Tecwyn y Tractor (Welsh dub)
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 Tecwyn beep-beep, Tecwyn! Tecwyn y tractor bach coch!
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Tecwyn y Tractor (Tec the Tractor in the English version) is a Welsh children's series created by Apollo and S4C, it was based on the books created by Margiad Roberts, who also did the scripts for the episodes. It first aired on Christmas Day in 1998 on S4C's morning block, Planed Plant Bach. It ran for 65 episodes featuring narration by Dyfan Roberts, music by Geraint Cynan and the opening theme song by famous Welsh singer, Bryn Fon. The series originally aired on S4C on December 25, 1998 with 65 episodes being produced. In 2008, an English localization was produced and aired on BabyFirst. Certain elements of the show were renamed to better suit American audiences (such as "Tyddin Difyr" becoming Family Farm in the English version amongst other changes). Changes like these became controversial in the eyes of those who grew up with the original Welsh series, as these changes technically removed all references to Welsh culture and heritage from the show.
Plot
The show unfolds in the scenic Welsh countryside, home to Tecwyn, the amiable red tractor, on a farm known as Tyddin Difyr. Episodes usually start with Tecwyn rising and preparing for his day. He's consistently keen to assist his friends and neighbours with different chores throughout the farm and the village.
Why It Rocks
- The Welsh dubbing was the first time Tecywn y Tractor was adapted to television, and it stays faithful to the original series of books it was based upon. Any liberties it did take with the source material were previously underutilized parts that get expanded upon.
- Tecwyn is a very likeable protagonist, and even somewhat intriguing. He's an optimistic and curious little red tractor, but also naïve. He solves a lot of the problems, but sometimes fails at first and can even be oblivious to the world around him at times.
- His design, though a little uncanny, is still adorable.
- Adding onto Tecwyn's design, though the show was on a very limited budget, they were able to move the eyebrows in Tecwyn's model so he could properly express his emotions (e.g., narrowed down for anger/annoyance, narrowed up to express sympathy, straightened for boredom).
- Good understanding of Welsh culture.
- A majority of the other characters are likeable, such as the farmer, his wife, their children and the unnamed faceless trailer who often accompanies Tecwyn and acts as a voice of reason.
- Amazing soundtrack by Geraint Cynan and the opening theme, sung by famous Welsh singer, Bryn Fon, is especially heart-warming.
- Dyfan Roberts, for the most part, does a sensational job doing all the characters. Very similar to Fireman Sam, with John Alderton, all of the voices are done by one character.
- Decent editing and acting.
- Funny moments, which mainly come from the accidents Tecwyn makes. While they're nowhere nearly as iconic or memorable as Thomas & Friends or Bob the Builder, they're still impressive and humorous.
- While other shows try to aim for a fast-paced environment, this show has a laid-back and relaxing tone that would earn it a cult-following in later years.
- There are no bad, or even mediocre-to-average episodes to be found.
Bad Qualities
- Some things are not explained, such as Tecwyn's origin, aside from one episode ("Sioe Beirianau") where he meets an old tractor he used to know. In the book, Tecywn was previously owned by a lazy farmer called Hiwi Heglog, and for years, he was barely used on the farm, getting to the point where he has become rusty and on the verge of breaking down. Tecwyn was then picked up by a recycling lorry where he was threatened to be scrapped, but the lorry dropped him off at Tyddin Difyr, where he is fixed and given a battery, earning a full-time job at the farm.
- The show would later be aquired by BabyFirstTV, where it was given a really bad US dub that unnecessarily changed a lot of the names (Tecwyn was renamed to Tec, as was Tyddin Difyr to Family Farm, for example). The writing was also dumbed down.
- While the UK dubbing was good and gave the show a proper English dub, the name changes were still kept.
- Some of the characters are underdeveloped, such as Y Tractor Mawr Glas, who is a stereotypical bully. At one point, he even manipulated an amnesic Tecwyn to mess up and destroy the farm, stating "that's what good friends do."
- Some confusing decisions, due to a limited budget for the show:
- The human characters being dubbed over. This may be because of the surroundings interfering with the clean audio quality.
- The other vehicles and miscellaneous items who speak don't have any facial features.
- As said in WIR#2, Tecwyn's design, while good, is a little disturbing due to his constant smile.
- It's prone to use stock footage from previous episodes.
Reception
The series was a big success in Wales, that in November of 1999, it won the Bafta award for "Best Pre-School Series", beating other shows like Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder and The Animal Shelf. The series only so far has 3 VHS releases by S4C and would be re-released on DVDs in 2008 by Sain Records. Then, in the same year, the show came over to the United States on a channel called BabyFirst TV. It would gain a cult following in more recent years.