Thomas & Friends (series 3)

Thomas & Friends (series 3)
DVD cover art
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	26
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	25 February – 14 July 1992

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 third series of the show, which was first broadcast for the U.S. in 1991 as part of Shining Time Station, and followed a year later for the U.K. This series was narrated by Michael Angelis for the U.K. audiences, while George Carlin narrated the episodes for the U.S. audiences.

Some 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.

Production

Filming

Series 3 was produced in 1991 and 1992 by The Britt Allcroft Company in association with Japanese television station Fuji Television. It was divided into two parts, one part having 16 episodes and the other having 10. Sixteen episodes aired in the United States in 1991 as part of Shining Time Station, and the last ten episodes aired on the same program in 1993. The entire series aired in 1992 in the United Kingdom. It was made at a cost of £1.3 million (approximately $9.3 million in U.S. dollars).^[1] Before production of series 3, Clearwater Features closed down, with The Britt Allcroft Company becoming the sole producer. Producer Robert D. Cardona left before series 3, and Britt Allcroft took his place as co-producer alongside David Mitton. According to Robert Gauld-Galliers, "Gordon Goes Foreign" was originally planned to be filmed into an episode, but it wasn't because of high budgets.^[2]

Stories

The series was a combination of episodes derived from The Railway Series, stories in the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine (written by the series' current head writer, Andrew Brenner), and a couple of original stories by Allcroft and Mitton. One of the primary reasons for diverging from the original books was that many of the stories not yet used featured large numbers of new characters, which would be expensive to produce. Another was that the producers wanted more stories about Thomas, the nominal main character. Awdry worried that the new stories would be unrealistic (see Henry the Green Engine for more details).^[1]

