Fun fact: Season 11 came out in 2007 before Breaking bad’s first season aired in early 2008. So this means Season 11’s lighting basically inspired the Mexico breaking bad we all know.
For me, season 12, like seasons 7 and 21, is a transitional season. It is part of the “Hit Era” or “New Series”. Models are part of this season, the episodes are 7 minutes long, it has the music of the previous seasons/movies and also has the same continuity as the previous seasons and movies. However, it has elements of the next era. For example, CGI is used frequently and Sharon Miller is the Head Writer.
Season 7 had 5 and 6’s music in the UK dub, & 8-12’s music in the US dub. But I think it’s 18 that was the other transit-ional season, not 21. It had the voices of 13-17, and the visuals of 19-24. Anyway, I don’t think any season is particularly bad, aside from a few stupid or predict-able scenes. Even 25 has some decent stories, although the songs are kinda cringe. Is season 26 out yet btw?
I hope Pierce Brosnan's narrations for this season are found one day because I think Pierce is a very underrated narrator and would love to to hear the voices he gave Duck, Donald, Douglas and Oliver.
This season is the absolute worst of Thomas by far. The CGI and model clashing is absolutely horrific and the three strikes formula is absolutely tiring and done to death.
When Season 12 first came out, I was quite surprised when I saw Michael Angelis credited as narrator instead of Pierce Brosnan. It is a shame that Pierce Brosnan's one and only narration was in "The Great Discovery"; it was never revealed why he left as he was going to narrate the TV series from Seasons 12 to 14. I agree that Michael Angelis' narration seems to be rather rushed as he talks too quickly. It must've being quite a headache for him and Michael Brandon to voice the characters when having to change from one character to another. No wonder they decide to get voice actors in for the characters from "Hero of the Rails" onwards.
I felt like Pierce Brosnan should’ve narrated this season so it wouldn’t sound off. I do like the idea of a hybrid season of models and cgi but it was executed horribly of how bad and creepy the faces were on the characters. I feel like Season 12 should’ve been released before the Great Discovery since TGD felt like a finale or after when TGD was released they stop using the models and jump to CGI.
Honestly he narrated he really made great discovery his own Honestly was the reason the movie was great by his suprsingly charismatic narrating and he always have the best duncan voice but anyways you can't tell angelies and brandon while both still did excellent just sound enthusiastic and just lost faith in the show even angelies who kind stopped caring after season 7 sounds bored I think it was probably a good choice to give it to pierce brodsman he would have killed it and honestly carried the season despite its flaws
He actually did narrate Season 12, I think possibly all of the episodes. I’m thinking he left after he found about the CGI. Correct me if I’m wrong though.
@@TheAdventuresOfJimiJadenI think he left because he found out that they would be installing a voice cast into the show and by that point, he would have only voiced the narrator
season 12 confused the absolute hell out of me as a kid because i was like "...why are some episodes animated but with a narrator....why are some voice acted...why are some of them both animated and models....why are some just models...why are some all animated....." the season 12 crisis LMAO
Wait, if Hero of the Rails was originally going to be "model with CGI faces", does that mean there's a 1 gauge JNR D51 lying around somewhere unused in a prop warehouse?
I don't know... I would think no because they probably decided to go all CG before the special was that far along... Or if they did start a Hiro model, it might have just been little more than a modified Murdoch or Arthur chassis... I suspect Victor would have been a modified Skarloey model...
@@jayo1212 It'd be really difficult to convert a BR 9F (Murdoch) or an LMS Ivatt (Arthur) into a JNR D51. The 9F is a 2-10-0 Decapod and the Ivatt is a 4-6-2T Pacific Tank (would be a possible basis for a JNR C11 conversion, but that makes even less sense than Hiro already does in terms of character lore), whereas the D51 is a 2-8-2 Mikado. There's also the fact that the D51 is actually quite small even compared to UK standard gauge equipment, as it's primarily a 3ft 6in gauge locomotive with standard-gauge export models produced for Taiwan and the Korean peninsula. As a result a physical Hiro would need smaller drive wheels, or would otherwise need to be made out of scale. (For the record, an actual D51 measures 64ft 8.5in long. For comparison, an LB&SCR E2 Tank Engine measures around 33ft 3in long and an LNER A1 is 70ft 10in. CGI Hiro is massively overscaled)
I remember in Smurfydan’s Steaming to Legacy documentary series, he mentioned and showed images of the molded faces for Hiro, Victor and Kevin were shown at a special event, but never made any clarifications if models for them were ever built.
Oh boy, here we go 🤣 I still remember where I was when S12 aired. I was on a family cruise, I went to the ship's internet cafe to check out the new stuff. This was the old days of CZcams when you could casually post old TV shows without any ramifications. I saw Thomas and the Billboard and the CGI was a weird change, and I remember it was when Pierce Brosnan was still believed to be narrating the TV show, so you can imagine my surprise when I realised Pierce sounded a hell of a lot like Michael Angelis... When it comes S12 fifteen years later, the stories are terrible, a foreshadowing of what's to come in the Nitrogen era, but I really do like the CGI/model hybrid style they went for. I can tell the budget was limited, so they had to go back to the facemasks for long shots or just flat out filming the models from the back so they don't even have to do anything with the face. You rewatch S12, you'll see the latter happen A LOT, and I guarantee it's down to budget. No doubt HiT was pushing for it to be done faster than the production of an average Pokémon game... I really do feel like the style could've worked if the time and budget were there. That would've given them time to fine tune how the CGI humans look, to make sure they don't look like the characters from Pet Alien... So overall, I call Season 12 "Interesting". It has a good idea, but it just needed more time, more money and better writers.
Usually my posts aren’t that long, unless I really have a lot to say with something. I tend to be as short and to the point as possible since my vocabulary can get a little messy at times.
I remember when season 12 first came out. The whole community loved it, the new CGI mixed with the practical models was new and fresh. The stories weren’t as bad as they were in previous seasons and they finally brought back some legacy characters. Now we have all these new fans who probably weren’t there coming in telling us it’s awful. And even veteran members who now say it’s bad, remember I was there with you back then and you loved it.
I think the real reason as to why the CG elements look so out of place is the complete lack of proper light bouncing that makes them blend into the scenery. Basically, think of a stage in a Sonic game that uses Hedgehog Engine or Hedgehog Engine 2 (so Unleashed onwards), but without the light-field added in just yet. In fairness, the software Nitrogen's staff was using to animate them probably wasn't quite there yet, and/or they likely didn't have the time or budget to do something like that.
S12 is my least favourite Thomas season. I never liked the way CGI was incorporated (especially when the faces where at the wrong angle relative to the locomotives, like in one shot of Thomas and Hank and the end of Heave Ho Thomas). Even back in the day, I cringed at the poor writing, especially in the case of episodes like Saved You and Push Me, Pull You. The latter is especially awful due to Skarloey and Rheneas being completely out of character. Don't even get me started on Michael Angelis' weird inflections in his narration; it's a massive downgrade from his peak in Season 5. And then there those bizarre one-off characters like Flora, Hank and Colin. I know that they were introduced solely for merchandising, but it still seems like a massive waste of time to build those models, only to use them in one episode each.
Season 12 isn’t the worst season of the show. In fact, I can find several things I love. Those being Stanley (of course), all the old returning characters, Michael Brandon’s Spanish accent he gave hector, the faces on some characters aren’t too bad.
I don't recall who said it, but I remember a tweet that said filming Season 12 must've been a depressing experience, and showed the BTS pictures of the models with the face targets. To be honest, while I definitely agree with the sentiment, even just _looking_ at the models is already pretty sad; I genuinely don't think I'd have the heart to film those for solid months.
