Season 12

The **twelfth season** of Thomas & Friends aired in September 2008.

## Production

Season 12 marked the beginning of the show's transition into CGI. HiT Entertainment was originally keen on producing more model/CGI series but the plans fell through because of low finances and budget cuts.

The characters' faces were animated through CGI with the aid of motion-capture animation. The physical models' moulded faces were replaced by white targets with triangles to fix a computer-animated face in post-production.

It was the first season to utilise CGI elements, with the vehicles' faces being animated in CGI and other characters being fully CGI animated. There are twenty episodes in this series and all narrated by Michael Angelis in the UK and Michael Brandon in the US. Pierce Brosnan was originally meant to narrate this series in both English dubs, but ultimately Angelis and Brandon returned.

During production of this series, Toby received two new brass models to replace his original perspex model being twenty-four years old at this point.

## Episodes

1. Thomas and the Billboard
2. Steady Eddie
3. Rosie's Funfair Special
4. Mountain Marvel
5. Henry Gets it Wrong
6. Heave Ho Thomas!
7. Toby's Special Surprise
8. Excellent Emily
9. The Party Surprise
10. Saved You!
11. Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon
12. James Works it Out
13. Tram Trouble
14. Don't Go Back
15. Gordon Takes a Shortcut
16. The Man in the Hills
17. Thomas Puts the Brakes On
18. Percy and the Bandstand
19. Push Me, Pull You
20. Best Friends

## Songs

* Engine Roll Call
* The Office BBC Children in Need Medley

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* Duck
* Donald and Douglas
* Oliver
* Emily
* Ben
* Murdoch
* Neville
* Rosie
* Whiff
* Stanley
* Diesel
* Mavis
* Salty
* Skarloey
* Rheneas
* Sir Handel
* Peter Sam
* Duncan
* Freddie
* Rusty
* Troublesome Trucks
* Toad
* Hector
* Bertie
* Jack
* Harold
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Lady Hatt
* Dusty Miller
* The Photographer
* Mr. Percival
* Alice
* The Dairy Manager
* The Dairy Employees
* Mighty Mac (*Mighty speaks, but Mac does not*)
* Stepney (*does not speak in UK version*)
* Harvey (*does not speak*)
* Arthur (*does not speak*)
* 'Arry and Bert (*do not speak*)
* Annie and Clarabel (*do not speak*)
* Henrietta (*does not speak*)
* Rocky (*does not speak*)
* Trevor (*does not speak*)
* Alfie (*does not speak*)
* Jeremy (*does not speak*)
* Cranky (*does not speak*)
* Dowager Hatt (*does not speak*)
* Miss Jenny (*does not speak*)
* Farmer McColl (*does not speak*)
* Sodor Brass Band (*do not speak*)
* Mrs. Percival (*does not speak*)
* The Dockyard Manager (*does not speak*)
* Three Members of the Railway Board (*not named, do not speak*)
* The Percival Children (*The Percival Twins, do not speak, The rest of them, cameos*)
* Bulgy (*cameo*)
* Max or Monty (*cameo*)
* Farmer Trotter (*cameo*)
* Cyril the Fogman (*cameo*)
* Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants (*cameos*)
* Big MIckey (*faceless, cameo*)
* Proteus (*mentioned, seen as a statue*)
* The Mayor of Sodor (*mentioned*)
* Molly (*learning segment*)
* Dennis (*learning segment*)

### Character Introduced

* Hank
* Flora
* Colin
* The Blond-haired Engineer
* The Bargeman
* The Balloon Repairman
* Mr. Giggles (*does not speak*)
* Miss Marvel (*does not speak*)
* The Tree Specialists (*do not speak*)
* The Fireman (*does not speak*)
* The Schoolchildren (*do not speak*)
* The Ginger-haired Boy (*cameo*)
* The Blond-haired Boy (*cameo*)
* The Teacher (*cameo*)
* The Welsh Bird Watcher (*cameo*)
* The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (*cameo*)

## Half Hour Format

When Season 12 aired on PBS Kids, Nick Jr. UK and Treehouse, each broadcast had two episodes from Season 12, a segment dedicated to one of Thomas' friends and past animated learning segments and songs from season 8, 9 and 10 were used.

