Thomas & Friends

Thomas and Friends, previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, is the name of the television series based on the Railway Series by the Reverend W. Awdry. It was adapted for television by Britt Allcroft using the original stories from the Railway Series before using television-exclusive stories written by independent writers. The series has spawned eighteen television seasons, a big screen movie, and eight feature-length specials, with a second movie possibly in the works.

The series is currently being produced by HiT Entertainment, who have filmed the series since its acquisition of Gullane Entertainment in 2003.

In April 2008, it was announced that filming of the series would transfer to Nitrogen Studios in Canada and that it would be CGI animated. The first use of CGI for the series was used during the twelfth season for the faces of the engines, people, and animals, although characters in background shots would still have the traditional clay faces. Hero of the Rails was released in Autumn 2009. The remainder of the series will be CGI animated. In February 2012, it was announced that Arc Productions would take over the CGI animation aspect.

About
Thomas and Friends revolves around railway engines that live on the Island of Sodor. The show is mainly about the title character, Thomas, a cheeky little blue tank engine with six small wheels, a short stumpy funnel, a short stumpy boiler, and a short stumpy dome. Thomas and Friends takes place on the standard gauge North Western Railway, the narrow gauge Skarloey Railway, and the 1/3 gauge Arlesdale Railway. The head of the North Western Railway is Sir Topham Hatt, affectionately nicknamed "The Fat Controller" by the engines and staff. The Skarloey Railway is operated by Mr. Percival, "The Thin Controller". Since the second season, there has been a rivalry between the steam and Diesel engines.

History
The first known attempt to make a television adaption of the Railway Series books was by BBC in 1953. It was decided that Hornby Dublo models would be used and everything went ahead. But the project did not succeed. During the live airing of the first episode, Henry derailed and a hand was seen coming down to put him back on track. Nothing else is known to remain of this project. There have been several other attempts, however. The first somewhat successful run was on the children's show "Jackanory" in 1970. The Railway Series books were read out loud by host Ted Ray. Five books were read in all until October 2nd, 1970. The current television series got its start in 1979 when the Reverend Awdry was interviewed on the Bluebell Railway for a feature on steam engines. The producer, Britt Allcroft, had read some of the books before the interview. She had become fascinated with the characters and after getting funding from her local bank, acquired the series so she could adapt it for television.

Allcroft rounded up a production crew, which included model director David Mitton, narrator Ringo Starr, and composers Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. The first season premiered in October 1984 and with its success, came another in 1986. After two successful seasons, Britt Allcroft set another goal: bringing Thomas into the United States. Due to stricter broadcasting schedules, Britt had to create a half hour program to go with the five and a half minute episodes. The result was Shining Time Station, starring Ringo Starr as Mr. Conductor. This was another hit for Allcroft and was the beginning of the "Thomas craze" in America.

When the television series returned in 1991, there were some big changes. Instead of following closely to the Railway Series, Allcroft and Mitton loosely adapted stories and even wrote their own episodes, much to the Reverend's disdain. The fourth season only had one original episode however and featured many new characters such as the Skarloey Railway engines. The series was doing incredibly well after that and a full-length theatrical film soon loomed ahead. Britt Allcroft decided to drift completely away from Railway Series stories and the fifth season contained all original storylines. This was so Britt could showcase the series as her own before the upcoming film.

The film gained the title of "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" and after many changes from the original script, premiered in July of 2000. The film was a huge failure and Allcroft was forced off the series. Her company was sold to Gullane Entertainment and they, in turn, were later sold. In 2001, the idea for a spin-off focusing on the non-rail vehicles was being tossed around at Gullane. It is possible that this idea later became Jack and the Sodor Construction Company. During the process, the sixth series was produced and aired, as was the seventh. The buyer turned out to be HiT Entertainment and the eighth season came with drastic changes. The episodes became more formulaic in plot with the focus on morals and education. This format was carried out for the next seven seasons with great success.

One of the most revolutionary steps in the show's history was in 2008 when it was announced that Thomas and Friends would be produced using computer generated imagery (CGI). The show would be produced in Canada at Nitrogen Studios. Season twelve used CGI for the faces of the engines, the people, and the animals alongside the traditional model format. The first fully CGI production was the 2009 special, Hero of the Rails, directed by Greg Tiernan. This was also the first time the engines had individual voice actors since Thomas and The Magic Railroad. However, the voice actors would also act in the regular seasons.

