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Thomas & Friends

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Thomas & Friends
File:TV thomas the tank engine screenshot.jpg
Thomas the Tank Engine
Created byWilbert Vere Awdry
Britt Allcroft
StarringThomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Narrated byRingo Starr (1984–86)
Michael Angelis (1991– (UK series))
George Carlin (1991–98 (U.S. series))
Alec Baldwin (1998–2003 (U.S. series))
Michael Brandon (2004– (U.S. series))
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes275
Production
Running timefive minutes (season 1-7) seven minutes (season 8-)
Original release
NetworkUnited Kingdom ITV (1984-91), Cartoon Network (1995-2001), Nick Jr., Noggin and Tiny Pop

United States PBS Australia ABC
Japan Tokyo MX
Brazil Rede Manchete,
Canada TVO, BBC Kids, Treehouse TV
Germany RTL
Italy Rai Due, Rai Tre
Malaysia RTM2, Astro Ceria
Mexico Azteca 7, Azteca 13, Proyecto 40
Netherlands Yorin
Philippines 3ABN

Poland TV4
ReleaseApril 9 1984 –
Present
ReleaseLop
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Thomas & Friends (formerly Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, also known as Thomas the Tank Engine) is a British children's television series which was first broadcast in 1984.

The series was based on The Railway Series, a series of books created by the Reverend Wilbert V. Awdry. They deal with the adventures of a group of subanthropomorphised trains and road vehicles who live on the fictional Island of Sodor. The books were based on stories Awdry told to entertain his son Christopher during his recovery from measles. Many of the stories are based on events from Awdry's personal experience. During the 1980s the television rights were sold to Britt Allcroft and she started producing the series. It premiered in the UK in 1984. The show has been narrated by former Beatles member Ringo Starr, Michael Angelis, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Michael Brandon.

Format and Animation

Each episode consists of a five-minute (seasons 1-7) or seven-minute (season 8 onwards) story, told by a narrator.

The series is animated using live-action models, seen at the time of first production as the most effective way of realising the stories without the cost and expense of conventional animation. The locomotives and other vehicles move, but people and animals are generally static. Stop-motion is generally used for instances in which a human or animal character is seen to move. In recent seasons, CGI has been used to generate smoke and other effects.

The use of a narrator removes the need to make characters' mouths move when they speak. However, their eyes do move by use of remote controlled mechanisms. The characters' faces are sculpted from foam rubber. Each character has several different faces to convey different emotions.

The models were initially built to a scale of 10 millimetres to the foot (known in model railway circles as "Gauge 1"). They used chassis made by Marklin with specially made bodies. As well as the eye mechanisms, these bodies also include smoke generators. Coaches and trucks were made using Tenmille kits. Models were later constructed entirely from scratch.

From Season 5 onwards, some larger scale models were used for the narrow gauge characters, in order to make it easier to fit the complex mechanisms into them while retaining a sufficient level of detail. In Season 6, the characters known as "the Pack" (construction machines) were also constructed to a large scale, and large models of Thomas and Percy were made to interact with them. Beginning with the ninth season, the Thomas model also interacted with the narrow gauge engines. It was joined by a large version of James in the tenth season.

Series history

For the first two seasons, the series was closely based on stories from the Railway Series. The first season took stories from the first eight books, along with one specially written by Rev. W. Awdry, Thomas's Christmas Party.

The second season took stories from Book 9 (Edward the Blue Engine) to Book 30 (More About Thomas the Tank Engine). This last book was unusual, in that it was written specifically by Christopher Awdry in order to be adapted for the series, as a contractual obligation of the series at that time was that it could not create original stories that had not previously appeared in print. The series also adapted a story from a Thomas Annual, 'Thomas and Trevor', and an especially written stand-alone story, Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree. Many fans consider this to be the "golden age" of Thomas.

