. Stereo (1984–1995). (1998–2002). 5.1 (2003–present)Original release9 October 1984 ( 1984-10-09) –presentExternal linksThomas & Friends (originally known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends or simply Thomas the Tank Engine; later called Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!) is a British-American. In the United Kingdom, it had its first broadcast on the network in Great Britain in 1984.
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Thomas The Dank Engine. 6,586 likes 72 talking about this. Thomas The Dank Engine. Sections of this page. Accessibility Help. Press alt + / to open this menu. Dank Meme Dream Team. Arts & Humanities Website. Meme of the Week. Entertainment Website. Religious Organization. Related Memes Thomas O Face. The Thomas O-Face is one of Thomas' faces from early on in the television show, mainly used in Seasons 1 and 2. It is a popular gag in Thomas and Friends YouTube Poops, often accompanied with a specific synthesized tune from the show. Thomas the Tank Engine Remixes.
In the United States, it had its first broadcast on in 1989. It is based on of books by and his son,.These books follow the adventures of a group of and who live on the fictional. The books were based on stories Wilbert told to entertain his son, Christopher, during his recovery from. Many of the stories from the first four series are based on events from Awdry's personal experience. Contents.History PredecessorsBefore the airing of the first episode of Thomas & Friends in 1984, previous attempts had been made to adapt Awdry's stories for television. The first was in 1953, when the editor of the Railway Series books, Eric Marriott, was approached by the, who wished to use live-action model trains to re-create two stories from Awdry's first book,.The engines were portrayed by models and driven on authentic sets in the style of the original illustrations.
The first episode, based on 'The Sad Story of Henry', was broadcast live on the evening of Sunday 14 June 1953 from. The live broadcast did not fare well. Reportedly, a failure to switch the points caused the model of to derail and viewers of the live broadcast witnessed a human hand, said to be one of a crew member, picking him up and placing him back on the rails. Models moved jerkily, and all effects and music had to be superimposed.By 23 June, news of the broadcast hit the front pages of the and the. Awdry himself branded the episode as 'unprofessional', and the point-switching debacle as an 'elementary mistake'.
As a result, the second episode scheduled for 28 June 1953 was put on hold, and then later cancelled. After the 'Sad Story of Henry' fiasco, the BBC did attempt to rescue the project by offering to give Awdry and the Railway Series publishers greater creative control over the production of the episodes, but the publishers declined the offer, preferring to focus on publishing new books for the series.Nearly twenty years later, the BBC incorporated Awdry's stories once again.
Fourteen years before Thomas and Friends was aired, sitting in a 's office, read out five Railway Series books between 20 September to 2 October 1970 on the popular television story-telling show. Thomas and Friends and its successIn 1979, British television producer was producing a documentary on the, a in Sussex which actually featured in the Railway Series book. As part of her research before filming, Allcroft read some books in The Railway Series and was highly entertained and impressed with the stories which Awdry had written, later remarking that 'there was something in the stories that I felt I could develop that would connect with children.
I saw a strong emotional content that would carry with little children's experiences with life.' Allcroft worked to convince Awdry that she could, with funding, convert the stories into a successful television show. Her efforts were successful, and she purchased the television rights from the publishers of The Railway Series at a cost of what was then £50,000 ($74,000 in U.S. Dollars at the time). Allcroft still had to work to raise the money to finance production and, despite showing a keen interest, wanted a level of creative control which she did not want to forego. In the end, after several years of searching and having to place a second mortgage on her home, Allcroft raised sufficient funding from her local bank manager.By 1981, Allcroft had secured the finances to produce the show, she started to assemble the crew, including producer and director, also the founder of Clearwater Features Ltd.; crew member Steve Asquith; American-born producer; and composers and songwriters Mike O'Donnell and, who are also musicians.The series started production in 1984 by Allcroft's production company, The Britt Allcroft Company; Ltd. (Mitton and Cardona's company); and the company.
The series was originally shot and produced with live action models at the Clearwater in house studio in Battersea, a suburb of London, for Series 1. It later relocated to, Middlesex, southwest of London for subsequent series. The use of moving models was seen at the time of the series' conception as an effective method of animating the stories.
