What's behind the cheeky smile? My three year old nephew is absolutely obsessed with the anthropomorphic trains of Thomas and Friends. He can’t get enough of the TV show, the songs, and the, rather pricey, range of toys. I have seen more than my fair share of the children’s show for a man of my age, and this has led to me questioning some of the values the show perpetuates. It seems evident that the series is threaded with a conservative ideology of imperialism, rigid class structures and racial overtones. The way in which Sodor functions is very much a hierarchical class system. At the top of the pyramid is fat cat boss, Sir Topham Hatt, also known as The Fat Controller. He embodies the values his name implies: aristocratic wealth, exuberance and importance. Below him are the lower-middle class steam engines. They take orders directly from Hatt and have far greater authority over the diesel engines, trucks and carriages of the bottom class. The steam engines must consta