This page covers all information about the first season of Thomas & Friends.
It first premiered as part of Shining Time Station on PBS on January 29, 1989. The original Ringo Starr version ran for 25 episodes and ended on December 9, 1990. The last episode, "Whistles and Sneezes", premiered in late 1991 with narration by George Carlin.
List of episodes[]
| Episode title | Ringo Starr version | George Carlin version | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original air date | VHS release date | Original air date | VHS release date | ||
| 1 | Thomas Gets Tricked (Thomas and Gordon) |
January 29, 1989 | June 7, 1990 | May 18, 1993 | August 15, 1995 |
| 2 | Edward Helps Out (Edward and Gordon) |
N/A | |||
| 3 | Come Out, Henry! (The Sad Story of Henry) |
February 5, 1989 | June 2, 1993 | ||
| 4 | Henry to the Rescue (Edward, Gordon and Henry) | ||||
| 5 | A Big Day for Thomas (Thomas' Train) |
February 12, 1989 | December 19, 1991 | ||
| 6 | Trouble for Thomas (Thomas and the Trucks) |
December 26, 1991 | |||
| 7 | Thomas Saves the Day (Thomas and the Breakdown Train) |
February 19, 1989 | November 28, 1991 | ||
| 8 | James Learns a Lesson (James and the Coaches) |
June 9, 1993 | March 8, 2002 | ||
| 9 | Foolish Freight Cars (Troublesome Trucks) |
February 26, 1989 | February 2, 1996 | ||
| 10 | A Proud Day for James (James and the Express) |
N/A | March 8, 2002 | ||
| 11 | Thomas and the Conductor (Thomas and the Guard) |
March 5, 1989 | April 22, 1993 | N/A | |
| 12 | Thomas Goes Fishing | December 24, 1991 | August 15, 1995 | ||
| 13 | Terence the Tractor (Thomas, Terence and the Snow) |
March 12, 1989 | N/A | 1993 | |
| 14 | Thomas and Bertie's Great Race (Thomas and Bertie) |
November 27, 1991 | |||
| 15 | Tenders and Turntables | March 19, 1989 | September 27, 1990 | April 19, 1993 | February 10, 1998 |
| 16 | Trouble in the Shed | February 2, 1996 | |||
| 17 | Percy Runs Away | March 26, 1989 | June 1, 1993 | August 18, 1998 | |
| 18 | Henry's Special Coal (Coal) |
April 2, 1989 | June 3, 1993 | ||
| 19 | The Flying Kipper | ||||
| 20 (21) | Toby the Tram Engine (Toby and the Stout Gentleman) |
April 9, 1989 | June 11, 1993 | ||
| 21 (22) | Thomas Breaks the Rules (Thomas in Trouble) |
February 2, 1996 | |||
| 22 (23) | James in a Mess (Dirty Objects) |
April 23, 1989 | November 26, 1991 | August 15, 1995 | |
| 23 (24) | Gordon Takes a Dip (Off the Rails) |
May 21, 1989 | January 23, 1991 | May 6, 1993 | August 18, 1998 |
| 24 (25) | Down the Mine | November 28, 1991 | February 2, 1996 | ||
| 25 (26) | Thomas' Christmas Party | December 9, 1990 | October 27, 1992 | N/A | February 23, 1994 |
| 26 (20) | Whistles and Sneezes | N/A | November 25, 1991 | October 6, 1993 | |
VHS[]
UK[]
The original 1985 and 1986 prints of the first three videos were distributed by Kaleidoscope, a British home video distribution company. The first video, Thomas and Gordon and Other Stories, contains eight stories, while the other two -- Troublesome Trucks and Other Stories and Coal and Other Stories -- each have nine. All 26 stories are narrated by Ringo Starr.
On September 10, 1990, a special video titled "Bumper Special" was released on VHS. It has 17 of all 26 stories in one video.
North America[]
The very first Thomas & Friends video in North America was Thomas Gets Tricked and Other Stories, released on June 7, 1990. It was originally distributed by Strand VCI Entertainment, but was re-distributed by Time-Life Video in 1994, and Anchor Bay Entertainment (under the Video Treasures brand) in 1995, who released the program on DVD on July 24, 2007.
Episodes include:
- S1E01: Thomas Gets Tricked (first US appearance)
- S1E02: Edward Helps Out (first US appearance)
- S1E03: Come Out, Henry! (first US appearance)
- S1E04: Henry to the Rescue (first US appearance)
- S1E05: A Big Day for Thomas (first US appearance)
- S1E06: Trouble for Thomas (first US appearance)
- S1E07: Thomas Saves the Day (first US appearance)
The second Thomas & Friends video, James Learns a Lesson and Other Stories, was released on August 16, 1990. Originally distributed by Strand VCI Entertainment, the video was re-distributed by Time-Life Video in 1994, and by Anchor Bay Entertainment (under the Video Treasures brand) in 1995 and 2001. It later came out on DVD on June 14, 2005.
