Thomas & Friends (series 1)

Thomas & Friends (series 1)

DVD cover art
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 26
Release
Original network ITV
Original release 9 October (1984-10-09) 
25 December 1984 (1984-12-25)
Series chronology

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
11"Thomas and Gordon"
"Thomas Gets Tricked"
David MittonThomas the Tank Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
9 October 1984 (1984-10-09)
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.
22"Edward and Gordon"
"Edward Helps Out"
David MittonThe Three Railway Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry (based on "Edward's Day Out" and the same name)
9 October 1984 (1984-10-09)
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 soon Edward helps Gordon the next day when he gets himself stuck on a hill.
33"The Sad Story of Henry"
"Come Out, Henry!"
David MittonThe Three Railway Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry
16 October 1984 (1984-10-16)
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 again After numerous failed attempts to move him, Sir Topham Hatt, who is in charge of all the engines and is known as the Fat Controller, is so angry that he decides to shut him in the tunnel.
44"Edward, Gordon and Henry"
"Henry to the Rescue"
David MittonThe Three Railway Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry
16 October 1984 (1984-10-16)
Henry has been stuck in the tunnel for a really long time, and wishes he weren't so silly. One day, Gordon goes so fast that he accidentally bursts a safety valve. Since Edward is the only engine available, he is quite unable to push the heavy train without Henry's help.
55"Thomas' Train"
"A Big Day for Thomas"
David MittonThomas the Tank Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
23 October 1984 (1984-10-23)
Thomas is getting bored with shunting, and wishes he would rather pull a train instead of merely collecting coaches. When Henry is ill, his chance comes—with disastrous results.
66"Thomas and the Trucks"
"Trouble for Thomas"
David MittonThomas the Tank Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
23 October 1984 (1984-10-23)
Thomas is tired of pushing coaches, so he wants to take a goods train. One night, Edward tells that he can take care of coaches while Thomas can take his goods train. So that is what happens, although Thomas does not pay attention to his advices. At the top of Gordon's hill, he puts on his brakes, but the trucks continue to push him to the bottom, where he stops at a siding. The Fat Controller, who sees Thomas, tells him that he still has a lot to learn.
77"Thomas and the Breakdown Train"
"Thomas Saves the Day"
David MittonThomas the Tank Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
30 October 1984 (1984-10-30)
One day, a red engine named James flies past the station with fire coming from his brakes made of wood, and a heavy load of trucks pushing him onwards. Thomas reacts fast, and gets the breakdown train. He later arrives at the accident site and helps out. As a result, The Fat Controller rewards Thomas with his own branch line and two new coaches, named Annie and Clarabel.
88"James and the Coaches"
"James Learns a Lesson"
David MittonJames 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)
James enjoys his new life on the island of Sodor, but still has a lot to learn, even when he accidentally ruins The Fat Controller's top hat and causing a hole in his coaches.
99"Troublesome Trucks"
"Foolish Freight Cars"
David MittonJames the Red Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
6 November 1984 (1984-11-06)
James is stranded in the sheds after the incident of the coaches. He is sad that no one will ever see his red paint again. But one day, he gets let out only to pull trucks. James is more than happy, even though he does get teased by the other engines about his incident. The trucks even think James cannot pull them probably, but James soon proves to them that he can.
1010"James and the Express"
"A Proud Day for James"
David MittonJames the Red Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
6 November 1984 (1984-11-06)
The Fat Controller finally decides that James can pull the express after having some success with some troublesome trucks. James likes it, but Gordon still boasts about that he (himself) is the only one who should be pulling the express. James takes the express after Gordon had a mistaken route, that forced him to go back to the station.
1111"Thomas and the Guard"
"Thomas and the Conductor"
David MittonTank Engine Thomas Again
by Rev. W. Awdry
13 November 1984 (1984-11-13)
Thomas does a great job for running his branch line with Annie and Clarabel. But one day, Thomas accidentally leaves his guard behind at the junction, causing the latter to catch up with the train.
1212"Thomas Goes Fishing"David MittonTank Engine Thomas Again
by Rev. W. Awdry
13 November 1984 (1984-11-13)
Thomas wants to fish after seeing people fishing, but the other engines say that engines do not go fishing. The next day, Thomas needs a drink of water, but when the water tower is out of order, Thomas' crew decides to get water from the river, but faces a consequence.
1313"Thomas, Terence and the Snow"
"Terence the Tractor"
David MittonTank Engine Thomas Again
by Rev. W. Awdry
20 November 1984 (1984-11-20)
