Thomas & Friends (series 1)

Thomas & Friends (series 1)
DVD cover art
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	4 September – 25 December 1984

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, who re-dubbed 25 episodes for the 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".^[1] 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.^[1][2]

Episodes

#	Total	UK title (top) US title (bottom)	Directed by	Source	Original air date
1	1	"Thomas and Gordon" "Thomas Gets Tricked"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	9 October 1984
Thomas is a blue tank engine who works at a big station on the Island of Sodor, shunting coaches to their proper places. He enjoys teasing the other engines, especially Gordon, the biggest and proudest engine. When his teasing goes too far, Gordon decides to teach him a lesson in retaliation.
2	2	"Edward and Gordon" "Edward Helps Out"	David Mitton	The Three Railway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Edward's Day Out" and the same name)	9 October 1984
Edward is an old engine, who has not been out working for a while. His crew feels sorry for him, and decide to use him one day, but helps Gordon the next day when he gets himself stuck on a hill.
3	3	"The Sad Story of Henry" "Come Out, Henry!"	David Mitton	The Three Railway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	16 October 1984
A green engine named Henry is afraid of the rain, thinking it will spoil his lovely green paint and red stripes. One day, he runs into a tunnel and refuses to come out. After numerous attempts to move him, The Fat Controller decides to shut him in the tunnel.
4	4	"Edward, Gordon and Henry" "Henry to the Rescue"	David Mitton	The Three Railway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	16 October 1984
Henry has been stuck in the tunnel for a long time, and wishes he had not been so silly. One day, Gordon goes too fast and bursts a safety valve. Edward is the only engine available, but he can't push the heavy train without Henry's help.
5	5	"Thomas' Train" "A Big Day for Thomas"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	23 October 1984
Thomas is getting bored with shunting, and wishes he could pull a train instead of merely collecting coaches. When Henry is ill, his chance comes—with disastrous results.
6	6	"Thomas and the Trucks" "Trouble for Thomas"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	23 October 1984
Thomas learns why trucks are troublesome when he takes Edward's goods train.
7	7	"Thomas and the Breakdown Train" "Thomas Saves the Day"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	30 October 1984
Thomas helps James after an accident, and is rewarded with a branch line of his own as well as his own coaches.
8	8	"James and the Coaches" "James Learns a Lesson"	David Mitton	James the Red Engine by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "James and the Top Hat" and "James and the Bootlace")	30 October 1984
James has a series of misfortunes with both The Fat Controller's top hat and coaches.
9	9	"Troublesome Trucks" "Foolish Freight Cars"	David Mitton	James the Red Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	6 November 1984
James is let out of the shed to pull a goods train.
10	10	"James and the Express" "A Proud Day for James"	David Mitton	James the Red Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	6 November 1984
James is honoured when he is given the job of pulling the express.
11	11	"Thomas and the Guard" "Thomas and the Conductor"	David Mitton	Tank Engine Thomas Again by Rev. W. Awdry	13 November 1984
Thomas accidentally forgets his guard at the junction.
12	12	"Thomas Goes Fishing"	David Mitton	Tank Engine Thomas Again by Rev. W. Awdry	13 November 1984
Thomas wants to fish after seeing people fishing, but the other engines say that engines do not fish. The next day, Thomas needs a drink, but the water tower is out of order, so Thomas' crew decides to get water from the river, but faces a consequence.
13	13	"Thomas, Terence and the Snow" "Terence the Tractor"	David Mitton	Tank Engine Thomas Again by Rev. W. Awdry	20 November 1984
Thomas meets Terence the tractor and says his wheels are ugly. Terence explains that they are caterpillar tracks, and he can go "anywhere". Thomas soon learns to respect him when he gets stranded in a snow bank and only Terence can help him