But remember. It’s not all bad, I think Excellent Emily and James works it out are the rare good episodes in the season. The idea of a model and cgi hybrid season could’ve made the franchise greater, but Hit blew that chance. If only the quality was better, or if the season had voice actors of if the writing style was the same as season 11, this season could’ve been better. So I don’t criticize this season that much as other people.
I grew up watching, mostly, HiT model seasons. Now, I basically didn’t remember anything from Season 12, or so I thought. One point, around a year ago maybe, I was watching some eps of Season 12 and when I saw specific shots I got blasted with nostalgia and memories of watching the season as a kid, I was kinda amazed I had forgotten it almost entirely.
I watched a few eps of season 12 during first lockdown and let me just say this it was torture!!!!! Every episode felt the same and was written poorly- the closest we got to an ok ep was Percy and the bandstand and even that was still dull
Season 12 is definitely without a doubt the most odd shape that is not related in any of the seasons. Compared to other shows around that time like Word girl, Wow wow Wubbzy and A whole bunch of gems movies from Pixar, season 12 was definitely showing the Awful quality of Thomas and Friends. That was until they decided to make Thomas and friends the full CGI. And when Putting the pieces together with your theory of what happened, You're theory might just be the case for why. HIT Entertainment is known for changing production schedules and what happened during the production of season 7 and from the translation from season 12 to 13. Definitely well may be the case. But yeah season 12 was not that good Especially 13 to 16.
As much as it should have been great to see some classic characters return, I found their appearances disappointingly limited and unfulfilling. Duck was luckier than many of them, being in, like, 4 episodes, but Oliver only got two episodes and Donald and Douglas only appeared once in the season, as did Ben and Arthur. When they did appear, it was really for a bit part that pretty much any engine could do, with the narration just going on like everybody knows who they are! What disappointed me was that we didn't get to see them alongside the other newer characters that came up in their absence! So it really didn't seem like the classic characters were really back.
I sometimes feel like this should have been the Season where all the characters had individual voice actors. The steam team would have they're TATMR voice actors, while the characters that were retconed would have new ones. I know there are like, millions of characters, but it would have been better than whatever the hell that other stuff was.
Well I personally don't mind Season 12. I'm pretty mixed on this season. There were a fair few episodes I like which are Rosie's Funfair Special, Gordon Takes A Shortcut, Don't Go Back, Percy and the Bandstand and Best Friends. All the Narrow Gauge episodes as well as Henry Gets It Wrong are bad episodes.
I quite surprised that I'd never watch this season as a kid because most episodes I watched as a kid are in season 9,10,11,13,14,15 I think there are some from season 8 as well but I don't remember them this also make me surprised for CGI transition in Hero of the Rails
I should have said this sooner. But one thing I hate the most from Season 12 out of all the aspects as to why this season sucks is that all of the SKR episodes are awful. Looking back at them, they're completely useless episodes that now have left no impact on me at this point that I just can't stand revisiting any of them. Seasons 9-11 were not perfect with the narrow gauge engines, but at least with those seasons, they do have a good story with the little guys every now and again like "Duncan and the Old Mine", "Duncan Drops a Clanger", "Mighty Mac", "Thomas and Skarloey's Big Day Out", the Madge episodes, etc. "Mountain Marvel" is a rather whatever episode, but there are at least some shots from that episode I do like. "The Party Surprise" is another boring episode and is also whatever. "Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon" is the only episode with Duncan I do not like looking back, "The Man in the Hills" being the typical "Thomas is an idiot" story is one thing, but I cannot get over the fact Thomas had to learn how to ask or tell other engines or people he needs help 3 fucking times in Season 12 (10 if you count how many times the show has done this crap), and "Push Me, Pull You!" is the most abominable, unwatchable, godawful, mindless episode out of all the five I have ever seen and now I just wish this episode centered on Bill and Ben than Skarloey and Rheneas. These five episodes have ruined the good perception the Skarloey engines had with the show. And one more thing, I dub these five episodes as the Skarloey Season 12 Five the same way Looney Tunes fans dub the Rudy Larriva Road Runner shorts as the Larriva Eleven as to why they were hated too, but they went as far back as the 1960's while the Skarloey Season 12 Five was only 15 years ago. And while Season 12 has regained a little bit of my respect, I will say it's just as bad as Season 15. Seasons 8-11 are not really worth the bashing (just my opinion) while Season 12 is not an underappreciated season at all and deserves the scorn it gets over the years. Hell, I can even go as far as to call it the true start of the first downfall for Thomas and Friends than Magic Railroad. Oh, I do like how Harold the Helicopter looked like in CGI, I'll give Season 12 that. :)
Ngl, I wouldn't mind seeing a full edited season without the narration. Don't get me wrong, I love all the narrators from this franchise, but it feels more like a group of buddies bouncing back and forth between themselves. :)
I remember watching this season back in like 2010 (2009? I’m not really sure), I definitely knew that something was amiss with the season, but I just went along with it anyway because I was probably like “Oh hey! Cool, more episodes!” And moved on with my life lol
Seeing just how this one turned out honestly makes me appreciate the style of Tugs all that more. Every character voice is so strong and distinct that even if the character's lips don't move you can tell precisely who's speaking. Even when characters are speaking off screen you know who's saying what, and any narration is used sparingly to help move the story forward. Also badly animated CGI faces on model trains just looks really tacky.
Series 12 is also completely worthless to the thomas & friends show in general, if you ignore it and act like it doesn’t exist, the show’s continuity would still be the same, none of the new characters from series 12 ever appear again in the show, none of the episodes are ever mentioned again Etc. Every other season still impacts the show in some way. Series 8 - Series 11 for example regardless of what people think of it, still can’t be ignored in the continuity of the show because some of the new characters like Rosie, Rocky, Whiff Etc do appear in the CGI series, it’s no wonder Japan didn’t ever show it 😂
I remember when the series first introduced the CGI faces. Thinking about it now, it seemed like a bad idea. The full transition to CGI was cool, but the whole re-theme was where I draw the line.
Nice review Sean, S12 is definitely a poor season. While the three strikes formula was used before this season, S12 was actually the first season of the show to use this formula for every single episode, and this continued on until S17, where S17 only had the engines doing one to two mistakes instead of three, even though there are a very few episodes in S17 that use the three strikes formula like the Lost Puff for example. One of the only episodes between S12 to S16 that does not have an engine making three mistakes is Edward The Hero from S15 where Edward in that episode helps three people instead of making three mistakes. The episode was alright, but is one of the better S15 episodes in my opinion, even though Edward was not really in character in that episode. I think that episode would of worked better if it look place on Edward’s branch line, like a day of life on the branch line, and if Edward was in character in that episode in my opinion. I agree that the visuals form this season are the worst of the Hit Era, and some of the worst of the show, along with BWBA the movie and some of the episodes from the BWBA seasons, not all episodes but some, even though the animation from that era is big downgrade than the animation from S17 to S21 in my opinion. I can see why the narration from the season is worse than many other seasons, since MA and MB had to keep up with the animation that was recorded to match PB’s narration, which resulted in the narration from this season sounding really off. This is just my opinion and if you disagree, that is totally fine.
Great review on this season S12 is the worst model season ever for Thomas. The Great Discovery was a better send off to the model era. S12 definitely ruined it and is absolutely the worst along with S14-15, BWBA and All Engines Go!
I remember season 12 end. I remember watching a few episodes such as Thomas and the Billboard, Steady Eddie, Rosie's Carnival special or fun fair special in the UK, saved you, Thomas, put the brakes on, Gordon takes a shortcut, James works it out, Mountain Marvel, push me, pull you And best friends Nowadays, looking back on the episodes one of them are OK at best or just average Or still hold up And about the CGI itself I think it's alright, and they did a good job at that even the humans and animal designs, as well as animating Harold rather than using his prop Some moments of the face's can be pretty crooked at times in sometimes, it could be a little bit uncanny or a little bit of nightmare fuel I could definitely understand why save you become a meme Overall season 12 is in all right season and I don't mind the mixes of models & CGI for the most part despite its age.
