Season 1

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This article is about the first series of Thomas & Friends. You may be looking for the first series of All Engines Go.

Series 1

1984 (A)
1984 (B)
1998
Restored

Director(s)
David Mitton
Producer(s)
Britt Allcroft
David Mitton
Robert D. Cardona
Composer(s)
Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell
Narrator(s)
Ringo Starr (UK; US all but one episode)
George Carlin (US)

No. of episodes
26
Released
9 October 1984 - 8 January 1985 (UK)
29 January 1989 - 25 November 1991 (US)
Episode Guide
Next →
Series 2
The first series of Thomas & Friends started airing on 9th October 1984 in the UK. Ringo Starr narrated its twenty-six episodes in the UK, later re-dubbing twenty-five in the US for Shining Time Station from 1989 to 1990. George Carlin re-dubbed the entire series for the US from 1991 to 1993.
Contents

1Production
2The Pilot
3Episodes
4Characters
4.1Characters Introduced
5Trivia
6References

Production
All episodes in the first series were adaptations of The Reverend W. Awdry's stories, with the exception of an episode written by the staff, Thomas' Christmas Party, a book based on the eponymous episode was made as well. The stories were adapted by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton. The seven engines introduced in this series became the core of the cast in later series. The pilot for the series was Down the Mine, which was remade entirely when the rest of the episodes were shot.
The Pilot
Screenshot
Title
Original UK release date
Episode number #

Down the Mine (Unaired Pilot)
Unaired
(Test Screened Mid-1983)

1. 00

The original 1983 pilot episode of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. The pilot was based on the Railway Series story Down the Mine and differed from the final aired version. The pilot was never broadcast, but instead was re-filmed after the series was greenlit by ITV. Only one scene from the pilot can be seen from the final version of the episode.
Episodes
(Note: ¹ means that an episode was not narrated by Ringo Starr in the US and was only narrated by George Carlin in the US.)
(Note: ² means that an episode was narrated by George Carlin in the US but was never released on Shining Time Station and was only released on VHS or DVD.)
(Note: ³ means that an episode was reused for Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales.)
(Note: ⁴ means that an episode was seen on Mister Moose's Fun Time.)
Screenshot
UK title (top)
US title (bottom)
Original UK release date
Episode number #

Thomas and GordonThomas Gets Tricked ⁴
9th October 1984

1. 01

Thomas enjoys teasing a bigger engine named Gordon, but when his cheekiness goes too far, Gordon decides to teach Thomas a lesson.

Edward and GordonEdward Helps Out ²
9th October 1984

1. 02

A small engine named Edward feels sad, which makes the crew feel sorry for him and take him out one day. Then he gets to help Gordon when he ends up stuck on a hill.

The Sad Story of HenryCome Out, Henry! ³
16th October 1984

1. 03

A big, green tender engine named Henry believes the rain will spoil his paintwork and he runs into a tunnel, in which he is eventually bricked up due to his refusal to puff out.

Edward, Gordon and HenryHenry to the Rescue
16th October 1984

1. 04

Gordon goes too fast and bursts a safety valve right in front of the tunnel. Henry is let out of the tunnel to help Edward pull the express.

Thomas' TrainA Big Day for Thomas
23rd October 1984

1. 05

Thomas wishes he could pull a train. When Henry is ill, his chance comes with unexpected results.

Thomas and the TrucksTrouble for Thomas ³
23rd October 1984

1. 06

Thomas and Edward agree to swap jobs. However, Edward's train consists of Troublesome Trucks, which love to play tricks.

Thomas and the Breakdown TrainThomas Saves the Day ³ ⁴
30th October 1984

1. 07

When a new engine called James comes off the rails, Thomas quickly comes to the rescue with the Breakdown Train, and the Fat Controller gives him a branch line as a reward.

James and the CoachesJames Learns a Lesson
30th October 1984

1. 08

James wets the Fat Controller's new top hat with steam and then bumps his coaches so hard that one of their brakes fail.

Troublesome TrucksFoolish Freight Cars
6th November 1984

1. 09

James has been confined to the shed but is released to pull trucks. The trucks misbehave, but James does not give up.

James and the ExpressA Proud Day for James ² ⁴
6th November 1984

1. 10

When Gordon is switched the wrong way and gets lost, James is given the Express.

Thomas and the GuardThomas and the Conductor
13th November 1984

1. 11

Thomas' impatience leads to him forgetting his guard, much to his coaches, Annie and Clarabel's disappointment.

Thomas Goes Fishing
13th November 1984

1. 12

Thomas wants to go fishing, but he learns the hard way when he takes on river water.

