Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends

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Thomas & Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine
Format	Children's television series
Created by	Wilbert Vere Awdry Britt Allcroft Robert D. Cardona (1984-1986) David Mitton (1984-2003) Simon Spencer (2004-present) Steve Asquith (2004-present)
Starring	Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Narrated by	Ringo Starr (1984–1991) Michael Angelis (1991–2008 (UK series)) George Carlin (1991–98 (U.S. series)) Alec Baldwin (1998–2003 (U.S. series)) Michael Brandon (2003–08 (U.S. series)) Pierce Brosnan (2008–)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	288
Production
Running time	four and a half minutes (season 1-7) seven minutes (season 8-11)
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV (1984-1991) (2002-2003), Cartoon Network (1995-2001), Nick Jr., Noggin and Tiny Pop PBS ABC Tokyo MX Rede Manchete, TVO, BBC Kids, Treehouse TV RTL Rai Due, Rai Tre RTM2, Astro Ceria Azteca 7, Azteca 13, Proyecto 40 Yorin TV3 NRK 1 3ABN TV4, MiniMini
Original run	1984 – Present

Thomas & Friends (formerly Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends) 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 Ringo Starr, Michael Angelis, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Michael Brandon.

Many businesses have been eager to cash-in on the world-wide popularity of the series. 'Thomas'-themed merchandise has appeared in almost every form imaginable, from books and magazines, through vast series of models, to duvet covers, cutlery, soft drinks and even spaghetti shapes.

Heritage railways have also benefitted from the series. "Day Out With Thomas" events, where passengers are given the chance to ride on full-size trains pulled by Thomas or his friends, provide a considerable source of income, and attract those who might not otherwise visit the railway.

Format and Animation

Each episode consists of a four and a half-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 the 1:32 scale, 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 the 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.

The third season (1991) – made at a cost of £1.3 million^[1] – was a combination of episodes derived from the Railway Series, from stories in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends magazine and original stories. 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 centering on Thomas, the nominal main character. The Rev. W. Awdry complained 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) ^[1].

For the fourth season (1995), the producers planned to introduce some "new" female characters, including Caroline the car, Nancy the guard's daughter and The Refreshment Lady.^[2]. Some commentators took this as a response to a number of accusations of sexism that had been levelled against the series two years earlier^[3]. In reality, they were not "new" characters, but creations of the Rev. Awdry, borrowed from The Railway Series.

Season 4 was almost entirely based on the Railway Series, the last season so to do. 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. This season saw the introduction of new characters and more action-packed storylines ^{[citation needed]}.

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 ^{[citation needed]}. It was well received by young children at whom it was aimed^{[citation needed]} 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 ^{[citation needed]}. 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 with Season 7, the title was shortened to Thomas & Friends.

Following Season 7, a number of significant changes took place. The series was taken over by HIT Entertainment (the owners of Bob the Builder). Episode length was increased from four and a half 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 ^{[citation needed]}.

Shortly before the release of Series 9, a straight-to-video film, 'Calling All Engines', was released. This featured characters from 'Thomas and the Magic Railroad', but was not a sequel as such. It proved successful, and more direct-to-video specials are being made for the future.^[4]

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 aired in 2006, became the first season to ever feature 28 episodes, as opposed to the standard 26 episodes per season. An eleventh season has been announced for late September.

Characters from the series

The characters are split to separate pages. These pages are:

Railway Engines - for information on Steam Engines and Diesel Engines.
Narrow Gauge Engines - for information on the engines of the Narrow Gauge railways
Rolling Stock - for information on coaches and trucks.
People and animals
Non-rail vehicles
Movie Characters - for info on the trains, animals and people that feature in the two films.

Season index

Cinema movies

Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)

Direct-to-video adventures

Calling All Engines (2005) (Feature length special)
On Site with Thomas (2006) (Direct-to-video spin off episodes)
The Great Discovery (2008) (Feature length special)

Future Installments

At least three more seasons are known to be produced after the eleventh season (narrated by Pierce Brosnan), as well as another two direct-to-DVD specials (after The Great Discovery).

Thomas on television and in film

The series was first broadcast in 1984 on ITV's Children's 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 Children's ITV in January 2002 with its sixth series of four and a half minute stories. The sixth and seventh series were shown in their entirety in 2002 and 2003. The eighth series was broadcast in 2004, 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, five bought the rights to the series. The ninth series began showing on October 10, 2006, followed one month later on November 10, 2006 by the tenth. The channel now shows series 8-10 in rotation.

