PBS Sprout Terrorism

I have a 2.5 yr old and as any 2.5 yr old, he is smitten with Thomas the Tank engine stories. BEcause of PBS Sprout and on demand cable favorites, various episodes of Thomas and his Friends canvassing the Island of Sodor with their various cabooses and attached implements entertain the kids around America and beyond. But is this all as innocent as it seems? A little analysis into the content of the 30 minute episodes and it is not all fun and games on the Island of Sodor and what happens there can possibly scar the little tots for the rest of their natural born lives.

Sure, the engines Thomas and Percy and Edward and Murdoch merrily chug along on what seems a land full of possibilities every waking morning of their lives. They run errands, drop off passengers, take heavy equipment to and fro and seems quite engaging to young viewers. But Sodor has a deep dark secret..apparently the Island is rife with every natural and man made disaster.

The trains have to constantly navigate through Biblical rains which cause entire mountain sides to collapse on the trains, cataclysmic snowstorms that cause bridges to collapse under the sheer weight of the ice thereby causing poor Percy and friends to fall hundreds of feet into a ravine. Fires that sprout up, almost out of the blue, as if God himself through hellfire on Sodor for some trangression committed by the Station Master, Sir Toppemhat. (He did seem a little gay, authoritative but gay)

One cannot but wonder about the lasting impact of such horrific calamities witness by little kids. All a 2.5 yr old wants to do is watch a little Train Show, holding his model replica, while eating his Hotdog and peas. Is the brimstone and fire really necessary?

After 50 or so episodes,it seems that the macchiavellis at PBS Sprout programming are running out of content. Just the other day on "Percy is Cross" (Cross?...who says Cross anymore?)..the same dive into the ravine, caused by an ice storm plot was used and they even showed the same trains falling perilously into the abyss into a crashing cavalcade of twisted metal and wood. The look on the face of my 2.5 r old was of immense worry.

We had to quickly change the channel and thank god the Pussycat Dolls video was on. (Daddy and Jr. do enjoy those Pussycat Dolls...now that’s entertainment) As he stood mesmerized looking at the sexy lead singer gyrate through the choreographed dance sequence, I could only think of one thing. I know the next plot line for Thomas the Tank Engine, "Toby discovers a Dirty Bomb- A Day late and a dollar short". We have run out of content folks, nothing brings in ratings like Jihadis..they are so "in"