Thomas & 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 children's television series. It was first broadcast on BBC One and ITV in October 1984. It is based on The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher. The main character is Thomas the Tank Engine, a tank engine that is painted blue. The show takes place on the made-up island of Sodor. There are two main railways there. One of them is run by Sir Topham Hatt. The other one is a different size. Thomas runs on the main one (the one that is run by Sir Topham Hatt).

Characters 
The show is mainly about the machines and people who populate the fictional Island of Sodor. Since 1984, the show has had seven main characters:
 Thomas the Tank Engine
 Edward the Blue Engine
 Henry the Green Engine
 Gordon the Big Engine
 James the Red Engine
 Percy the Small Engine
 Toby the Tram Engine

Cast

Voices

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Former voices
|-
! Actor
! Region
! Role(s)
|-
| Martin Sherman
| US
| Thomas (Hero of the Rails - Series 18), Percy (Hero of the Rails - Series 18), Diesel (King of the Railway - Series 18), and some children (Toby and Bash)
|-
| rowspan="3"| Ben Small
| UK
| Thomas (Hero of the Rails - Series 18), Toby (Hero of the Rails - Series 18), and Ferdinand (Misty Island Rescue - Series 16)
|-
| US
| Stanley (Series 15 - 18) and Charlie (Series 16 - 18)
|-
| UK/US
| Rheneas (Blue Mountain Mystery - Series 18), Flynn (Series 17, only), Troublesome Trucks (Series 16 - 18) and Owen (Blue Mountain Mystery - Series 18)
|-
| Michael Brandon
| US
| Diesel (Series 13 - Blue Mountain Mystery), Mr. Bubbles (Series 13 - 15), and The Knapford Stationmaster (Series 13 only)
|-
| rowspan="2"| Rupert Degas| UK
| Butch (Series 15 only)
|-
| UK/US
| Diesel 10 (Misty Island Rescue; original cut only), Dart (Series 15 - 16), Flynn (Series 15 - 16), and Bertie (Series 15 - 16)
|}

Narrators
 Ringo Starr (UK/US Series 1–2) (1984–90)
 George Carlin (US Series 1–4) (1984–96)
 Michael Angelis (UK Series 3–16/US Series 6-7) (1991–2012) 
(Series 1-6 - Fullscreen) 
(Series 7-16 - Widescreen) 
(US Series 6-7 - Widescreen)
 Alec Baldwin (US Series 5–6) (1998–2003) 
(Series 5 - Fullscreen) 
(Series 6 - Widescreen)
 Michael Brandon (US Series 7–16/re-dubbed six episodes, Series 6) (2003–12) 
(Series 6-16 - Widescreen)
 Pierce Brosnan (UK/US "guest narrator" for DVD special The Great Discovery) (2008) 
(Widescreen)
 Mark Moraghan''' (UK/US Series 17–21/re-dubbed Series 13-15) (2013–17)
(Widescreen)

References

  

Series 6-8 were rerun on CITV while Series 9-11 were rerun on CBeebies

Other websites 
 
 

1980s British television series
1980s animated television series
1980s television series debuts
1984 television series debuts
1990s British television series
1990s television series debuts
2000s British television series
2000s television series debuts
2010s British television series
2010s television series debuts
Animated television series
Cartoon Network series
Channel 5 (UK) television programmes
Internet memes
PBS Kids shows
Television series about friendship
Thomas and Friends
English-language television programs
British children's television series