I actually love the CGI series, but the Japanese version. I request everyone to check out the Japanese version which seems a bit more mature then the US/UK ones, reminding me of the first seasons!
Thomas in its later seasons is like how simpsons fans say how worse the show got from the "real" skinner, or after the simpsons movie. Now with Thomas from fans saying it's either the magic railroad, hit entertainment buying, moving from models to CGI (it made feel for lively and saved time building props), hit getting bought out by Mattel. Their is a lot of crazy factors but the ip is still alive and well but it's in a shell of it's former self correct me but I think all engines good would be better off as it's own show instead of having the Thomas name on it. The ip can get a proper reboot but I think Mattel is now allowing the staff to show their full potential even if it means going back to the basics. Superman even goes to a reboot from the very beginning time and time again it's repetitive but that is how you bring back old ip's for a newer audience with a twist.
I have the season 12 complete series dvd I watched it over and over looking for a jnr d51 model somewhere and I think I had seen Hiro's side barriers and I think that it is possible there was originally going to hiro of the rails in season 12 instead of the hit era
If they were planning to do that then Hiro would have been a BR Standard 9F and Victor would be Hughes Falcon class or Kerr Stewart Tattoo class in the show.
That is from railway friends. Also the low tone opening and endings were also like that in high speed adventures and team up with thomas in the spanish dvds
I honestly liked a few sets in season 12 like the station from some episodes like Gordon takes a shortcut Toby’s special surprise best friends etc. sodor river bridge (in fact I think that’s the viaduct that got mentioned in Henry’s gets spooked) the factory set in heave ho Thomas. The sawmill from a few episodes like heave ho Thomas steady Eddie etc. And the bridge set that duck was on in Gordon takes a shortcut
Adding to your hiro of the rails theory, a trackmaster talking thomas, hiro, and James were released to coincide with the movie. Hiro uses his normal in movie voice as you'd expect, but interesting James and Thomas actually used the narrator's voice.
Season 12 is a bit interesting! But Michael Brandon's Spanish accent he has given Hector doesn't suit Hector but Michael angelis;s cockney accent he has given Hector is awesome! But the three newbies in this season Hank Flora and Colin they along with the season 9 Dennis are the only characters that have been introduced in the Hit era not to be made in Capule playrail
To be fair , Rosie was a new character during this era so we didn't really know that much about her , although I'm certain she wouldn't do this in the bwba era
I actually really like season 12 I like that they brought back so many Classic characters for cameos Like Stepney and Murdoch I have nostalgia for this season I remember Watching TV when I was little, Seeing their faces moving for the first time Made me so excited Although now I realize that some of this season’s traits are very flawed Like the Narrow Gauge episodes and also the way Edward’s Eyes look I mean what was going on with his eyes it’s like he’s staring into my soul also I do like the season 12 Newbies Hank and Flora They are unique in their own way
For some reason S11-12 and TGD had this weird yellow tint to it, and I don’t understand why they did that, I’m guessing to suit the “vibe” better, that makes sense.
What annoys me is that three of the genuine season 1 models were thrown away for no reason after this season (well not immediately after but two years later)
I was amazed when I first saw season 12. Don't get me wrong, as a child it was new to me, but when Hero of the Rails was first shown, That's what made me prefer the upcoming CGI series than season 12.
I think that Series 12 should have voice like Voice Cast Ben small as Thomas Keith Wickham as Percy,James,Gordon and Etc At the end credit So audiences will understand the transition to CGI
I’ll just say it: My head-cannon is that S12 doesn’t exist and they went from all models straight to all CGI. So there’s only 23 seasons, not 24 in my AU
Maybe because the lighting doesn't have a very yellow tint. The lighting from Seasons 4 and 5 is nowhere close to Season 11. Plus, he pointed the Season 4 lighting out in his "Ranking every Thomas & Friends season".
The line deliveries in season 12 always sounded off and weird. If you know anything about animation the voices are done first so it helps the animators match the pace and speed when doing lip sync. If you did this other way round then the line delivery will come off as strange.
Season 12 is the weirdest season of Thomas and friends in the model series. It is interesting but it does have its flaws. Especially the faces of the narrow gauge engines. The sets look ok because of the better lighting in season 12. Thomas wide smile face, Gordon's mad face, Rosie and Edward have some of the worse faces in Season 12. I don't mind hybrid seasons in Thomas, especially the humans and animals being cgi, makes it feel a little more realistic. Angelis was literally not in the mood to narrate this season because the season starts to get bored quickly. Some of the episodes dont do anything like the wishing tree, Don't go back and Push me pull you, which was bad as hell. I love cgi mixed with models, but it should've been done a better way. I dont hate this season, but there are some bad moments in it. Thomas does look a little weird in Season 12 but at least he looks cute. I'd give Season 12 a 7/10. An extra point for Nostalgia and CGI mixed with models. I think people would've loved it more if it was just like Season 11 but way better and with CGI for the people and animals only. It definitely wouldve got at least an 8.5/10 if Pierce did narrate this season.
Season 12 is probably the worst season in all of Thomas and Friends and what bothered me the most about it was the faces of them and how weird they looked if they made a specific face and how the narrator was still voicing all the characters and season 12 overall just looks like a concept version of cgi that should never have aired
Honestly, I really liked Season 12, it was my favorite CGI season. (Though it isn’t exclusively CGI, it still contains CGI) The CGI may not have aged well, but it was pretty good for the time. I might be nostalgia blind though, because I had the Team Up With Thomas DVD and I loved it. While I loved a lot of the episodes, (yes, even Push Me, Pull You) the three-strikes formula is undeniably at its worst here.
I remember liking Season 12 when it came out in 2008 as I did grow up watching the hit era. But now as a young adult in his early 20s, I feel like it was the worst season we got out of the 5 model seasons Hit did. But the thing I don't like about this season the most is that the cgi effects don't mix well with the models themselves. And since last year when I learned Pierce Brosnan was going to originally stay as the narrator for several seasons but ended up only narrating "The Great Discovery" before going back to Brandon & Angelis for this season respectively. I mean, as mentioned in the video the cgi faces moving matched the way he did for the narration compared to Brandon & Angelis. And while I do feel like the season that came after it was a little better, I still find the Sharon Miller era the second worst era we got during the 11 years the show was full cgi. At least there are still good seasons out there being 1-7 & 17-21 to enjoy thanks to Alcroft and Brenner.
Season 12 will always be the most oddball of the series. The fact that this was the season that was gonna bring Pierce Brosnan full time this season, and they removed him definitely messed with the production and narration.