2010 saw the first year to have two seasons, the thirteenth and fourteenth. Another feature length special, Misty Island Rescue, was released that autumn. Season 15 premiered in early 2011 and another special, Day of the Diesels, was released in autumn 2011. During that October, Mattel won HiT Entertainment in an auction by Apax Partners, HiT's owners. In February 2012 the money was transferred. February 2012 also saw the premiere of the sixteenth season in the UK. It was the last season animated by Nitrogen Studios and the last to have Sharon Miller as the head writer. Blue Mountain Mystery was released in September 2012. It was the last special to involve Nitrogen Studios and Miller.

Andrew Brenner took over as head writer. Arc Productions animated the seventeenth season, ten episodes of which aired in the UK in June 2013 and five episodes followed in September / October 2013, another in November (to coincide with Guy Fawkes Night), and four more in December. The episodes featured on Spills and Thrills aired between July and November 2014 in the UK. The seventeenth season began airing on October 7th, 2013 in the US. Also released in autumn 2013 was another special, King of the Railway. In autumn 2014, the eighteenth season aired and Tale of the Brave was released.

Early 2015 saw the remaining 6 episodes of Season 18 released on DVD. Set to release in Spring 2015 is a 44 minute special, The Adventure Begins. Since 2011 a second theatrical film has been set to be release, but 4 years later with no developments, it is unknown whether the project will move on. There has been no confirmation of the projects cancellation.

Seasons

 * Season 1 (1984)
 * Season 2 (1986)
 * Season 3 (1991-1992)
 * Season 4 (1994-1995)
 * Season 5 (1998)
 * Season 6 (2002)
 * Season 7 (2003)
 * Season 8 (2004)
 * Season 9 (2005)
 * Season 10 (2006)
 * Season 11 (2007)
 * Season 12 (2008)
 * Season 13 (Winter 2010)
 * Season 14 (Autumn 2010)
 * Season 15 (2011)
 * Season 16 (2012)
 * Season 17 (2013-2014)
 * Season 18 (2014-2015)
 * Season 19 (2015-present)
 * Season 20 (2016)
 * Season 21 (2017)

Specials and Movies
These are theatrical films, documentaries, specials, and special episodes:
 * Thomas and the U.K. Trip (1992)
 * The Thomas the Tank Engine Man (Bookmark Documentary) (1995)
 * Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)
 * Calling All Engines! (2005)
 * Hashire! The "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" Steam Locomotive is Alive! (2005)
 * Jack and the Sodor Construction Company (filmed 2002; released 2006)
 * The Great Discovery (2008)
 * Hero of the Rails (2009)
 * Misty Island Rescue (2010)
 * Day of the Diesels (2011)
 * Blue Mountain Mystery (2012)
 * King of the Railway (2013)
 * Tale of the Brave (2014)
 * The Adventure Begins (2015)
 * 70 Years of Friendship (2015)
 * Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure (2015)

A second theatrical Thomas film was also slated for release, but it is currently unknown whether or not it has been cancelled. It would have been set in WWII-era London.

Narrators
These are the narrators of the show in the United Kingdom and the United States:
 * Ringo Starr (1984–1990) (UK/US narrator seasons 1–2)
 * Michael Angelis (1991–2012) (UK narrator seasons 3–16; US narrator New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures VHS/DVD)
 * George Carlin (1991–1996) (US narrator seasons 3–4; re-dubbed seasons 1–2)
 * Alec Baldwin (1999–2003) (US narrator seasons 5–6)
 * Michael Brandon (2003–2012) (US narrator seasons 7–16; redubbed six season 6 episodes)
 * Pierce Brosnan (2008) (UK/US guest narrator The Great Discovery; original cut of season 12)
 * Mark Moraghan (2013–present) (UK/US narrator season 17–present; re-dubbed one season 13 episode)

Original Full Theme
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Around the World

