Thomas & Friends series 1

Thomas & Friends
Series 1
DVD cover art
No. of episodes	26
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	9 October 1984 (1984-10-09) – 8 January 1985 (1985-01-08)
Series chronology

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 first series, which was originally broadcast in 1984. This series was initially narrated by Ringo Starr for the United Kingdom audiences, who later re-narrated 25 episodes for the United States. The entire series was narrated by George Carlin for the US audiences.

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 The Tank Engine) Ltd. and Central Independent Television.

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.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in series	UK title (top) US title (bottom)	Directed by	Source	Original air date
1	1	"Thomas & Gordon" "Thomas Gets Tricked"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	9 October 1984 (1984-10-09)
2	2	"Edward & Gordon" "Edward Helps Out"	David Mitton	The Three Railway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Edward's Day Out and the story of the same name (Edward & Gordon)	9 October 1984 (1984-10-09)
3	3	"The Sad Story of Henry" "Come Out, Henry!"	David Mitton	The Three Railway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	16 October 1984 (1984-10-16)
4	4	"Edward, Gordon & Henry" "Henry to the Rescue"	David Mitton	The Three Railway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	16 October 1984 (1984-10-16)
5	5	"Thomas' Train" "A Big Day for Thomas"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	23 October 1984 (1984-10-23)
6	6	"Thomas & the Trucks" "Trouble for Thomas"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	23 October 1984 (1984-10-23)
7	7	"Thomas & the Breakdown Train" "Thomas Saves the Day"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	30 October 1984 (1984-10-30)
8	8	"James & 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 (1984-10-30)
9	9	"Troublesome Trucks" "Foolish Freight Cars"	David Mitton	James the Red Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	6 November 1984 (1984-11-06)
10	10	"James & the Express" "A Proud Day for James"	David Mitton	James the Red Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	6 November 1984 (1984-11-06)
11	11	"Thomas & the Guard" "Thomas and the Conductor"	David Mitton	Tank Engine Thomas Again by Rev. W. Awdry	13 November 1984 (1984-11-13)
12	12	"Thomas Goes Fishing"	David Mitton	Tank Engine Thomas Again by Rev. W. Awdry	13 November 1984 (1984-11-13)
13	13	"Thomas, Terence & the Snow" "Terence the Tractor"	David Mitton	Tank Engine Thomas Again by Rev. W. Awdry	20 November 1984 (1984-11-20)
14	14	"Thomas & Bertie" "Thomas and Bertie's Great Race"	David Mitton	Tank Engine Thomas Again by Rev. W. Awdry	20 November 1984 (1984-11-20)
15	15	"Tenders & Turntables"	David Mitton	Troublesome Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	27 November 1984 (1984-11-27)
16	16	"Trouble in the Shed"	David Mitton	Troublesome Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	27 November 1984 (1984-11-27)
17	17	"Percy Runs Away"	David Mitton	Troublesome Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	4 December 1984 (1984-12-04)
18	18	"Coal" "Henry's Special Coal"	David Mitton	Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	4 December 1984 (1984-12-04)
19	19	"The Flying Kipper"	David Mitton	Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	11 December 1984 (1984-12-11)
20	20	"Whistles & Sneezes"	David Mitton	Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Gordon's Whistle and Henry's Sneeze	11 December 1984 (1984-12-11)
21	21	"Toby & the Stout Gentleman" "Toby the Tram Engine"	David Mitton	Toby the Tram Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	18 December 1984 (1984-12-18)
22	22	"Thomas in Trouble" "Thomas Breaks the Rules"	David Mitton	Toby the Tram Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	18 December 1984 (1984-12-18)
23	23	"Dirty Objects" "James in a Mess"	David Mitton	Toby the Tram Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	25 December 1984 (1984-12-25)
24	24	"Off the Rails" "Gordon Takes a Dip"	David Mitton	Gordon the Big Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	8 January 1985 (1985-01-08)
25	25	"Down the Mine"	David Mitton	Gordon the Big Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	8 January 1985 (1985-01-08)
26	26	"Thomas' Christmas Party"	David Mitton	Thomas' Christmas Party by Rev. W. Awdry	25 December 1984 (1984-12-25)

Characters

Introduced

• Thomas ("Thomas & Gordon")
• Edward ("Edward & Gordon")
• Henry ("The Sad Story of Henry")
• Gordon ("Thomas & Gordon")
• James ("Thomas & the Breakdown Train")
• Percy ("Trouble in the Shed")
• Toby ("Toby & the Stout Gentleman")
• Annie and Clarabel ("Thomas & the Breakdown Train")
• Henrietta ("Toby & the Stout Gentleman")
• Troublesome Trucks ("Edward & Gordon")
• Terence ("Thomas, Terence & the Snow")
• Bertie ("Thomas, Terence & the Snow" (not named; does not speak) / "Thomas & Bertie")
• Sir Topham Hatt/The Fat Controller ("The Sad Story of Henry")
• Lady Hatt ("Toby & the Stout Gentleman") (not named; does not speak)
• Stephen Hatt ("Toby & the Stout Gentleman")
• Bridget Hatt ("Toby & the Stout Gentleman")
• Mrs. Kyndley ("Thomas' Christmas Party")