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 of the show, 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. 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 filmed in April 1983. It was an adaptation of "Down the Mine", which was remade entirely when the rest of the episodes were shot. Filming lasted 7 months from September 1983 to March 1984. Post production was completed in April, 6 months before its official debut on October 9, 1984. This series, along with the one that succeeds it, was narrated by Ringo Starr. However in 1989, Shining Time Station was created as a way to bring Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends to American television. Ringo Starr portrayed Mr. Conductor, a tiny magical conductor who told stories of engines on the Island of Sodor. Starr re-narrated twenty five of the episodes in the first series, "Whistles and Sneezes" being the exception. Terms like "trucks" and "guards" were renamed to "freight cars" and "conductors" in the new narration. After Starr left the show, American comedian George Carlin played Mr. Conductor's cousin and narrated all episodes from the first series to the fourth series. The first season of Shining Time Station lists the Thomas stories' original UK titles in the end credits, but were re-titled for later seasons and for home video.

Episodes

Characters introduced

Home media

United Kingdom

Series 1 was first released as two separate VHS and Betamax volumes by Guild Home Video in 1985. They remain the only Thomas related products released on the latter format. The Video Collection later re-released them as three VHS volumes in 1986, and have seen numerous re-releases over the years. Video Collection International released a complete series VHS set in 1998, available as either a single-VHS or double-VHS release. It was soon released on DVD in 2004 as part of the "Classic Collection Boxset" before being released on its own the following year. The 2012 re-release by HIT Entertainment uses the 2003 restoration of the series. Episodes from the series have also made it to various compilation releases with other series.

United States

Strand VCI Entertainment and Anchor Bay Entertainment have released Series 1 episodes on various VHS and DVD volumes. In 2004, the complete series was released on DVD as part of a 3-disc boxset titled "The Early Years", featuring the original UK narrations and titles for the first time in the US.