Thomas The Tank Engine

The Thomas The Tank Engine television series is based on the books that were originally written by the Reverend W. Awdry for his son Christopher. The first one, 'The Three Railway Engines', was published in 1945. Now, the stories continue to be written by Christopher Awdry. In October 1984, Thomas The Tank Engine was brought to the television for the first time, on ITV by TV producer Britt Allcroft. Thomas The Tank Engine is set on the Island of Sodor, where the Railway is run by the Fat Controller (Sir Topham Hatt). Originally, there were only a small number of engines, (Thomas, James, Edward, Toby, Percy,Gordon, Henry, Rheneas, Skarloey, etc) but, over the ...  Read the complete review

WHAT IS IT ABOUT: Thomas the Tank Engine is a short children's TV show, were stories about trains are created through the filiming of moving models and the voice over of a narrator. In later years, CGI was used to create some of the animation. IS IT ANY GOOD: They say that little boys either like Thoms or Action Man, and my son Noah is a Thomas boy. There are pluses and minuses to this one, so let me explain them: THE GOOD - Although simple, this show is visually alluring because you know it is all models and hand-amde scenery. As a boy, it appealed to me because I knew that (in theory) I could make the same sort of stuff with my own ...  Read the complete review

Thomas The Tank Engine was created over 20 years ago and first appeared as a children's cartoon book, written and created by the Rev W Awdry. In 1984, Thomas was televised for the first time, and the narration of the episodes was done for many years by ex-Beatle Ringo Starr. Thomas is a train, a tank engine, and lives in the train yard with all the other engines and vehicles on the fictional island of Sodor. Each train has a driver, and the man in charge is known only as the Fat Controller. Thomas is a blue engine, number 1, and other engines and friends include Gordon, James and Edward, as well as Cranky the crane and the two carriages, Annie and ...  Read the complete review

Maybe I'm showing my age here who knows, but as a toddler I was a huge fan of Thomas The Tank Engine. To the point I used to beg my mum to buy me the engines back when they were actual little metal ones and to take me to see real trains at every opportunity. Sometimes I wish for the days of Thomas as a call back to my innocence, when everything was so simple. They definately haven't made children's shows like this in a very long time and the simplicity behind Thomas is what makes it so powerful. Thomas The Tank Engine first came to UK television screens in the autumn of 1984 based on a set of books created by Wilbert V. Awdry. The show basically ...  Read the complete review

Created by the Rev W Awdry over 50 years ago to entertain his son Christopher, Thomas the Tank Engine was created as a TV programme in 1987. The programme has always drawn closely on the books and retains their essential character. The world where the Fat Controller's railway is, is an island called Sodor. Here the engines share an engine shed where they rest at night following their individual adventures. The Fat Controller (aka Sir Topham Hat) tries to run a 'good railway' where the trains run on time and the passengers are comfortable. The problems come normally from the excessive pride or self importance of the engines who feel they don't need guards or ...  Read the complete review