### Good Friends

* Best Friends
* Learning Segment: Dot to Dot - Emily
* Song: H is for Harold
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Rosie and Molly**
* Learning Segment: What is Henry Thinking of?
* Henry Gets it Wrong

### Being Careful

* Thomas and the Billboard
* Learning Segment: Guess the Engine - Percy
* Learning Segment: Who Should Take the Telegraph Pole?
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Toby**
* Learning Segment: Which Way Should Thomas and Emily Go?
* Learning Segments: Which Whistle Suits Thomas?
* Steady Eddie

### Good Turns

* Heave Ho Thomas!
* Learning Segment: Guess the Engine - James
* Song: Pride
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Henry**
* Learning Segment: Which Engine for Which Job?
* Toby's Special Surprise

### Right Track

* Don't Go Back
* Learning Segment: Dot to Dot - Gordon
* Learning Segment: Over the Bridge
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Gordon**
* Learning Segment: Which Track for Henry?
* Learning Segment: Emily Huffs out of the Station
* Percy and the Bandstand

### Courage

* Thomas Puts the Brakes On
* Learning Segment: Guess the Engine - Emily
* Song: Brave
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Neville and Dennis**
* Learning Segment: Getting There
* Gordon Takes a Shortcut

### Presents and Prizes

* The Man in the Hills
* Learning Segment: What is Thomas Thinking of?
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Harold and Jeremy**
* Learning Segment: Which Load to Which Station?
* Excellent Emily

### Kindness

* Tram Trouble
* Learning Segment: Dot to Dot - Toby
* Song: Responsibility
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Edward**
* Learning Segment: Who Can get to the Washdown?
* James Works it Out

### Pulling Together

* Rosie's Funfair Special
* Learning Segment: Dot to Dot - Percy
* Song: Togetherness
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Diesel**
* Learning Segment: Which Load for Which Party?
* Push Me, Pull You

### Adventures

* Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon
* Learning Segment: Dot to Dot - Thomas
* Learning Segment: What Does Toby see?
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - The Narrow Gauge Engines**
* Learning Segment: Percy's Treasure
* Mountain Marvel

### Mistakes

* Saved You!
* Learning Segment: Guess the Engine - Gordon
* Song: Doing it Right
* **Thomas' Favourite Friends - Percy**
* Learning Segment: Surprise Destinations
* The Party Surprise

## Trivia

* Nitrogen Studios began production on this series in November 2007. Additionally, according to writer Andrew Viner's website, the episode Rosie's Funfair Special was commissioned/written in 2007.
* The face reference book for this series is now owned by Twitter user TomsProps.
* It cost around 2.5 million to produce all 20 episodes, with a filming cost of about 1,000 an hour, which took the crew about five days to film each episode.

* This was the first season of several things:
	+ The first season where all engines' faces, human characters, animals and environmental surroundings are in full CGI and have animation.
	+ Sharon Miller's first season as head writer.
	+ Claire Waxler's first season as supervising producer, albeit uncredited, while being her first and only season as animation coordinator.
	+ The first season to be in 1080p progressive scan full high definition.
	+ The first season to have twenty episodes.
	+ The first season produced and to contain CGI by Nitrogen Studios.
	+ The first HiT season recorded and edited in 25 FBS (aside from the end credits).
	+ The first Thomas & Friends production since Thomas and the Magic Railroad in which humans and animals are shown walking onscreen.
	+ The first season to premiere on Milkshake! before the half hour airings on Nick Jr. in the UK.
	+ The first season since their debuts where 'Arry and Rocky appear, but do not speak in any of their appearances.
	+ The first season where Stephen Hatt does not appear.
	+ The first season to have Mark Robertson write episodes for the series.
	+ The first season in which Butch does not appear since his introduction in the fifth season.
	+ The first season where each of the characters has their own voices in the Italian and Korean dubs.
	+ The first season where James only speaks in two episodes and does not visit the narrow gauge railway.
	+ The first season where Ffarquhar Quarry does not appear.
	+ The first season not to be dubbed in Dutch

