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PBS

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This article is about PBS. You may be looking for the PBS Kids page.

PBS (or The Public Broadcasting Service) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor made up of more than 350 member television stations. PBS is an independently operated non-profit organization, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States.

It aired Shining Time Station (starting on 29th January 1989), along with other kids shows during the PTV Park era in the mid-1990s. Its primary fundraiser is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It began airing Thomas & Friends in its normal form under the PBS Kids banner on 4th September 2004[1], using the airings from Nick Jr. in the UK, redubbing it with Michael Brandon's narration and starting the airings with pairings featuring two episodes from Series 8 with a Series 7 episode in between. Thomas & Friends then aired on PBS in the United States on weekends with new episodes on Saturdays.

In 2011, Thomas & Friends started appearing more often on weekdays. On 15th May 2013, PBS Kids announced that Thomas & Friends would move to the daily schedule on weekdays, which started on 7th October 2013, when Series 17 premiered, due to an increase in ratings of nearly 110 million households. The model episodes stopped airing on 13th September 2013, in favor of the CGI Series. A microsite was added on the PBS Kids website as well. An underwriting spot was added on 21st September 2013, with then-narrator of Thomas & Friends, Mark Moraghan, announcing it replacing the Rev W Awdry's Letter segment and the Welcome to the Island of Sodor opening.

On 16th January 2017, PBS launched a brand new 24/7/365 channel, called PBS Kids Channel. Thomas & Friends aired in a daily hour-long slot at 11 am ET/PT and 10 am Central.

Starting on 15th December 2017, Thomas & Friends aired on Nickelodeon for a limited time, but on 19th December 2017, the PBS Kids website was removed. The Thomas & Friends partnership with PBS ended on 31st December 2017. It began airing full time on Nick Jr. starting on 12th March 2018.

On April 23, 2024, PBS launched a new live TV channel for Roku TVs and streaming devices known as PBS Retro, which airs Thomas & Friends.[2] [3] So far, the channel has aired Series 8-11 in their half hour formats, much like the show's previous run on PBS. This marks the first time since that these half hour blocks have been released since they originally stopped airing on PBS in 2013.

Shining Time Station Airings

Season 1

  1. (January 29th, 1989) ― Thomas Gets Tricked / Edward Helps Out
  2. (February 5th, 1989) ― Come Out, Henry! / Henry to the Rescue
  3. (February 12th, 1989) ― A Big Day for Thomas / Trouble for Thomas
  4. (February 19th, 1989) ― Thomas Saves the Day / James Learns a Lesson
  5. (February 26th, 1989) ― Foolish Freight Cars / A Proud Day for James
  6. (March 5th, 1989) ― Thomas and the Conductor / Thomas Goes Fishing
  7. (March 12th, 1989) ― Terence the Tractor / Thomas and Bertie's Great Race
  8. (March 19th, 1989) ― Tenders and Turntables / Trouble in the Shed
  9. (March 26th, 1989) ― Percy Runs Away / Thomas Comes to Breakfast
  10. (April 2nd, 1989) ― Henry's Special Coal / The Flying Kipper
  11. (April 9th, 1989) ― Toby the Tram Engine / Thomas Breaks the Rules
  12. (April 16th, 1989) ― A Cow on the Line / Old Iron
  13. (April 23rd, 1989) ― Double Trouble / James in a Mess
  14. (April 30th, 1989) ― Duck Takes Charge / Percy Proves a Point
  15. (May 7th, 1989) ― Better Late Than Never / Pop Goes the Diesel
  16. (May 14th, 1989) ― Diesel's Devious Deed / A Close Shave for Duck
  17. (May 21st, 1989) ― Gordon Takes a Dip / Down the Mine
  18. (May 28th, 1989) ― The Runaway / Percy Takes the Plunge
  19. (June 4th, 1989) ― Percy's Ghostly Trick / Woolly Bear
  20. (June 11th, 1989) ― Saved from Scrap / A New Friend for Thomas

'Tis a Gift (December 21st, 1990)

Season 2

  1. (November 18th, 1991) ― Percy's Ghostly Trick / Thomas, Percy and the Dragon
  2. (November 19th, 1991) ― Diesel's Devious Deed / No Joke for James
  3. (November 20th, 1991) ― Old Iron / Edward's Exploit
  4. (November 21st, 1991) ― Double Trouble / Gordon and the Famous Visitor
  5. (November 22nd, 1991) ― Donald and Douglas / The Deputation
  6. (November 25th, 1991) ― Trust Thomas / Whistles and Sneezes
  7. (November 26th, 1991) ― James in a Mess / The Trouble with Mud
  8. (November 27th, 1991) ― Percy Proves a Point / Thomas and Bertie's Great Race
  9. (November 28th, 1991) ― Thomas Saves the Day / Down the Mine
  10. (November 29th, 1991) ― Bertie's Chase (short) / Percy's Promise
  11. (December 16th, 1991) ― Woolly Bear / Henry's Forest
  12. (December 17th, 1991) ― Pop Goes the Diesel / Diesel Does it Again
  13. (December 18th, 1991) ― Thomas Comes to Breakfast / Thomas Gets Bumped
  14. (December 19th, 1991) ― Percy and the Signal / A Big Day for Thomas
  15. (December 20th, 1991) ― Thomas, Percy and the Mail Train
  16. (December 23rd, 1991) ― The Diseasel / Donald's Duck
  17. (December 24th, 1991) ― Thomas Goes Fishing / A Scarf for Percy
  18. (December 25th, 1991) ― Mavis / Toby's Tightrope
  19. (December 26th, 1991) ― Time for Trouble / Trouble for Thomas
  20. (December 27th, 1991) ― Edward, Trevor and the Really Useful Party