Thomas meets Terence the tractor and says his wheels are ugly. Terence explains that they are caterpillar tracks, and he can go "anywhere", which comes in handy during the winter when Thomas gets stuck in the snow.
1414"Thomas and Bertie"
"Thomas and Bertie's Great Race"
David MittonTank Engine Thomas Again
by Rev. W. Awdry
20 November 1984 (1984-11-20)
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.
1515"Tenders and Turntables"David MittonTroublesome Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry
27 November 1984 (1984-11-27)
Henry, Gordon and James have to fetch their own coaches, since Thomas works on his branch line and there are no other engines available to do some shunting, much to the big engines' anger. To make matters worse, Gordon and James have encountered turntable trouble, and later on, all the big engines decide to go on strike.
1616"Trouble in the Shed"David MittonTroublesome Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry
27 November 1984 (1984-11-27)
When Gordon, James and Henry go on strike, The Fat Controller buys a tank engine named Percy to help. Percy soon gets to work shunting coaches, while Edward and Thomas run the main line.
1717"Percy Runs Away"David MittonTroublesome Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry
27 November 1984 (1984-11-27)
The Fat Controller allows Henry, Gordon, and James to go back to their jobs and then lets Percy, Edward, and Thomas take a break for a while. Then, Percy is startled by Gordon at Wellsworth and runs away without his crew until he stops at a bank of earth. Later, Gordon helps Percy out from the bank while congratulating him for preventing a nasty accident from happening.
1818"Coal"
"Henry's Special Coal"
David MittonHenry the Green Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
27 November 1984 (1984-11-27)
Henry has been sick for some time, and The Fat Controller is concerned about him and requires Henry to receive special Welsh coal, which is expensive. By using Welsh coal, Henry manages to move properly.
1919"The Flying Kipper"David MittonHenry the Green Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
4 December 1984 (1984-12-04)
Henry takes a goods train known as "The Flying Kipper" and has done really well, until he has a critical accident, which results of his rebuild.
2020"Whistles and Sneezes"David MittonHenry the Green Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
(based on "Gordon's Whistle" and "Henry's Sneeze")
4 December 1984 (1984-12-04)
Gordon starts complaining that Henry's whistle is too loud, and he is jealous for that he gets to pull the express. Later on, some naughty boys drop some stones on Henry while he is passing under a bridge. Henry's driver decides that they should teach the boys a lesson, so they do it: by Henry sneezing at them. On another hand, Gordon has his whistle stuck on making a lot of noise, but finally on the station the mechanics make the whistle quiet in the end.
2121"Toby and the Stout Gentleman"
"Toby the Tram Engine"
David MittonToby the Tram Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
11 December 1984 (1984-12-11)
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.
2222"Thomas in Trouble"
"Thomas Breaks the Rules"
David MittonToby the Tram Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
11 December 1984 (1984-12-11)
Thomas gets in trouble with a policeman for lacking a cowcatcher or sideplates. When The Fat Controller hears about it, he brings Toby, who brings Henrietta with him to the Island of Sodor.
2323"Dirty Objects"
"James in a Mess"
David MittonToby the Tram Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
18 December 1984 (1984-12-18)
Toby and Henrietta are still settling their lives on the Island of Sodor. One day, James calls them both for dirty objects and say that they are old fashioned. Later, James takes a load of goods, and comes up and down the other side of a hill, and goes too fast before crashing into trucks of tar. Although James is not hurt, Toby tells Percy that James more looks like the so-called "dirty object" now.
2424"Off the Rails"
"Gordon Takes a Dip"
David MittonGordon the Big Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
18 December 1984 (1984-12-18)
One morning, Gordon is very difficult. His stubbornness soon causes him to fall into a ditch, and his driver and fireman speak seriously with him, before calling the Fat Controller. Some boys sing a song when Gordon is waiting. At night, Gordon is finally lifted out of the ditch, and sleeps in the shed before the other engines get there.
2525"Down the Mine"David MittonGordon the Big Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry
25 December 1984 (1984-12-25)
Thomas has often teased Gordon about things, and one day Thomas becomes the less careless one, who passes by a danger sign by an old mine. Being careless and eager, Thomas drives past the danger sign and drops into a mine. The Fat Controller speaks seriously with him, until they figure that Gordon can help, so Gordon does. Gordon helps Thomas out of the mine, and they later agree that they can sometimes be a bit cheeky and being good friends, despite their differences.
2626"Thomas' Christmas Party"David MittonThomas' Christmas Party
by Rev. W. Awdry
25 December 1984 (1984-12-25)
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

References

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