Thomas &amp; Friends (series 9)Thomas &amp; Friends (series 9) Thomas & Friends (series 9) "Thomas (the Tank Engine) & Friends" is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Reverend W. Awdry. This article lists and details episodes from the ninth Series of this show, which was first broadcast in 2005. This series was narrated by Michael Angelis for the United Kingdom audiences, while Michael Brandon narrated the episodes for the United States audiences. Some episodes in this series have two titles: the original titles from the United  Kingdom broadcasts are shown on top, while the American-adapted titles are shown underneath. Production. Starting in this series for the half-hour episodes that aired in the United States, at the beginning of each show, the characters' numbers would appear on each cab starting from Henry to Edward to Thomas as the countdown. Then, the workmen would get Thomas ready for the new day and Thomas' driver would signal the workmen that Thomas is ready by blowing Thomas' whistle. Thomas would soon start his adventures. Towards the end of each show, the countdown would begin again, and Thomas would  return to the station. The workmen would get Thomas ready for tomorrow, and Thomas would go to sleep with a sleeping cap on his funnel. In later seasons in the United States, they were shortened to accommodate a plug for Lego's Duplo line of toys. Sharon Miller began serving as script editor for this series. 30-minute episode version. The format of 30-minute episode version was unchanged from Series 8. Episodes. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Thomas & Friends (series 9) "Thomas (the Tank Engine) & Friends" is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the