Country of origin United Kingdom Original network ITV | No. of episodes 26 | |
Original release 9 October (1984-10-09) –
25 December 1984 (1984-12-25) | ||
Thomas & Friends (previously known as 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 Rev. W. Awdry.
This article lists and details episodes from the first series, which was originally broadcast in 1984. This series was initially narrated by Ringo Starr for the U.K. audiences and U.S. audiences on the American television show Shining Time Station. The entire series was later re-dubbed by George Carlin for the U.S. audiences.
Most episodes in this series have two titles: the original titles from the U.K. broadcasts are shown on top, while the American-adapted titles are shown underneath.
All episodes from this series can be found on the DVD release Thomas: The Early Years, released by Anchor Bay Entertainment and HIT Entertainment in 2004.
It was produced by Clearwater Features Ltd. for Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd.
Production
All of the stories in Series 1 were originally written by the Rev. W. Awdry, including a one-off story commissioned by the staff, Thomas' Christmas Party. The seven engines introduced in this series became the core of the cast in later episodes, with crew member (and from Series 8-12, director) Steve Asquith terming them the "Magnificent Seven". Many settings from the first series would stay with the show for years, even through its 2009 transition to CGI, such as Knapford Station, Wellsworth, Gordon's Hill, Henry's Tunnel, and Tidmouth Sheds.
The pilot for the series, which was never aired on television, was an adaptation of "Down the Mine," which was remade entirely when the rest of the episodes were shot.