Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends

***Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends*** is a British children's television series that aired across 9 series from 1984 to 2006. Based on *The Railway Series* books by Rev. W. Awdry and his son Christopher, the series was developed for television by Britt Alcroft. The series follows the adventures of Thomas, an anthropomorphised blue steam locomotive on the fictional North Western Railway on the Island of Sodor, and several other anthropomorphised locomotives on the North Western Railway, including Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, and Toby. They work for the Fat Controller, who always wants his engines to be "really useful engines".

In the United States, it was first broadcast along with the spin-off series *Shining Time Station* on PBS in 1989.

The rights to the series are currently owned by Paramount), which acquired Gullane Entertainment in July 2002.

A new 3D-animated series, *Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go*, premiered on 13 September 2009.

## History

### Predecessors

The first attempt to adapt Awdry's stories for television came in 1953, when the editor of the *Railway Series* books, Eric Marriott, was approached by the BBC, who wished to use live-action model trains to re-create two stories from Awdry's first book, *The Three Railway Engines*. 00 gauge Hornby Dublo models appeared on sets that reflected 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 Lime Grove Studios. The live broadcast did not fare well: a failure to switch the points caused the model of Henry to derail and it had to be replaced on the rails by one of the operators. The models moved jerkily, and all effects and music had to be superimposed.

News of the broadcast hit the front pages of *The Daily Telegraph* and the *Daily Mail*. Awdry branded the episode "unprofessional", and the point-switching debacle an "elementary mistake". As a result, the second episode scheduled for 28 June 1953 was put on hold, and then later cancelled. The BBC offered Awdry and the *Railway Series* publishers greater creative control over the production, but the publishers declined, preferring to focus on publishing new books for the series.

Nearly twenty years later, the BBC featured Awdry's stories in the television story-telling show *Jackanory*. Fourteen years before *Thomas and Friends* was aired, Ted Ray (sitting in a stationmaster's office) read five *Railway Series* books in episodes that aired between 20 September to 2 October 1970.

In 1973, Andrew Lloyd Webber (who had read *The Railway Series* as a child) approached publisher Kaye & Ward with a proposal for a musical television series, with songs from himself and lyricist Peter Reeves. However, the publishers and the author refused to give Lloyd Webber's company "control of almost everything", which Lloyd Webber's lawyers argued was necessary in order to "secure the investment money from America which would be needed to pay for the animation and the film-making." The status of the project seemed uncertain, and while Stanley Pickard (Kaye & Ward's managing director at the time) told Awdry that he was "maintaining personal contact with Andrew and still had a slight hope that there might be a way out", Awdry remained apprehensive, saying that "Once the Americans get hold of it the whole series would be vulgarised and ruined." Eventually, an agreement was reached and Awdry received an advanced payment of £500. A pilot episode was commissioned from Granada, which would feature 2D cutouts of the engines moving along a background in a style reminiscent of *Ivor the Engine*, with involvement from animator Brian Cosgrove. The cutouts and backgrounds were based on illustrations from *The Railway Series*. The pilot episode was completed by early 1976, but Granada ultimately decided not to produce a full series, as they feared that at the time Awdry's stories were not popular enough outside the UK to justify the time and money needed to make the series. Andrew Lloyd Webber later established the Really Useful Group in 1977, a name derived from the phrase "Really Useful Engine". He would go on to work on a musical loosely inspired by *The Railway Series*, called *Starlight Express*, which premiered in 1984, and became one of his most well-known works.

### Early years and the series' success

In 1979, British television producer Britt Allcroft was producing a documentary on the Bluebell Railway, a heritage railway in Sussex which featured in the *Railway Series* book *Stepney the Bluebell Engine*. 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 David Mitton, the founder of Clearwater Features Ltd.; crew member Steve Asquith; American-born producer Robert D. Cardona; and composers and songwriters Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.

#### As a 5-minute TV segment (1984–2000)

The series started production in 1984, produced by Clearwater Features Ltd. (Mitton and Cardona's company) and ITV's Central Independent Television region. 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. Production was later relocated to Shepperton Studios, Surrey, 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. Stop motion 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 Rev. W. Awdry, *Thomas's Christmas Party*. The second series (1986) used stories from Book No.9 (*Edward the Blue Engine*) to Book No.30 (*More About Thomas the Tank Engine*). The latter book was unusual, as it was written specifically by Christopher Awdry 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, *Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree*. One episode ("The Missing Coach") was in the process of being filmed, but was cancelled mid-way through filming as Allcroft decided it was too confusing for young viewers. The production team went on to use "Better Late Than Never" instead. The story "Gordon Goes Foreign" from the *Railway Series* book *The Eight Famous Engines* was also planned to be adapted but was scrapped due to budgetary limitations.

In between production of the second and third series, the production team were focused on producing two other television series: *Tugs*, which ran for one series in 1989 for Television South (TVS); and the American television series *Shining Time Station*, which repackaged *Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends* for the American television market from 1989 to 1996.

Clearwater closed on 31 December 1990, just before production of Series three, with The Britt Allcroft Company becoming the sole producer. Series three had its first 16 episodes released on VHS in November 1991 before its broadcast debut in 1992 on CITV. 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 17), and 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 Thomas (the nominal main character). Awdry complained that the new stories would be unrealistic (see Henry the Green Engine for more details). Robert D. Cardona left as producer, while Britt Allcroft joined David Mitton as co-producer. Angus Wright took over as executive producer.