Episodes

#	Total	UK title (top) US title (bottom)	Directed by	Source	Original air date
1	53	"A Scarf for Percy"	David Mitton	Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Percy and the Trousers")	25 February 1992
Percy dislikes the cold, and wants a scarf for his funnel to keep warm. But as he goes to play a trick on the coaches, it ends in an accident.
2	54	"Percy's Promise"	David Mitton	Percy the Small Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	3 March 1992
Percy promises to take the Sunday School Class home, but a storm makes it very hard to get there. Before long, Percy runs into a severe flood that the water leaks in and douses his fire.
3	55	"Time for Trouble"	David Mitton	The Eight Famous Engines by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Double Header")	17 March 1992
James boasts about being as reliable as clockwork, and Toby goes to be repaired. However, he runs out of water on James' line, so they have to move together.
4	56	"Gordon and the Famous Visitor"	David Mitton	Duck and the Diesel Engine by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Domeless Engines")	24 March 1992
Gordon is jealous of a visiting engine who has gone a hundred miles an hour, and wants to prove he's just as special. But Gordon's dome can't handle such speeds in the wind.
5	57	"Donald's Duck"	David Mitton	Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	31 March 1992
Duck is conceited about his new branch, so Donald says he might lay an egg as he "quacks" so much. So Duck and his crew play a trick on Donald by hiding a duck in his water tank.
6	58	"Thomas Gets Bumped"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	7 April 1992
Thomas is proud of his branch line, but is very disappointed when he has to shunt trucks due to track repair, while Bertie takes his passengers.
7	59	"Thomas, Percy and the Dragon"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	7 April 1992
Percy teases Thomas for being scared of his ghost once. But the next night, Thomas has to take a paper Chinese Dragon. And as Percy sees it, he realises it's no fun being scared.
8	60	"Diesel Does It Again"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	14 April 1992
Duck and Percy are very displeased when Diesel comes to work at the Harbour, even though Sir Topham Hatt promised that he'd be gone for good for his last visit.
9	61	"Henry's Forest"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	14 April 1992
Henry loves going to the forest to admire the scenery. But one night, a windstorm damages the trees there, making him sad. To make Henry feel happy again, new trees are planted to replace the damaged ones.
10	62	"The Trouble with Mud"	David Mitton	Gordon the Big Engine by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Leaves")	21 April 1992
Gordon is too muddy to pull the Express, making James very boastful about getting the job. But he ignores Gordon's warning about the muddy leaves on the hill.
11	63	"No Joke for James"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	21 April 1992
When Gordon tells James he's not as good as he is, he lies to Thomas that he'll be pulling coaches while Gordon takes trucks. But soon, James has to regain his dignity.
12	64	"Thomas, Percy and the Post Train" "Thomas, Percy and the Mail Train"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	28 April 1992
Thomas and Percy like taking the mail, but a Boat delays them, so Harold is given the new job for being more efficient. But the engines soon find another useful job.
13	65	"Trust Thomas"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	28 April 1992
Thomas agrees to help Bertie, but James doesn't want to do Percy's work and, with advice from Gordon, James fakes sickness to get out of work and gets Thomas to take the trucks. However, the trucks thinking one engine is as good as another put Thomas in a bad situation.
14	66	"Mavis"	David Mitton	Tramway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	5 May 1992
Mavis is a young diesel engine who thinks she has better things to do than listen to Toby. She completely ignores him, and is soon stuck at a crossing with her trucks.
15	67	"Toby's Tightrope"	David Mitton	Tramway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	5 May 1992
Mavis wants another run on Toby's line, but the trouble she caused prevented it. So she makes a plan that gets her on the line, but also nearly knocks Toby off hence entering a collapsing bridge.
16	68	"Edward, Trevor and the Really Useful Party"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	12 May 1992
The Vicar is planning a party, and Trevor tells Edward about it. Edward wants to help. Despite Bertie teasing Trevor for being slow, the party becomes a success for both Edward and Trevor.
17	69	"Buzz, Buzz" "James Goes Buzz, Buzz"	David Mitton	Main Line Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	12 May 1992
James boasts to Duck and BoCo about not being afraid of bees. But later James gets a surprise when a bee hive breaks and causes havoc.
18	70	"All at Sea"	David Mitton	Original by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton	19 May 1992
While watching the local regatta, Duck tells Percy he wishes about going overseas to different places. But he soon helps an injured sailor to the hospital in order to show that engines are useful.
19	71	"One Good Turn"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	26 May 1992
Bill and Ben work hard all day, and finally get to go on the turntable in the yard. But Bill and Ben end up being face to face. They argue, and end up splitting up.
20	72	"Tender Engines"	David Mitton	Enterprising Engines by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Tenders for Henry")	2 June 1992
A double-tendered engine unknowingly causes trouble. Although Gordon overcomes his problem about doubting steam engines' usefulness, it makes Henry want more than one tender, which comes true.
21	73	"Escape"	David Mitton	Enterprising Engines by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Little Western" and the same name)	9 June 1992
Edward tells Douglas about the time he saved Trevor from scrap. That night, as Douglas goes to another railway, He does the same by rescuing an engine named Oliver and his brake van Toad.
22	74	"Oliver Owns Up"	David Mitton	Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Resource and Sagacity")	16 June 1992
Oliver is new to the Island, and all the engines complimenting his courage is making him conceited. He ignores Duck's warning about trucks and gets in an accident.
23	75	"Bulgy"	David Mitton	Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	23 June 1992
Duck meets Bulgy, a double-decker bus who dislikes the rails. He tries to take Duck's passengers away by pretending to be a "railway bus" and taking them on an attempted shortcut. But it has a bridge that has inadequate clearance.
24	76	"Heroes"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	30 June 1992
Trucks at the harbour cause trouble for Bill and Ben, but when they begin working at the Quarry the next day, they are the workers' only hope during a landslide.
25	77	"Percy, James and the Fruitful Day"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	7 July 1992
James is collecting some fruit from the Harbour to the main line. He breaks down, so Percy has to take it, but he goes too fast and winds up squashing it all.
26	78	"Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure" "Thomas and Percy's Mountain Adventure"	David Mitton	Original by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton	14 July 1992 [3]
Thomas looks forward to delivering his mail to the people of the Mountain Village. But a blizzard delays the journeys, and he, Percy, Terence, and Harold must work together.

Characters

Introduced

• City of Truro (Gordon and the Famous Visitor)
• Dilly the Duck (Donald's Duck)
• The Chinese Dragon (Thomas, Percy and the Dragon)
• Mavis (Mavis)
• Flying Scotsman (Tender Engines)
• Oliver (Escape)
• Toad (Escape)
• Bulgy (Bulgy)

Recurring character cast

• Thomas
• Edward
• Henry
• Gordon
• James
• Percy
• Toby
• Duck
• Donald and Douglas
• Bill and Ben
• Diesel
• BoCo
• Annie and Clarabel
• Troublesome Trucks
• Terence
• Bertie
• Trevor
• Harold
• Sir Topham Hatt
• The Vicar
• Jem Cole
• Henrietta
• Lady Hatt

References

Notes

1. Sibley, Brian (1995). The Thomas the Tank Engine Man. Heinemann. p. 318. ISBN 0-434-96909-5.
2. http://www.sodor-island.net/episodeguide/rgg.html
3. "Thomas the Tank Engine - CITV Trust Thomas Video Promo, 14th July 1992". Youtube. Retrieved 10 November 2014.