Thomas the Tank Engine Millennium Annual

The Millennium Museum has always been at the intersection of history and memory, and this entry is much more memory. More specifically, my own childhood memories.

I was a PBS Kid starting at four or five years old or so. Though I remember watching things like Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Tiny Toon Adventures, and such, a lot more of it came from Public Broadcasting: Sesame Street, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and, of course, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, localized for us Yanks as Shining Time Station. Out of all those shows, the one with the Really Useful Engine is the one that really resonated. I had a few of the die-cast models, a large plush Thomas, and several of the original stories by Reverend W. Awdry.

(Funny and interesting side story: In 2004, back in high school, I'd been inducted into the National Honor Society. Our big group service project in October was to go and do WTTW-11's pledge drive for the morning and afternoon. One of the many toys the station had to offer was a pop-up Thomas play tent, like those laundry hampers you find at the dollar store. A little girl called in demanding one, and I said, "Can you get your mother or someone on the line?" The voice comes back, "I get my gramma. She got the money," and promptly hung up.)

Flash-forward several years, to about 2015. I'm now in my mid-to-late twenties, racking my brain for stuff to put on the blog. Since the site had already featured things like Millennium-themed Barbie dolls and a Monopoly set, it seemed logical that Thomas the Tank Engine should find a place in our exhibits.

Then, in 2017, I became a fan of Leo Kim Video's The Dark Side of Thomas YouTube series, which showcases the best of the worst bootleg Thomas toys. Unsuspecting parents think they're getting a great deal, but their savings are only short-term: The toys are made with brittle, easily-shattered plastic and their battery compartments are poorly soldered. Not only are they cheaply-made and frequently off-model (but with packaging that's just convincing enough to fool even the most savvy shopper), they are potentially lethal.

Having browsed through several of these videos, Thomas started popping up in my "You might be interested in...." video feed. One of these was a review of the Thomas Millennium Annual. A cursory eBay search revealed a copy for about $5, and that's what you're looking at right now.

Annuals are a Christmas tradition in Great Britain. They're usually hardcover books about sixty pages long, and aimed at children up to about twelve years old. They feature stories, puzzles, games, coloring pages, and they're packed with either colorful illustrations or photographs.

One can find an annual for just about any pop-culture figure: Doctor Who, The Amazing Spider-Man, James Bond, Justice League, and, of course, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.

I thought this volume would have just a little bit more to do with the year 2000, so I was a little disappointed that the stories didn't revolve around it, but then the Thomas stories shouldn't "date" themselves like that. Also, it is obviously aimed at very young children, who might not get the significance of the imminent event.

Right at the beginning, though, there's a special place to write your name: "My name is ________ and I will be ____ years old in the year 2000."

There's also another feature: "Make a Special Millennium Door Hanger," which I have reproduced here.

Other features include simple prose stories, puzzles, coloring pages, and a miniature board game. In the final analysis, it's a curiosity.