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Description

Sit back everyone. You're in for a rant about one of the most messed-up fandoms out there. A fandom which is made up of endless pathetic drama and hypocrites, making it a place you really don't want to be a part of. Although I am no longer a part of it (since I got sick of all the wars that go on there and decided to leave), there appears to be has been a lot more controversy going on there lately. And believe it or not, it's been surrounding the little green engine you see here.

When I'm out buying stuff for my upcoming comedy web series, "Childhood Ruined", I often see this Trackmaster model of Duck from Thomas & Friends (as you can see, it's a model based on the season 2 episode, A Close Shave). I really want to include him in my series, but the Thomas models I'm using for it are from the Take-N-Play range, so I'll need to find a model of Duck in that range, which I haven't been able to find in any stores at present. I'll just get it from Amazon if I can't find it anywhere.

However, I've found a use for this Trackmaster model I often see on sale: to take this picture and make this little meme, which sums up how much controversy there's been surrounding him lately, as well as how petty the fanbase now behaves whenever they see him.

They've spent years begging to have him back on the show - and now they've finally got their wish granted, they suddenly hate him and want to punch their screens whenever he appears?! What?! That's just stupid and hypocritical! You wanted him back really badly! You should be happy!

Have a look below at some of the crap people have posted about Duck. He sure does have a lot to answer for...

__________________________________________________________________________________

"I hate stupid Duck! I never wanted him back! I never liked him!"

Then why, prey, did you spend years begging for his return? Seems very strange to request back a character you claim to have never liked and consider stupid...

"Duck doesn't shut up about the Great Western way!"

Which is exactly what went on back in the classic series, so this is nothing new. The narrator even said so back then. Here, I'll quote him to prove it to you: "Duck is very proud of being Great Western. He talks endlessly about it." I didn't see you complaining then. In fact, many of you said it was what made Duck a unique character when voicing why you felt he should be back in the series. Now to an extent, I can understand when people say they get annoyed by his catchphrase ("There are two ways of doing things: the Great Western way or the wrong way."). I don't find it annoying myself, but I can see why others would be irritated by it. But again, this is nothing new for Duck. This is a line which he would say in the Railway Series books. If anything, this proves even more how the current writing team are being respectful to the show's roots. When Sharon Miller and Sam Barlow were in control, the only line you'd hear as a nod to the show's roots would be one that did nothing but create a massive continuity error ("Henry runs on special coal."). Plus, Duck only says this catchphrase about once or twice an episode. And what's more, he doesn't even say it in every episode he appears in. In some recent episodes where he appears, such as Duck in the Water, Last Train for Christmas and a few others, the words 'Great Western' never leave his mouth once. Would you rather we go back to having Ferdinand appear and saying "That's right!" every few seconds? I wouldn't. I'd take this classic, interesting, three-dimensional character over that dreadful, annoying, one-dimensional character any day. Speaking of Ferdinand, I feel a comparison between him and Duck is needed to prove which of them is not only the better crafted character, but also which is the better role model for the young children who watch this show. While Duck tries, often in vain, to do things the Great Western way, Ferdinand always succeeded to do them the wrong way. If you had children of your own, would you rather them do things they need to get done without nonsense or complaining? Or would you prefer them to do dangerous idiotic stunts that not only creates nothing but a big mess, but also puts their lives and others around them at risk? No seriously, tell me. Which of these two ways of doing things - one of which being life-threatening - would you rather your own children follow? I'd love to know which you'd prefer.

"Duck is such an ass!"

Take a look at the other engines and then tell me if Duck still looks like an ass. Thomas and Percy are sometimes seen insulting one another and other engines, James thinks his red paint makes him better than the others, Gordon often puts Edward down for his old age, Henry stalled in the tunnel with only thoughts for his paint work and no thought for his passengers, Diesel told cruel lies about Duck (although I wouldn't be surprised if the fanbase is now cheering Diesel for doing that) and Diesel 10 tried to kill all the steam engines! These characters act like asses more than Duck ever has, yet everyone loves them. Compared to all this, talking about the Great Western Railway is innocent. Furthermore, in his debut story, Duck helped Percy stand up to the big engines when they were ordering him about. That makes him a good role model in my view, showing children they shouldn't let people bully them and walk all over them. An ass would not do that, they'd just join the bullies in picking on them. The idea of Duck doing that is absurd.

