HiT Era' video I made shortly after your first CGI episodes vid (Thanks for the inspiration btw). I really like Annie and Clarabel being Thomas's mentors. While I like their roles in the Brenner era, I adored seeing them be kind and patient towards Thomas and help him with his struggles with a difficult bend. I also find Thomas to be quite relatable as well. His anxiety about the bend reminds me of a crossroad I used to be terrified of crossing when I was younger. Seeing him conquer his fear through a not-so-bad runaway was good. Also, I agree with everything you said about Emily in this season!

I can't believe I never made the Lucy (from Peanuts) comparison to S8 Emily XD And you know what, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. A bossy sister-figure with a heart of gold.

Once they started doing CGI Thomas and cartoon Thomas, it died imo. These live action model sets are what made this franchise so cool. They seriously need to return to this style of Thomas.

I honestly hated how the drivers and firemen didn’t interact with the engines as much as in the previous seasons.

I think Calling All Engines is worth giving its own episode, even if it's shorter, because I'm sure there are movies you'd like to go more in depth with, and you may want to cover how the movies affected the seasons around it

43:26 I don't know why this is the thing I noticed but Emily is puffing great smoke rings.

I like how all over the writers bible they're told to keep it super kid friendly but there's multiple episodes where the engines just talk about fear of death, and one of them just outright accepts he's going to die

When we get to season 12 TUG is going to realise he made a massive oversight in his "CoMpLeTe" Model Series Timeline.

I wouldn't call them stupid, I'd call them children. They act like Children, so are very relatable to Children. And while Children aren't dumb, they do make mistakes, or believe in magic. Compare that to the early CGI era, where even a toddler could figure out what to do, before the engines.

Good video. We have finally reached the hit era of Thomas. Season 8 is a great season for me. I really like all the episodes where Thomas has the main focus and the rest of the episodes. The changes that were made don't bother me at all. For me Season 8 is the best season out of the hit era. It will be interesting to see the retrospective on Season 9.

I wonder if the reason of not using any of the classic music was due to not having to continually pay Mike and Junior royalties. I doubt that's the case as I would assume the show would keep all the music rights but just a theory.

What a tumultuous season of ups and downs to come. S8 is the best and worst of the model era. Honestly a perfect crash landing into the HiT era to come. This was my first exposure to Thomas as a young kid so it's very deeply burned into my soul. I will love Thomas forever and always have a soft spot for S8.

This is the season when the show started to go downhill, but luckily, the show went back to normal in season 17

The most memorable things for me, were seeing it for the first time on CITV (with it's exclusive intro theme), and the Halloween episode

I actually just had a realization. The existence of the northwestern railway is technically illegal. They have a monopoly on the entire rail network on sodor. And since rail is the most practical form of transportation on the island then that means that they also have a monopoly on transportation. I’m kinda surprised that awdry never brought this up. I feel like there being more then one rail company could lead to some interesting stories

It's so weird having grown up with both this and the classic series simultaneously because as a kid I really never differentiated it into two eras. I just figured the video quality got an upgrade as time went on. I never picked up on how different the two parts of the series were until now that I'm fucking 21

I'd prefer to see the specials covered in their own videos rather than part of the whole season. Great video as always!

Even in a favorite TV show like Thomas, it does tend to go through a seasonal rot in the middle, then back up again, only to stomp backwards towards the end of its run despite continuing its success. But it still kept its moments and is consistent in its original timeline, unlike other TV shows I can recall. Out of the HiT seasons, S8 is my favorite. I'll admit when I first saw Steamies vs. Diesels through my first exposure to this season, I did get a little surprised by this change but I never let that irk me and I still have nostalgia memories of that season. I even remember seeing a couple of airings on PBS Kids in childhood once (the second half of Personality, Listening and Surprises), especially Responsibility a few times on PBS Kids Sprout on Demand. I won't say it's perfect due to that writer bible, character regressions and inconstancies, etc. The part where you mentioned repetitive themes in two or three episodes also reminded me of Hamtaro where in each the same season, there are two episodes with the same theme (Hamtaro going missing and Laura getting worried sick in S1, Mr. Yoshi's mother telling Laura and Kana a scary story in S3, and the Ham-Ham gang being worried about space in S4). I do agree that Emily is the MVP of S8 and actually did more of what they can w/ her character that are the first steps into becoming a main in that era onwards (even if it was a little worse). Also, what you said about Arthur being the MVP of S7, I respectfully disagree cause I think Gordon is the true MVP of that said season for me as they really did so well with his character that it feels like his arc has come full circle. Favorite episode-wise, mine is also the stand-out episode Halloween, and my least favorite is Emily's Adventure. Finally, I really enjoy Michael Brandon's narration for it (though a few Angelis episodes I do like as well like James Goes Too Far). He does state in an interview that he had the idea to give the engines improvs when they react to a situation, adding more life to them (similarly to Johnny Morris in the RWS, but better).

I think having the specials separate from the seasons is a better idea, that way they can have more time dedicated to them and each have their own MVP, etc. Basically a smaller version of what Tug did for Magic Railroad

Something I rarely hear in discussion when it comes to the HIT era is looking at it from a kids perspective. What I mean by that is when I think back to when I was younge, and I had the OG and HIT episodes available to me, whilst I enjoyed the older ones, I was, well... A kid. The brighter colours, simpler themes and having a theme song I could sing and not just hum, drew me to it more than the earlier seasons. By the time of the CGI era, I was old enough to realise bad writing and began to re-evaluate how I liked each season. But from a business perspective, I can see why switching to a more targeted audience with kids would make sense, and I think was actually pretty smart. Although I will add that I believe there's a limit as to how simple and babyish Thomas should be, so this view doesn't apply to many aspects of BWBA and especially all Engines go. Amazing vid, and id love to see each special get its own video, even if they're shorter than the main season episodes.

that intro is so inspiring and nostalgic and I love it

FIZZLIN' FIREBOXES & WOWSERS, WHAT A SPECTACULARLY EXCELLENT JOB WITH THIS OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR SURE!!!

“Calling All Engines!” and the other specials are definitely worthy of their own retrospectives, which I’d be interested to see your takes on! :) Makes me wonder though, you think you would ever consider doing a retrospective on Shining Time Station itself?

Always a great day when there’s a new Unlucky Tug video 😊

I'd say combine most of the specials with their respective seasons. However, I think the one that deserves its own video is the great discovery.

This era of Thomas always had a soft spot with me

Calling all engines takes place between seasons 8 and 9 so it should be covered before season 9

Can’t believe it’s the 20th anniversary of the 8th season

I’m definitely interested in hearing your thoughts on the specials (in addition to what you already said in your movie rankings), although if it creates a burden that slows down your ability to get a season’s review out, I’d rather you just go straight into the season review

30:49 Tug: TOBY IS A BOX!! Me: **Wheeze** 😆😆😆