The third season was a combination of episodes derived from the Railway Series, from stories in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends magazine and wholly original work. There were two primary reasons for diverging from the original books. The first was that many of the books not yet adapted featured large numbers of new characters, and so would be expensive to produce. The second was that the producers wanted more stories centring on Thomas, the nominal main character. These new stories caused controversy, with Rev. W. Awdry complaining that the new stories were unrealistic and not true to the spirit of the books (see Henry the Green Engine for more details on this).

Prior to the fourth season, a number of accusations of sexism were levelled against the series. Among these was a complaint that the series was short of female characters. To counter this, the producers promised that new female characters would appear in the next series. This series was almost entirely based on the Railway Series. The narrow gauge engines were introduced, greatly increasing the number of stories that could be produced. Only one original story was used, namely 'Rusty to the Rescue', but this took certain elements of plot and dialogue from the book Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine.

The fifth season was a radical departure, as it was entirely original. Some fans consider the series from here on to be an entirely separate continuity from the Railway Series. This season saw the introduction of new characters and more action-packed storylines.

Following this season, the film 'Thomas and the Magic Railroad' was released. It featured only a small number of characters from the television series and was rather more fantasy based. Despite high production values and the popularity of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, the movie was criticised for being confusing, badly written, poorly directed, poorly acted and not true to the spirit of either the Railway Series or the television adaptation by UK audiences. It was well received by young children at whom it was aimed and made $16 million at the box office; however, no reference to the film has ever been made in the television series. New episodes that had been written by Britt Allcroft and director David Mitton were from then on scripted by hired-in writers.

The sixth and seventh seasons continued the policy of action-packed storylines and new characters. The sixth season was notable for its attempt to create a spin-off series. In this sixth season, two episodes were produced centering around a group of new characters known as 'The Pack'. These were construction machines, and it has been speculated that this was an attempt to cash in on the success of Bob the Builder. The spin-off never materialised, and as the models of the Pack were incompatible with the other characters in the series (having been built to a larger scale), they have not been seen in the series since. However, they have recently appeared in a straight-to-video spin-off release called On Site with Thomas.

Starting Season 7, the title was shortened to Thomas & Friends.

Following Season 7, a number of very significant changes took place. The series was taken over by HIT Entertainment (the owners of Bob the Builder). Episode length was increased from five to seven minutes, and a new theme tune was composed. The number of characters was greatly reduced, with stories focusing on Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby and Emily. Following complaints from parent action groups concerning the number of accidents in the series, the stories' emphasis was moved from action to character, with episodes generally focusing upon morals.

Shortly before the release of Series 9, a straight-to-video film, 'Calling All Engines', was brought out. This featured characters from 'Thomas and the Magic Railroad', but was not a sequel as such. It received a far better reception than the earlier film, and HIT are thought to be considering the possibility of similar specials in the future.

Series 9 and 10 featured the introductions of new characters, as well as returns of several older ones. The show format generally remained the same as Series 8. Season 10, which is currently being broadcast, became the first season to ever feature 28 episodes, as opposed to the standard 26 episodes per season.

Characters from the series

Thomas and Friends may have the largest cast of any children's television series. Over the years, literally dozens of characters have put in an appearance. The characters are split to separate pages. These pages are:

Season index


Cinema movies

Direct-to-video adventures

Thomas on television and in film

The series was first broadcast in 1984 on ITV in the United Kingdom. It was shown throughout the late eighties and into the early 90s when it was taken off the terrestrial UK network following broadcast of the third series. Between 1994 and 2003, Thomas was never shown on terrestrial UK networks, although did make a comeback on satellite through Cartoon Network in the mid 1990s and lasted until 2001, which was 5 seasons, and then Nick Jr in 2001/2002, where it has remained since and become a popular fixture, even stretching to their involvement with Gullane and HIT Entertainment on recent series of the popular children's series.