"Duck is soooooo one-dimensional!"

Here's a fact which I think many of the fan base seem to forget quite often: Thomas & Friends is a show for pre-schoolers. Even though it's great that the current writing team have acknowledged the older fans' existence and are writing stories that are strong enough for us to enjoy, at the end of the day, this is a show for toddlers first and foremost. When something is written for pre-schoolers, whether it be a book series or a television show, you'll find that the characters are each given their own trait that the writers make heavy use of so that the young audience can identify them individually. If we take a look at the Steam Team, we'll see they each have their own outstanding character trait that children can use to identify each member; Thomas has his cheekiness, Percy has his naïvety, James has his vanity, Gordon has his pompousness, Henry has his health problems, Edward has his old age, Toby has his unusual appearance and Emily has her big sister attitude. The same applies to the other characters. Whether it's a side to their personality, a job they do or something they like or dislike, they all have their own trait that is made heavy use of by the writers and allows children to identify them. Even the Logging Locos had their own identifiable trait, which was their goofy ways of living. Sadly, that was really their only existent character trait at all. This is what Duck's identifiable trait would be: his pride of being Great Western (I wouldn't say it's also Oliver's, as I think his identifiable trait would be his daring escape to Sodor). But that's not to say that Duck is a one-dimensional character. There's far more to him than being proud of his heritage. As I mentioned above, we've seen that he does not stand for bullying (shown in Duck Takes Charge). We've also seen that he's a bit of a dreamer (All At Sea) and despite his serious nature, he enjoys a joke and has a good sense of humour (Donald's Duck, Buzz, Buzz). I'm sure the current writing team will make use of these other sides of his personality in episodes that are yet to be seen and written. Who knows? They might give interesting traits of their own to him, making him even more fully rounded! Given how creative and clever they are, I wouldn't doubt it!

"His role in Henry's Hero could have gone to any engine!!!!"

So? Why is it bad he was chosen? I consider it a good thing, as it's a sign that the current writing team are being creative and imaginative by using characters that were either barely or never used in the Miller/Barlow era, rather than using the same tired old characters that were constantly used during that era (the Steam Team, the Logging Locos, Charlie, etc.) Also, there are many times in the series when we see characters having roles that could go to any engine. Thomas' role in this episode could have also gone to anyone. So could have Gordon's. Yet does anyone whine that the small roles they played could have gone to any engine? Oh no no no. Not at all. It's only when it's a character who's been gone for some time does it become a crime.

"I hate the episode Duck and the Slip Coaches, because of those scenes where Duck takes Emily's place in Tidmouth Sheds! That's sooooooo sexist and heartless!"

This honestly makes me wonder: do these people who complain those scenes are 'sexist' and 'heartless' actually know the meanings of these words? Nothing whatsoever in those scenes shows even the slightest hint of such behaviours. Emily isn't being kept out of the sheds because she's female. There are only seven berths, so no more engines can get in once it is filled with seven engines. Duck and the others were not keeping Emily out of the sheds out of spite. If they were, they would have all been jeering and laughing at her, but they barely even notice she's there. Furthermore, the endless whines of "Duck took Emily's place in the sheds!" are coming from many people who I recall would complain "Emily took Duck's place in the show!" Need I say more? Plus, it's pretty petty to hate an episode which had a well-written story, research on a real-life railway, three interesting new characters (the slip coaches) and provided a fantastic backstory which no one besides Duck could have been given - just for a tiny few seconds when one engine simply finds the shed full when she arrives. It was done for humour, it was just for fun - and it barely lasted fifteen seconds. Heck, it wasn't even acknowledged by the narrator. What's more is, I've seen people starting to hate Henry too, just because in the final two shots of the episode, he jumps in front of Emily and takes the last free berth in the sheds before she can. This has sparked these 'fans' to bash him, label him second to Duck as their most dispised character, even create and upload hate art here about him! So these people are now hating a classic, fully-rounded character who has been in the series since the very first Railway Series book and provided them with some of the most fantastic and memorable stories and episodes - all just because of two short shots in one episode?! Give me strength...