14	14	"Thomas and Bertie" "Thomas and Bertie's Great Race"	David Mitton	Tank Engine Thomas Again by Rev. W. Awdry	20 November 1984
Thomas meets a bus named Bertie, who reminds Thomas of the time he took his passengers after he got stuck in the snow and Terence came to pull him out. Bertie also challenges Thomas to a race.
15	15	"Tenders and Turntables"	David Mitton	Troublesome Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	27 November 1984
Gordon and James have turntable trouble, and both along with Henry decide to go on strike.
16	16	"Trouble in the Shed"	David Mitton	Troublesome Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	27 November 1984
Gordon, James and Henry go on strike, so The Fat Controller buys a tank engine named Percy to help.
17	17	"Percy Runs Away"	David Mitton	Troublesome Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	27 November 1984
Percy is startled by Gordon and runs away without his driver.
18	18	"Coal" "Henry's Special Coal"	David Mitton	Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	27 November 1984
Henry is sick and needs special Welsh coal, which is expensive.
19	19	"The Flying Kipper"	David Mitton	Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	4 December 1984
Henry has a critical accident whilst pulling "The Flying Kipper".
20	20	"Whistles and Sneezes"	David Mitton	Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Gordon's Whistle" and "Henry's Sneeze")	4 December 1984
Gordon has problems with his whistle, whilst Henry pays out some boys for dropping stones on him.
21	21	"Toby and the Stout Gentleman" "Toby the Tram Engine"	David Mitton	Toby the Tram Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	11 December 1984
Toby is a tram engine who works on his own little line. He is happy there with his coach Henrietta, but is quickly running out of work, being replaced by cars, lorries and buses. Soon, he is only carrying a few passengers and shunting few trucks.
22	22	"Thomas in Trouble" "Thomas Breaks the Rules"	David Mitton	Toby the Tram Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	11 December 1984
Thomas gets in trouble with a policeman for not having a cowcatcher or sideplates. When The Fat Controller hears about it, he buys Toby who brings Henrietta with him.
23	23	"Dirty Objects" "James in a Mess"	David Mitton	Toby the Tram Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	18 December 1984
James gets covered in tar, ironically after teasing Toby and Henrietta for being dirty.
24	24	"Off the Rails" "Gordon Takes a Dip"	David Mitton	Gordon the Big Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	18 December 1984
One morning, Gordon is very difficult. His stubbornness soon results in him falling into a ditch.
25	25	"Down the Mine"	David Mitton	Gordon the Big Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	25 December 1984
Thomas falls down a mine and only a disgraced Gordon can help.
26	26	"Thomas' Christmas Party"	David Mitton	Thomas' Christmas Party by Rev. W. Awdry	25 December 1984
Christmas has arrived on the Island of Sodor. All the engines are busy with passengers and parcels, especially Thomas and Toby. Thomas likes it when he passes Mrs. Kyndley's house while working, and she always waves to him. Thomas says it would not be Christmas without Mrs. Kyndley, and then goes to the shed to discuss to the other engines about throwing a Christmas party for her.

Characters

Introduced

• Thomas (Thomas and Gordon)
• Edward (Edward and Gordon)
• Henry (The Sad Story of Henry)
• Gordon (Thomas and Gordon)
• James (Thomas and the Breakdown Train)
• Percy (Trouble In The Shed)
• Toby (Toby and the Stout Gentleman)
• Bertie (Thomas and Bertie)
• Terence (Thomas, Terence and the Snow)
• The Fat Controller (The Sad Story of Henry)
• Lady Hatt (Toby and the Stout Gentleman)
• Bridget Hatt (Toby and the Stout Gentleman)
• Stephen Hatt (Toby and the Stout Gentleman)
• Mrs. Kyndley (Thomas' Christmas Party)
• Annie and Clarabel (Thomas and the Breakdown Train)
• Henrietta (Toby and the Stout Gentleman)
• The Troublesome Trucks (Edward and Gordon)

References

1. http://www.sodor-island.net/steveasquithinterview.html
2. http://www.brittallcroftproductions.com/tribute.htm