I grew up in such a place, and still go there regularly. Pontypandy is meant to be set in the Welsh valleys. And yet, Sam still insists on taking all the credit for any heroic action in Pontypandy? What an arse. It’s never addressed, but given his occupation, it’s likely he sustained some sort of head trauma while rescuing someone from a hazardous situation. But in the modern Fireman Sam, although it’s never specifically stated, he seems to have some sort of cognitive deficit. Previously, fireman Elvis Cridlington was a perfectly competent individual, as you’d expect from someone employed in the emergency services whose role would likely involve saving people from life-threatening situations. He’s probably got Munchausen by proxy, but with an entire town. Part of me thinks he causes all of the calamities himself, for the attention. His fellow firefighters once sang a song praising him specifically in front of the whole town and he just accepted this as normal. Yet he’s happy to take the credit, never correcting anyone when they thank him specifically, when his colleagues have all risked their lives as much as he has. And I've not witnessed one occasion where he tackles an issue single-handed. Not the fire brigade or the emergency services Sam specifically. All the characters now specifically say they’ll call Sam. Sam now looks and sounds more like a stripper who happens to be wearing the fireman’s outfit for this particular booking. The latest incarnation takes this to extremes though. But it’s typical for one member of a group to be the spokesperson or the popular one, just by dint of being the most charming or friendly or what have you, and this always seemed to be the case originally. Station Officer Steele is the chief of the fire service, and Sam appears to be no more senior or dedicated than any of his colleagues. In fairness, Sam was always the focus of the show for reasons that were never that clear. And whoever it is that makes the modern Fireman Sam, they certainly are no Pixar. I know CGI is all the rage and offers more scope than other techniques, but it’s so omnipresent these days that cheap, less sophisticated CGI becomes more noticeable. The original Fireman Sam was animated in the 1980s using charming stop-motion. But then, this blog has a ludicrous premise, so what the hell? Stop motion to CGI I’ve hinted at this before, and it would be a ludicrous exercise to list all my problems with the show here. As a former fan and Welshman, my disappointment is tinged with the bitterness of betrayal. I’m a trained scientist now and as a result there is too much evidence to ignore the inevitable conclusion: something has gone terribly wrong in Pontypandy. I’ve watched it since, and really wish I hadn’t. Until I had my son nearly 2 years ago, I had no idea it was still on. It was a delightfully charming stop-motion cartoon made in Wales, so there was even a sense of national pride mixed in with the enjoyment of an easy-to-relate-to set of characters and circumstances.
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