All Engines Go Wiki:Exclusives/Daniel Share-Strom's AMA

***On Wednesday 7th September 2022, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go writer: Daniel Share-Strom joined us for an impromptu AMA (Ask Me Anything) session. This page is created to document and archive all of the questions that were answered and to put it into a more readable format.***

***If you want to see the original post: CLICK HERE!***

**Doraemon2000: Oh my gosh! One of the writers visited this wiki! OK, I have a question for you, are you a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine or The Railway Series?**

I've actually been obsessing over this Wiki for months.  I've been itching to dive into the conversation about Bruno, but I haven't been allowed to talk about him until today! To be honest, I didn't watch it too much growing up, but since I was asked to join the team to help create Bruno, I've become obsessed with All Engines Go!

**Mr.Snrub0696: Hi! I'm glad they introduced an autistic charecter like Bruno. They did introduced Theo in 2017 (for the Journey Beyond Sodor special) who had autism but he was a one-off charecter and I'm glad Bruno will be a more prominent charecter. Is Bruno apart of the main charecter cast with Thomas, Percy, Nia, Kana, Diesel, Carly and Sandy?**

He is, indeed, a series regular, just like everyone else! He will be appearing in dozens of episodes, as well as the Thomas and Friends Storytime podcast, YouTube shorts, the Mystery at the Mines special, and etc, etc.

He likes even numbers (despite his #43, which represents 1943, the year autism was first identified), so he's happy to make the main cast an even eight haha.

**Biggcitydockrailway99: Hello Daniel! HUGE fan of your episodes so far! What is your approach to writing Thomas stories and what particular challenges do you tend to work through?**

Thank you so much!  The only one of mine that's been released so far is Skiff Sails Sodor, so I'm glad you enjoyed it!

The biggest challenge in writing for Thomas, or any kids' show, is taking a complicated message and delivering it in a simple way that the target audience can understand. That's doubly important when you're writing for a marginalized group, such as Autistic characters, because the way they're represented on-screen can meaningfully affect them in real life. It's a tough challenge--but a SUPER fun and rewarding one! :)

**Igotloggedoff: have any of the episodes you have written contained salty the dockyard diesel in them?**

I haven't had the opportunity to write for that character yet.

**PaigePeijiPnag: i think that having an autistic character in aeg is pretty neat :) fyi, i am also autistic and although i don't really relate to bruno on a high level, i still think it's cool that he's in the series**

I'm glad you like him even though you aren't exactly the same as him. I'm Autistic, too! Since autism is such a wide spectrum, no one character can represent every single Autistic person, so I think it's important that we just get more and more different Autistic characters in the media.

**KellyTheAEGFan: Hey, thank you for an autistic character, I'm autistic and I couldn't contain my excitement, especially because he wears ear defenders like me!**

I'm glad you see yourself in Bruno! We tried to make sure he does things that a lot of Autistic folks do. He also flaps his front stairs the way many of us flap our hands when excited, for instance.  But we also made sure he's got a lot of personality that's distinctly his own!

**Igotloggedoff: If you get the chance to, maybe write an episode about Bruno maybe becoming a runaway?**

I'll suggest it to the higher-ups!

**FowlerHedgehog01: Daniel Share-Storm. right? If so, it's nice to have someone on the actual staff to come down here. Last time this happened was when Rick Suvalle had an interview on here. I'll guess I'll ask this: So how did the development of Bruno came to be, from the very beginning to now. I have heard that his original name was Bruce The Caboose, if I remember correctly.**

That's me! Though it's Share-**Strom**--common mistake :P Haha he was indeed originally named Bruce! Though it's a bit above my pay grade as to why the name was changed, I'm afraid.

Back in 2020, I saw a post on a Facebook writer's group I'm a part of that a large media company was looking for an Autistic writer to help with a 'legacy children's brand'--little did I know that would turn out to be freaking THOMAS AND FRIENDS!

Mattel had a very rough idea of what they wanted--basically that he would be Autistic and a brake car, and a few other details. Then they asked me to really flesh him out, which I did with my experience as both an Autistic guy and a social worker. Then we worked with the consultants from ASAN and EasterSeals to get their input, and started writing some episodes, and it's snowballed from there!

**Mr.Snrub0696: Skiff Sails Sodor is one of my favourites of the show**

Glad you enjoyed SSS! It was actually my first time writing a script for any show that was actually produced haha.

**StreakSmeargle: As someone who’s on the spectrum, I’m really excited to see more of Bruno! You said that Bruno was the eighth main character, does that mean he’ll become a member of the Biggest Adventure Club?**

He is, indeed, on the BAC! Our goal was to be as inclusive as possible, and that means he's just as involved in all the shenanigans as the rest of them.

**Igotloggedoff: Also, I know I've been asking a lot of questions, but can you try and use Percy a bit more in some episodes? Because he didn't do much in season 1 and I'd say he was the least used in the biggest adventure club, just right there next to Carly.**

We'll see! But while we're on the subject, Bruno's a dang fine singer, if I do say so myself! I'm looking forward to everyone's thoughts on Shake, Rattle, and Bruno, including his song, when it airs!

**FowlerHedgehog01: Thank you very much for answering my question about the development of how Bruno came to be. From what I've seen from the episode, you have done such an incredible job with the episode and fleshing out of Bruno's character. This does lead me to another question, mainly with the consultants, did you work with someone called Michael White during this whole development? If so, what was it like working with him?**

I believe he's on the team, though I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet.

