Shed 17 is a fan-made half-hour video done by YouTube user Paul Vids, which is done as a black comedy/horror Mockumentary of the real Thomas & Friends.
The video can be watched here![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="12" height="12"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>){kind=small}
, though you need to be 17+, and for good reason, as this is most definitely not your ordinary fan animation.
A sequel titled Project G-1 was made, in which Paul collaborated with other YouTubers to create, and it is even more morbid than its predecessor. A day after it was first uploaded, it was taken down for a presumed community guidelines violation, and later reuploaded; the reuploaded version removes the presumed offending scene in which Smudger is "raped" by a fanatical fan.note
Paul has also been working on a more humorous Thomas parody called The Adventures of Roly the Coach which is a series of short episodes involving the titular anthropomorphic coach and his numerous misfortunes, from having to deal with unsavory characters to trying and failing to get British Rail reformed. The series uses the same animation style and assets as Shed 17 to the point where some may consider it a spin-off but it's made clear this is not in the same universe and the living vehicle characters are just living vehicles and are not mutated humans. Some crude humor and violence is present in Roly the Coach but it's mostly played for laughs as opposed to being played for horror in Shed 17.
Tropes in Shed 17
Shed 17 provides examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: Sir Topham Hatt. In the source material, he's a stern yet fair railway controller who is very close to his engines. Here he's a rude, unethical, money-obsessed, corrupt executive from British Rail who owned a controlling share of Sodor Research and spearheaded the mass-biofusion projects that the Gotzes wanted to avoid.
- Anachronism Stew: See The Stinger below. If bio-fusion was banned in Europe in the 1980s; how could the Costa Concordia, an Italian ship built in 2005 be a bio-fused person?
- Artistic License – History: The video states the events took place in the 1970s, even though the books Wilbert created were made thirty years prior, and the events of the early books took place in the 1920s-30s.
- Big "NO!": Thomas lets out a very long one just before his skeleton comes out of the engine, after finding out that he was a clone of the real Thomas.
- Black Comedy: It's there to lighten the mood somewhat. For example: in a deleted scene of "Thomas & Friends", Edward was supposed to whistle when he came into the station. He does... and sprays three actors in a shower of blood.
- Body Horror: The very concept of bio-fusion is merging human DNA with inorganic parts, and this means the engines actually have living tissue and organs in them as well as mechanical components. The process itself was far from perfect, and many of the engines (including Percy, Gordon, and Mavis) suffer horrible deaths as a result of flawed procedures. Worse yet is that the ending reveals that the process is still used in China, where it is a frequent punishment for political prisoners.
- Caught on Tape: A train spotter took several photos of Sir Topham Hatt the night before Henry's accident proving he was responsible. The images were covered up for 10 years afterwards.
- Classified Information: The events of the documentary are described as having been this up until now. The recorded footage of the experiments are particularly described as this.
- Clone Degeneration: According to the creator of the video, Hans and Wilhelm cloned their deceased son many times since they wanted to perfect it. The converted Thomas is this perfected clone.
- Cloning Blues: Turns out the converted Thomas was a clone. As the narration explains, every one of the failed clones, while mutated and horribly mutilated from the countless experiments, is exactly the same as the 'real' Thomas, and are no more real than he is. The shock of this experience kickstarts Thomas's descent into going insane and bursting free from his metal components.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Sir Topham Hatt.
- Deconstruction: Shed 17 takes the concept of the talking vehicle that Thomas and Friends are known for and portrays it most realistically and darkly possible. It shows us the real-life problems that come with people being turned into vehicles with gears and pistons mixed with their beating, organic organs, such as Gordon being cooked from the inside-out to Thomas having an actual skeletal structure contained inside his steam engine body.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- Wilhelm might be a Nazi, but after he realizes what Hatt is doing with the engines, he is Driven to Suicide. Then this is Double Subverted in the case of why he came to Sodor from Germany. He had stated he feared the rumors of what the Third Reich was doing, but the truth is that his superiors (the Nazis mind you), were unsettled by his scientific research.
