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"Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" (1984)

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16 comments in total

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Amazing!, 25 January 2002
Author: Pika K from Bath, England

Thomas the Tank Engine has been around on the television since 1984, and its clear to see why. Everything is made to a great standard of quality, and it offers a sense of originality.

Who would of thought that The Reverend Wilbert Awdry had originally only written these stories as bed time stories for Christopher Awdry, when he was ill. These stories were first written during the 1920's, and when they eventually got published into books, known as The Railway Series, and then onto television.

Although not all the stories are based on The Railway Series lately, they still have the same impact.

I think its safe to say that Thomas and his friends will be around for a very long time to come.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A Great Show For All Ages, 24 July 2006

Author: Tennessee-Redneck-Joe from Fayetteville, Georgia

Even though Thomas the Tank Engine is aimed at children, adults can enjoy it just as much as kids. That is because unlike many children's shows today, Thomas the Tank Engine does not dumb the show down to ridiculously low levels. Children of all ages, even infants, can learn lots of things by watching this show...possibly even more so than the dumbed-down kids shows they have now. All the characters are fantastic, and the setting looks so realistic and well designed. Although the show's golden years are probably over, its new episodes are still relatively decent. May Thomas the Tank Engine live on for generations and generations!

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A classic series!, 25 May 2000
Author: action-6 from Froland, Norway

Thomas the tank engine is a real classic series. The series is about a group of trains on an island. The railroads, the trains and the scenery are all very well-made, and it is worth seeing some episodes just for that. I remember watching the series when I was a kid, and I still still like to watch an episode now and then.

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
A Wonderful Series For Toddlers As Well As Grownups!, 29 January 2003
Author: Aileen from New Jersey

I never watched Thomas as a kid. I didn't know about Thomas the Tank Engine until several years ago. My son got into Thomas when he was about a year old. One of his playmates had a lot of Thomas trains and he played with them a lot whenever they saw each other. I thought that since my son liked playing with the trains, he might like watching the series. I bought him The Best of James on DVD and he loved it! He is now 18 months old, and he dances to the music in between each story. I like the series because it teaches kids about working together as a team, and lending a helping had when someone really needs it (like the time James' brakes were jammed and Percy had to come and rescue him, or when James realized he was going too fast because he had no driver and Edward had to come and rescue him)and the value of friendship and being honest.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
"Peep! Peep!", 24 December 2002
Author: (robocoptng986127@aol.com) from U.S.A

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

[MAY BE SPOILERS]

On the magical Island of Sodor is a railway, operated by Sir Topham Hatt. The engines on his line consist of: Thomas the Tank Engine, Edward the Blue Engine, Henry the Long Green Engine, Gordon the Even Longer Blue Engine, James the Red Engine, Percy the Small Engine, Toby the Tram Engine, Montaque "Duck" the Great Western Engine, and Donald and Douglas the Scottish Twin Engines. Sir Topham Hatt found Percy in a work shop and rescued Toby when his line closed down. He brought Duck to work on the line who had a run-in with Diesel, a caniving diesel engine. He spread rumors about Gordon, James and Henry to the freight cars and claimed Duck said them. Diesel wasn't the only diesel on the island. There was Mavis, the quarry diesel. Toby tries to teach her about freight cars but she won't listen which get's her into trouble; Daisy, a passenger diesel who's stuck-up; Boco, a yard diesel. Once, he took freight cars that small twin engines Bill and Ben collected and they called him a "diseasel". Bill and Ben work at the clay works and cause trouble for Boco and Edward. But the cast grew and grew! Bertie the bus challenged Thomas to a race and they became friends; Terence the tractor rescued Thomas from a snow drift; Trevor the Traction Enine was found in the scrap yard by Edward and brought to live at the vickerage. Bulgy, a double-decker bus, found trouble when cheating passengers so he was only a bus for one day; George the steam roller is nothing but trouble to the engines! And let's not forget Oliver, who was rescued from scrap by Douglas! And Harold the helicopter was there too.

The freight cars are nothing but trouble! They always get the engines into trouble, like the time they pushed James into some tar wagon and made him look disgraceful! Or the time they pushed Oliver into the turn-table well, pushed Percy into the water, and more! The cast grew and grew as time went by and we met small engines Duke, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Rhineas, Skarloey, Rusty and Stepney. Then came Cranky the Crane, Derek the Faulty Diesel, Old Slow Coach, Salty the doc diesel, Harvey the crane engine, it goes on and on! Ringo Starr was the first and best narrator! He was placed by George Carlin who wasn't as good but we got used to him as time went by and about four years ago, he was replaced by Alec Baldwin who is the current narrator. So no matter what the adventure (whether it's James getting his coaches mended by bootlaces, Thomas crashing into the station master's house, Duck crashing into a barber shop, Henry ramming into another train and go flying off the rails, Gordon rolling into a ditch, Toby on a collapsing bridge or Thomas meeting the queen, Percy helping at Mrs. Kindly's daughter's wedding, James getting the better of some troublesome trucks, and Gordon pulling the Express) there's always something fascinating going on on the Island of Sodor!