* This was also the last season of several things as well:
	+ The last season to use models and resin faces, however, the resin faces were used in background shots and scenes where objects obscured the faces.
	+ The last season to feature Thomas' shocked face without the bucktooth before the subsequent transition to CGI.
	+ Simon Spencer's last season as producer and showrunner.
	+ The last season filmed at Shepperton Studios.
	+ The last season where Stepney appears until the twenty-fifth season.
	+ The last season where Arthur, Murdoch, Neville, Freddie, Mighty Mac, Hector, Dusty Miller, Alice, Mrs. Percival, the Dockyard Manager and three Members of the Railway Board appear.
	+ The last season to feature the eighth season music.
	+ The last season to feature songs composed by Ed Welch.
	+ The last season in which the Sodor Island intro is used at the start of individual UK broadcasts.
	+ The television series veteran Steve Asquith's final series as director.
	+ The last production to have all of the characters voiced by the narrator until Thomas Goes to New York.
	+ The last season to have Abi Grant, Simson Spencer and Wayne Jackman as a part of the writing team.
	+ The last production to feature the up-scrolling end credits.
	+ The last time Paul Larson writes an episode until the seventeenth season as well as the last season where he writes an episode by himself.
	+ The final time until the eighteenth season episode, Samson Sent for Scrap to use the brake sound from The Train.
	+ The last season until the twenty-second season to introduce more than one engine.
	+ The last season to have songs sung by children until The Adventure Begins.
	+ The last season to have 7-minute episodes until the twenty-second season.
	+ The last season until the seventeenth season to not feature Thomas or any Steam Team member in every episode.
	+ Marc Seal and Sharon Miller's last season as Additional Material Written.
	+ This season marks the last appearance of Killdance Junction.
	+ The last season released in the 2000s. However, episodes from the thirteenth season seen on Splish, Splash, Splosh! were released early in theatres in the US.

* This was also the only season of several things as well:
	+ The only season to use a hybrid model/CGI mix.
	+ Dino Athanassiou's only season as CGI director.
	+ Pete Atkin's only season as voice director.
	+ The only season where Stepney speaks in the US dub, but not in the UK dub.
	+ The only season where Ben appears without Bill.
	+ The only season where Alfie, Cranky and Arthur appear, but do not speak since their introductions.
	+ The only season not shown on Japanese television, but some episodes have been shown exclusively at Thomas Land's 3D Theatre and Video on Demand in Japan.
	+ The only season to not be completely dubbed in Japanese.
	+ The only CGI series not to have a full voice cast for the characters outside of France and Korea.
	+ The only season to have Anna Starkey write an episode for the season.
	+ The only season to have Andrew Viner write for the season until the sixteenth season.
	+ The only season where Flora, Hank and Colin appear. Colin was meant to appear in King of the Railway, but was cut for unknown reasons.
	+ The only season to not include an original music video.
	+ The only season where every non-human character introduced only appeared in one episode each.

* Aside from the Teacher and the tree specialists, all of the characters introduced in this season have only ever appeared in their debut episodes.
* This season contained the 300th episode of the television series, which was James Works it Out.
* Pierce Brosnan was originally hired to narrate this series after The Great Discovery, but he was withdrawn from the series Michael Angelis and Michael Brandon returned to replace Brosnan. Brosnan is known to have recorded narration for, at the very least, several episodes of the series.
* The half-hour airings of Season 12 aired on Nick Jr. on May 2009 in the UK.
* This is the second season after the ninth season in which Spencer does not appear.
* In the UK, this series had been shown before The Great Discovery, meaning that the audience may not have known about Stanley or Great Waterton.
* This season was never shown in Hungary, Norway, Romania, Poland and the Netherlands, meaning audiences would not know about any of the new characters introduced in the series.
* Harvey, Arthur, Cranky, Max/Monty, Annie and Clarabel were the only non-human characters not to utilise CGI face masks. However, two pictures from a magazine story show Harvey with a CGI face.
* Donald, Douglas, Mavis, Salty, Neville, Sir Handel, Rusty, Mighty Mac, Freddie and the large scale models of Thomas, James and Percy were the only non-human characters not to utilise resin face masks.
* However, the side of Mac's resin face can be seen in one episode and the side of Thomas' can be seen in two respective episodes.
* Despite using CGI for the engines' faces primarily for close up shots, there are scenes that show some characters with their face castings, mostly for some long and medium shots.
* One year later in 2009, the twelfth season along with the eighth to the eleventh season aired at 5:35 or 5:40 am on Sundays and Mondays until the rights from live action model animation expired in 2012.