 * Main article: Other Languages

English is by no means the only language in which the series is broadcast in:
 * Wales: Tomos a'i Ffrindiau, narrated by John Ogwen and often broadcast on S4C's "Planed Plant Bach"
 * Scotland/Gaelic: Tomas is a Threud, usually broadcasting on BBC Alba.
 * Japan: きかんしゃトーマス, or, literally, Kikansha Tōmasu broadcasts on Fuji TV
 * Norway: Lokomotivet Thomas/Thomas og Vennene Hans
 * Germany: Thomas die kleine Lokomotive/Thomas Und Seine Freunde
 * Greece: Τόμας το Τρενάκι/Tomas to Trenaki
 * Finland: Tuomas Veturi
 * France: Thomas et ses Amis
 * Israel: תומס הקטר/תומס הקטר וחברים
 * Italy: Il trenino Thomas e i suoi amici
 * Poland: Parowóz Tomeki i jego Przyjaciele/Tomek i Przyjaciele
 * Portugal: Thomas o Trem Azul
 * Romania: Locomotiva Thomas și Prietenii Săi
 * Sweden: Thomas och Vännerna
 * China: 火車頭日記 or, literally in English, Locomotive Diary and seen on CCTV.
 * Taiwan: 湯瑪士小火車
 * South Korea: 꼬마기관차 토마스와 친구들
 * The Netherlands: Thomas de Stoomlocomotief
 * Mexico/Latin America: Thomas y sus amigos
 * Brazil: Thomas e seus amigos
 * Hungary: Thomas a gözmozdony
 * Russia: "Томас и друзья" (Tomas i Druz'ya)
 * Ukraine: "Паровоз Томас і його друзі" (Paravoz Tomas i y̆ogo druzi)
 * Denmark: Thomas og vennerne
 * Iceland: Tommi togvagn og vinir hans
 * Ireland: Thomas agus Cairde
 * Thailand: โทมัสและเพื่อน ๆ
 * Indonesia: Thomas dan Teman

Awards

 * Nominated - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Animated Film, 1985 and 1987.

Trivia

 * From 1986-2008, the show was filmed at West London's Shepperton Studios. The layouts were expansive and fit in a hangar-sized room. The trains were at the scale of Gauge 1 and filmed using a 35 mm camera, in order to get quality shots from such small objects. More information can be found at Sodor Island Fansite's Behind the Scenes page.
 * The seventh season was the last to use 35 mm film and the original theme tune.
 * Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell composed the show's original main title theme, songs and incidental music from 1984 to 2003. In 2004 Robert Hartshorne took their place as composer, while Ed Welch wrote the new theme tune and the songs.
 * Three real engines have been featured in the show - Stepney has made a number of appearances, and City of Truro and Flying Scotsman played minor roles in two third season episodes.
 * Beginning with the twelfth season, production moved from Britain to Canada, and in a revolutionary step, CGI animation (provided by Nitrogen Studios and later Arc Productions) is now being used to allow the faces on the characters to move with their speech, and have their eyes blink as well. The human characters and animals are also able to move on their own. However, the models were still filmed in Shepperton Studios.
 * 2009 was the first year since 2001 not to feature a new season.
 * In the third season episode, Escape, the Fat Controller clearly states that steam engines are rare, but from the sixth season and onwards more and more steam engines have appeared in the television series. To date, over twenty new steam engines have been introduced.
 * Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Annie, Clarabel, Henrietta, Bertie, and Sir Topham Hatt are the only characters who have appeared in every season of the series.
 * Thomas, Henry, Gordon and James are the only characters who have appeared in every special. In addition, Thomas, Henry, and James are the only characters to have at least one line of dialogue in every special.
 * The rolling stock seen from season 1 to season 5, were made out of modified Tenmille gauge 1 kits. Tenmille still make some of these wagons today. From season 6 onwards, they were all scratch built.
 * There are over 400 episodes of Thomas & Friends, the 400th episode being The Thomas Way.
 * 2014 marked the 30th anniversary of the television series.
 * 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the entire franchise and the first time that two direct-to-DVD specials will be released in the same year.
 * In 2005, the series ranked 26th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows vote. In 2013, the series ranked 34th in Channel 5's 50 Greatest Kids TV Shows vote.
 * Several models from seasons one to twelve have been put up on display in the US, Canada, the UK and Japan.