Don't Be Silly, Billy (Thomas & Friends)
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| "Don't be Silly, Billy" | ||||||||||||||||
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 Billy, please refrain from telling Thomas that he cannot instruct you. Your behavior is quite disobedient.
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Don't be Silly, Billy is the thirteenth episode of the eleventh Season of Thomas & Friends. It aired on September 9, 2007 in the UK but it was first seen theatrically in the US the day before.
Plot
Thomas is given a special to show a new engine around.
Why It Disobeys Us
- It introduces the infamous Billy, who is another one-off character in Seasons 9-12 who doesn't serve any purpose to the episode of series other than for toy marketing purposes. Regarding Billy, he is a very unlikable and selfish jerk who never listens to Thomas when Thomas is tasked with training and giving Billy tasks.
- The line "Thomas, stop telling me what to do! You are a very bossy engine" exemplifies this, and it is repeated approximately five or six times during the episode, becoming quite tiresome after the third repetition.
- Like many episodes in the HiT Model Era, this one also adheres to the repetitive three-strikes formula.
- The episode conveys a concerning moral to children, suggesting that disobedience and refusal to follow orders is acceptable.
- Thomas, though likable, is depicted as someone who cannot assert himself against Billy, doing little more than reminding him to refuel with coal and water. He also could have, and arguably should have, reported Billy's insubordinate behavior to Sir Topham Hatt.
- Billy's treatment of Thomas is both unfair and unjustifiable, considering that Thomas has not committed any wrongdoing and is merely attempting to be a supportive friend and mentor to Billy.
- Although Billy's predicament of depleting his coal and water supply due to neglecting Thomas' warnings is warranted, he escapes reprimand from Sir Topham Hatt, which may be reasonable given that Thomas witnessed Billy's resources dwindle.
- Moreover, Billy has not offered an apology for his treatment of Thomas.
Redeeming Qualities
- Great narration from Michael Brandon, who does a good job making Billy sound like a jerk. Even Michael Angelis did a good job, too.
- Billy's comeuppance is sufficiently justified to teach him a lesson by the end.
- Thomas is still a likable character.
Reception
The episode "Don't Be Silly, Billy" was critically panned and is regarded as one of the worst episodes of "Thomas & Friends," particularly of Season 11. It holds a rating of 4.9 on IMDb.
Video
Trivia
- Going by production order, this is the fifteenth episode of the eleventh series.
- This episode is the first and only appearance of Billy, although he was originally intended to appear in the thirteenth series episode, "Splish Splash Splosh". Charlie replaced him in the final script.
- This episode was shown in select USA cinemas as part of Thomas and Friends on the Big Screen.
- This episode was likely made for CGI testing, as Dino Athanassiou released story boards of the episode on his blog, however Dino only worked on the show during the twelfth series, meaning that the storyboards were likely a part of CGI testing.
- This was the final model series episode to air on ABC Kids airing last in December of 2016.
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