Dustin: well Christmas Eve is upon us and compared to last year with COVID spreading families away for the most part i think we can say this year has improved since then at least from what i know

Blake: For sure. I know Halloween was better this year than Halloween last year. Now, I can look forward to my yearly traditions :) How about you, Dustin?

Dustin: i know i sure am even though most of the Rankin/Bass specials aren't on FreeForm like they used to anymore and i've mostly indulged myself with my new TV i got last year for Christmas with HBO Max and YouTube i'm ready for Christmas myself i have a lot of fun memories with the holiday but some of those great memories come from my favorite number 1 blue tank engine Thomas

[Thomas theme song plays]

Dustin: when i was younger i always liked getting something Thomas related either on my birthday or at Christmas which both are in a perfect 6 month radius for me i don't remember any specific toys or videos i got for Christmas but one i remember getting was Thomas' Christmas Wonderland in my stocking one year yeah the video only had one new story on top of 5 stories already seen in other videos including a new song but i had a lot of fun watching it sometimes along with the other Thomas Christmas video i got before it Thomas' Christmas Party despite it having most of the same stories with some additional non Christmas stories

Blake: Today, we're going to show that Blue can be a Christmas color too, as well as a Hanukkah one :) We're counting down our top ten picks of Thomas the Tank Engine Christmas episodes :)

Dustin: indeed for this to work the Thomas episodes must be set during Christmas or at least have some snow or set in the winter like for example in the Thomas' Christmas Party VHS the last three stories while great ones are not centered on Christmas A New Friend for Thomas, Henry's Forest and Thomas Saves the Day didn't take place in the winter or have anything to do with Christmas this is only on these specific types of episodes most of them coming from the classic era but let's see what we got this is the Top 10 Thomas Christmas Episodes

Number 10: Snow - Season 5, Episode 130

Dustin: the last episode in season 5 and what most people count as the last episode in the good era before Season 6 and 7 slowly started to make changes and eventually make huge changes beginning in 2004 with Season 8 anyways this story was the new story i mentioned from Thomas' Christmas Wonderland how does it fair out? the episode starts on a snow covered day on Sodor the engines are hard at work except Percy who got stuck in snow Thomas rolls up and instead of offering to help tells Percy to stop dawdling even though Percy has no control over it yeah... great start so far

Blake: Percy tells Thomas that his crew had gone for help, but Thomas just scoffs at his friend. Thomas then goes over to meet the Narrow Gauge engines and learns of a tunnel being cleared out. Rusty then tells Thomas the story of how Skarloey ended up covered in snow and he ended up forming his own Igloo

Dustin: after the story when the snow in front of Thomas is cleared Gordon arrives with his big snow machine and he himself gets covered in snow the episode is eh in some parts there are some good moments like when the slate cars break off and cause an avalanche but some realism is questionable like Skarloey encasing himself into an igloo in the snow or the crew having cocoa after an avalanche but i find is pretty nice kinda

Blake: Yeah. I do know this episode exists, but I barely watch it :P Nothing against the story, of course, but I just don't watch this as often as other episodes.

Dustin: understandable

Number 9: Thomas, Terence, and the Snow/Terence the Tractor - Season 1, Episode 13

Blake: Speaking of snow episodes, here we see Thomas meeting a new character; Terence the tractor. Thomas thinks Terence's caterpillar legs are ugly and not so useful, but Terence says that his caterpillar legs are function and he can go anywhere with them. Thomas shrugs this off and continues on. Later, Winter comes along and Thomas is told he must wear his snowplow, which he hates XD

Dustin: as such Thomas shakes and bangs his snowplow around and because it was so damaged they couldn't make it fit the next day so Thomas goes without it which is a big mistake cause as soon as Thomas goes through a tunnel on his line he runs into a big pile of snow trapping himself under it

Blake: Thomas is so upset that he cries. While Bertie the bus, who Thomas properly meets in the next episode, takes Thomas' passengers, Terence comes to Thomas' rescue and pulls Thomas out of the snow. Thomas is so grateful that he promises not to make fun of Terence's Caterpillar wheels again :) This shows a good though cliched moral to teach children, and adults for that matter; don't judge a book by its cover. In fact, that episode inspired the Thomas song of the same name :)

Dustin: indeed it's a great episode and a great song it's pretty fun i love it :)

Number 8: Jack Frost - Season 6, Episode 146

Dustin: i've talked about this episode a couple times with Jake but here's mine and Blake's take on it this is basically an episode that tries something new with the winter aspects this one is actually a spooky winter episode something that hasn't been done yet not even in the earlier seasons

Blake: In this episode, the engines work hard through the winter. Percy and James are tasked to collect some coal in preparation for a blizzard. Percy is scared and then Thomas teases Percy about Jack Frost coming to get him

Dustin: so then Percy and James go off into the snowy night delivering coal Percy brings the last load of coal to a station also giving his own coal to the station so he stays there for the night until Elizabeth brings more coal in the morning but later that night Percy begins to get covered in icicles all over basically freezing him all over