Thomas, Terence and the SnowTerence the Tractor ²
20th November 1984

1. 13

Thomas meets Terence the Tractor and says his caterpillar tracks are ugly. However, Thomas is shown just how useful they are when he crashes into a snowdrift.

Thomas and BertieThomas and Bertie's Great Race
20th November 1984

1. 14

Thomas meets Bertie the Bus who challenges him to a race.

Tenders and Turntables
27th November 1984

1. 15

Ever since Thomas got his own branch line, the big engines have to shunt their own coaches. Then Gordon and James get into trouble on the turntable.

Trouble in the Shed
27th November 1984

1. 16

The big engines go on strike so the Fat Controller buys a new tank engine called Percy to help.

Percy Runs Away
4th December 1984

1. 17

Percy forgets to whistle to the signalman so he could go on the main line and is so startled by Gordon that he runs away.

CoalHenry's Special Coal
4th December 1984

1. 18

Henry is not feeling well. The Fat Controller comes to a conclusion that Henry needs special Welsh coal to make steam.

The Flying Kipper
11th December 1984

1. 19

Henry is chosen to pull the "Flying Kipper". However, ice jams the points and snow forces down a signal, leading Henry to crash.

Whistles and Sneezes ¹ ³
11th December 1984

1. 20

Gordon's whistle jams and he cannot stop whistling and Henry sneezes at some trouble-making boys.

Toby and the Stout GentlemanToby the Tram Engine
18th December 1984

1. 21

A steam tram engine named Toby and his coach, Henrietta, meet the Fat Controller and his family on their holiday, but their line slowly closes down.

Thomas in TroubleThomas Breaks the Rules
18th December 1984

1. 22

Thomas gets in trouble with a policeman. When the Fat Controller hears about it, he buys Toby and Henrietta.

Dirty ObjectsJames in a Mess
25th December 1984

1. 23

Toby and Henrietta often get teased by James about their old-fashioned appearance. However, James crashes into some tar tanker wagons.

Off the RailsGordon Takes a Dip
8th January 1985

1. 24

Gordon decides to jam the turntable to avoid taking a special train full of trucks, but his attempt makes him slide into a ditch.

Down the Mine
8th January 1985

1. 25

Thomas goes to a lead mine to collect some trucks, but foolishly passes a danger board and falls down a mine and needs Gordon's help.