I do agree a little bit but personally in my opinion, I'm mixed with season 12, I watched the whole episode, I like it and hate it at the same time, there was few things that I'm happy still is that, Stanley (of course), old characters returning, three new characters with the classic models use (aside from the CGI face) and all of the background, models and sets are still the same just like season 8-11 and it feels classic a bit, now the only two things I don't really like are the writing and the CGI faces/figures (Edward CGI face is the worst out of all and you can't tell me otherwise). Overall for season 12 in my opinion I would give it a 6/10
well the series 12 is a Little bit decent, probably because it was planned after ended up with The Great Discovery And some Models and assets are almost missing so they make CGI Animation by Stardust Pictures recreating the faces and human Characters but not even Annie and Clarabel according the concept art it was officially scrapped because the faces can't be gray in coaches (until BWBA era got taken) And then introduced episodic Characters as Hank and Flora with minor features facial faces modeled if the character is below on it making the CGI effect inactive Hank was the second american engine in the show after Rosie Spencer was absent in this Season The Water Town was seen only this Season (after the great Discovery) but can't be seen in the full CGI series as of 13 to 24 and would bring it Back in Season 26 or 27 meaning to be in All Engines Go era if Mattel accept to add in... Edward's Animated Face is ok but everyone asked about his pupils are Small making him scary than his modeled face In the background scenes can be see Henry with Gordon's Face (same things previously as Series 4) The CGI humans haven't seen inside of the engines if they're in model form; however, Thomas has one driver inside in the episode 1: Thomas and the Billboard And they did again through Thomas and the Royal Engine Sharon Miller steps up as a head writer Arthur's eye mechanism is removed in Steady Eddie This means to see in his Animated Face The Characters from classic era as Duck, Donald, Douglas and Oliver was appeared with their Animated Face in Saved You! Harvey in B.T.S. version was shown the CGI face but in the final has a modeled face Neville is the last seen in the last episode of the Season 12 After ended the Season, they decided to make Hero of the Rails introducing Hiro, Kevin and Victor modifying one of model characters made, Spencer and Stanley can be appear too but due to the full pay, they switched everyone into Full CGI Stanley was absent in this movie and returned in series 15 instead...
Imho, Season 12 was ok. It wasn't terrible but it was still a solid Thomas season. I did enjoy some of the episodes such as 'Thomas and The Billboard' and ''Heave ho, Thomas' but there were some episodes that I did not enjoy like 'Push Me, Pull You' but other than that I still think that season 12 is an ok Thomas season.
I Love season 12, i don't call what's the peoples said, i Love this season, the models with CGI faces was a excelent idea, they are so welsome and beautiful, i Love season 12, i Loved the models with CGI faces, i Loved so much, 10/10
I'll admit. I was born around the time S11 Ended and S12 was starting and I grew up with the S12 DVDs! (Specifically Team Up With Thomas) but Looking back. Yeah Most of this season is a full on mess. But Episodes like "James Works It Out" or "Heave Ho Thomas" still are one of my Favorite Episodes in the HIT Era! But..yeah. still a bad mess. But definitely a nostalgic one!
All Engines Go, because at least it understood what it was, who it was for and what it had to deliver. I’d prefer All Engines Go simply because it was made extremely well and didn’t try to be anything else, unlike season 12 which was just abysmal in every area….
Season 12 is a hybrid season. It was a transition from the model era to the cgi era. It’s a season that has the middle ground of using both models and cgi. While it may sounded like a cool idea on paper, it execution however, it looks really jarring and it horrendously made. I think this season was in a fickle on choosing which style that they can go with just to apply to this season, whether it was with the cgi or models. The visuals look awful to look at, even some of the visuals look pretty disturbing, especially the shot with Thomas smiling as wide as a Cheshire Cat’s smile. *shudders* The sets also look bland as fuck and they look like they’re done by a 5 year old. It’s very clear that HiT was running low on money and they have to rush by recycling some of the props and set pieces that were already used in the previous seasons in order to call it a new set that’s introduced in the season. The dialogue is terribly clunky and the season was bogged down with some fluff from the narrator, like some unnecessary exposition that interrupts the scenes before the characters can say some dialogue. The stories and writing were as shitty as usual, all the episodes suffer from the same ol-same ol three strikes formula. And to add insult to injury, it was the final season to use models and it was pathetic to see this. And no, having some old favorites from the classic era to show up like Duck, Donald, Douglas, Bill or Ben does not make this season any better! With every problem the season had, it shows a clear sign of what is to come into the Nitrogen era, an era worse than Seasons 8-11. This season also went through a bit of production trouble too. Originally Pierce Brosnan was gonna narrate Season 12 around the same time as The Great Discovery so he can become the next narrator of Thomas succeeding both Angelis and Brandon. But for some strange reason, he dropped out of Thomas, and HiT was in a hurry to bring back Angelis and Brandon to redub some of the lines that Brosnan had recorded, and this shit shows. And Hero of the Rails was originally gonna be filmed in the same style as Season 12, but it ended up becoming a fully-animated cgi movie instead. However, traces of Season 12’s writing can still be felt inside the script. In short, Season 12 is a bad season. Awkward dialogue, lazily writing script and stories, meaningless filler from the narrator, and some shots with the models wearing cgi faces just made me feel uneasy. (I’m looking at you creepy smiling Thomas!). This season looks fucking goofy ahh! It deserves to be thrown into the trash next to Seasons 22-24 and Seasons 13-16.
I honest to God think for some of the worst episodes of S8 to 16 in the UK dub Michael Angelis sounds like he was forced to narrate these moments after he reads the scripts for each bad episode. Only UK dub episodes I prefer are "Twin Trouble" and "Percy's chocolate crunch". TATMR had individual voice actors.
Even though it seems interesting combining live-action and CGI, Season 12 should have stuck with the resin faces and Pierce Brosnan as the narrator, and better writing
Fun fact: Season 11 came out in 2007 before Breaking bad’s first season aired in early 2008. So this means Season 11’s lighting basically inspired the Mexico breaking bad we all know.
For me, season 12, like seasons 7 and 21, is a transitional season. It is part of the “Hit Era” or “New Series”. Models are part of this season, the episodes are 7 minutes long, it has the music of the previous seasons/movies and also has the same continuity as the previous seasons and movies. However, it has elements of the next era. For example, CGI is used frequently and Sharon Miller is the Head Writer.
She who must not be named. 😂
Same continent?
Season 7 had 5 and 6’s music in the UK dub, & 8-12’s music in the US dub. But I think it’s 18 that was the other transit-ional season, not 21. It had the voices of 13-17, and the visuals of 19-24. Anyway, I don’t think any season is particularly bad, aside from a few stupid or predict-able scenes. Even 25 has some decent stories, although the songs are kinda cringe. Is season 26 out yet btw?
@@peloea8718 I fixed it.
@@fridaynightfunkinfan5627there is no season 25 and 26. That’s All Engines Go, which is a different show set in a different universe.
Hero of the Rails' clunky script makes so much more sense now!
I hope Pierce Brosnan's narrations for this season are found one day because I think Pierce is a very underrated narrator and would love to to hear the voices he gave Duck, Donald, Douglas and Oliver.
Me too
Mattel's probably got them in a vault somewhere.
This season is the absolute worst of Thomas by far. The CGI and model clashing is absolutely horrific and the three strikes formula is absolutely tiring and done to death.
When Season 12 first came out, I was quite surprised when I saw Michael Angelis credited as narrator instead of Pierce Brosnan. It is a shame that Pierce Brosnan's one and only narration was in "The Great Discovery"; it was never revealed why he left as he was going to narrate the TV series from Seasons 12 to 14.
I agree that Michael Angelis' narration seems to be rather rushed as he talks too quickly. It must've being quite a headache for him and Michael Brandon to voice the characters when having to change from one character to another. No wonder they decide to get voice actors in for the characters from "Hero of the Rails" onwards.
I felt like Pierce Brosnan should’ve narrated this season so it wouldn’t sound off. I do like the idea of a hybrid season of models and cgi but it was executed horribly of how bad and creepy the faces were on the characters. I feel like Season 12 should’ve been released before the Great Discovery since TGD felt like a finale or after when TGD was released they stop using the models and jump to CGI.
I wonder how Brosnan's voices for Hank and the Scottish twins would have sounded...