**RajdekFan88: Hi! This is a great idea with the AMA. If I can know, when did Bruno start to be designed? Thanks for all :)**

I first came aboard (pun intended) in late 2020, though they were doing preliminary work on Bruno (then known as Bruce) before then.

**C2SExtra: Are there any characters from the Railway Series books that haven't appeared on TV before been considered/decided upon for All Engines Go?**

I believe so, but that's sadly not a question I'd be allowed to answer even if I knew for sure.

**ASodorLife: Hi Daniel! We are more than welcomed to have you drop by in our AEG Wiki! I was wondering if you were willing to share more trivia content/facts regarding Bruno (like him originally having the name "Bruce", being numbered 43 in reference to 1943, when autism was first identified etc). We would love to add more of these little facts into his trivia section on Bruno's page! :)**

Absolutely, though I don't want to give too much away that might be the subject of an episode!

Bruno enjoys people-watching, as he's fascinated by the humans of Sodor. He has a particular fondness for mechanics. Others have movie stars. Bruno has mechanics! He and Nia share a love of planning routes, but they often bicker because she likes the scenic route while Bruno runs his life based on efficiency.

**ColackentCreations101: Hi Daniel! I have really enjoyed your episodes and hope you create more! Question: Are you allowed to disclose any info about upcoming episodes you’ve written?**

Glad you've enjoyed them, and you bet I'm doing more! As a matter of fact, in the coming days I'll be starting on content for Season 3!

I can't say too much in terms of plot of specific episodes. What I will say is that we always take care to give Bruno strong character development that does *not* involve him trying to change who he is, which is a trap that many other Autistic characters fall into. He's proud of who he is, everyone accepts him for who he is, and when he learns a lesson, it's always a self-validating one, even if he does end up stepping outside of his comfort zone and seeing something in a new light.

**TheWiseTenderEngine2001: Greetings, Daniel! Congratulations on the debut of Bruno's episode! In the AMA, you've mentioned that you've researched the wiki of the franchise, despite not growing up with the original series. Out of curiousity, what character has become your favourite so far, and which one would you like to write the episode about the most?**

Bruno! Haha, but other than him, I really love Sandy. Her sense of humour is very compatible with mine, so she always makes me chuckle. I got to play with her a little in Skiff Sails Sodor, but I'd love to do something with her, Carly, and Bruno at some point.

**RoninThomasVideos: If Bruno is joining the main cast, will the intro be updated?**

That's not something I'm able to answer at the moment.

**Thomasfanno123: Hello Daniel! I'm so exited to see a creator on the wiki! I have a question though, will Bruno have a best friend. if not then is there anyone he's close with?**

Great question! I don't know if there's one character he'd specifically call his best friend (although there are some scripts that I haven't had a chance to see yet). He has rich relationships with all of the main cast, really. Thomas goes to him for advice on routes and planning. He and Diesel have a 'big brother, little brother' type of relationship that's really sweet. He and Percy are pun pals! There's lots of love to go around.

**Ibetterbegood3: Will bruno appear in blackout?**

Not sure.

**Cimenbird: Ama is on Turkish but ama bunu da istiyorum but I want that if He writes Turkish and hello nice to Meet you :)**

Sorry, I don't speak Turkish. The AMA stands for 'Ask Me Anything' :)

**Awsometrain77: Now I have a question: the phrase brakecar was mentioned once in season 1, was Bruno planned to appear in season 1?**

No. They were already nearly finished with Season 1 when development on Bruno began.

**PinkLadyy05: Hello Daniel, what was it like working on Thomas and friends?**

It's been one of the best experiences of my career. Mattel was really open to any ideas I had to represent Bruno authentically and carefully.

**JacobHayes1: Hi Mr. Share-Strom, you have done an amazing job writing Bruno's autism. As someone who has autism myself, it feels so great to have a character that I can personally relate to. Anyways, for my question, I wanted to ask if you were able to write any episodes focused on characters besides one of the main eight, sort of like what you did with Skiff Sails Sodor.**

That's so lovely to hear that you approve! Thank you so much! I'm glad he's relatable to you--that's our whole goal.

Outside of SSS, my writing has been wholly dedicated to Bruno-centric episodes, or ensemble ones where he plays a large part, as I want to make sure we get as many great stories with him as possible (and I just love the character haha). Though Bulstrode does play small roles in some of my episodes.

**Thomasfanforever2002: Hi Daniel! While i don't have any questions, since you've pretty much been asked everything i can think off already, i just wanted to say i love how Bruno is being handled so far, as someone who is on the autism spectrum it makes me very happy seeing a character who represents it with lots of respect. A lot of Bruno's traits are ones i've personally dealt with, which makes him a very relatable character to me. Keep up the great work and i can't wait to see more of Bruno as S2 continues to come out!**

Thank you so much! It's great to hear that people are already relating to Bruno even after seeing just a couple of small clips, and I'm really excited for you all to see more of him shortly.

What a lovely community this is :)

**A huge thank you to Daniel Share-Strom for taking the time for doing this AMA!**

*Note: All opinions expressed in interviews belong solely to the crew or cast member interviewed, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of All Engines Go or Mattel Television.*