Locomotives and other vehicles were operated by radio controls, while humans and animals were static figures. Was occasionally employed for instances in which a human or animal character would move. Hand-drawn animation was used in Series 3 to create bees (as seen in the episode 'Buzz Buzz').The first series (1984) used stories from the first eight books, along with one specially written by the, Thomas's Christmas Party. The second series (1986) used stories from Book No.9 to Book No.30.
The latter book was unusual, as it was written specifically by to be adapted by the show. At that time, it was a contractual obligation that the series could only adapt stories that appeared in print. The series also used a story from a Thomas Annual, 'Thomas and Trevor', and a specially written stand-alone story,.
The second series was actually a 27-episode series, as a single (unaired) episode (') was in the process of being filmed, but despite being filmed it was never shown because Allcroft decided it was too confusing for young viewers. The production team went on to use 'Thomas, Percy and the Coal' instead.In between production of the second and third series, the production team were focused in producing two other television series:, which ran for one series in 1989 for (TVS); and the American television series, which repackaged Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends for the American television market from 1989 to 1996.Just before production of series three, Clearwater closed on 31 December 1990, with The Britt Allcroft Company becoming the sole producer. Series three was broadcast in 1992 for. It was made at a cost of £1.3 million (approximately $9.3.million in U.S. Dollars at the time). The series was a combination of episodes derived from The Railway Series, stories in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends magazine (written by Andrew Brenner, who would later become the show's head writer starting in Series 16), and a couple of original stories by Allcroft and Mitton.One of the primary reasons for diverging from the original books was that many of the stories not yet used featured large numbers of new characters, which would be expensive to produce.
Another reason was that the producers wanted more stories about, the nominal main character. Awdry complained that the new stories would be unrealistic (see for more details). Left as producer, while joined as co-producer.
Took over as executive producer.Series four was first released directly to video between 1994 and 1995 before its broadcast debut on. The producers planned to introduce some new female characters, including motor car,. Some commentators took this as a response to accusations of levelled against the series two years earlier.
In reality, these were not 'new' characters, but creations of Awdry from the original Railway Series books. Series four was almost entirely based on The Railway Series. The engines were introduced, and were the focus of a number of episodes.
Only one original story ('Rusty to the Rescue', written by Allcroft and Mitton) was used, but this took certain elements of plot and dialogue from.The fifth series (1998), also first released directly to video before its TV airings on Cartoon Network, was a radical shift, as all episodes were written by Allcroft and Mitton with no further stories being adapted from the Railway Series. This series saw the introduction of new characters, such as,. It also focused on more dramatic and edgy plot-lines, with more severe accidents, than in the earlier seasons. After series 5, Angus Wright stepped down as executive producer. It was also the final season broadcast on Cartoon Network, as Nickelodeon UK would eventually acquire the broadcast rights to the show for it to air on their newly created channel in 1999. CN continued to air older seasons until their broadcast rights fully expired in 2001.was released in July 2000 in the UK, US, and Canada.
It featured new characters created by Allcroft, along with characters from the show that introduced Thomas to the U.S.,. Despite high production values and the popularity of the show, the film was criticised by British reviewers who were unfamiliar with Shining Time Station. The movie was well received by young children on both sides of the Atlantic, but made only $19.7 million at the box office, against a cost of $19 million to produce.
The film was broadcast on BBC1 on 1 January 2004 and again on 29 December 2008. Thomas and FriendsThe Britt Allcroft Company (which changed its name to in 2000) was purchased by in September 2002, a company specialising in children's entertainment.The sixth and seventh series continued to introduce action-packed storylines and new characters, and saw the introduction of a writing staff.
The sixth series in 2002 was notable for its attempt to create a spin-off based on the successful 'Bob the Builder' series. Two episodes introduced a group of construction machine characters known as 'The Pack'. The spin-off did not materialise for some time. Eventually, in 2006, thirteen episodes were released straight to DVD in two collections: On Site with Thomas and Thomas' Trusty Friends. It was the first season broadcast on ITV since Season 3.The fact that older sets were used and the episodes were shot on 35mm camera (as opposed to the digital camera used at the time of the episodes' release) suggest it was filmed some time before Series 8. In Series 7 (2003) the programme title was officially shortened to Thomas & Friends, this name having been used on merchandise and video covers for three years previously.