Honestly he narrated he really made great discovery his own Honestly was the reason the movie was great by his suprsingly charismatic narrating and he always have the best duncan voice but anyways you can't tell angelies and brandon while both still did excellent just sound enthusiastic and just lost faith in the show even angelies who kind stopped caring after season 7 sounds bored I think it was probably a good choice to give it to pierce brodsman he would have killed it and honestly carried the season despite its flaws
He actually did narrate Season 12, I think possibly all of the episodes. I’m thinking he left after he found about the CGI. Correct me if I’m wrong though.
@@TheAdventuresOfJimiJadenI think he left because he found out that they would be installing a voice cast into the show and by that point, he would have only voiced the narrator
season 12 confused the absolute hell out of me as a kid because i was like "...why are some episodes animated but with a narrator....why are some voice acted...why are some of them both animated and models....why are some just models...why are some all animated....." the season 12 crisis LMAO
I’m really looking forward to the Season 12 retrospective by Unlucky Tug, I’ve got all my anger ready for it along for the first four CGI seasons.
Wait, if Hero of the Rails was originally going to be "model with CGI faces", does that mean there's a 1 gauge JNR D51 lying around somewhere unused in a prop warehouse?
I don't know... I would think no because they probably decided to go all CG before the special was that far along... Or if they did start a Hiro model, it might have just been little more than a modified Murdoch or Arthur chassis... I suspect Victor would have been a modified Skarloey model...
@@jayo1212
It'd be really difficult to convert a BR 9F (Murdoch) or an LMS Ivatt (Arthur) into a JNR D51. The 9F is a 2-10-0 Decapod and the Ivatt is a 4-6-2T Pacific Tank (would be a possible basis for a JNR C11 conversion, but that makes even less sense than Hiro already does in terms of character lore), whereas the D51 is a 2-8-2 Mikado. There's also the fact that the D51 is actually quite small even compared to UK standard gauge equipment, as it's primarily a 3ft 6in gauge locomotive with standard-gauge export models produced for Taiwan and the Korean peninsula. As a result a physical Hiro would need smaller drive wheels, or would otherwise need to be made out of scale. (For the record, an actual D51 measures 64ft 8.5in long. For comparison, an LB&SCR E2 Tank Engine measures around 33ft 3in long and an LNER A1 is 70ft 10in. CGI Hiro is massively overscaled)
I remember in Smurfydan’s Steaming to Legacy documentary series, he mentioned and showed images of the molded faces for Hiro, Victor and Kevin were shown at a special event, but never made any clarifications if models for them were ever built.
@@VestedUTuber yeah, I think they decided to go CGI before any models were made...
@@VestedUTuberI believe Arthur is a 2-6-2T. I can’t remember if a pacific version of the Ivatt tanks exists, it probably does.
Oh boy, here we go 🤣
I still remember where I was when S12 aired. I was on a family cruise, I went to the ship's internet cafe to check out the new stuff. This was the old days of CZcams when you could casually post old TV shows without any ramifications. I saw Thomas and the Billboard and the CGI was a weird change, and I remember it was when Pierce Brosnan was still believed to be narrating the TV show, so you can imagine my surprise when I realised Pierce sounded a hell of a lot like Michael Angelis... When it comes S12 fifteen years later, the stories are terrible, a foreshadowing of what's to come in the Nitrogen era, but I really do like the CGI/model hybrid style they went for. I can tell the budget was limited, so they had to go back to the facemasks for long shots or just flat out filming the models from the back so they don't even have to do anything with the face. You rewatch S12, you'll see the latter happen A LOT, and I guarantee it's down to budget. No doubt HiT was pushing for it to be done faster than the production of an average Pokémon game...
I really do feel like the style could've worked if the time and budget were there. That would've given them time to fine tune how the CGI humans look, to make sure they don't look like the characters from Pet Alien...
So overall, I call Season 12 "Interesting". It has a good idea, but it just needed more time, more money and better writers.
good gracious this is a long one
@@trakkKonnektin Yeah, I'm just a guy with some thoughts 🤣
@@GondarthYou think this post is long? Wait until you see mine, I’m on the same boat as Sean was for explaining why Season 12 was dogshit.
Usually my posts aren’t that long, unless I really have a lot to say with something. I tend to be as short and to the point as possible since my vocabulary can get a little messy at times.
I remember when season 12 first came out. The whole community loved it, the new CGI mixed with the practical models was new and fresh. The stories weren’t as bad as they were in previous seasons and they finally brought back some legacy characters.
Now we have all these new fans who probably weren’t there coming in telling us it’s awful. And even veteran members who now say it’s bad, remember I was there with you back then and you loved it.
For what’s supposed to be a sendoff to the models, boy did they butcher it.
I think the real reason as to why the CG elements look so out of place is the complete lack of proper light bouncing that makes them blend into the scenery. Basically, think of a stage in a Sonic game that uses Hedgehog Engine or Hedgehog Engine 2 (so Unleashed onwards), but without the light-field added in just yet.
In fairness, the software Nitrogen's staff was using to animate them probably wasn't quite there yet, and/or they likely didn't have the time or budget to do something like that.
This season scared the shit out of me as a little one!
S12 is my least favourite Thomas season. I never liked the way CGI was incorporated (especially when the faces where at the wrong angle relative to the locomotives, like in one shot of Thomas and Hank and the end of Heave Ho Thomas).
Even back in the day, I cringed at the poor writing, especially in the case of episodes like Saved You and Push Me, Pull You. The latter is especially awful due to Skarloey and Rheneas being completely out of character. Don't even get me started on Michael Angelis' weird inflections in his narration; it's a massive downgrade from his peak in Season 5.
And then there those bizarre one-off characters like Flora, Hank and Colin. I know that they were introduced solely for merchandising, but it still seems like a massive waste of time to build those models, only to use them in one episode each.
Season 12 isn’t the worst season of the show. In fact, I can find several things I love. Those being Stanley (of course), all the old returning characters, Michael Brandon’s Spanish accent he gave hector, the faces on some characters aren’t too bad.
Thank you!
Yeah hectors voice was hilarious
It wasn’t hilarious. It was perfection!
I’m not joking when I said perfection!
@@PepsiTrain26 shut up I know just shut up
I don't recall who said it, but I remember a tweet that said filming Season 12 must've been a depressing experience, and showed the BTS pictures of the models with the face targets. To be honest, while I definitely agree with the sentiment, even just _looking_ at the models is already pretty sad; I genuinely don't think I'd have the heart to film those for solid months.
3:26 the Welsh accent and the fireman being mentioned could be a nod to Fireman Sam 😂 😄 lol
Yeah, this season was complete mess
But remember. It’s not all bad, I think Excellent Emily and James works it out are the rare good episodes in the season. The idea of a model and cgi hybrid season could’ve made the franchise greater, but Hit blew that chance. If only the quality was better, or if the season had voice actors of if the writing style was the same as season 11, this season could’ve been better. So I don’t criticize this season that much as other people.
I grew up watching, mostly, HiT model seasons. Now, I basically didn’t remember anything from Season 12, or so I thought. One point, around a year ago maybe, I was watching some eps of Season 12 and when I saw specific shots I got blasted with nostalgia and memories of watching the season as a kid, I was kinda amazed I had forgotten it almost entirely.
Holy gosh, Season 12 might be the worst of the model series I can’t stand it anymore.
I watched a few eps of season 12 during first lockdown and let me just say this it was torture!!!!! Every episode felt the same and was written poorly- the closest we got to an ok ep was Percy and the bandstand and even that was still dull
Season 12 is definitely without a doubt the most odd shape that is not related in any of the seasons. Compared to other shows around that time like Word girl, Wow wow Wubbzy and A whole bunch of gems movies from Pixar, season 12 was definitely showing the Awful quality of Thomas and Friends. That was until they decided to make Thomas and friends the full CGI. And when Putting the pieces together with your theory of what happened, You're theory might just be the case for why. HIT Entertainment is known for changing production schedules and what happened during the production of season 7 and from the translation from season 12 to 13. Definitely well may be the case. But yeah season 12 was not that good Especially 13 to 16.