"I hate Duck now ever since I watched Tobias and the Half Pariah!"

As well as the controversial Emily scenes, one thing that really escalated the negativity towards Duck is his portrayal in this popular Thomas fan film that was uploaded to YouTube last year. Since it portrays him in a completely different light to the Railway Series and TV series - as a sinister insane psychopath who will kill to get what he wants - people have been using that too as an excuse to hate him in the show. You know why this is a terrible excuse which doesn't work though? Because Tobias and the Half Pariah is fanfiction. It was made by a fan, not by the Rev. W. Awdry (who is probably spinning in his grave at the disgusting behaviour of these haters who claim to be die-hard fans of his work, yet have a baffling way of showing it!) or by the people at HIT Entertainment who make the show! This means that Half Pariah is not canon! It has no bearing on the Railway Series or the TV series at all! It's not even set in the same fictional universe! The creator of Half Pariah said himself that the Duck seen in his film is not the same Duck we know from the books and the show. Just because this fanfiction's version of Duck (who doesn't so much as use that name at all in the film, going instead by his real name, Montague) is an evil murderous freak, that does not make the canon Duck in the show the same. That would be like saying his name in the show is actually Alan or Earl, just because he goes by those names in Leokimvideo's homemade Thomas movie, Mad Bomber, where again, it's not canon and it's not the same Duck(s) we know from the books and show. What I'm trying to say here is that the portrayal of a character in something that was made by a fan and is therefore non-canon isn't a valid reason to hate and bash them in the show. Especially not if the character is nothing in the show like they are in the fanfiction.

__________________________________________________________________________________

It's not only Duck who been getting all this hypocritical bashing lately. Oliver, Bill and Ben have also been slagged off by people who wanted them back on our screens for years - and now suddenly claim they never liked them and try to make them out to be bad characters for the most pathetic of reasons. For instance, people have been claiming that Oliver is a stupid character purely because his CGI render is out of scale. That's a fault on the animation team, not a fault on the character! Besides, scale does not define a character and make them who they are. And if you really think Oliver's scale issue automatically makes him stupid, then why aren't you saying the same about Porter? He's even more out of scale! This stupid backlash towards Oliver just because of his scale is just like how when Bill and Ben returned, instead of being grateful to have them back and enjoying the strong stories and funny humour they provided, all people could do was whinge and complain about the colour of their wheels being changed from black to red! Yes, you read correctly. Of all things, these people moaned about wheels! I can only assume these sad excuses for fans think that by bashing these particular characters, they're making themselves look cool and mature (which they most certainly aren't). I'll bet you anything you like that when Donald and Douglas return, these people will do the same thing, constantly moaning "Bwah!!! Why did you bring them back, Brenner?! We hate them! We never wanted them back! They suck and they're stupid!" You just watch. That'll show what ungrateful hypocrites these so-called fans are. It's people such as them who give the Thomas fanbase a bad reputation.

Oh well. Unlike this fanbase (which I steer clear of these days), I for one am glad Duck is back on our screens, and I'm very grateful to the current head writer, Andrew Brenner, for returning him, as well as for all he's done to make the show feel like the good old days again (unlike these unappreciative fans, who have been throwing everything Mr Brenner's been doing for them - out of the goodness of his heart and his passion for the series - back in his face). As soon as I find a Take-N-Play model of Duck, I will be purchasing it for him to go in my series. And if people hate my series purely just because he's in it...well, that just shows how petty they are.

Well, that's my rant out the way. And if any of these Duck haters are going to attempt to start a fight with me for stating these facts about them, you'll be wasting your time, as I am not going to give you what you want. You're far too ungrateful to get what you want.

I wouldn't be surprised if these haters ignore everything I've written above and just go into a burning rage over the fact this is a picture of Duck. If anyone them do read it, they'll probably just scream at me "U R JIST A S2PID DUK FANBOI!!!!!1111 I H8 U!!!!!!!!!!!11111111"

No. I'm not a fanboy. He may be one of my favourite characters in the show, but I'm not being a fanboy. All I'm doing here is pointing out the hypocritical and ungrateful behaviour of the fanbase. Even though I am no longer a part of it, everything I've written here, which is all 100% true, needed to be said.

