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 original stories from the Railway Series before using television-exclusive stories written by indepenent writers. The series has spawned fourteen television seasons, a movie and four feature-length episodes, with two more seasons planned for the next two years, along with another special.

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

In April 2008, news was discovered that filming of the series would transfer to Canada. What's more, faces for the engines, people and animals in the twelfth season would be CGI-animated, although characters in background shots would still have the traditional plastic faces.

The thirteenth season aired in January 2010. Since then, the series has been fully CGI-animated.

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 (2010)
 * Season 14 (2010)
 * Season 15 (2011)
 * Season 16 (TBA)

Narrators
These are the narrators of the show in the United Kingdom and the United States:
 * Ringo Starr (UK/US narrator seasons 1-2)
 * Michael Angelis (UK narrator since season 3, US narrator New Friends for Thomas DVD)
 * George Carlin (US narrator seasons 1-4)
 * Alec Baldwin (US narrator seasons 5-6)
 * Michael Brandon (US narrator since season 7)
 * Pierce Brosnan (UK/US narrator The Great Discovery)

Specials and Movies
These are specials and special episodes:


 * Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)
 * Calling All Engines (2005)
 * Thomas' Trusty Friends/On Site with Thomas (2006)
 * Engines and Escapades (2007)
 * The Great Discovery (2008)
 * Hero of the Rails (2009)
 * Misty Island Rescue (2010)
 * Day of the Diesels (2011)

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"
 * Japan: きかんしゃトーマス, or, literally, Kikansha Tōmasu
 * Norway: Lokomotivet Thomas/Thomas og Vennene Hans
 * Germany: Thomas die kleine Lokomotive
 * Greece: Τόμας το Τρενάκι
 * Finland: Tuomas Veturi
 * France: Thomas et ses Amis
 * Italy: Il trenino Thomas e i suoi amici
 * Poland: Tomek i Przyjaciele
 * Portugal: Thomas o Trem Azul
 * Romania: Locomotiva Thomas si Prietenii Sai
 * Sweden: Thomas och Vännerna
 * China: 火車頭日記
 * 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

Trivia

 * In 1955, BBC attempted to make a live version of the Railway Series books using Hornby Dublo models. The project never got off the ground and no photos are known to exist.
 * From 1984-2008, 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 35 mm camera, in order to get quality shots from such small objects. 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 on 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 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.
 * 2009 was the first year since 2001 not to feature a new season of episodes.
 * In the third season episode, Escape, the Fat Controller clearly states that steam engines are rare, but from Season 6 and onwards more and more steam engines have appeared in the television series. These include Harvey, Emily, Arthur, Murdoch, and Rosie.
 * Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Annie, Clarabel, Henrietta, Bertie, and The Fat Controller are the only characters who have appeared in every season of the series.
 * 2010 was the first year to have two seasons.