Season 12 was pretty much a test of CGI
As much as it should have been great to see some classic characters return, I found their appearances disappointingly limited and unfulfilling. Duck was luckier than many of them, being in, like, 4 episodes, but Oliver only got two episodes and Donald and Douglas only appeared once in the season, as did Ben and Arthur. When they did appear, it was really for a bit part that pretty much any engine could do, with the narration just going on like everybody knows who they are! What disappointed me was that we didn't get to see them alongside the other newer characters that came up in their absence! So it really didn't seem like the classic characters were really back.
I looked at the research of the season and apparently Sharon Miller is the head writer.
Thanks for making my birthday better, Sean
I sometimes feel like this should have been the Season where all the characters had individual voice actors. The steam team would have they're TATMR voice actors, while the characters that were retconed would have new ones. I know there are like, millions of characters, but it would have been better than whatever the hell that other stuff was.
Well I personally don't mind Season 12. I'm pretty mixed on this season. There were a fair few episodes I like which are Rosie's Funfair Special, Gordon Takes A Shortcut, Don't Go Back, Percy and the Bandstand and Best Friends. All the Narrow Gauge episodes as well as Henry Gets It Wrong are bad episodes.
This season is wack! I know Season 14, 15, and BWBA are bad, 15 especially, but this season to me is so bad it's for...get...a...ble!
Season 12 was my childhood
6 year old tomy layout is crazy
I quite surprised that I'd never watch this season as a kid because most episodes I watched as a kid are in season 9,10,11,13,14,15 I think there are some from season 8 as well but I don't remember them this also make me surprised for CGI transition in Hero of the Rails
You take back what u said about my boi S11, it's camera work, camera quality and visuals were amazing
I should have said this sooner. But one thing I hate the most from Season 12 out of all the aspects as to why this season sucks is that all of the SKR episodes are awful. Looking back at them, they're completely useless episodes that now have left no impact on me at this point that I just can't stand revisiting any of them. Seasons 9-11 were not perfect with the narrow gauge engines, but at least with those seasons, they do have a good story with the little guys every now and again like "Duncan and the Old Mine", "Duncan Drops a Clanger", "Mighty Mac", "Thomas and Skarloey's Big Day Out", the Madge episodes, etc.
"Mountain Marvel" is a rather whatever episode, but there are at least some shots from that episode I do like. "The Party Surprise" is another boring episode and is also whatever. "Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon" is the only episode with Duncan I do not like looking back, "The Man in the Hills" being the typical "Thomas is an idiot" story is one thing, but I cannot get over the fact Thomas had to learn how to ask or tell other engines or people he needs help 3 fucking times in Season 12 (10 if you count how many times the show has done this crap), and "Push Me, Pull You!" is the most abominable, unwatchable, godawful, mindless episode out of all the five I have ever seen and now I just wish this episode centered on Bill and Ben than Skarloey and Rheneas. These five episodes have ruined the good perception the Skarloey engines had with the show. And one more thing, I dub these five episodes as the Skarloey Season 12 Five the same way Looney Tunes fans dub the Rudy Larriva Road Runner shorts as the Larriva Eleven as to why they were hated too, but they went as far back as the 1960's while the Skarloey Season 12 Five was only 15 years ago.
And while Season 12 has regained a little bit of my respect, I will say it's just as bad as Season 15. Seasons 8-11 are not really worth the bashing (just my opinion) while Season 12 is not an underappreciated season at all and deserves the scorn it gets over the years. Hell, I can even go as far as to call it the true start of the first downfall for Thomas and Friends than Magic Railroad.
Oh, I do like how Harold the Helicopter looked like in CGI, I'll give Season 12 that. :)
Ngl, I wouldn't mind seeing a full edited season without the narration. Don't get me wrong, I love all the narrators from this franchise, but it feels more like a group of buddies bouncing back and forth between themselves. :)
As for the cheap sets they used,I think they just had to because of how much it cost,a whopping 2.5 million dollars just to produce all 20 episodes.
I remember watching this season back in like 2010 (2009? I’m not really sure), I definitely knew that something was amiss with the season, but I just went along with it anyway because I was probably like “Oh hey! Cool, more episodes!” And moved on with my life lol
Seeing just how this one turned out honestly makes me appreciate the style of Tugs all that more. Every character voice is so strong and distinct that even if the character's lips don't move you can tell precisely who's speaking. Even when characters are speaking off screen you know who's saying what, and any narration is used sparingly to help move the story forward.
Also badly animated CGI faces on model trains just looks really tacky.
Series 12 is also completely worthless to the thomas & friends show in general, if you ignore it and act like it doesn’t exist, the show’s continuity would still be the same, none of the new characters from series 12 ever appear again in the show, none of the episodes are ever mentioned again Etc. Every other season still impacts the show in some way. Series 8 - Series 11 for example regardless of what people think of it, still can’t be ignored in the continuity of the show because some of the new characters like Rosie, Rocky, Whiff Etc do appear in the CGI series, it’s no wonder Japan didn’t ever show it 😂
Yeah, this deserves to be in the garbage airlock of the WALL-E movie
I remember when the series first introduced the CGI faces. Thinking about it now, it seemed like a bad idea. The full transition to CGI was cool, but the whole re-theme was where I draw the line.
As a guy who was born in the late 2005 and i was lucky that i seen the classic thomas instead of the hit era
I was born in 1987, so I really hold that distinction!
@@jayo1212 Bro your an og fan i guess
@@jayo1212 also do you have some merchandise from the show?
@@andreiemanueltudose2445 plenty!
@@jayo1212 Nice i also have some but most of my old ones are lost sadly
Nice review Sean, S12 is definitely a poor season. While the three strikes formula was used before this season, S12 was actually the first season of the show to use this formula for every single episode, and this continued on until S17, where S17 only had the engines doing one to two mistakes instead of three, even though there are a very few episodes in S17 that use the three strikes formula like the Lost Puff for example. One of the only episodes between S12 to S16 that does not have an engine making three mistakes is Edward The Hero from S15 where Edward in that episode helps three people instead of making three mistakes. The episode was alright, but is one of the better S15 episodes in my opinion, even though Edward was not really in character in that episode. I think that episode would of worked better if it look place on Edward’s branch line, like a day of life on the branch line, and if Edward was in character in that episode in my opinion. I agree that the visuals form this season are the worst of the Hit Era, and some of the worst of the show, along with BWBA the movie and some of the episodes from the BWBA seasons, not all episodes but some, even though the animation from that era is big downgrade than the animation from S17 to S21 in my opinion. I can see why the narration from the season is worse than many other seasons, since MA and MB had to keep up with the animation that was recorded to match PB’s narration, which resulted in the narration from this season sounding really off. This is just my opinion and if you disagree, that is totally fine.
Season 12 feels both lost and rejected
Seasons 5, 6, 7, and 8 are great seasons
Great review on this season S12 is the worst model season ever for Thomas. The Great Discovery was a better send off to the model era. S12 definitely ruined it and is absolutely the worst along with S14-15, BWBA and All Engines Go!
I remember season 12 end. I remember watching a few episodes such as Thomas and the Billboard, Steady Eddie, Rosie's Carnival special or fun fair special in the UK, saved you, Thomas, put the brakes on, Gordon takes a shortcut, James works it out, Mountain Marvel, push me, pull you And best friends Nowadays, looking back on the episodes one of them are OK at best or just average Or still hold up And about the CGI itself I think it's alright, and they did a good job at that even the humans and animal designs, as well as animating Harold rather than using his prop Some moments of the face's can be pretty crooked at times in sometimes, it could be a little bit uncanny or a little bit of nightmare fuel I could definitely understand why save you become a meme Overall season 12 is in all right season and I don't mind the mixes of models & CGI for the most part despite its age.