Thomas' Christmas Party ²
25th December 1984

1. 26

Thomas wants to hold a special Christmas party for Mrs. Kyndley. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kyndley's house is snowed in, so he must assist Toby and Terence to help clear the snow.
Characters
Characters Introduced
Thomas
Edward
Henry
Gordon
James
Percy
Toby
Annie and Clarabel
Henrietta
Troublesome Trucks
Terence
Bertie
Sir Topham Hatt
Stephen Hatt
Bridget Hatt
Mrs. Kyndley
Engine Inspector
The Ffarquhar Policeman
The First Butler
The Little Boys
The Stone-Dropping Boys
Jeremiah Jobling (not named)
Lady Hatt (not named; does not speak)
Percy's Workshop Friends (wheels and buffers only; do not speak)
Märklin Engine (cameo)
Farmer Finney (cameo)
Sir Topham Hatt's Blond-haired Assistant (cameo)
The Ffarquhar Stationmaster (cameo)
Earnest (portrait cameo)
Toby's Controller (mentioned)
The Green Bus (indirectly mentioned)
Trivia
When the series was first broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, two episodes would be compiled into one ten minute block with a nameboard sequence featured in between. For subsequent broadcasts, the stories were shown individually.
Filming lasted seven months, commencing in September 1983 and wrapping in March 1984. Post-production wrapped on 24th April 1984.
The production packet for this season can be viewed on Google Drive.
According to Ringo Starr, he spent eight days recording his dubs, including retakes for four episodes due to the tone of his voice.
In the Norwegian, original Swedish, Finnish, Slovenian and C4U Media's Korean DVDs credit Ringo Starr as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed in those respective languages.
The Korean DVDs of DVD Acadamy credit George Carlin as the narrator, even thought they were dubbed over. Additionally, Carlin's dub can be heard in the background of those DVDs as a dubbing track was not used.
In the original Swedish dub, the episode titles were not translated in Swedish.
Most of the scripts for this series were partially edited for the US re-dubs.
Central Independent Television commissioned the production of this series and the next.
In the original Polish and Ukrainian dubs, Ringo Starr's dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.
Several features are exclusive to this series:
It is the only series until the twenty-first to have its UK recordings released in the US, excluding a duplicate of the fifth series episode, Something in the Air released on the Roku Channel, the seventh series episode, The Grand Opening released on both Kabillion on Demand and the Roku Channel, the eighth series on Kabillion, and the segments selected for Tales on the Rails.
This was the only time lead was used to create the human characters. From the second series to the eleventh, all human characters were made from resin, so they could move around more easily.
This was also the only series:
Where trucks have their faces embedded in their bodies. From the second to eleventh series, the trucks have moulded faces, although some first series-style trucks appeared in some of these episodes.
To feature Old Coaches.
Dubbed in Slovak, and the only series dubbed in Icelandic until the thirteenth series.
In the Finnish dub where Thomas is always called Thomas the Tank Engine.
Shot at Clapham Junction and Clearwater Studios in Battersea. All future series were shot at Shepperton Studios.
Released on Betamax. Two tapes were released and consist of all the episodes. The first includes episodes 1-13, and the second includes episodes 14-26. Kaledioscope re-released them on VHS on 28th April 1986, and VCI also re-released them on 16th May 1988, each with similar tactics, such as the nameboards being used in the opening titles. This also happened for the 1990 Bumper Special, as well as the Betamax releases. From 22nd November 1993, the VHS releases were given new covers and renamed from their original versions.
Because the first two Railway Series books were adapted in the 2015 special The Adventure Begins, this means that technically, the first seven episodes were recreated in CGI in that special.
Scenes from The Sad Story of Henry and Down the Mine were also recreated in CGI for the 2012 special, Blue Mountain Mystery.
Scenes from Thomas, Terence and the Snow were recreated for the Series 21 episode, Terence Breaks the Ice.
When first broadcast on ITV, Dirty Objects was paired with Thomas' Christmas Party and Off the Rails with Down the Mine. On VHS, however, Dirty Objects was paired with Off the Rails and Down the Mine with Thomas' Christmas Party.
On CITV, the first series was broadcast again between 18th November - 24th December 1985 as separate episodes. Repeats of ten-minute blocks include the following:
Wednesdays from 8th July - 9th September 1987, ending with The Flying Kipper and Whistles and Sneezes. Thomas' Christmas Party was shown individually on 30th December.
Mondays and Thursdays from 5th - 22nd December 1988, then Mondays only from 12th January - 20th February 1989 with a repeat showing of Thomas' Train/Thomas and the Trucks on 27th February which was shortly followed by the second series from 6th March-22nd May 1989 before TUGS was shown on CiTV.
Four double bills were repeated on Mondays from 30th July - 20th August 1990.
According to an article in the Sunday Telegraph, it cost £500,000 to produce all twenty-six episodes.
The UK dub's iTunes release uses the restored version of the series.
The final sets built were the ones involving Toby's Old Tramway, and so the majority of promotional images from the first series depict these sets.
Some sound effects were specially recorded for the first series at the Talyllyn Railway.
This series was introduced by a variety of Children's ITV presenters. Windsor Davies, in character as Sergeant Major Zero from Terrahawks, introduced the first four pairs of episodes of the series for four weeks until the arrival of Bonnie Langford on 6th November 1984. She, in turn, introduced a run of eight episodes for a month. Matthew Kelly took charge of introducing more episodes from 4th December 1984 until the pairing of Dirty Objects and Thomas' Christmas Party on Christmas Day. The following year, Roland Rat introduced the remaining two episodes finally ending the series.
According to maps drawn by David Mitton, locations that later appeared in Series 2, Tidmouth and Crosby were meant to either appear or were planned for Series 1.
References
↑ https://twitter.com/TomsProps/status/1258093912998240256

Series 1
Series 2 >>

1. 01 Thomas and Gordon
2. 10 James and the Express
3. 19 The Flying Kipper
4. 02 Edward and Gordon
5. 11 Thomas and the Guard
6. 20 Whistles and Sneezes
7. 03 The Sad Story of Henry
8. 12 Thomas Goes Fishing
9. 21 Toby and the Stout Gentleman
10. 04 Edward, Gordon and Henry
11. 13 Thomas, Terence and the Snow
12. 22 Thomas in Trouble
13. 05 Thomas' Train
14. 14 Thomas and Bertie
15. 23 Dirty Objects
16. 06 Thomas and the Trucks
17. 15 Tenders and Turntables
18. 24 Off the Rails
19. 07 Thomas and the Breakdown Train
20. 16 Trouble in the Shed
21. 25 Down the Mine
22. 08 James and the Coaches
23. 17 Percy Runs Away
24. 26 Thomas' Christmas Party
25. 09 Troublesome Trucks
26. 18 Coal