Series 4 was first released direct to video between 1994 and 1995, before its broadcast debut on Cartoon Network. The producers planned to introduce some new female characters, including motor car Caroline, Nancy, and The Refreshment Lady. Some commentators took this as a response to accusations of sexism levelled against the series two years earlier. In reality, these were not "new" characters, but rather creations of Awdry from the original *Railway Series* books. Series four was almost entirely based on *The Railway Series*. The narrow-gauge 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 its plot and dialogue from *Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine*.

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 Cranky, The Horrid Lorries and Old Slow Coach. It also focused on more dramatic and action-oriented plotlines, along with more severe accidents, than the earlier series. After series 5, Angus Wright stepped down as executive producer. It was the final series broadcast on Cartoon Network, as Cartoon Network UK would eventually acquire the broadcast rights to the show for it to air on their newly created Nick Jr. channel in 1999. CN continued to air older series until their broadcast rights fully expired in 2001.

*Thomas and the Magic Railroad* 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 had introduced *Thomas* to the U.S., *Shining Time Station*. 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.

### Later years

The Britt Allcroft Company (which changed its name to Gullane Entertainment in 2000) was purchased by Paramount, in September 2002.

The sixth and seventh series (2002-2004) were first released directly to VHS and DVD as forty-six episodes in the US and fifty-two in the UK, and continued to introduce action-packed storylines, as well as new characters. These series saw the introduction of a writing staff. The sixth series (2002) saw an 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. The sixth series was the very first series to premiere on CITV and CITV became the very first channel in the UK to air series six first, series six was also rebroadcast a few months later on CITV, series six was the first series of the programme broadcast on CITV since series 3 had aired on it over 10 years ago.

Thomas and the Shining Road was released in December 2003 in the UK, US, and Canada. It featured new characters Emily, Spencer, Fergus, Arthur, and Murdoch, along with characters from the previous movie, Thomas and the Magic Railroad. On July 1, 2000, it was reported that Paramount Pictures began development on a sequel, featuring CGI faces on the models. Baldwin and Wilson were expected to reprise their roles. Screenwriting began in July 2001, and filming began in September of 2002. Like its predecessor the film faced production issues, after Allcroft declined to direct a second film. The sequel was named *Thomas and the Shining Road* and was released in late 2003 to mixed reviews.

The seventh series (2004) was the first series since the third series to make its debut on UK television on CITV first, considering the sixth series had previously debuted on CITV first. It was aired after Thomas and the Shining Road and featured the same characters introduced from the movie to the series. The seventh series was set after the events of Thomas and the Shining Road.

The fact that older sets were used and that 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 (2004) 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, although Mitton remained as the director. Executive producer Angus Wright was replaced by Peter Urie and Allcroft as executive producers for Series 6.

The eighth series (2005) was first released directly to VHS and DVD as four episodes in the US and six in the UK, before airing on television on Cartoon Network in the UK and PBS in the US. It introduced a number of significant changes to the show. Many members of the original founding team involved in the original show since 1984 left production, except for Britt Allcroft, director and writer David Mitton, and original composers Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. Asquith, who was part of the original production team since 1984, took over as director, while Simon Spencer replaced Phil Fehrle as producer. The eighth series was the very last series to air on CITV. The eight series was aired separately in two parts, by the time the second half of the eight series aired, CITV had become its own channel, coincidentally around this time Channel 5's preschool programming block, Milkshake!, had also acquired rights to air *Thomas & Friends* too, rebroadcasting series 8 in October that same year. CITV would continue to air repeats of series 6-8 before losing all the rights to the programme in 2007.

Series 9 (2006) saw the expansion of the supporting cast with new and old characters. From Series 9 only, the narrator would call out the episodes' names. Twenty episodes aired in the original broadcast, while six were first released direct to DVD as *Engines and Escapades* and later aired on TV. Jocelyn Stevenson stepped down as executive producer after Series 9, Sharon Miller became the script editor for Series 9. Series 9 was the very last series for Thomas and Friends before the series went into full CGI production. A CGI movie, The Great Discovery, was developed in 2007, and was released in 2008 for US cinemas in July, and later for DVD for the US in September, and was then released for UK cinemas in late September, and later for DVD in October. It was the first Thomas film since the 2003 movie, Thomas and the Shining Road to use CGI, this time, the movie completely uses CGI

### Reboot

On 12 October 2020, it was announced by Paramount that the series would be rebooted with *Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go* and that Nelvana would co-produce and animate the series. The deal stipulated that 104 11-minute episodes and 2 60-minute specials would be produced, and that the animation would transition from 3D full CGI animation (used since its transition to full CGI in 2009) to 2D animation, with new refreshed redesigns for Thomas and his friends. On 5 February 2009, it was announced that Cartoon Network had jointly picked up the broadcast and streaming rights to the series in the United States, respectively. Turner has teamed with Paramount to make the reboot.

## Voice cast

Main article: List of Thomas & Friends voice actors

Originally, narrating was used as the only voice in the series. Britt Alcroft thought it essential to convey the episode as a story that would be read from a book at home. Individual voice-over actors were given to both the UK and US dubs of the series, following the reboot with full CGI animation in 2009. The narrators include Britt Alcroft, Michael Angelis, George Carlin, and Alec Baldwin.

### Television series

Main article: List of Thomas & Friends episodes