I actually love the CGI series, but the Japanese version.
I request everyone to check out the Japanese version which seems a bit more mature then the US/UK ones, reminding me of the first seasons!
Only good thing of S12 was seeing old characters and Rusty's smaller face.
I usually grew up with season 1-13 and I love 12 for some reason and never had a problem while watching
SO TRUE BRO
Thomas in its later seasons is like how simpsons fans say how worse the show got from the "real" skinner, or after the simpsons movie.
Now with Thomas from fans saying it's either the magic railroad, hit entertainment buying, moving from models to CGI (it made feel for lively and saved time building props), hit getting bought out by Mattel.
Their is a lot of crazy factors but the ip is still alive and well but it's in a shell of it's former self correct me but I think all engines good would be better off as it's own show instead of having the Thomas name on it. The ip can get a proper reboot but I think Mattel is now allowing the staff to show their full potential even if it means going back to the basics. Superman even goes to a reboot from the very beginning time and time again it's repetitive but that is how you bring back old ip's for a newer audience with a twist.
This was when I was really turned off by Thomas as a kid. Because I really hated the CGI faces on the models.
I have the season 12 complete series dvd I watched it over and over looking for a jnr d51 model somewhere and I think I had seen Hiro's side barriers and I think that it is possible there was originally going to hiro of the rails in season 12 instead of the hit era
Did you know that for Hero of the rails model series they were going to re paint Murdoch’s model for Hiro and Sir Handel or Peter Sam’s for victor
Wrong.
If they were planning to do that then Hiro would have been a BR Standard 9F and Victor would be Hughes Falcon class or Kerr Stewart Tattoo class in the show.
@@nwrxj9264 what makes you so sure...?
I got introduced to this season through a DVD, but for some reason, the theme song and closing credits were lower pitched.
That is from railway friends. Also the low tone opening and endings were also like that in high speed adventures and team up with thomas in the spanish dvds
i wish they keep it like this until season 22
yea, just imagine how Sam would look
@@smlfan14He would have been expensive to make
@@carloso5910official yea i know but still. if they would of made sam a model Just scrap hank and make him sam
I honestly liked a few sets in season 12 like the station from some episodes like Gordon takes a shortcut Toby’s special surprise best friends etc. sodor river bridge (in fact I think that’s the viaduct that got mentioned in Henry’s gets spooked) the factory set in heave ho Thomas. The sawmill from a few episodes like heave ho Thomas steady Eddie etc. And the bridge set that duck was on in Gordon takes a shortcut
Adding to your hiro of the rails theory, a trackmaster talking thomas, hiro, and James were released to coincide with the movie. Hiro uses his normal in movie voice as you'd expect, but interesting James and Thomas actually used the narrator's voice.
What are your thoughts? On the narrow gauge episodes in the season push me pull you is an abomination for sure
I think that might be my least favorite episode in the whole season, oh wait, it is.
Season 12 is a bit interesting! But Michael Brandon's Spanish accent he has given Hector doesn't suit Hector but Michael angelis;s cockney accent he has given Hector is awesome! But the three newbies in this season Hank Flora and Colin they along with the season 9 Dennis are the only characters that have been introduced in the Hit era not to be made in Capule playrail
No one’s gonna mention that Sean called Sodor’s legend of the lost treasure an episode?
To be fair , Rosie was a new character during this era so we didn't really know that much about her , although I'm certain she wouldn't do this in the bwba era
I actually really like season 12 I like that they brought back so many Classic characters for cameos Like Stepney and Murdoch
I have nostalgia for this season I remember Watching TV when I was little, Seeing their faces moving for the first time Made me so excited
Although now I realize that some of this season’s traits are very flawed Like the Narrow Gauge episodes and also the way Edward’s Eyes look I mean what was going on with his eyes it’s like he’s staring into my soul also I do like the season 12 Newbies Hank and Flora They are unique in their own way
For some reason S11-12 and TGD had this weird yellow tint to it, and I don’t understand why they did that, I’m guessing to suit the “vibe” better, that makes sense.
The yellow lighting wasn’t really there that much in Season 12. It was noticeable when they out stock footage from Season 11
Mister maker season 2 and 3 have the same production sets. And season 3 reused season 2 footage
What annoys me is that three of the genuine season 1 models were thrown away for no reason after this season (well not immediately after but two years later)
I was amazed when I first saw season 12. Don't get me wrong, as a child it was new to me, but when Hero of the Rails was first shown, That's what made me prefer the upcoming CGI series than season 12.
I don't mind the 3 strike formula. What I do mind, however, is the formula being used 100 times in a row.
The voices on the characters were just creepy AF, good thing that this live-action and animation mix of Thomas & Friends ran for only 1 season.
I think that Series 12 should have voice like
Voice Cast
Ben small as Thomas
Keith Wickham as Percy,James,Gordon and Etc
At the end credit
So audiences will understand the transition to CGI
The behind the scenes was unnervingly cursed absolutely weird
I’ll just say it: My head-cannon is that S12 doesn’t exist and they went from all models straight to all CGI. So there’s only 23 seasons, not 24 in my AU
Season 12 is okay in my opinion, but it could’ve been a lot better if it had individual voice actors in the first place.
1:28 I hate to straw man but why does season 4 and 5 get a pass for its lightning.
Interesting question. I’d like to know too. Is it because they’re classic or something?
The darker lighting worked for certain S4 episodes…
S5 though?
Maybe because the lighting doesn't have a very yellow tint. The lighting from Seasons 4 and 5 is nowhere close to Season 11. Plus, he pointed the Season 4 lighting out in his "Ranking every Thomas & Friends season".
The line deliveries in season 12 always sounded off and weird. If you know anything about animation the voices are done first so it helps the animators match the pace and speed when doing lip sync. If you did this other way round then the line delivery will come off as strange.
Nevilles CGI face at the Thomas wiki page gave me a weird feeling
Season 12 is the nostalgic season of thomas and friends for me. Don't judge me.
(like a book by its cover)
Oh wait, that's season 13.
Season 12 when I first saw an episode by it guess I was used to the models I was like what happened to Thomas
Season 12 is the weirdest season of Thomas and friends in the model series. It is interesting but it does have its flaws. Especially the faces of the narrow gauge engines. The sets look ok because of the better lighting in season 12. Thomas wide smile face, Gordon's mad face, Rosie and Edward have some of the worse faces in Season 12. I don't mind hybrid seasons in Thomas, especially the humans and animals being cgi, makes it feel a little more realistic. Angelis was literally not in the mood to narrate this season because the season starts to get bored quickly. Some of the episodes dont do anything like the wishing tree, Don't go back and Push me pull you, which was bad as hell. I love cgi mixed with models, but it should've been done a better way. I dont hate this season, but there are some bad moments in it. Thomas does look a little weird in Season 12 but at least he looks cute. I'd give Season 12 a 7/10. An extra point for Nostalgia and CGI mixed with models. I think people would've loved it more if it was just like Season 11 but way better and with CGI for the people and animals only.
It definitely wouldve got at least an 8.5/10 if Pierce did narrate this season.
I can name one thing I like about season 12 just one. The cgi on Rusty’s face made him look good one last time. That’s it
Season 12 is probably the worst season in all of Thomas and Friends and what bothered me the most about it was the faces of them and how weird they looked if they made a specific face and how the narrator was still voicing all the characters and season 12 overall just looks like a concept version of cgi that should never have aired
Honestly, I really liked Season 12, it was my favorite CGI season. (Though it isn’t exclusively CGI, it still contains CGI) The CGI may not have aged well, but it was pretty good for the time. I might be nostalgia blind though, because I had the Team Up With Thomas DVD and I loved it. While I loved a lot of the episodes, (yes, even Push Me, Pull You) the three-strikes formula is undeniably at its worst here.
