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I have discovered that one of the lesser-known reasons for why the 2000s episodes were bad was because from Series 6 (2002) to Series 16 (2012), there was no railway consultant working on the show to give input on real-world railway operations. This period also pretty much corresponds with the series' ownership by HiT Entertainment before Mattel bought it. It probably would not have been sold to HiT in the first place had the Magic Railroad movie from 2000 been a success.
So...
Seasons 1-5 (1984-1998/based on Awdry family stories and originals by show's creators/everything before the Magic Railroad movie): God-tier
Seasons 6-16 (2002-2012/HiT Entertianment period): Shit-tier
Seasons 17-present (2013-present/Mattel period): Okay-tier
Pic totally unrelated.