- The Fat Controller actually decided to ban the use of biofused diesels after Mavis' gruesome death.
- Fat Bastard: Sir Topham Hatt.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Whenever a newspaper article is briefly shown, the fine print is actually the lyrics of A-ha's "The Living Daylights" repeated over and over.
- He Knows Too Much:
- When Henry discovers what is inside Shed 17 and confronts Sir Topham Hatt about it, he has Henry assigned to the Flying Kipper run and sets up the accident later adapted into "The Flying Kipper", allowing him to send Henry to be scrapped at Crewe.
- Similarity happens with Keith at the end of Project G-1 when he got bio-fused into a Truck for revealing too much.
- Herr Doktor: Wilhelm Gotze and his son Hans, since they are both German scientists.
- In-Series Nickname: Sir Topham Hatt is known by some as "The Fat Bastard" and "The Fat Fuck".
- Insistent Terminology: Sir Topham Hatt is only as "The/That Fat Bastard(Fuck/Shite)".
- Jump Scare: Several, including Thomas being hit by a train and the horrifically deformed Thomas's hand banging on the glass.
- Just Train Wrong: American rolling stock is seen throughout the video despite taking place in Britain and wheel configurations change on some engines.
- Like Father, Like Son: Hans Gotze is a science professor, just like his father, Wilhelm. In a similar vein, Thomas likes trainspotting, like Hans.
- Karma Houdini: Sir Topham Hatt vanished after Thomas discovered the inside of Shed 17.
- Pinocchio Syndrome: Somewhat inverted. Thomas is built to be a steam locomotive with all of the real Thomas' memories and personality, but still functions like a real engine.
- Room 101: The titular Shed 17.
- Scenery Gorn: The present day shots of Thomas' branchline.
- Science Is Bad: Pretty much the whole concept of bio-fusion.
- Shout-Out: Thomas is friends with a simple-minded man who can only say where he lives: Sodor.
- The Stinger: The scene after the credits shows the shipwrecked Costa Concordia, revealing that it was bio-fused as well.
- Stock Footage: The famous 1984 Old Dalby nuclear flask test is shown at the end of the video, where in-universe the Class 46 locomotive involved in the experiment was revealed to be a bio-fused engine.
- Stupid Jetpack Hitler: Wilhelm Goetze was a Nazi scientist whose research involving bio-fusion resulted in the talking tank engines.
- Subverted Kids' Show: This video parodies Thomas and Friends, and fucks up your childhood.
- Uncanny Valley: In-universe, the unveiling of the newly bio-fused Thomas disturbs some of the spectators. A woman faints and Keith Hartley vomits... repeatedly.Keith: It took me a moment to realize what it was I was looking at.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: A Running Gag is Keith vomiting when he gets nervous, such as the time he's on TV four times in a row.
- Wham Line:
- A particularly potent example is given right at the end, just before the climax:Narrator: "Inside Shed 17, Thomas didn't discover what he was, but what he wasn’t."
- A particularly potent example is given right at the end, just before the climax:
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- It was never explained what happened to Hans after he resigned. Although Word of God says that he went into the world of medicine whilst hitting the bottle hard.
- Played Straight about Sir Topham Hatt.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The video ends with one of these.
Tropes in Project G-1
Project G-1 provides examples of:
- Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed with Diesel. While he's not really depicted as heroic, he's not a villain like he is in the original series. After research at Hit Logistics resulted in the gruesome death of his beloved wife, Diesel formed a civil rights crusade for biofused engines. However, his actions, while well-intended, did result in releasing Project G-1.
- All Your Powers Combined: Project G-1 is a culmination of all biofused engines, including Gordon, James, Donald, Douglas, Percy, Toby, Duck, and Oliver to name a few. It's also implied Project G-1 contains their collective consciousnesses too.