Description

Sit back everyone. You're in for a rant about one of the most messed-up fandoms out there. A fandom which is made up of endless pathetic drama and hypocrites, making it a place you really don't want to be a part of. Although I am no longer a part of it (since I got sick of all the wars that go on there and decided to leave), there appears to be has been a lot more controversy going on there lately. And believe it or not, it's been surrounding the little green engine you see here.

When I'm out buying stuff for my upcoming comedy web series, "Childhood Ruined", I often see this Trackmaster model of Duck from Thomas & Friends (as you can see, it's a model based on the season 2 episode, A Close Shave). I really want to include him in my series, but the Thomas models I'm using for it are from the Take-N-Play range, so I'll need to find a model of Duck in that range, which I haven't been able to find in any stores at present. I'll just get it from Amazon if I can't find it anywhere.

However, I've found a use for this Trackmaster model I often see on sale: to take this picture and make this little meme, which sums up how much controversy there's been surrounding him lately, as well as how petty the fanbase now behaves whenever they see him.

They've spent years begging to have him back on the show - and now they've finally got their wish granted, they suddenly hate him and want to punch their screens whenever he appears?! What?! That's just stupid and hypocritical! You wanted him back really badly! You should be happy!

Have a look below at some of the crap people have posted about Duck. He sure does have a lot to answer for...

__________________________________________________________________________________

"I hate stupid Duck! I never wanted him back! I never liked him!"

Then why, prey, did you spend years begging for his return? Seems very strange to request back a character you claim to have never liked and consider stupid...

"Duck doesn't shut up about the Great Western way!"

Which is exactly what went on back in the classic series, so this is nothing new. The narrator even said so back then. Here, I'll quote him to prove it to you: "Duck is very proud of being Great Western. He talks endlessly about it." I didn't see you complaining then. In fact, many of you said it was what made Duck a unique character when voicing why you felt he should be back in the series. Now to an extent, I can understand when people say they get annoyed by his catchphrase ("There are two ways of doing things: the Great Western way or the wrong way."). I don't find it annoying myself, but I can see why others would be irritated by it. But again, this is nothing new for Duck. This is a line which he would say in the Railway Series books. If anything, this proves even more how the current writing team are being respectful to the show's roots. When Sharon Miller and Sam Barlow were in control, the only line you'd hear as a nod to the show's roots would be one that did nothing but create a massive continuity error ("Henry runs on special coal."). Plus, Duck only says this catchphrase about once or twice an episode. And what's more, he doesn't even say it in every episode he appears in. In some recent episodes where he appears, such as Duck in the Water, Last Train for Christmas and a few others, the words 'Great Western' never leave his mouth once. Would you rather we go back to having Ferdinand appear and saying "That's right!" every few seconds? I wouldn't. I'd take this classic, interesting, three-dimensional character over that dreadful, annoying, one-dimensional character any day. Speaking of Ferdinand, I feel a comparison between him and Duck is needed to prove which of them is not only the better crafted character, but also which is the better role model for the young children who watch this show. While Duck tries, often in vain, to do things the Great Western way, Ferdinand always succeeded to do them the wrong way. If you had children of your own, would you rather them do things they need to get done without nonsense or complaining? Or would you prefer them to do dangerous idiotic stunts that not only creates nothing but a big mess, but also puts their lives and others around them at risk? No seriously, tell me. Which of these two ways of doing things - one of which being life-threatening - would you rather your own children follow? I'd love to know which you'd prefer.

"Duck is such an ass!"

Take a look at the other engines and then tell me if Duck still looks like an ass. Thomas and Percy are sometimes seen insulting one another and other engines, James thinks his red paint makes him better than the others, Gordon often puts Edward down for his old age, Henry stalled in the tunnel with only thoughts for his paint work and no thought for his passengers, Diesel told cruel lies about Duck (although I wouldn't be surprised if the fanbase is now cheering Diesel for doing that) and Diesel 10 tried to kill all the steam engines! These characters act like asses more than Duck ever has, yet everyone loves them. Compared to all this, talking about the Great Western Railway is innocent. Furthermore, in his debut story, Duck helped Percy stand up to the big engines when they were ordering him about. That makes him a good role model in my view, showing children they shouldn't let people bully them and walk all over them. An ass would not do that, they'd just join the bullies in picking on them. The idea of Duck doing that is absurd.