Phil Fehrle replaced Allcroft and Mitton as producer, though Mitton remained as the director. Executive producer was replaced by Peter Urie and Allcroft as executive producers for Series 6.In 2003, Allcroft stepped down as executive producer, making Urie the sole executive producer for, and Jocelyn Stevenson was the executive producer for. The eighth series (2004) was the first released directly to VHS and DVD as four episodes in the US and six in the UK were released before airing on television on in the UK and in the US.
It introduced a number of significant changes to the show. Many of the original founding team involved in the original show since 1984 left the production, notably Britt Allcroft, director and writer David Mitton, and original composers Mike O'Donnell. The latter two had been embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with HiT before their departure. Asquith, who was part of the original production team since 1984, took over as director, while Simon Spencer replaced Phil Fehrle as producer.A new theme song and incidental music were composed by and Robert Hartshorne, respectively.
Episode runtime was increased to seven minutes. The series was produced using digital video camera, creating a somewhat different look for the show.
Other changes included the additions of CGI educational sequences and transitions between stories. Executive producer Peter Urie also left, while Jocelyn Stevenson remained in her role as executive producer. Sam Barlow became the story executive, while Abi Grant and Paul Larson served as script editors. This series saw the adoption of a centralised cast, including, and.HiT Entertainment was itself then acquired by, a private equity company, in March 2005.A straight-to-video film, was released shortly before Series 9 in 2005.
While featuring characters from Thomas and the Magic Railroad, it was not a direct sequel. It proved successful, which resulted in more direct-to-video specials being produced.Series 9 (2005) and 10 (2006) saw the expansion of the supporting cast with new and old characters. From Series 9 the narrator would call out the episodes' names and from Series 11 the theme song was sung starting with the sound of a train whistle. Series 10 aired with twenty-eight episodes rather than the twenty-six of previous years.
The eleventh series (2007) was filmed in format. Twenty episodes aired in the original broadcast, while six were released directed to DVD as Engines and Escapades. Jocelyn Stevenson had stepped down as executive producer after Series 10, with Christopher Skala taking her place as executive producer for Series 11. Sharon Miller became the script editor from Series 9 to 11.Series 12 (2008) saw the introduction of CGI effects (provided by HiT Entertainment's subsidiary ), with the intent of producing the show entirely in CGI the following year.
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The traditional models and sets were still used, but with computer animated faces superimposed on the models to allow for changing facial expressions. Humans and animals were fully computer animated to allow for walking movement. Only twenty episodes were produced and broadcast (the U.S. Broadcast featured six additional episodes from Engines and Escapades). Sharon Miller became the head writer, starting with Series 12.HiT announced multiple changes to the show beginning in 2009. One new aspect was the introduction of live-action host segments to Thomas' home video releases.
The host took the form of a character who worked on The Fat Controller's (Sir Topham Hatt's) railway, who would instruct viewers in craft projects. For the final 2 DVDs released for Season 12 in 2009, the host was named Mr. Arkwright, played by Robert Slate. In 2010, beginning with the DVD 'Splish Splash Splosh', the host was named Mr. Perkins, played by Ben Forster, and has remained host until Forster died in 2017 after a battle with cancer and will be replaced by Mark Moraghan, who will play 'Mr Evans' in the upcoming web series.For budgetary reasons, the other major changes were a move to production in CGI, rather than using physical models, and the addition of a voice cast to support the established narrator.
The DVD feature, was the first Thomas & Friends production to showcase these changes, and Series 13 was the first television series in the new format. The CGI animation for the series was provided by Nitrogen Studios of.In September 2010, Apax was preparing to sell off HiT Entertainment and its franchises, including Thomas – regarded as the single most valuable asset – in order to help clear HiT's debts, and in February 2012, sold the company, along with the Thomas properties, to 'US toy giant',.During production of Series 16 (2012), Sharon Miller stepped down as head writer, and Andrew Brenner, who had written some Thomas stories in the third series, assumed the role after serving as script editor for 'Blue Mountain Mystery'. Additionally, Sam Barlow stepped down as story executive after the sixteenth series, and the production of the CGI animation was moved from Nitrogen Studios (of Vancouver) to (of ). And Series 17, both released during 2013, serve as the first special and series developed by the new animation and production teams respectively.2014 saw and Series 18, the second special and series animated by Arc, respectively.
