Anniversary Buddies

As a child, Reverend Wilbert Awdry would lie in bed and listen to the sound of trains outside his window. When he grew into adulthood, he had his son, Christopher, and when Christopher had the measles one day, he told him a story about steam engines and eventually published it into The Railway Series, which was released 80 years ago, and this year, Mattel, whom people are claiming "ruined" Thomas the Tank Engine (not "Thomas the Train" because it really goes to show you that you're not a fan) with their 2D reboot "All Engines Go," which premiered in 2021, is celebrating this milestone by releasing the 1983 "Down the Mine" pilot for the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (or "Thomas & Friends" for short) TV series narrated by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. It was announced on BBC's website, so, at first, I thought they'd release the 1953 "Sad Story of Henry" pilot, but we all know that may never get released, since it was live and pretty chaotic.

Jim Henson, born and raised in Mississippi, was inspired by The Howdy Doody Show and Kukla, Fran, and Ollie to create his own puppet show, so, together with his wife, Jane Nebel, he created a puppet troupe he called The Muppets and got started with Afternoon with Inga and The Junior Morning Show with Pierre the French Rat in 1954. A year later, in 1955, he got to work on a show for Washington, DC called Sam and Friends, which had a group of puppets led by the titular bald Sam lip-syncing to then-popular songs. One of the characters was Kermit the Frog, made from Henson's mother's green coat and ping-pong balls (which were his eyes). At first, he didn't look like a frog, but was given a webbed feet and a collar in the 60s, and the rest is history. 70 years later, The Muppets' Facebook account are celebrating their own milestone by focusing on a different Muppet every week, and Kermit's in the spotlight this one!

Happy 80th and 70th, respectively, to these two icons!