Series 17

The seventeenth season of the television series premiered in the UK on June 3rd, 2013. In the US, the season started airing on October 7th. This season was the first of a new writing style for the series and ran for twenty-six episodes.

Episodes

 * 1) Kevin's Cranky Friend - Kevin helps Cranky at the docks, but Cranky does not think he needs help even as the work piles up.
 * 2) Scruff's Makeover - Scruff gets a new coat of paint and refuses to work at the Waste Dump because he does not want to get dirty.
 * 3) Wayward Winston - Winston is frustrated because Sir Topham Hatt cannot drive him well, so he decides to go driver-less.
 * 4) Gordon Runs Dry - Gordon's boiler is damaged, but he is too impatient to get repaired or stop to refill with water because of the leak.
 * 5) Calm Down Caitlin - Caitlin has to spend the night on Sodor and keeps everyone awake.
 * 6) Steamie Stafford - Stafford becomes jealous of the steam engines because of all the noise they make, so he begins to act like them.
 * 7) Henry's Hero - Henry and Hiro take on some bad coal and start puffing out black smoke.
 * 8) Luke's New Friend - Luke befriends a deer at the Blue Mountain Quarry.
 * 9) The Switch - Luke and Millie swap jobs for the day.
 * 10) Not Now, Charlie! - Charlie finds an elephant on the track and tries to alert the other engines, but no-one will take him seriously.
 * 11) The Lost Puff - Paxton tries to find Thomas' "lost puff".
 * 12) The Thomas Way - Thomas and Duck must work together to help Harold when he breaks down.
 * 13) The Phantom Express - James tricks Percy and Stephen into thinking there is a ghost at Ulfstead Castle.
 * 14) Percy's Lucky Day - After Percy suffers a bout of bad luck, Stephen gives him a lucky charm.
 * 15) Bill or Ben? - Bill and Ben trick Connor by saying there is a faster engine.
 * 16) Too Many Fire Engines - Some railway inspectors question whether Sir Topham Hatt needs two fire engines.
 * 17) No Snow for Thomas - Thomas hides his snowplough, resulting in Emily doing his work.
 * 18) Santa's Little Engine - Thomas has to rescue Sir Topham Hatt when his sleigh breaks away on a hill.
 * 19) The Missing Christmas Decorations - Percy thinks Diesel 10 is stealing Christmas decorations.
 * 20) The Frozen Turntable - The turntable at Tidmouth Sheds freezes in one position and the engines argue about who should get the one accessible berth.
 * 21) Away From the Sea - Porter arrives at the docks and Salty is convinced he has been sent to replace him.
 * 22) Gone Fishing - Harvey pulls a long train for the first time.
 * 23) The Afternoon Tea Express - Stephen is given the job of collecting ingredients for the afternoon tea at Ulfstead Castle.
 * 24) The Smelly Kipper - Henry challenges James to take "The Flying Kipper".
 * 25) No More Mr. Nice Engine - Diesel tries to get Hiro to toughen up with the trucks.
 * 26) Thomas' Shortcut - Bertie uses a shortcut while he and Thomas race, so Thomas decides to use one of his own.

Songs

 * Hey, Hey Thomas!
 * On a Journey Today

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Bill and Ben
 * Harvey
 * Emily
 * Spencer
 * Whiff
 * Hiro
 * Charlie
 * Scruff
 * Belle
 * Stephen
 * Connor
 * Caitlin
 * Diesel
 * Mavis
 * Diesel 10
 * Salty
 * Den
 * Dart
 * Paxton
 * Norman
 * Sidney
 * Flynn
 * Stafford
 * Winston
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Sir Handel
 * Peter Sam
 * Victor
 * Luke
 * Millie
 * Rusty
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Rocky
 * Bertie
 * Butch
 * Kevin
 * Harold
 * Cranky
 * Merrick
 * Owen
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Sir Robert Norramby
 * Lady Hatt
 * Farmer McColl
 * The Duchess of Boxford
 * A Zoo Keeper
 * The Dock Manager
 * The Railway Inspectors
 * The Schoolchildren
 * Some Workmen
 * The Ginger-haired Boy
 * The Blond-haired Boy
 * The Duke of Boxford (does not speak)
 * The Engineer (does not speak)
 * Rosie (cameo)
 * Henrietta (cameo)
 * Stephen Hatt (cameo)
 * Bridget Hatt (cameo)
 * Sodor Brass Band (cameo)
 * The Bird Watcher (cameo)
 * Dowager Hatt's Friends (cameo)
 * The Teacher (cameo)
 * The Knapford stationmaster (cameo)
 * Mr. Percival (mentioned)
 * Father Christmas (mentioned)
 * Lord Callan (mentioned)
 * Bash (learning segment)
 * Cora (learning segment)
 * Daisy (mentioned in a learning segment)

Characters Introduced

 * Porter
 * The Climbers (do not speak)
 * The Lady with the Big Hat (cameo)
 * The Groundskeeper (mentioned)