I remember liking Season 12 when it came out in 2008 as I did grow up watching the hit era. But now as a young adult in his early 20s, I feel like it was the worst season we got out of the 5 model seasons Hit did. But the thing I don't like about this season the most is that the cgi effects don't mix well with the models themselves. And since last year when I learned Pierce Brosnan was going to originally stay as the narrator for several seasons but ended up only narrating "The Great Discovery" before going back to Brandon & Angelis for this season respectively. I mean, as mentioned in the video the cgi faces moving matched the way he did for the narration compared to Brandon & Angelis. And while I do feel like the season that came after it was a little better, I still find the Sharon Miller era the second worst era we got during the 11 years the show was full cgi. At least there are still good seasons out there being 1-7 & 17-21 to enjoy thanks to Alcroft and Brenner.
Season 12 will always be the most oddball of the series. The fact that this was the season that was gonna bring Pierce Brosnan full time this season, and they removed him definitely messed with the production and narration.
I do agree a little bit but personally in my opinion, I'm mixed with season 12, I watched the whole episode, I like it and hate it at the same time, there was few things that I'm happy still is that, Stanley (of course), old characters returning, three new characters with the classic models use (aside from the CGI face) and all of the background, models and sets are still the same just like season 8-11 and it feels classic a bit, now the only two things I don't really like are the writing and the CGI faces/figures (Edward CGI face is the worst out of all and you can't tell me otherwise). Overall for season 12 in my opinion I would give it a 6/10
I agree
well the series 12 is a Little bit decent, probably because it was planned after ended up with The Great Discovery
And some Models and assets are almost missing so they make CGI Animation by Stardust Pictures recreating the faces and human Characters but not even Annie and Clarabel according the concept art it was officially scrapped because the faces can't be gray in coaches (until BWBA era got taken)
And then introduced episodic Characters as Hank and Flora with minor features facial faces modeled if the character is below on it making the CGI effect inactive
Hank was the second american engine in the show after Rosie
Spencer was absent in this Season
The Water Town was seen only this Season (after the great Discovery) but can't be seen in the full CGI series as of 13 to 24 and would bring it Back in Season 26 or 27 meaning to be in All Engines Go era if Mattel accept to add in...
Edward's Animated Face is ok but everyone asked about his pupils are Small making him scary than his modeled face
In the background scenes can be see Henry with Gordon's Face (same things previously as Series 4)
The CGI humans haven't seen inside of the engines if they're in model form; however, Thomas has one driver inside in the episode 1: Thomas and the Billboard
And they did again through Thomas and the Royal Engine
Sharon Miller steps up as a head writer
Arthur's eye mechanism is removed in Steady Eddie
This means to see in his Animated Face
The Characters from classic era as Duck, Donald, Douglas and Oliver was appeared with their Animated Face in Saved You!
Harvey in B.T.S. version was shown the CGI face but in the final has a modeled face
Neville is the last seen in the last episode of the Season 12
After ended the Season, they decided to make Hero of the Rails introducing Hiro, Kevin and Victor modifying one of model characters made, Spencer and Stanley can be appear too but due to the full pay, they switched everyone into Full CGI
Stanley was absent in this movie and returned in series 15 instead...
Ok hear me out while season 12 is a bad season and the CGI hasn't aged well this is the most underrated season of the show in my opinion
Imho, Season 12 was ok. It wasn't terrible but it was still a solid Thomas season. I did enjoy some of the episodes such as 'Thomas and The Billboard' and ''Heave ho, Thomas' but there were some episodes that I did not enjoy like 'Push Me, Pull You' but other than that I still think that season 12 is an ok Thomas season.
I Love season 12, i don't call what's the peoples said, i Love this season, the models with CGI faces was a excelent idea, they are so welsome and beautiful, i Love season 12, i Loved the models with CGI faces, i Loved so much, 10/10
I'll admit. I was born around the time S11 Ended and S12 was starting and I grew up with the S12 DVDs! (Specifically Team Up With Thomas) but Looking back. Yeah Most of this season is a full on mess. But Episodes like "James Works It Out" or "Heave Ho Thomas" still are one of my Favorite Episodes in the HIT Era! But..yeah. still a bad mess. But definitely a nostalgic one!
Half the time I completely forget season 12 exists honestly.
Season 12 of Thomas it looks so uncanny.
I’m currently doing a video defending season 6. I wonder what Sean might think of it if he sees it.
Well,if you were to pick between season 12 or AEG,which one would you pick? (No other options)
All Engines Go, because at least it understood what it was, who it was for and what it had to deliver. I’d prefer All Engines Go simply because it was made extremely well and didn’t try to be anything else, unlike season 12 which was just abysmal in every area….
Im so nostalgic for season 12 even though looking back at it yeah it isnt great😅
Season 12 is a hybrid season. It was a transition from the model era to the cgi era. It’s a season that has the middle ground of using both models and cgi. While it may sounded like a cool idea on paper, it execution however, it looks really jarring and it horrendously made. I think this season was in a fickle on choosing which style that they can go with just to apply to this season, whether it was with the cgi or models. The visuals look awful to look at, even some of the visuals look pretty disturbing, especially the shot with Thomas smiling as wide as a Cheshire Cat’s smile. *shudders* The sets also look bland as fuck and they look like they’re done by a 5 year old. It’s very clear that HiT was running low on money and they have to rush by recycling some of the props and set pieces that were already used in the previous seasons in order to call it a new set that’s introduced in the season. The dialogue is terribly clunky and the season was bogged down with some fluff from the narrator, like some unnecessary exposition that interrupts the scenes before the characters can say some dialogue. The stories and writing were as shitty as usual, all the episodes suffer from the same ol-same ol three strikes formula. And to add insult to injury, it was the final season to use models and it was pathetic to see this. And no, having some old favorites from the classic era to show up like Duck, Donald, Douglas, Bill or Ben does not make this season any better! With every problem the season had, it shows a clear sign of what is to come into the Nitrogen era, an era worse than Seasons 8-11.
This season also went through a bit of production trouble too. Originally Pierce Brosnan was gonna narrate Season 12 around the same time as The Great Discovery so he can become the next narrator of Thomas succeeding both Angelis and Brandon. But for some strange reason, he dropped out of Thomas, and HiT was in a hurry to bring back Angelis and Brandon to redub some of the lines that Brosnan had recorded, and this shit shows. And Hero of the Rails was originally gonna be filmed in the same style as Season 12, but it ended up becoming a fully-animated cgi movie instead. However, traces of Season 12’s writing can still be felt inside the script.
In short, Season 12 is a bad season. Awkward dialogue, lazily writing script and stories, meaningless filler from the narrator, and some shots with the models wearing cgi faces just made me feel uneasy. (I’m looking at you creepy smiling Thomas!). This season looks fucking goofy ahh! It deserves to be thrown into the trash next to Seasons 22-24 and Seasons 13-16.
Yup
I honest to God think for some of the worst episodes of S8 to 16 in the UK dub Michael Angelis sounds like he was forced to narrate these moments after he reads the scripts for each bad episode.
Only UK dub episodes I prefer are "Twin Trouble" and "Percy's chocolate crunch".
TATMR had individual voice actors.
Even though it seems interesting combining live-action and CGI, Season 12 should have stuck with the resin faces and Pierce Brosnan as the narrator, and better writing
I really think Hit and Nitrogen should have taken their time with this season. Especially with the cgi.