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Fireman Samuel "Sam" Peyton Jones is the titular protagonist of the Welsh children's show Fireman Sam. he is the firefighter of the fictional Welsh town of Pontypandy. He works in the Pontypandy Fire Service with Elvis Cridlington, Penny Morris and Station Officer Steele.
He is voiced by John Alderton in the first four seasons, as well as John Sparkes in season 5 and Steve Kynman since season 6.
Why He's the Hero Next Door
- He is a classic British cartoon icon like Danger Mouse, Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, Bob the Builder, Postman Pat, Mr. Blobby and Thomas the Tank Engine.
- He is very good at his job of being a firefighter, and knows exactly what do when there's an emergency.
- He is also a mature man considering the fact he knows to stay calm in dangerous situations and is always there to help anyone who is in a tough situation and also knows how to save people, making him a truly heroic firefighter.
- He is a very friendly person and has a great relationship with the the town of Pontypandy and the other workers in the Pontypandy Fire Station, most notably Elvis.
- As a matter of fact, he cares for his teammates and always makes sure that the others are alright.
- His stop motion model is well animated, especially in season 5, which was a faithful recreation of his older design.
- Not to mention, his character design is a great mix between a realistic and cartoonish style.
- John Alderton, John Sparkes and Steve Kynman all do great jobs at voicing him.
- He has lots of memorable catchphrases that never get old, such as "All present and correct sir!" and the most notably, "Great Fires of London!".
- He gives the other characters in the show good tips on fire safety, he also gives characters like Norman Price good discipline if they end up mistakenly or purposely cause an emergency, and he's never always too harsh on anyone if they make mistakes.
- He acts like a father figure to his niece and nephew Sarah and James and has a really good relationship with them.
- He is very skilled, since he has worked at Pontypandy Fire Station for a long time.
- Even after his show declined in season 6 and unlike most other main protagionists from TV shows/franchises that went downhill like SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 6B & 7), Peter Griffin from Family Guy (season 8-present) and Thomas the Tank Engine (season 12-16 and its reboot), his character was never flanderized and he still remains as a likable protagonist and a good role model.
- He gives a positive portrayal on firefighters and is a great role model for children, especially since that his character could influence children into becoming a firefighter themselves when they are adults.
Bad Qualities
- He can come across as a Gary Stu, as he doesn't really make very many mistakes, aside from falling for a few of Norman's tricks.
- Much like Postman Pat, he isn't really that well-known that much in the USA, and while he was lucky enough to be brought over stateside and gain some form of recognition thanks to his show airing on PBS Kids Sprout, having a few releases of some season 5 episodes on DVD and eventually being on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix through a US dub, his character is still not that popular in the States, though he is arguably beginning to see more recognition in the US and is often used to educate young kids about fire safety.
- Even though he wasn't flanderized from season 6 onwards and is still a likeable character and is one of the few characters that keep their original personality and a good role model, he doesn't really punish Norman Price whenever he causes an emergency aside from telling him off, unlike in the first five seasons. He, along with the other members of the Pontypandy Fire Station, always let him off with just a warning which Norman obviously forgets in the next episode he is in and nothing else.
- His character redesign in season 6, while not as unrecognisable as Bob the Builder's redesign, is terrible and it fails to capture the same charm and timelessness as his original design.
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