- And I Must Scream: Keith Hartley gets turned into a truck. Out of context, this doesn't sound bad...except these trucks don't have mouths, so any noise he makes is muffled...and since it's a truck, he can't move by himself. However, if one looks closely he is the only one with his innards exposed. Very well likely meaning that merciful death will claim him.
- Something of a subversion with Diesel and Annie, who are left to be forgotten about in a shed and can do nothing but gaze into each other's eyes for decades. They are so madly in love that they do not resent this.
- Animation Bump:
- The models are a bit more refined this time around.
- The biomatter monster, from its escape to its demise, has unusually graceful motion.
- The Assimilator: Project G-1 is able to assimilate any biofused matter it comes in contact with. Upon its release, it drags several engines still imprisoned at Hit Logistics into itself to allow it to grow to titanic proportions in an alarmingly short period of time.
- Big "NO!": Thomas once again does this. Diesel, Douglas and Smudger also have their turns.
- Black Comedy: The infamous Jimmy Savvile appears in a commercial to advertise Sodor railways with a child with a look of terror on his face.
- Body Horror: Thomas came out pretty horrific after his 28 operations.Keith: That wasn't the Thomas I knew. That wasn't an engine OR a human - it were a creature, multilated by surgeons and engineers alike.
- Brick Joke: One of the tells for a Biofused Tank is that they yell in pain whenever they fire their turrets. Later, when Project G-1 is amok, some Biofused Tanks act as defense yelling in discomfort as they open fire.
- Darker and Edgier: A given considering how dark Shed 17 was.
- Despair Event Horizon:
- Thomas, following his betrayal by the military.
- Duck also has one after he kills Oliver in a fight to the death.
- Diesel naturally has one after witnessing Annie burst into flames. This in turn results in him forming La Résistance later.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- Welsh Coal acts as a narcotic on the Engines, which leads to symptoms similar to those found in drugs like cocaine.
- In the deleted scenes, the steamies performed "sick fantasies" on both James and Smudger. Although Paul confirmed that the steamies merely 'tickled' them, most saw this as something else entirely (moreso for Smudger) which led to Project G-1 being temporarily removed from YouTube.
- Hit Logistics' treatment of the remaining engines, including horrific experiments, especially centred around twins, and their later extermination of said engines by "the most efficient way possible" certainly draws some Holocaust parallels.
- Eldritch Abomination: The escaped biomatter monster.
- Explosive Decompression: When Donald is sealed in a pressure chamber, the scientists experience Douglas suffer this fate thanks to their psychic links.
- Face–Heel Turn: While it was never clear where he stood morally, Doctor Routh seemed to show contempt towards The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt and some of his actions regarding Gordon's death. Here he seems to have no qualms with doing these monstrous experiments. Also, Thomas himself turns on Keith and mauls him at the end.
- Fat Bastard: The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt natch.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: "And don't worry, Mr. Hartley. You're among friends here. This is where everyone ends up once they've become... troublesome."
- Foreshadowing: Keith Hartley mentions he can't imagine a worse hell than being a truck. Guess what happens to him at the end.
- Fourth Date Marriage: Annie Clarabella and Kevin Diesel marry within weeks of meeting each other.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Subverted. While we don't see it happening to Donald we are shown what being in a pressure chamber does to an Engine as its effects happen to Douglas. Played straight for Annie however.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: After Thomas' Despair Event Horizon, he grabs Keith Hartley in a fit of rage and tears him in half.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Cranky due to going insane from witnessing both Thomas's engine corpse and his hand in ripping Smudger out. He attacks Hit logistics' headquarters with a wrecking ball resulting in the veins within his turning mechanism to be severed causing him to collapse into the Building. Diesel somewhat does one too by rushing into the building.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: Keith is delivering his interview directly in front of Thomas, leaving little wonder as to why Thomas lashes out at him since he was in earshot of nearly 40 minutes of recounting all the horrors of the previous years, as well as countless reminders of just what this entire endeavor caused and cost him. Of course, the fact that it is Thomas back there is only revealed at the very end.