2015 saw, a special coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the franchise, and; Series 19 began airing that same year. 2016 saw some changes; longtime composers Robert and Peter Hartshorne, father and son team, left the series and Chris Renshaw and Oliver Davis took over. 2016 also saw and Series 20 began airing the same year. Series 20 was the last series of the show to air on PBS Kids; when Series 21 began airing in 2017, the American broadcast of the show was moved to, ending a period of almost 28 years of Thomas & Friends on American public television.
2017 also saw. The show was pulled from Nick Jr. At the end of 2019.Thomas and Friends announced a twenty-second series with 26 Episodes with New Episodes among many other changes like: Edward, Henry and Toby being removed from the Steam Team to make room for two new female steam engines named Nia (Africa) and Rebecca (UK), and the narrator has been replaced with Thomas talking to the audience (however, Mark Moraghan, the previous narrator has said that he will still work on the series).Season 22 is set after Big World! Big Adventures!, which came out on 20 July 2018. It introduced gender-balanced and multicultural characters, and features a new theme tune.
The season is split into two-halves; the first half sees Thomas travelling around the world and visiting India, Australia, and China, while the second half takes place back on the Island of Sodor. The season was released on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in the late half of 2018.The series has since been renewed for a 23rd season which recently started production and debuted in 2019.A 24th season is set to be released in September 2020.
The season will also be the final series animated. It is currently unknown which studio will succeed them.Cast. Further information:, and StorytellingUp until series 12, narration and dialogue were performed by a single storyteller. Starting from series 22 onwards, Thomas the Tank Engine himself takes over as the narrator.ModelsThe original live action models were filmed on an extensive layout built at the studios.
The models were built to the 1:32 scale, known in model railway circles as '. The locomotives used chassis made by with specially made bodies. Along with the moving-eye and eyelid mechanisms and clay faces, these bodies also included smoke generators. Coaches and trucks were made using Tenmille kits. Later models were constructed entirely from scratch.
Some of the models from the sister television series were reused in later episodes of the series.From Series 5 to 12, some larger-scale models were used for the characters, to more easily fit the complex mechanisms into them while retaining a sufficient level of detail. In Series 6, the characters known as 'the Pack' (construction machines) were also constructed on a large scale, and larger models of and were made to interact with them. In the ninth series, another larger Thomas model was built to the same scale as the narrow gauge engines to provide greater possibilities for interaction. It was joined by a large version of in the tenth series. In 2009, some of these models were put on display in a special exhibit at 's. Nitrogen Studios, who provided the animation for the series from series 12 to 16, also had some of the original models on display.Face movementsAt the show's conception in 1984, live action model animation would not deliver, but show co-creator and model director did not see this as an inhibition.
About 20 years later however, with advancement in technology, the show saw the introduction of by HIT Entertainment's subsidiary HOT Animation. At first this was used to generate smoke and other effects, but later, (the current owners of Thomas) announced its intent to introduce a fully CGI series in 2009. With Series 12, CGI by Nitrogen Studios was used to animate characters' faces and to make people and animals mobile within the stories. The following series (the show's 13th) saw a transition to full CGI animation.MusicMike O'Donnell and composed the show's original main title theme, incidental music and songs, which were used for series 1–7 comprising 182 episodes between 1984 and 2003. The instruments for Seasons 1–2 was the and instrumentals for seasons 3–7 was the sound module.In 2004, Robert Hartshorne took O'Donnell and Campbell's place as composer, while became the show's songwriter from Series 8 to, and Welch left after The Great Discovery. Hartshorne took his place as songwriter from Series 12 and onwards.
From /2011-2016, Robert's son Peter Hartshorne helped him with the music.In 2016 the Hartshornes left the series and Chris Renshaw and Oliver Davis took their places.Head writer. The Independent. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018. (Press release). Retrieved 5 May 2014. ^.
Sodor Island. Archived from on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
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Retrieved 26 August 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2017.External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to.Wikiquote has quotations related to:Official websites.Other sites. at.
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