Last Week Tonight host John Oliver opened his recent episode on freight train deregulation by calling out a particularly bleak episode of the old children's television show Thomas the Tank Engine.
Oliver delved into the world of freight trains, shedding light on the significant consequences of decades-long deregulation that has resulted in numerous high-profile derailments. But he introduced the topic by bringing up an episode of the aforementioned show, noting the British version, narrated by Ringo Starr, which he described as notably darker in tone.
You can hear what he said at the beginning of the video below.
Freight Trains: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) youtu.be
Drawing attention to an episode featuring Henry, the green engine, Oliver teased a clip that depicted a rather unsettling scenario:
“Take this episode, in which Henry the green engine gets frightened of the rain, and won’t come out of a tunnel."
"Everyone begs him, and then yells at him. Thomas even tries to physically push him out. And then, finally, the head of the railway steps in with a drastic solution.”
He highlighted a chilling line delivered by Sir Topham Hat:
“We shall take away your rails. And leave you here for always and always and always."
Starr then narrated the following:
“They took up the old rails and built a wall in front of him so that Henry couldn’t get out of the tunnel anymore.”
Oliver then joked:
"Yeah, the British version of Thomas didn’t f**k around. An episode whose premise is 'stop complaining about work or we’ll throw you in your forever hole' has gotta be one of the most disturbing episodes of children’s TV ever, right up there with the episode of Blue’s Clues where Blue reveals herself to be the Zodiac Killer."
In a creative move, Oliver introduced his own Thomas parody, featuring What We Do in the Shadows star Matt Berry as the narrator, aiming to educate children about the risks associated with America's extensively deregulated freight system (you can watch that at the 23-minute mark of the above video.)
People appreciated Oliver's approach to the segment.
Freight train derailments made big headlines this year, particularly after a derailment in the Ohio town of East Palestine.
The chemical spill and subsequent controlled burn from the disaster prompted residents within a 1-mile radius of the accident to be evacuated and kicked off emergency responses from teams in Ohio and West Virginia as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Shortly afterward, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg noted that a group of 22 Senators had signed onto a letter requesting the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) waive testing on the grounds that the agency should allow more automation.
The letter states that "automated test systems improve the nature of railroad track inspections and can increase track safety" which is a priority of railroad industry lobbyists even though the FRA has said automated inspections should not replace physical inspections because they still fail to detect structural defects.
Buttigieg suggested the tragedy was completely avoidable, saying that the letter was "obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists."
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