ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Haunted Henry
October 16, 2021
I think it goes without saying that the atmosphere of Thomas The Tank Engine's spooky episodes especially from the classic years of the original series is unmatched: when it came to visuals, these were always top-notch as it showed that Thomas was never a stranger to scary visuals and it kinda bothers me when I see clickbait articles and videos about 'how scary Thomas was' and 'how it's too inappropriate for kids'. Honestly, I find that to be absolute bull; sure, sometimes this stuff was kind of scary but if you ask me, kids could use a good scare every now and then. Scary visuals stick with kids and that's a good thing: they might be scared in the moment, but they're going to remember it and the lesson this stuff teaches will stick with them as a result of that, and when they get older, they'll look back on it and respect it. The spooky episodes are what classic Thomas excelled at the most and nowhere in the entire series was this more common than in Season 5 since a good half of these episodes were either set or had more scenes during nightfall and a good majority detoured away from The Railway Series due to being based on original ideas. It had dark stories, awesome background music and just plain cool crashes to look at! So as we continue with this year's season of spooks and surprises, let's take a trip down to the station by the lake. But by the looks of things, the station has more than a few surprises in store for a very 'Haunted Henry'!
HAUNTED HENRY: Henry refuses to believe in ghosts until he and his crew encounter a series of spooky events during the night
---
Many people might say that this episode scared them when they were younger, well I wasn't since I was never scared of any 'Thomas & Friends' episode that had a bit of a Halloween or haunted kind of storyline and this is in fact another favorite episode of mine not just from the fifth season but also one of my favorite Henry-centered stories of all time. The thing I love the most about this entire episode is the story: it has a bit of drama while being focused with great mystery in its dark atmosphere, it had a great accident in the climax and the reveal of Old Bailey at the end made for a good little twist too, even if he only operated the station by the lake for one episode before somehow moving to work at the Blue Mountain Quarry in the CGI Series, but that's a story for another day. The only real problem that I have with the episode and this is a minor note, but it's a railway realism nitpick: it was great that they used a signal coded lamp system for Henry but what they used for his second round trip to the old line was 'Light Engine' which is just one lamp on his right side of his running board when really he should've been using 'General Goods' which is one lamp on the top of his smoke box and on the right of his running board. It may not be the most original concept ever, but it's still a classic episode in my book.
But now, I'm gonna do something a bit different this isn't gonna be just your regular episodic review, this will also be a compare-and-contrast review of the original episode with what has quickly become the most famous adaptation of this creepy classic in recent years made by Carson Marenka's Video Workshop whom you may remember for giving us the 'Richard The New Engine' saga a couple years back...as well as that trouble with him doxxing people and saying the N-word and whatnot. But separating the art from the artist here, how does this fanmade adaptation compare to an episode of 'Thomas & Friends' that many would consider a masterpiece?
Well for the most part, it seems to follow the original episode's storyline beat-by-beat: Henry taking the supply trains to the station, getting spooked by Old Bailey's warnings and eventually almost having an accident which leads to the old station being reopened with Old Bailey as its new stationmaster; what could possibly make this adaptation stand out from the rest? Well, there are two things: 1) the inclusion of James, and 2) the experimentation with the story's spooky tone. Let's start with James: now I didn't think very highly of James' involvement with this adaptation at first as I felt like it strayed too far from what was presented in the original episode, but the more I thought about it, having the events which unfold with James as the engine in charge of the supply trains at the beginning of the story eventually tying into the events of the original episode is actually a pretty clever idea in my opinion-if anything, it reminded me of how the events with the clergymen on Thomas' branch line in the very beginning of 'Tit For Tat' sets up the events of the original Railway Series story!
But now, let's talk about the experimentation with the story's spooky tone. This is the difference between the two adaptations of 'Haunted Henry' where I see it as both a good thing and a bad thing. Allow me to clarify: classic Thomas triumphed because the older episodes wonderfully varied so much in tone as the old crew didn't let their children-centric audience restrict them on the kinds of stories they wanted to tell. We had a big share of happy episodes of course but for every happy episode, there was a sad one that ended on a depressing note or a really action-packed episode that was very adventurous and nail-biting or an episode with no moral that just existed to make us laugh. Classic Thomas told all kinds of genres of stories and that was part of its universal appeal: kids that liked action could enjoy the fast-paced runaway episodes, kids that liked comedy could enjoy the funny episodes and kids that liked creepy stuff could enjoy the spooky episodes. Variances in tone expand a child's perspective of the world, it makes them look at the world in a different way and helps them learn what kinds of genres they enjoy. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with wanting to make an episode which already has a dark atmosphere even darker in fan adaptations, but there are times when I feel like this adaptation of 'Haunted Henry' tries too hard to be dark and edgy for those die-hard fans of the franchise whether it be the almost horror movie-esque moment that sends James and the workmen running scared or when Old Bailey denies Henry and James' claims about him haunting the station at the end and let's not forget the credits sequence of Henry in a recording booth which in all honesty was entirely pointless as I feel like it was done just to be a jab at modern day Thomas content in general. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with wanting to go darker to give a grander scope, but you shouldn't be trying to scar your kid-centric audience for life.
---
Honestly, comparing these two adaptations of 'Haunted Henry' is like comparing apples and oranges: one despite not being all that original is still considered a masterpiece to this very day while the other tries to be more original but also tries a bit too hard to be dark and edgy for die-hard fans of the series. But which one do I ultimately enjoy more? While I can appreciate Carson Marenka's Video Workshop for trying to do more with this classic story, I feel like he did it a little too well for the type of audience he was trying to appeal to especially since it was released during a rather controversial time in Thomas The Tank Engine's televised history. And if that is any indication for you, that is why I have to go with the original television series episode of 'Haunted Henry': it may not be perfect, but its dark atmosphere and its top-notch visuals easily make it one of the original television series' finest moments and that is why I give a rating of a 4.5 out of 5.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
0 comments