Thomas also made a comeback on ITV in January 2003 with its sixth series of five minute stories. The sixth and seventh series were shown in their entirety in 2003 and 2004. The eighth series was broadcast in 2005, but only 13 episodes were aired, possibly on account of the new format for the programme; it wasn't until July 2006 that the remaining 13 episodes were broadcast. Due to a new agreement between ITV and the Programming Authority (Ofcom) which allowed them to cut their children's TV output in mid 2005, Channel 5 bought the rights to the series, with the ninth series broadcasting on the channel from 10 October, 2006


In 1989, Thomas and Friends was shown in North America, in a television series called Shining Time Station which was broadcast on PBS. Storytime with Thomas is another American spin-off that aired in 1999 on the Fox Family Channel. Today, Thomas and Friends is broadcast in more than twenty languages around the world. In 2000 Thomas moved to the big screen, with the release of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. However, the film was not a success.

The Thomas and Friends stories were five minutes long. The first two series showed two episodes at a time, with a show of the characters in the middle. It changed to one at a time in series three. In each series until series eight, the number of trains on the railway increases as the railway expands.

In 2004, the series began using computer animated special effects and the story length changed from five to seven minutes. A half-hour show format (aired on PBS and Treehouse TV in North America and on Nick Jr. in the UK from 2004) was also adopted, showing three episodes plus puzzles, songs, and mini stories. The new series made major changes, such as changing the famous theme tune, and took on a more moralistic stance than previous series. Starting Season 10, only two episides aired, with the middle story being replaced with Places around Sodor, a recurring mini-story which features major locations and recaps episodes from Seasons 8-10 that take place at the location.

Narrators

  • Ringo Starr (UK and U.S. narrator seasons 1-2). Ringo Starr, drummer from The Beatles, narrated the first two TV series of Thomas and Friends from 1984 to 1989. Ringo did the original UK narration for the series, and then when exported to the US, parts of it were renarrated and replaced. Ringo also contributed his services to Ladybird Audio Book tie-ins for the series, and appeared in Shining Time Station as the first Mr Conductor, before returning to pursue his musical career with his All Starr Band. Starr's celebrity status was a useful factor in gaining publicity for the show in its first season, and he is now the narrator most associated with Thomas.
  • Michael Angelis (UK narrator seasons 3-present; U.S. narrator season 7 (New Friends for Thomas DVD only)). Angelis has narrated the series since 1991, and been the longest standing narrator for the series in its history. He began in the 3rd series, and continues to narrate the British series. Angelis also replaced Baldwin for the beginning of the seventh season of the U.S. version for only one DVD called "New Friends for Thomas". He has also narrated the direct-to-video release Calling All Engines. Angelis also narrated the first three volumes of The Railway Series for CD release in the UK in March 2006.
  • George Carlin (U.S. narrator seasons 1-4). Carlin was the first American to narrate the series; he replaced Starr in 1991 for the American series and "Shining Time Station" as the Mr Conductor character. In the American series, Carlin re-narrated the first two seasons due to Shining Time; in 1998, he left the series to return to his career in comedy.
  • Alec Baldwin (U.S. narrator seasons 5-6). Baldwin replaced Carlin in 1998 for the U.S. series; he left the series to pursue film roles. In the American series, Baldwin renarrated seasons 5-6 due to Storytime With Thomas. He also appeared in the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad, where he became the third actor to play Mr Conductor.
  • Michael Brandon (U.S. narrator seasons 7-present). Brandon has so far narrated the seventh through tenth series, and renarrated part of the 6th season for television broadcast, as well as the straight to DVD specials - Calling All Engines and On Site with Thomas. He continues to narrate the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th series as of now.

Production history

The series has gone through numerous changes throughout its run. The producer is in charge of every aspect of the show for the relevant season(s)

Originally the series was produced by Britt Allcroft Ltd (Britt Allcroft's company) and Clearwater Features Ltd (David Mitton and Robert D. Cardona's company). Clearwater closed down in 1990 and Britt Allcroft Ltd (which changed to Gullane Ltd in 2000) produced solo until 2003, when HIT Entertainment bought the company and now runs its operation. HIT Entertainment was bought over in 2005 by Private Equity firm - Apax. Because Apax are not a production company, there is very little change likely to be made to the production side of HIT.

The series has always been filmed at Shepperton Studios.