Episodes include:
- S1E08: James Learns a Lesson (first US appearance)
- S1E09: Foolish Freight Cars (first US appearance)
- S1E10: A Proud Day for James (first US appearance)
- S1E11: Thomas and the Conductor (first US appearance)
- S1E12: Thomas Goes Fishing (first US appearance)
- S1E13: Terence the Tractor (first US appearance)
- S1E14: Thomas and Bertie's Great Race (first US appearance)
The third Thomas & Friends video, Tenders and Turntables and Other Stories, was released on September 27, 1990 by Strand VCI Entertainment. It was re-distributed by Time-Life Video in 1994.
The following Season 1 episodes, along with one Season 2 episode, were included in this video:
- S1E15: Tenders and Turntables (first US appearance)
- S1E16: Trouble in the Shed (first US appearance)
- S1E17: Percy Runs Away (first US appearance)
- S1E18: Henry's Special Coal (first US appearance)
- S1E19: The Flying Kipper (first US appearance)
- S1E21: Toby the Tram Engine (first US appearance)
S1E22: Thomas Breaks the Rules and S1E23: James in a Mess were both featured in the fourth video, Thomas Breaks the Rules and Other Stories, which was also released on September 27, 1990 by Strand VCI Entertainment and re-distributed by Time-Life Video in 1994.
S1E24: Gordon Takes a Dip and S1E25: Down the Mine were both featured in Ringo Starr's fifth and last Thomas & Friends video, Better Late Than Never and Other Stories. The video was released on January 23, 1991 by Strand VCI Entertainment and was re-distributed by Time-Life Video in 1994.
One episode of Season 1, S1E20: Whistles and Sneezes, was featured on the Season 3 video, Daisy and Other Thomas Stories. This video was released on August 26, 1993 by Strand Home Video, re-distributed by Time-Life Video in 1994, and Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1995, who released it on DVD on March 4, 2008.
The final Season 1 episode, S1E26: Thomas' Christmas Party, narrated by George Carlin, was first seen on the final Season 3 video, Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Favorite Stories. It was released by Strand Home Video in September 1994, with a re-release by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1996.
Sometime in 1995, all three videos containing episodes from both Seasons 1 and 2 were discontinued, resulting in the need of a re-release for the episodes included in those videos. Thus, Thomas and His Friends Help Out was released to restore these episodes on VHS.
The following episodes from Season 1 can be seen on this video:
- S1E02: Edward Helps Out
- S1E09: Foolish Freight Cars
- S1E16: Trouble in the Shed
- S1E22: Thomas Breaks the Rules
- S1E25: Down the Mine
Thomas and His Friends Get Along and Other Thomas Adventures was the second video containing re-releases of Season 1 episodes. It was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in early 1998.
The following episodes from Season 1 can be seen in this video:
- S1E15: Tenders and Turntables
- S1E23: James in a Mess
- S1E25: Down the Mine
S1E24: Gordon Takes a Dip was restored in 1998 with the VHS release of Thomas Comes to Breakfast and Other Thomas Adventures, retold by George Carlin.
Another four episodes were restored in 1998 with the VHS release of A Big Day for Thomas, also retold by George Carlin.
Episodes in this video include:
- S1E05: A Big Day for Thomas
- S1E17: Percy Runs Away (Season 1, episode 17)
- S1E22: Thomas Breaks the Rules (Season 1, episode 22)
- S1E18: Henry's Special Coal (Season 1, episode 18)
- S1E19: The Flying Kipper (Season 1, episode 19)
- S1E06: Trouble for Thomas (Season 1, episode 6)
- S1E21: Toby the Tram Engine (Season 1, episode 21)
10 Years of Thomas contains ten episodes from the first four seasons of Thomas & Friends, all with George Carlin's old narration. It was released on September 14, 1999 on VHS and on August 23, 2005 on DVD. The only two episodes from Season 1 are S1E13: Terence the Tractor and S1E14: Thomas and Bertie's Great Race. Also included is the song "Thomas' Anthem: Grand Finale".
On September 26, 2000, S1E26: Thomas' Christmas Party was re-released in a new video called "Thomas' Christmas Wonderland and Other Thomas Adventures", replacing the Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Favorite Stories video from 1994. Also included in the new video is S1E13: Terence the Tractor. A DVD release occurred on September 24, 2002.
Best of Percy was the first of four "Best of" collections of Thomas & Friends, released on July 24, 2001 on VHS (and 2002 on DVD) by Anchor Bay Entertainment. S1E17: Percy Runs Away is the only Season 1 episode in this video.
Best of Thomas was released on September 25, 2001. It includes three episodes from Season 1:
- S1E05: A Big Day for Thomas
- S1E06: Trouble for Thomas
- S1E07: Thomas Saves the Day
Finally, Best of James was released on March 5, 2002. This video also has three episodes from Season 1:
- S1E10: A Proud Day for James
- S1E23: James in a Mess
- S1E08: James Learns a Lesson
DVD[]
UK[]
All aboard for this special edition classic collection of Original Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends stories. Join Thomas, together with his friends Edward, Gordon, Henry, James, Bertie, Percy, Toby and of course The Fat Controller on the Island of Sodor in this fun packed classic collection of 26 episodes. Find out how Thomas earns his own branch railway line and how James has trouble with the trucks. You can join them all in over two hours of frantic fun and frolics!
Gallery[]