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 four and a half 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. Season 11, also only two episodes aired, and PLaces around Sodor was replaced by Fun times with One of Sodor Engines.

Narrators

Ringo Starr (Narrator Seasons 1-2). Ringo Starr, drummer from The Beatles, narrated the first two TV seasons of Thomas and Friends from 1984 to 1989. Ringo did the original U.K. narration for the series, and then when exported to the U.S., parts of it were re-narrated and replaced; however, it is unknown if Ringo Starr re-narrated all the episodes for the U.S. 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 (U.K. narrator Seasons 3-11; U.S. narrator in the New Friends for Thomas DVD release). Angelis narrated the series beginning in 1991 and will leave in 2008, making him the longest-standing narrator for the series in its history. He began in the third season, and continued to narrate the British series until Season 11 sixteen years later, and briefly served as the U.S. narrator for the DVD release New Friends for Thomas before being succeeded by Michael Brandon. He also narrated the direct-to-video release Calling All Engines and the first three volumes of The Railway Series for CD release in the UK in March 2006.
Pierce Brosnan (Narrator Seasons 12-Present ^[5]). It was announced in July 2007 that former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan would take over narration duties for the series. After narrating the DVD-exclusive The Great Discovery in Autumn 2008, Brosnan will narrate two more direct-to-DVD specials and three seasons of TV episodes, starting with Season 12.
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, but later left to pursue film roles. In the American series, Baldwin narrated Seasons 5 and 6 for 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 7-11). Brandon narrated the seventh through tenth seasons, and re-narrated part of the sixth season for television broadcast. Brandon also narrated the straight to DVD releases Calling All Engines and On Site with Thomas. Season 11 was the last season to feature Brandon's narration.

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)

Seasons 01-02: Britt Allcroft (executive producer), David Mitton, and Robert D. Cardona
Seasons 03-05: Britt Allcroft, David Mitton
Seasons 06-07: Phil Fehrle
Seasons 08-10: Simon Spencer

Originally the series was produced by The Britt Allcroft Company and Clearwater Features Ltd (David Mitton and Robert D. Cardona's company). Clearwater closed in 1990 and The Britt Allcroft Company (which changed to Gullane Entertainment in 2000) was the sole producer until 2002, when HIT Entertainment bought the company and now runs its operation. HIT Entertainment was acquired in 2005 by Private Equity firm Apax.

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 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.
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. Steve Asquith replaced him in 2004.
Thomas the Tank Engine was in The Guinness Book of World Records 2004 as the world's largest model railway. The model of James for "Thomas and Friends Live" holds the record as the worl'ds largest model engine.
Season 9 and Season 11 are the only seasons (to date) where Thomas appeared in all the Season episodes.
Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Bertie, Annie, Clarabel, Henrietta, The Fat Controller and The Troublesome Trucks are the only characters to appear in every season of the show.
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.
Compared to widely parodied preschool series such as Barney and Mister Rogers, cultural references to Thomas in movies and television shows are rare. However, the US version of Dougal makes reference to "being beat by Thomas the Tank Engine".

International versions

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 the Japanese Versions.
The Mexican Spanish narrators have been Jorge Arvizu (Seasons 1-2), Eduardo Tejedo (Seasons 3-4), Salvador Delgado (Seasons 5-7), Arturo Mercado Jr. (Seasons 8-11), and Carlos Segundo (Season 12-Present).
In the Portuguese, Polish (TV4 only) and Swedish versions, the narrator is a woman.
In Denmark the narrators have been Poul Dissing and later Tommy Kenter.
In Hungary the narrator is Zoltán Csankó, and the series is running under the title Thomas és barátai (Thomas and his friends).

Popularity with autisic audience

In June and July 2001, the National Autistic Society conducted a survey of 81 parents of children with autism and Asperger syndrome to investigate their putative 'special relationship' with Thomas the Tank Engine. The survey confirmed the organization's assumption from anecdotal evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders associate far more strongly with Thomas the Tank Engine than with other children's characters.^[6].
In the National Autistic Society's April 2007 survey, conducted with 748 UK parents of children under 10 with autism, 58% of parents reported Thomas was the first children's character their children enjoyed, with about 1/3 of parents reported their children were able to learn basic facial expressions from the characters, as all of Thomas's friends have easy-to-read expressions. 54% of parents reported that the stories contributed to their child's sense of security.^[7]

Commercialisation

Merchandise

Main article: Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends merchandise

A wide range of merchandise has been manufactured to cash-in on the success of the TV Series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. It is down to the popularity and longevity of the series – having originated in 1945 with the first of The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry – that large numbers of manufacturers have sought to produce 'Thomas'-branded items.