Television series trivia

  • Since 1984, the show has been filmed at West London's Shepperton Studios. The layouts are expansive and fit in a hangar-sized room. The train miniatures are set on remote control and filmed using a 35mm camera, in order to get quality shots from such small objects. [1]
  • From Season 5 onwards stories were written especially for television. First by the then producers of the show Britt Allcroft and David Mitton (series 5), and then by a much larger team of hired writers (series 6 onwards).
  • Throughout series 6 and 7, David Mitton continued to provide storylines and wrote his final script during the show's sixth run, "Edward the Very Useful Engine".
  • The narrator provides the story and the character voices.
  • In the Japanese and Korean versions, individual voice actors did the characters' voices instead of the narrator. Thomas and Percy were voiced by women.
  • In some episodes, old models used in Thomas' short-lived sister show, TUGS appear.
  • Season 7 was the last season to use 35mm film and the original Thomas the Tank Engine theme tune
  • In the American version of the first two seasons and in some other seasons, the episodes had different titles.
  • Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell composed the show's original theme song and music from the years 1984 to 2003. In 2004, Robert Hartshorne took their place as composer, while Ed Welch wrote the new theme tune and the songs.
  • David Mitton directed until he retired in 2003. However, Steve Asquith replaced him from 2004.
  • Thomas the Tank Engine was in The Guinness Book of World Records 2004 for the world's largest model railway for the Thomas & Friends Big Live Tour 2002; the model in question was a model of James. Gordon, who is bigger than James, did appear in the show, although a full model of him was not made. His front was seen sticking out of the shed in the scenes at the shed.
  • Season 9 is the first and only season (to date) where Thomas appeared in all 26 episodes.
  • Daisy's face appears to be the same as Boco's, only with make-up and eye lashes.
  • Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Henrietta, Bertie, Annie, Clarabel, The Fat Controller and The Troublesome Trucks are the only characters to appear in every season of the show.
  • The Season 8 change from 35mm film (used in movies) to digital film (used for newscasts) is somewhat obvious. Viewers will detect that the camera resolution is finer, and the motion is less jumpy; however, animate objects (especially engines and flowing steam) move unrealistically fast across the screen.
  • Only two episodes refer to the steam preservation movement during the setting. These episodes is "Edward's Exploit", which Gordon snobbily remarks, "He (Edward) should give up and be preserved before it's too late", and "Horrid Lorries" where Lorry 3 says to Toby generally "you should go to a museum"
  • Three real engines have been featured on the show - Stepney has made a number of appearances (Stepney is also a real engine from the Bluebell Railway), and City of Truro and Flying Scotsman played minor roles in two Season 3 episodes.
  • Season 10 is the first Season the have more than 26 episodes (28 episodes).

Merchandise

Thomas video games

Thomas models

Hornby Railways produce a range of OO scale Thomas Models. The models are not particularly detailed, but suitable in their role of toys. In the United States, Lionel offers a range of Thomas models in the larger O scale. In Japan where space as at a premium and small size is important Tomix have introduced a series of N scale Thomas models. Ertl, now defunct, produced a range of die-cast and plastic models. Learning Curve of Chicago produces and distributes the Thomas Wooden Railway System, which includes most characters, wooden track, stations, bridges, tunnels, and buildings, designed as educational and learning tools for young children. They also produce the Take along Thomas & Friends range of travel Thomas playsets. Tomy produce a Motor Road and Rail plastic train model set with battery powered engines and a wide range of track types and Thomas characters. Recently Tomy has also introduced die-cast models of the Thomas characters. Other Thomas models and toys can be found below under 'Thomas Merchandise'.

For more details, see Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends models.

Other merchandise

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out With Thomas, also referred to as "Come Ride the Rails with Thomas"[2] is a US tour by real trains modeled after Thomas the Tank Engine. The Thomas engine visits various historic railroads across the United States allowing visitors to play games, meet Sir Topham Hatt and to ride on a passenger car pulled by the engine. HIT Entertainment sponsors the event to promote the Thomas and Friends brand.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Thomas_%26_Friends&oldid=88779784"