I used to watch these adventures on Shining Time Station but the newer ones are now on video. I collected them all. There's all kinds of adventures like the time James runs afoul of some bees, Thomas and Bertie learning of tardiness, Thomas and Percy playing ghost, etc.). So many adventures but not enough time to describe them all. Anyway, I recommend you check out an adventure or two of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends! In memory of Rev. W. Awdry, Thomas' creator.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Loved it as a child and still love it today, 17 August 2007

Author: Austin Rollins (TdaskrRollins@aol.com) from United States

i have loved Thomas and Friends since I was a little boy and I still love it despite being a teenager.

I own just about all the home videos that were ever released and I have seen almost all the episodes.

The characters are so memorable. We have Thomas himself. Cheeky, but hardworking Percy, wise old Edward, and hot shot James. The characters will never be forgotten.

It's a real shame this lovable show got butchered by a horrible movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

This, like The Simpsons, has been one of my favorites for a long time. I hope Thomas and his buddies never face cancellation.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Really cute, fun., and entertaining show, 19 July 2007
Author: Grace Zeh (filmgirlgz@cox.net) from Chantilly, Virginia, USA

Wow! This is a really cute, fun, and entertaining show. I said that because I watch this on Nickelodeon and the Noggin network with my 2½-year-old nephew from time to time. It's hard to say which show on Nickelodeon and the Noggin network is the best. If I had to pick, this would definitely be one of the cutest. Still it's really cute, fun, entertaining, and educational. Also, it's hard to say which episode is my favorite. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that the people at Nickelodeon and the Noggin network really know how to reach a toddler's developing mind. Now, in conclusion, if you have children, nieces, or nephews, I strongly recommend this really cute, fun, and entertaining. I guarantee you that they will enjoy it.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Our Ringo Does The Narrating!, 11 July 2001
Author: GrantCAGE from Liverpool, ENGLAND

I loved this series when I was a kid and just had to write about it! It's so cute with the characters and the magical music theme and RINGO! If you watch repeats of this classic series you'll find that it hasn't lost it's magic and is perfect for children of all ages to learn about.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Show for Kids, 26 September 2006
Author: Safari-1969 from Northeastern United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Oh my god, I grew up with this show, even though I was born ahead of its release date. The best episodes were from 1984-1991. It's usually the older children shows that are better than the crap they aim at children in the modern days. This, Mr. Rogers, and Pee-wee's Playhouse are the only good children's shows. And adults can watch it too. As a teenager, I got rid of all my VHS copies, but I watch them once and a while on the internet and revive my memories.

The early episodes are narrated by Ringo Starr, the drummer of my all time favorite band, The Beatles. George Carlin, the hippie comedian, narrates episodes from 1991 to 1998, and then now Alec Baldwin takes over, I stopped watching it in like 2002. I think the episodes lost their cool in the late 1990s, when a chock full of new characters came to the storyline.

They are based on the books by the Reverend W. Awdry. The series is about anthropomorphic British steam train and diesel train models. The series is, yes, from the UK, that's why the trains have no cowcatchers. This confused me when I was little. I used to say stuff when I was little like,"Where are the cowcatchers." The stunning part is how it is filmed. The track layout and the whole set that's made is excellent. A few gripes I have are the fact that the trains don't move their mouths, or the humans who move like robots one a few shots. I used to be such a fanatic that I made fan fictions.

The music on the older episodes is good, but the newer episodes, it's pretty annoying. Stick with the 1984-1991 episodes. The characters are all colorful and interesting, the first engines we know are Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Montique (Duck), Donald and Douglas, Diesel, Oliver, and all those other good characters.

The episodes are worthy to the parent of the child who watches it. The newer episodes are kind of annoying.

So overall, the show gets a 9.1 because the newer episodes are annoying, but teenagers like me who want to relive their childhood won't mind the older episodes.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Thomas the tank engine, 4 August 2006

Author: steam_loco_lad89 from United Kingdom

I speak not only as a thomas the tank engine fan, but as a rail enthusiast and volunteer on a preserved railway, that thomas the tank engine is the best children's stories based on railways of all time. as i am myself a railway worker, i have been introduced to tasks and jobs that have been accurately included and described in thomas the tank engine, although the later stories are a bit of a disappointment to me as they seem to lack the element of the original railway knowledge and enthusiasm. but they are still very good stories and i will certain to say that i will indeed introduce thomas the tank engine to my children, and then the real thing of course as i have been. it did surprise me how real the stories really are, as many incidents and situations included in the stories are based on real locomotives and situations in the railway world, most children's stories are completely fiction and totally deny the gratitude and the commendation that they deserve for creating the 21st century possible. thank you reverand awdry for making my railway life a reality.

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