This voice haunts me in my sleep. If you have a son, you will know exactly where it comes from. If you have a daughter, I'm sorry for all of the Princess stuff you have to go through but it doesn't come close to the level of annoying this voice, and by association this show, has brought to my life. I am of course talking about that cheeky little blue tank engine with the big yellow number one, Thomas and the voice that brings him to life, George Carlin.
I would love for the world to think that I'm hip, edgy and cool and have legendary comedic routines stuck in my head by Mr. Carlin. But alas, I am no longer these things. My toddler is obsessed with this blue train and his 500 or so friends. Most days, the first thing he wants to see is Thomas and unfortunately the last thing of the day is typically an episode of Thomas as well. And wedged in between is generally hours of play involving all things railroad. As a by product of this obsession, I hear George's voice in my head almost all day long and unfortunately he also joins me in my dreams.
If you asked me when I was in my twenties (back when I was single and in the middle of running off on my world travels in Copenhagen, Barbados, Zurich, Cancun, Munich and Amsterdam) if I would be able to point Rusty, James, Edward, Kevin, Murdoch, Percy or Billy out of a line-up. I would have probably turned to you and asked 'are those members of an up and coming British rock band?' But now as a mom, I can point out the differences between Percy and Duck. I can tell you that James has the number 5 on him. And I know that Sir Handle was originally named Falcon. Can I tell you today where Succinate fits into the Krebs Cycle? Or who is the lead singer in Muse? The answer to both of those questions would be a resounding 'no!!"
While I'm on this Thomas vent, let's take a minute to talk about Sir Topham Hatt. How has this man not been arrested or sued for every penny he owns in at least one episode? Never in my life have I seen one railway with an accident rate as bad as his. Has Sodor no department of transportation that regulates safety? Nearly every episode of Thomas has at least one reportable accident that should have OSHA beating down his door and fining the top hat off this guy. What message are we sending our children? 'Go ahead and enter the workforce and damage your employer's property and while you are at it feel free to endanger the public. And when all is said and done, no one will care." Seriously?!?!?
Could things be worse? I guess my son could be obsessed with Barney. Thankfully he is not. And I'll take Thomas over Calliou any day of the week.
Weesh. Weesh.
[Caffeine consumed during the making of this blog: One ice cold Coke Zero]
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Funny; I used to know most of them too, but that was a long time ago. What I DO remember is that Ringo Starr was the voice of the narrator of the show for awhile. Big surprise to me when I heard it the first time. Have you done the BRIO trains yet?
ReplyDeleteWhen I babysat two little boys during the summers while in college, I knew all of the names of the trains as well as all of the words to the theme song of "Carmen Sandiego." Oy!!
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you, although I am happy to announce that we have now transitioned to Imagination Movers and Special Agent Oso. Which is great because I too am sick of Sir Topham Hatt and the rest of the Sodor crew. But when I look at all the trains now stacked in a pile (a crash pile I might add) in our basement, I realize we probably could have put a down payment on a new home for what those silly little trains cost. And while I don't have George Carlin's voice in my head as much anymore, it has been replaced by "Oso special" and other equally annoying lyrics...
ReplyDeleteTry having 3 boys, Dawn! We've had Thomas in our home since 2002. The thomas train table serves as our coffee table, we have thousands of dollars of trains, tracks and buildings and only to show you how long we've had Thomas in our lives we have the VHS tapes in the cabinet (but no VCR! lol) We've gone to Strausburg, PA 4 times already to do the Day out with Thomas. Although my little guy skipped Sesame and Barney and went straight to Spongebob and iCarly somehow I feel like I will have cheated him if he doesn't get to go so alas we are heading to Thomas in the fall for our last trip ever! Cherish the Thomas years...they go by quickly. By the time he gets to Kindergarten some kid will tell him it's for babies and then it's over.
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