The most popular and wide-ranging items of merchandise are the models of the characters, which have been produced in many different ranges, some including accompanying railway systems. Other popular products include videos, books and magazines, and computer games. However, 'Thomas' merchandise has also included such diverse items as: audiobooks, annuals, colouring and activity books, jigsaws, board games, stationery, clothing, cutlery, household items such as curtains, duvet covers and lampshades, and even soft drinks and spaghetti shapes.

Day Out with Thomas

Main article: Day Out With Thomas

"Day Out with Thomas", is a marketing name used by HIT Entertainment for special events held at heritage railways in the UK. The characteristic features of these events include locomotives wearing 'faces' to resemble 'Thomas' characters, and a "Fat Controller" character, usually performed by one of the railway's volunteers. The general idea is that the public have the chance to ride in a train pulled by 'Thomas' or one of his friends.

In the US the name also refers to "Come Ride the Rails with Thomas" [2] which is a US tour by real trains modelled 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.

Thomas in Amusement Parks

In the upcoming 2007 Summer Six Flags Season, a Thomas and Friends land will be opened at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Formerly Six Flags Marine World) in Vallejo, CA, which is located about 30 miles north of San Francisco.

In 2008, Drayton Manor in the UK will open their own Thomas Land just like Japan's Amusement Park which attracts 1.7 million fans every year. [3]

References

^ ^a ^b Sibley, Brian (1995). The Thomas the Tank Engine Man. Heinemann, p318. ISBN 0 434 96909 5.
^ Sibley, p320
^ Sibley, p309
^ http://www.hitnewsonline.com/releases/detail/pierce_brosnan_new_narrator_for_thomas_friends/thomas_friends
^ http://www.hitnewsonline.com/releases/detail/pierce_brosnan_new_narrator_for_thomas_friends/thomas_friends
^ Children with autism and Thomas the Tank Engine
^ Autism group probes why children love Thomas the Tank Engine

External links

The world of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends view • talk • edit
Book series: The Railway Series TV Series: Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (aka Thomas and Friends)
Series particulars
List of Railway Series Books TV Series Seasons: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 — (Proposed: 12) Movie and spin-off releases: Thomas and the Magic Railroad • Calling All Engines • On Site with Thomas • (The Great Discovery)
Characters
Thomas • Edward • Henry • Gordon • James • Percy • Toby • Duck • Donald and Douglas • Emily The Fat Controller • Annie and Clarabel • Bertie • Harold • Terence • Trevor The Railway Series: Major characters • Minor characters • Unfeatured characters TV Series: Railway engines • Narrow gauge engines • Rolling stock • Non-rail vehicles • People & animals Movies: Movie-only characters
Locations
Island of Sodor Railways: North Western • Skarloey • Arlesdale • Culdee Fell • Mid Sodor • Sodor & Mainland • "Other" Other locations - The Railway Series • TV Series
Significant people and organisations
Rev. W. V. Awdry (series creator) • Christopher Awdry Britt Allcroft • Gullane Entertainment • HIT Entertainment • Woodland Animations
Other relevant pages
WikiProject Thomas The Railway Stories (audiobooks) • Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends merchandise Shining Time Station • TUGS • Day Out With Thomas

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Current shows (as of September 2006)	Barney & Friends · The Berenstain Bears* · Between the Lions · Boohbah · Caillou* · Clifford the Big Red Dog* · Clifford's Puppy Days · Curious George · Dragon Tales · Franny's Feet · George Shrinks* · It's a Big Big World · Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks · Jay Jay: The Jet Plane · Mister Rogers' Neighborhood* · Rainbow Fish · Reading Rainbow · Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat* · Sesame Street · Teletubbies* · Thomas and Friends · Zoboomafoo* * No new episodes are being produced; reruns still airing on many major PBS stations
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Note	This list does not include shows from networks airing PBS Kids shows but not funded directly from PBS, such as KLCS shows.
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