Blake: When James sees this, he thinks it's Jack Frost and he gets scared. Oh, the irony XD

Dustin: this episode is one of the good spooky ones i remember from the show while not as scary as episodes like Percy's Ghostly Trick, Escape, and all those it's still a good episode

Blake: Indeed so. It's a good way to get some creepy as well as chills ^^

Number 7: Keeping Up with James - Season 9, Episode 233

Blake: Okay, this one is kind of a guilty pleasure, but it's a good one :) In this, Edward and James are tasked with collecting and delivering Christmas presents. James is in a rush to get the job done so he can get all the attention at the station, so he starts to go faster and even slips on the icy rails. He thinks it's all in good fun, but it's actually very unsafe

Dustin: yeah i remember this episode a bit i don't watch it much since... well i don't watch seasons 8 to 12 that much due to the crap factor and it being VERY different to what i grew up on in the 90's and early 2000's but what they do here is interesting so when James and Edward get coal in their cars James wants to finish the job first so they go down the line and James tries to slide brake again but the rails are way too icy and James derails into a snowbank

Blake: This makes Sir Topham Hatt annoyed, and warns James about the danger of icy tracks. Then, he tells Edward to be up front since he's much more careful and James agrees. The children are very happy to see both engines :)

Dustin: so yeah while Thomas was in it's bad states after 2004 it's good to know this is one of the few good episodes we got during that era and the Brenner era too... i miss that so much...

Number 6: Toby Had a Little Lamb - Season 6, Episode 150

Dustin: while Jack Frost was on spooks this one is on suspense in this episode Toby goes down the rails on a snowy night and meets with a farmer who would later be known as Farmer McColl who is looking worried because his sheep started to lamb meaning they're giving birth to baby lambs so he asks Toby to get him a vet so he goes to a signalbox and the crew call for a vet

Blake: Fierce winds are abound but Toby kept going. He really faced through a lot to get the sheep to the top of the mountain, even crossing a rather unsteady bridge, but he persevered. Talk abut brave :)

Dustin: eventually Toby arrives back at the farm with the vet the vet checks the lambs and the lambs are put in Henrietta until the Spring wow talk about big determination this episode show quite a lot of good suspense like i wanted to see what would happen and i loved it so much it's that amazing :)

Blake: Yeah, and so adorable. I love little lambs X3 So small and so cute :3 OwO Excuse me, I'm getting ahead of myself :P

Number 5: Last Train for Christmas - Season 18, Episode 432

Blake: Now for something from the CGI era. In it, Connor is preparing to take passengers home, but heavy snowfall is causing problems on the track

Dustin: ah Andrew Brenner how i miss you Connor then makes it to Sodor but needs more coaches so he borrows the Slip Coaches from Duck and since they're known for unhooking them one by one so he doesn't have to stop it would make it easy but the snow is proven to be a bigger obstacle than anticipated as Sir Topham Hatt decides the last train from Connor might have to be cancelled

Blake: That's when Thomas and Percy step forward and help to clear the tracks. Soon the other engines get involved in helping to clear the snow. Emily tries her hardest, but just when things look bleakest, a brave engine charges forward clearing the track... Hiro <=3

Dustin: this was another great episode it's like Toby Has a Little Lamb but instead of getting a vet to some lambs it's about trying to be on time for the Christmas express that's pretty cool i love how everyone helps Connor out here especially Hiro near the end

Blake: Indeed :) Oh, and also throughout the episode, people mistake Harold the Helicopter for Santa Claus, which is rather cute ^w^ But at the end when Thomas thinks he's saying goodnight to Harold, he actually is saying goodnight to Santa X3

Number 4: Special Funnel - Season 4, Episode 89

Dustin: here's an episode centered on Peter Sam in this episode Peter Sam still trying to get over his broken funnel from a few episodes ago tries to work hard without his funnel breaking off hoping his new funnel will come soon saying it'll be something special which most of the engines tease him for meanwhile Rusty works on the rails and repairs a bridge then the focus goes back on Peter Sam again as we see him go down a tunnel

Blake: As it turns out, it was so cold that icicles began to form inside. One particular one snaps off of Peter Sam's funnel, leaving him funnel-less! His Driver and fireman, acting fast, find an old drain pipe and fasten it onto Peter Sam's head, enough to keep his steam in control. The other Narrow Gauge engines laugh at him and Sir Handel even makes up a song

Dustin: eventually the new funnel does arrive Peter Sam is reluctant at first because he thinks the funnel looks squashed but soon Peter Sam is better and stronger pulling his trains with ease and the others don't laugh at his special funnel anymore and want one just like it

Blake: Even if things started out roughly for Peter Sam, it is good to see him happy in the end :)

Dustin: indeed it's a fun episode i like it even if i did make a redub version which can't be seen anymore which had my Irish Peter Sam accent but given the guy who helped me make it ending up bad eh... best to forget it today

Blake: Noted.