UK and AUS

 * Mark Moraghan as the narrator
 * Ben Small as Thomas, Toby, Rheneas, Flynn, the Troublesome Trucks and Owen
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Harvey, Whiff, Salty, Den, Norman, Stafford, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Bertie, Harold, Sir Topham Hatt, the Maron Station Speaker, the Wellsworth station worker, a Railway Inspector and a workman
 * Matt Wilkinson as Spencer, Charlie, Scruff, Diesel 10, Rusty, Winston, Rocky, Butch, Kevin, Merrick, Cranky, Farmer McColl, the Dock Manager, and the Zoo Keeper
 * Steven Kynman as Duck, Porter, Dart, Paxton, Peter Sam and a Railway inspector
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Belle, Mavis, Annie, Clarabel, Lady Hatt and the children
 * Togo Igawa as Hiro
 * Kerry Shale as Diesel, some groaning passengers and the Zoo Keeper (Not Now, Charlie! only)
 * David Bedella as Victor
 * William Hope as a Railway Inspector
 * Michael Legge as Luke
 * Jonathan Broadbent as Bill and Ben
 * Bob Golding as Stephen and Sidney
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Jonathan Forbes as Connor
 * Rebecca O'Mara as Caitlin
 * Miranda Raison as Millie

USA

 * Mark Moraghan as the narrator
 * Martin Sherman as Thomas, Percy and Diesel
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily and the children
 * Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, James, Scruff, Kevin, Harold, Sir Topham Hatt, some groaning passengers, the Zoo Keeper and a workman
 * Glenn Wrage as Spencer and Cranky
 * Keith Wickham as Harvey, Salty, Den, Norman, Stafford, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Bertie, a Railway Inspector, and the Maron Station Speaker
 * Matt Wilkinson as Diesel 10, Rusty, Winston, and Merrick
 * Steven Kynman as Duck, Dart, Paxton, Butch, Peter Sam and a Railway Inspector
 * William Hope as Edward, Toby, Whiff, Rocky, Farmer McColl, The Dock Manager, the Wellsworth station worker, and a Railway Inspector
 * Ben Small as Charlie, Rheneas, Flynn, the Troublesome Trucks and Owen
 * David Bedella as Victor
 * Togo Igawa as Hiro
 * Teresa Gallagher as Belle, Mavis, Annie, Clarabel, Lady Hatt and The Duchess of Boxford
 * Michael Legge as Luke
 * Jonathan Broadbent as Bill and Ben
 * Bob Golding as Stephen and Sidney
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Jonathan Forbes as Connor
 * Rebecca O'Mara as Caitlin
 * Miranda Raison as Millie
 * David Menkin as Porter

Trivia

 * From this season onward, the writers are credited on the episode title cards.
 * For the first several episodes of the season, PBS used an opening title from earlier seasons, with Michael Brandon listed as the narrator and Greg Tiernan listed as the director. The remainder of the episodes would feature the correct opening title, as would the initial episodes in subsequent airings.
 * This is the last season where Henrietta doesn't have a face.
 * This season marked numerous milestones for the series, including:
 * Andrew Brenner's first season as head writer.
 * Mark Moraghan's first season as narrator.
 * The first season animated by Arc Productions.
 * The first season not to feature Misty Island, Bash, Dash, or Ferdinand since their introduction, excluding Bash's stock footage cameo in a Mr. Perkins segment.
 * The first season since the twelfth season not to feature anyone from the Steam Team in every episode.
 * The first season since the second season to have the same narrator for both the UK and US for the majority of the season.
 * The first season since the eleventh season to have 26 episodes.
 * The first season since the fifth season to have a railway consultant.
 * The first season since the fourth season dubbed in Ukrainian.
 * The first season produced by a separate production team from that producing the season's special.
 * The first season since the fourth season to start airing in one year, and finish in another.
 * The first season to have David Bedella as the voice of Victor for the UK version, since the executives decided that Matt Wilkinson's voice for the character is not as strong as David's.
 * The first season to feature Steven Kynman as Butch in the US.
 * The first time Diesel 10 appeared in an actual episode.
 * The first season to feature Keith Wickham as Bertie and Steven Kynman as Dart.
 * The first season to have Bob Golding, Rebecca O'Mara, Jonathan Forbes, Miranda Raison, Mike Grady, David Menkin, and Jonathan Broadbent as part of the voice cast.
 * In the UK, this season was released in several stages across a two-year period, rather than being aired all together:
 * The season premiered on June 3rd, 2013 with a run of ten episodes.
 * Another week of new episodes aired from September 30th, 2013. One episode aired on November 5th and four more aired in December.
 * The final six episodes went straight to DVD in March 2014.
 * Four of the final six episodes aired on July 5th and 6th, 2014.
 * The final two episodes aired on November 21st, 2014.
 * This season contained the 400th episode of the television series.
 * In Norway, this season was shown on the website TV 2 Sumo before airing on television.
 * The final eleven episodes of this season were released in Australia and Japan before their UK debuts.
 * This is the only season to feature Ben Small as Flynn.