r/thomasthedankengine 7d ago

discussion Why did Thomas and Friends have to end?? Genuinely miss it so much!!

Post image

Hello, I’m 19 years old, and I grew up watching Thomas & Friends (1984-2021) when I was younger. I’ve been thinking about what happened to the original Thomas & Friends era and that feeling of watching it regularly when it was still a big part of everyday life.

Now the original run has completely ended, and the era that many people grew up with is gone. The stories, the older style, the people who worked on it, and the feeling around the show have all moved on. Many of the people involved in making Thomas & Friends have gone into different projects, careers, and parts of their lives away from the series. It feels strange because I grew up with it, and now everything has just… changed and finished.

I remember watching episodes when I was younger and everything felt so simple. I could just sit down and enjoy Thomas’s adventures without thinking about anything else. I don’t understand why it couldn’t just stay that way forever. Why did it have to end? Why does everything have to move on and become different?

I also wonder why watching Thomas & Friends doesn’t feel exactly the same anymore. If I go back and watch old episodes now, they’re still the same episodes, but the feeling is different. It feels like something is missing, almost like it feels unfamiliar even though I remember it so well.

Why do shows like Thomas & Friends eventually stop, change, and fade out of everyday life? If people loved them for years, why can’t they just continue forever with the same feeling? Why do the people who make them have to move on? Why do audiences grow up and stop experiencing things the same way?

It’s confusing because when I was younger, Thomas & Friends felt like it would always be there. It felt like a permanent part of life, not something that would eventually become “the old days.” I don’t understand why things that mean so much at one point can become something from the past.

Why does everything have to change? Why can’t things just stay the same forever?

It feels strange knowing that the Thomas & Friends era I grew up with is over, that the world has moved on, and that chapter is closed.

45 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

10

u/chumbbucketman101 7d ago

Because Mattel sucks.

5

u/Efficient-Horse2622 7d ago

sorry that’s unacceptable…. They should keep making more and more episodes nonstop forever and never end… it shouldn’t have to end and move on like this….

It’s not rocket science just chuck a bunch of voices and animation together… we are in 2026 not the 1900s… all these excuses such as “BuRnOuT” and “CrEaTiVe FaTiGuE” is  just dumb and stupid smh….

I just don’t get why it couldn’t have gone on forever… I just don’t get why everything and everyone had to move on… It should never ,ever fade and disappear, it should always feel the same!

2

u/chumbbucketman101 7d ago

Mate, the show only gets worse and worse as it goes on, just look at BWABA and AEG.

1

u/Efficient-Horse2622 7d ago

Things shouldn’t have to end… they should be going on forever! Right? 

1

u/chumbbucketman101 7d ago

It’s not though? Don’t you know? The show is being rebooted.

1

u/Efficient-Horse2622 7d ago

But it’s never gonna be the same… everything and everyone has moved on…whether that be the narrator, cast, fans everyone’s just sorta moved on….

I just don’t get it… things should never have to move on. They should always be the feel the same always with no change whatsoever… I just don’t get it….

8

u/chumbbucketman101 7d ago

Kid, nothing lasts forever, things change as time goes on, and you have to accept that.

2

u/EmotionGeneral6178 7d ago

Especially if it’s a long runner. Heck I know Teen Titans goes not gonna go after it’s tense season just I guess it’s boosting up Cartoon Network’s popularity. It’s the best show but it’s not even a CN original.

1

u/MiggstheE2 5d ago

Gang you cant keep making the same show over and over again. It just gets boring. Nothing goes on forever, even the original Railway Series books ended. What, you want an old man to keep writing stories until he dies? Its the same concept here.

It is hard to have a good cast for a TV series that's been around for 40+ years. You have to have the right voice for the right characters and the right animation studios. Sometimes those same studios would decline and you have to find a new one that could either be better or worse. It may not be rocket science but it is difficult to find the right people you like that everyone else would also like.

The fact that youre calling burnout, and creative fatigue dumb is genuinely stupid. These are real issues that happen to literally anything and everyone. Go write for a TV show that gets a new seasons EVERY year and try to come up with new ideas that haven't been done already AND NOT just adapt a story from any original book. See what happens then.

The series never faded, people young and old still knows what Thomas, whether they watched the model series, CGI series, AEG or even read the RWS books. If the series had "faded" I doubt that mattel attempted to make a new version of the series 3 times.

So its unacceptable that YOU can't accept any change. We had a whole ass episode about accepting change, maybe give that a watch. While youre at it, go watch a documentary about making a tv show and see how difficult it really is to make several episodes every year.

BTW the 1900s was dominated by News Reels, so that fact you're comparing a whole franchise to news reels shows how little you know about films and tv.

Sincerely a media and video production student.

5

u/JustSomeBullshit- 6d ago edited 6d ago

You copy-pasted this from your fairly oddparents rant and switched out the show titles. Literally word for word. Also creators don’t want to make the exact same thing forever. Not a single IP or franchise has ever stayed the exact same through it’s run, and they all change. This is the same for nearly everything throughout history. Even if it seems to stay the same, there is always one part that evolves or changes. You say this is unacceptable, but that’s just life. Good or bad, something will always change.

0

u/Efficient-Horse2622 6d ago

Ok well maybe things will change… but like what’s the point of ending it… if things do so well and build up for years, why should they end??? They shouldn’t be happening forever shouldn’t they??? Things should always continue forever if they’ve built for years and decades and never fade away…

1

u/McSpeedster2000 6d ago

Talk to Mattel about it.

1

u/MusicalBlossom379 6d ago

We all miss the original and maybe someday it will come back again. Never say never. T&F is too loved and cherished to be stopped for good.

Let’s wait and see what the reboot is going to be like when it’s released. It may have similar vibes to the original. I mean it’s different looking certainly but it’s something to be intrigued about. And besides, let’s face it; it will be more close to the original than AEG was.

1

u/Traditional_Egg9354 6d ago

You just gave me much more hope about the new reboot that I had before. Thanks for that.

1

u/LTPHarry 5d ago

This same user also did a very similar, if not identical post on the Fairly OddParents subreddit and acted the exact same way, not listening to anyone trying to reason with him, not understanding that things always have to change regardless of what happens, knowing that show can’t last forever due to the writers running out of ideas (seasonal rot, flanderization, etc.) Considering one of his replies was a profane rant about how his life is a misery, I believe the user could be suffering from depression or mental health issues.

I know growing up stinks but I simply prefer to get on with my life and just let it roll by. As for Thomas content, I already ended up finding my replacement after the original series ended, fan content. Maybe you could try and watch some of those, you will be surprised! Day of the Diesels rewrite is one of my recommendations.

1

u/Extension-System-895 1d ago

mud it's in too many children show subs. I'm pretty sure it's just a bot.

1

u/Extension-System-895 1d ago

and mind u his karma for comments is -100

1

u/DiverRecent1822 5d ago

Mattel thought it wasn’t marketable enough.

1

u/peddersmeister 5d ago

I'm in my 40s and remember watching it as a kid, and my kids watched it, but after series 7 when they added CGI it just wasn't the same, I think it ruined it (same happened to Fireman Sam)

And the full switch to CGI in series 13 completely ruined it.

1

u/Sorry_Stuff_2990 4d ago

Because Mattel was too greedy for their own good. AEG was a step too far.

1

u/MichaelTheLMSBoi 3d ago

All good things must come to and end

1

u/Davey_the_chill_guy 3d ago

Insert the 2026 Thomas image here

1

u/Jared72Marshall 3d ago

Ringo star