Season 3

  1. (March 26th, 1993) ― All at Sea
  2. (April 2nd, 1993) ― Percy, James and the Fruitful Day
  3. (April 9th, 1993) ― Bulgy
  4. (April 16th, 1993) ― James Goes Buzz Buzz
  5. (April 23rd, 1993) ― Tenders and Turntables / Trouble in the Shed
  6. (April 30th, 1993) ― A New Friend for Thomas
  7. (May 7th, 1993) ― Thomas and Percy's Mountain Adventure
  8. (May 14th, 1993) ― Thomas and the Conductor / A Cow on the Line
  9. (May 21st, 1993) ― A Close Shave for Duck
  10. (May 28th, 1993) ― Percy Takes the Plunge
  11. (June 4th, 1993) ― Heroes
  12. (June 18th, 1993) ― Gordon Takes a Dip
  13. (June 25th, 1993) ― Escape
  14. (July 2nd, 1993) ― Thomas Gets Tricked
  15. (July 9th, 1993) ― Oliver Owns Up
  16. (July 16th, 1993) ― Tender Engines
  17. (July 23rd, 1993) ― Wrong Road
  18. (July 30th, 1993) ― Percy Runs Away
  19. (August 6th, 1993) ― Come Out, Henry! / Henry to the Rescue
  20. (August 13th, 1993) ― Henry's Special Coal / The Flying Kipper
  21. (August 20th, 1993) ― One Good Turn
  22. (August 27th, 1993) ― Better Late Than Never
  23. (September 3rd, 1993) ― James Learns a Lesson / Foolish Freight Cars
  24. (September 10th, 1993) ― Duck Takes Charge
  25. (September 17th, 1993) ― Toby the Tram Engine / Thomas Breaks the Rules

Family Specials

  1. (January 7th, 1995) ― Rusty to the Rescue / Thomas and Stepney
  2. (April 16th, 1995) ― Granpuff / Sleeping Beauty
  3. (September 23rd, 1995) ― Toad Stands By / Thomas and the Special Letter
  4. (November 20th, 1995) ― Paint Pots and Queens / Special Attraction

Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales

  1. (October 7th, 1996) ― Bulls Eyes / Train Stops Play / Percy's Ghostly Trick / Thomas, Percy and the Dragon / Special Funnel / Really Useful Engine
  2. (October 14th, 1996) ― Four Little Engines / Trouble for Thomas / Toad Stands By / Thomas Saves the Day / Trucks / Toby
  3. (October 21st, 1996) ― Thomas, Percy and the Mail Train / Mind that Bike / Rock 'n' Roll / Home at Last / Thomas and the Special Letter / The Island Song
  4. (October 28th, 1996) ― A Bad Day for Sir Handel / Steam Roller / Old Iron / Double Trouble / Bowled Out / Don't Judge a Book by its Cover
  5. (November 4th, 1996) ― Passengers and Polish / Gallant Old Engine / Bertie's Chase (extended) / Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady / You Can't Win / Gone Fishing
  6. (November 11th, 1996) ― Come Out, Henry! / Fish / Whistles and Sneezes / Henry and the Elephant / Bulldog / Let's Have a Race

Trivia

  • On 10th February 2018, a Thomas & Friends promo from the CGI Series aired on a PBS station by accident which promoted Thomas & Friends on the PBS Kids block, despite the series' partnership with PBS being expired by the time the promo aired. The same thing also happened in 2021 on PBS affiliate KLCS DT2, and in 2022, a PBS station in Idaho aired multiple Thomas & Friends promos and multiple times, presumably by accident as well. Thomas and footage from the show can also still be seen on a few promos for PBS which have not been updated.
  • During the airings for the Series 19 episodes, PBS had mistaken a few Series 18 episodes as part of it on an advertisement for the episodes' airings.
  • Journey Beyond Sodor was the last special of the series to be broadcasted on PBS.

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Website

External Links

  1. ↑ https://pbsba.fandom.com/wiki/Thomas_%26_Friends
  2. ↑ https://cordcuttersnews.com/the-roku-channel-adds-9-new-free-live-channels-including-pbs-retro/
  3. ↑ https://twitter.com/spongieupdates/status/1782811664162668703
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