Number 3: Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree - Season 2, Episode 52

Blake: Here's the Season 2 finale. In this, Thomas is tasked with collecting the Christmas tree, but on his way home, he gets trapped in the snow

Dustin: the engines are grumbling about Thomas being late when Sir Topham Hatt arrives saying snow brought telephone lines down assuming he's stranded so Donald and Douglas chuff onwards to save Thomas and they find him under a huge drift between the mountain lines

Blake: Using their snow plows, they manage to pull the tree and Thomas out of the snow bank. They then take Thomas back home and they go and enjoy the carols. Then, there was a Christmas party and a surprise visit from Harold the Helicopter bringing Father Christmas :)

Dustin: i see this episode pretty often sometimes i saw it on my original Thomas' Christmas Party VHS, i saw it in Thomas' Christmas Wonderland and i saw it in Thomas' Snowy Surprise but the weirdest one would have to be the version from the VHS release of the Shining Time Station Christmas Special 'Tis a Gift where certain points of the episode are in long pauses since Ringo Starr never properly renarrated this story for American terms so all lines mentioning The Fat Controller and other UK terms aside from Father Christmas were removed weird one but okay

Blake: Still, you can't deny that this episode is a classic :)

Dustin: oh yes

Number 2: The Flying Kipper - Season 1, Episode 19

Dustin: this is a pretty awesome classic in this episode Henry takes a special night train called the Flying Kipper most of the episode is atmospheric and has this beautiful look to it but later on it doesn't last too long as soon as Henry crosses some frozen points

Blake: Heavy snow had forced down a signal, making Henry think it was safe to travel. However, there was a stopped train, including a brake van where a driver and fireman are enjoying some hot cocoa. Everything seems peaceful until they hear Henry coming and jump out of the brake van. Henry then crashes straight into the brake van and collides off of the track

Dustin: afterwards the next day Sir Topham Hatt tells Henry he's not to blame for the accident and decides to send him off the Crewe where he will get a new shape and a larger firebox and in the Spring he comes home and is better than ever before in his new shape

Blake: An interesting part in a tv series when a character gets a makeover and it sticks throughout the duration of the series, kinda like how Akane had long hair when we first meet her in Ranma 1/2, and then Ryouga and Kasumi cut her hair (Well, Ryouga chopped it off but then Kasumi made it better). Plus, it shows that change can be good, especially since Henry doesn't need special coal anymore

Dustin: indeed now before we go into Number 1 it's time for some Honorable Mentions

Honorable Mention #1: Diesel's Ghostly Christmas - Season 19, Episodes 459 & 460

Blake: The only reason I put this as an honorable mention is because of the story; basically, it's the Thomas and Friends version of A Christmas Carol. Diesel is the Ebenezer Scrooge while other engines also serve great parts of the story

Dustin: this was the first episode to have a two part saga in such a long time it's an interesting two parter it's nothing like the Season 2 sagas but what they did here was pretty cool i like it :)

Blake: indeed so. I will admit the visuals are quite good too, and how everyone posed as the ghosts is intersting too :)

Honorable Mention #2: Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure/Thomas and Percy's Mountain Adventure - Season 3, Episode 78

Dustin: this is an honorable mention mostly because of the two different versions used the normal UK version and the edited US Thanksgiving version

Blake: In this, Thomas is telling Percy that he'll be delivering a lot of letters to a village up in the mountain, but Percy feels left out about it. Later, Percy goes up to the mountain, but finds that it's snowed in

Dustin: the two engines then head forth to help the villagers with Terence and Harold helping them and the villagers being very grateful decorate the sheds to give it a Christmassy look or Thanksgiving... god this episode is friggin' confusing...

Number 1: Thomas' Christmas Party - Season 1, Episode 26

Blake: The very first Christmas episode of Thomas and Friend, and truly one of the best :) In it, Thomas passes by a cottage wherein lives an old lady named Mrs. Kyndly (Yeah, subtle.) The Engines then recall a moment where Mrs Kyndly saves Thomas, and Thomas gets the idea to throw her a party as a way to say thank you

Dustin: but while the engines are planning out the party Sir Topham Hatt arrives informing them that Mrs. Kyndly's cottage is snowed under so Thomas and Toby are sent to save her they arrive at the cottage and then Terence arrives to make a path to the tracks and Thomas and Toby take Mrs. Kyndly to safety

Blake: They make it back to the sheds and it's dark. At first it's all gloomy and sad. But suddenly the lights turned on and the sheds are decorated all pretty and stuff :) STH is proud of his engine and the episode ends with a rousing rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Dustin: this episode is cool and festive i love it the ending makes it cool and it's a great one to watch during the holidays :)

Blake: Indeed. It's an oldie but a goodie, and one that I'm sure to enjoy more of for years to come :)

Dustin: same here and that's the top 10 Thomas Christmas episodes a lot of good ones here but we're almost done with this season :) see you in January for the last few episodes of Season 5 guys :)

Blake: And we wish you guys a merry Christmas and a happy new year

Dustin: indeed :D

~skullz and Fuwa out