"Duck is soooooo one-dimensional!"

Here's a fact which I think many of the fan base seem to forget quite often: Thomas & Friends is a show for pre-schoolers. Even though it's great that the current writing team have acknowledged the older fans' existence and are writing stories that are strong enough for us to enjoy, at the end of the day, this is a show for toddlers first and foremost. When something is written for pre-schoolers, whether it be a book series or a television show, you'll find that the characters are each given their own trait that the writers make heavy use of so that the young audience can identify them individually. If we take a look at the Steam Team, we'll see they each have their own outstanding character trait that children can use to identify each member; Thomas has his cheekiness, Percy has his naïvety, James has his vanity, Gordon has his pompousness, Henry has his health problems, Edward has his old age, Toby has his unusual appearance and Emily has her big sister attitude. The same applies to the other characters. Whether it's a side to their personality, a job they do or something they like or dislike, they all have their own trait that is made heavy use of by the writers and allows children to identify them. Even the Logging Locos had their own identifiable trait, which was their goofy ways of living. Sadly, that was really their only existent character trait at all. This is what Duck's identifiable trait would be: his pride of being Great Western (I wouldn't say it's also Oliver's, as I think his identifiable trait would be his daring escape to Sodor). But that's not to say that Duck is a one-dimensional character. There's far more to him than being proud of his heritage. As I mentioned above, we've seen that he does not stand for bullying (shown in Duck Takes Charge). We've also seen that he's a bit of a dreamer (All At Sea) and despite his serious nature, he enjoys a joke and has a good sense of humour (Donald's Duck, Buzz, Buzz). I'm sure the current writing team will make use of these other sides of his personality in episodes that are yet to be seen and written. Who knows? They might give interesting traits of their own to him, making him even more fully rounded! Given how creative and clever they are, I wouldn't doubt it!

"His role in Henry's Hero could have gone to any engine!!!!"

So? Why is it bad he was chosen? I consider it a good thing, as it's a sign that the current writing team are being creative and imaginative by using characters that were either barely or never used in the Miller/Barlow era, rather than using the same tired old characters that were constantly used during that era (the Steam Team, the Logging Locos, Charlie, etc.) Also, there are many times in the series when we see characters having roles that could go to any engine. Thomas' role in this episode could have also gone to anyone. So could have Gordon's. Yet does anyone whine that the small roles they played could have gone to any engine? Oh no no no. Not at all. It's only when it's a character who's been gone for some time does it become a crime.

"I hate the episode Duck and the Slip Coaches, because of those scenes where Duck takes Emily's place in Tidmouth Sheds! That's sooooooo sexist and heartless!"

This honestly makes me wonder: do these people who complain those scenes are 'sexist' and 'heartless' actually know the meanings of these words? Nothing whatsoever in those scenes shows even the slightest hint of such behaviours. Emily isn't being kept out of the sheds because she's female. There are only seven berths, so no more engines can get in once it is filled with seven engines. Duck and the others were not keeping Emily out of the sheds out of spite. If they were, they would have all been jeering and laughing at her, but they barely even notice she's there. Furthermore, the endless whines of "Duck took Emily's place in the sheds!" are coming from many people who I recall would complain "Emily took Duck's place in the show!" Need I say more? Plus, it's pretty petty to hate an episode which had a well-written story, research on a real-life railway, three interesting new characters (the slip coaches) and provided a fantastic backstory which no one besides Duck could have been given - just for a tiny few seconds when one engine simply finds the shed full when she arrives. It was done for humour, it was just for fun - and it barely lasted fifteen seconds. Heck, it wasn't even acknowledged by the narrator. What's more is, I've seen people starting to hate Henry too, just because in the final two shots of the episode, he jumps in front of Emily and takes the last free berth in the sheds before she can. This has sparked these 'fans' to bash him, label him second to Duck as their most dispised character, even create and upload hate art here about him! So these people are now hating a classic, fully-rounded character who has been in the series since the very first Railway Series book and provided them with some of the most fantastic and memorable stories and episodes - all just because of two short shots in one episode?! Give me strength...