- Involuntary Battle to the Death: Duck and Oliver are forced into one after they flee to Japan, resulting in Duck killing Oliver.
- It Can Think: Project G-1 is heavily implied to be controlled by the consciousnesses of many biofused engines and are fully aware of what's happened to them. It went straight to Blue Mountain Quarry to seek out its kind and managed to calm down when it recognized Thomas. Also, when it was about to get hit by Boulder, it expressed fear and tried covering itself with its arm. Considering the montage that comes shortly after, it's safe to assume that Gordon's consciousness was controlling Project G-1, or at least the central one.
- Jump Scare: Again, such as Thomas's clone roaring at the camera at the beginning or when Thomas grabs Keith Hartley.
- Karma Houdini:
- Professor Owen Routh, the man responsible for Project G-1, faces no consequences for his actions and succeeds in biofusing Keith Hartley into a truck.
- Similarly, Sir Topham Hatt, who is revealed to still be alive, also escapes consequences.
- La Résistance: Following the death of his wife Annie, Diesel forms the Sodor Liberation Front to get the government to formally recognise the rights of biofused engines and to recognise Sodor as a refuge for them. The movement ultimately succeeds in doing this, resulting in Sodor eventually seceding from the UK and cutting off all diplomatic ties.
- Living Weapon: As part of their research into Project G-1, several soldiers are biofused into tanks.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Diesel (assumed to be unintentionally) let Project G-1 loose during his kamikaze attack on Hi T Logistics.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The anonymous whistle blower is Ringo Starr.
- Oh, Crap!: Project G-1 right when it was about to get hit by Boulder.
- Put on a Bus: Hans Gotze doesn't appear at all in Project G-1 despite the major role he played in Shed 17.
- The Scapegoat: With all the major players in the biofusion operation having disappeared, Keith Hartley became this after the release of Shed 17 as he was the most public figure.
- Shout-Out: The death of Project G-1 brings to mind the ending of The Return of Godzilla, though in the latter case, Godzilla survived falling into Mt. Mihara and returned in the next film.
- Single-Minded Twins: An interesting spin on the trope, as it's revealed that most of the twin engines were the result of a single person's cells splitting during the biofusion process.Professor Routh: Of course, these are essentially the same person.
- The Stinger: In the year 2069, two individuals try to enter Sodor, only to be confronted by Diesel 10 who's acting as a guard.
- Take That!:
- Hit Logistics is pretty much Hit Entertainment if it was the Umbrella Corporation.
- Mattel (the current owners of the Thomas franchise) sponsors the deadly Japanese boxing match Duck and Oliver were forced into.
- Twin Telepathy: The experiments at Hit Logistics reveal that biofused twins have a particularly powerful telepathic link owing to their single shared mind. This means that if one is subjected to torture or death, the other experiences the same fate, as shown with Donald and Douglas, and Annie and Clarabel.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: While Diesel's intentions were noble, using himself as a kamikaze to bring down the Hit Logistics building, he had no idea what he'd be unleashing by doing so. Diesel skidded and crashed into the containment cell holding Project G-1, allowing it to break free and go on a rampage.
Tropes in Roly the Coach
The Adventures of Roly the Coach provides examples of:
- The Dog Bites Back: In "Roly and Timmy," Roly is greeted by a local boy named Timmy every day on his way to school. But Roly eventually tires of Timmy's constant mood swings throughout his life, and when Timmy (as an old man) greets him in a friendly manner after doing nothing but yell at him throughout his adulthood, Roly slams one of his doors on him and presumably kills him. Beware the Nice Ones indeed.
- I'm Standing Right Here: In "Roly's Morning" the camera pans across the engine sheds, with all the main characters badmouthing Roly. The narrator comments "It's a good job Roly's not around to hear this... Oh, no, there he is!" as the pan reaches the final shed.
- Loud of War: Billy the Boy Racer and his girlfriend Sara Subwoofer are employed for this purpose in Roly's Christmas Special
- The Voiceless: Roly never actually speaks, and rarely even changes his facial expression.
