Billy (Thomas & Friends)

Billy "Stop telling me what to do, Thomas! You're a very bossy engine!". Says the filler character who's bossy himself. Gender: Male Type: The original Charlie Age: 4 Species: Steam Locomotive Portrayed by: Michael Angelis (UK) Michael Brandon (US) Media of origin: Thomas & Friends First appearance: Don't be Silly, Billy (only appearance)

Billy the Orange Engine is a tank engine whose sole appearance is the thirteenth episode "Don't be Silly, Billy" from season 11 of Thomas & Friends. He is an orange tank engine that was brought by Sir Topham Hatt to help with the workload on the Island of Sodor at the time. He has been hated by fans and critics of Thomas & Friends for his rude behaviour, and for being a one-time character.

Why He's Intentionally A Very Bossy Engine

1. He is another one of those one-off characters in the HiT model era who was only made for nothing but marketing.
2. He is very rude to Thomas just because he was telling him to get some coal and water.
3. He is very irresponsible, impulsive, and always wants everything to go his way.
4. His line "Stop telling me what to do, Thomas! You're a very bossy engine!" gets really repetitive and annoying really fast, especially since he said it five times throughout the episode.
   • In addition, this line can come off as hypocritical, as he bosses and demands Thomas to stay out of his way.
5. His face design looks rather ugly.
6. His bio even says that he and Charlie are brothers, and that's definitely saying much!
7. He runs off and leaves his trucks/cars behind every time Thomas tells him to take on coal and water.
8. His infamous moral "It's okay to disobey orders" is false.
9. He is very spoiled and annoying.
10. Much like Brimmy from South Park and the rest of the characters from seasons 9-12, he is the textbook definition of a filler (to a lesser extent), one shot, and rejected character.
11. Considering that he only appeared in one episode, like with most HiT era characters, his only purpose was to sell nothing more than toys and merchandise.

Intentional Redeeming Qualities

1. He has a neat design.
2. Unlike Charlie, Billy received karma for his actions as he ran out of water after a while.
3. The idea behind Billy is interesting as he is meant to be like a hillbilly-like engine.
4. His voice by Michael Brandon, while inconsistent, shows he, unlike the late Angelis, is trying and can actually be funny.
5. Thankfully, due to his reception, he only appeared one time briefly.
   • And actually, his episode that he appeared in "Don't be silly Billy", was being recreated for the test viewers in 2009, because he was going to have a role in the 13th series episode "Splish Splash Splosh", but this idea was scrapped and he was replaced with a new similar character, Charlie.

Trivia

• Billy is based on a Manning Wardle L Class 0-6-0ST. Charlie, another infamous character in the series, is another engine of this basis.

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