"I hate Duck now ever since I watched Tobias and the Half Pariah!"

As well as the controversial Emily scenes, one thing that really escalated the negativity towards Duck is his portrayal in this popular Thomas fan film that was uploaded to YouTube last year. Since it portrays him in a completely different light to the Railway Series and TV series - as a sinister insane psychopath who will kill to get what he wants - people have been using that too as an excuse to hate him in the show. You know why this is a terrible excuse which doesn't work though? Because Tobias and the Half Pariah is fanfiction. It was made by a fan, not by the Rev. W. Awdry (who is probably spinning in his grave at the disgusting behaviour of these haters who claim to be die-hard fans of his work, yet have a baffling way of showing it!) or by the people at HIT Entertainment who make the show! This means that Half Pariah is not canon! It has no bearing on the Railway Series or the TV series at all! It's not even set in the same fictional universe! The creator of Half Pariah said himself that the Duck seen in his film is not the same Duck we know from the books and the show. Just because this fanfiction's version of Duck (who doesn't so much as use that name at all in the film, going instead by his real name, Montague) is an evil murderous freak, that does not make the canon Duck in the show the same. That would be like saying his name in the show is actually Alan or Earl, just because he goes by those names in Leokimvideo's homemade Thomas movie, Mad Bomber, where again, it's not canon and it's not the same Duck(s) we know from the books and show. What I'm trying to say here is that the portrayal of a character in something that was made by a fan and is therefore non-canon isn't a valid reason to hate and bash them in the show. Especially not if the character is nothing in the show like they are in the fanfiction.

__________________________________________________________________________________

It's not only Duck who been getting all this hypocritical bashing lately. Oliver, Bill and Ben have also been slagged off by people who wanted them back on our screens for years - and now suddenly claim they never liked them and try to make them out to be bad characters for the most pathetic of reasons. For instance, people have been claiming that Oliver is a stupid character purely because his CGI render is out of scale. That's a fault on the animation team, not a fault on the character! Besides, scale does not define a character and make them who they are. And if you really think Oliver's scale issue automatically makes him stupid, then why aren't you saying the same about Porter? He's even more out of scale! This stupid backlash towards Oliver just because of his scale is just like how when Bill and Ben returned, instead of being grateful to have them back and enjoying the strong stories and funny humour they provided, all people could do was whinge and complain about the colour of their wheels being changed from black to red! Yes, you read correctly. Of all things, these people moaned about wheels! I can only assume these sad excuses for fans think that by bashing these particular characters, they're making themselves look cool and mature (which they most certainly aren't). I'll bet you anything you like that when Donald and Douglas return, these people will do the same thing, constantly moaning "Bwah!!! Why did you bring them back, Brenner?! We hate them! We never wanted them back! They suck and they're stupid!" You just watch. That'll show what ungrateful hypocrites these so-called fans are. It's people such as them who give the Thomas fanbase a bad reputation.

Oh well. Unlike this fanbase (which I steer clear of these days), I for one am glad Duck is back on our screens, and I'm very grateful to the current head writer, Andrew Brenner, for returning him, as well as for all he's done to make the show feel like the good old days again (unlike these unappreciative fans, who have been throwing everything Mr Brenner's been doing for them - out of the goodness of his heart and his passion for the series - back in his face). As soon as I find a Take-N-Play model of Duck, I will be purchasing it for him to go in my series. And if people hate my series purely just because he's in it...well, that just shows how petty they are.

Well, that's my rant out the way. And if any of these Duck haters are going to attempt to start a fight with me for stating these facts about them, you'll be wasting your time, as I am not going to give you what you want. You're far too ungrateful to get what you want.

I wouldn't be surprised if these haters ignore everything I've written above and just go into a burning rage over the fact this is a picture of Duck. If anyone them do read it, they'll probably just scream at me "U R JIST A S2PID DUK FANBOI!!!!!1111 I H8 U!!!!!!!!!!!11111111"

No. I'm not a fanboy. He may be one of my favourite characters in the show, but I'm not being a fanboy. All I'm doing here is pointing out the hypocritical and ungrateful behaviour of the fanbase. Even though I am no longer a part of it, everything I've written here, which is all 100% true, needed to be said.