Thomas & Friends series 5


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 Wilbert Awdry.
This article lists and details episodes from the fifth series of the show, which was first broadcast in 1998. This series was narrated by Michael Angelis for audiences in the United Kingdom, while Alec Baldwin narrated episodes for audiences in the United States.
In the United States, this season was first aired in 1999 on Fox Family. This was the first season of the series that was not aired on PBS Kids.
This was the last season produced by Gullane Entertainment's original name, The Britt Allcroft Company before its current rename in 2000.
Fandom ttte:Series_5

Production

Stories

The show's staff had decided since Series 3 that most of the best stories of The Railway Series had been adapted, the rest involving too many new characters or closely resembling previous stories. With Series 5, the decision was made to write a full series of original, staff-written stories. One reason for this was producer Britt Allcroft's desire to create a theatrical Thomas the Tank Engine movie. She requested that director David Mitton should show off his modelling skills.
Some inspiration for the stories came from a former LMR manager named David Maidment. In 1997, Maidment met with Steven Wright about the possibility of supporting the Railway Children charity, and while Wright told him the series' staff commonly received such requests, they would consider. During their meeting, Maidment relayed stories about his railway experiences working in South Wales and as the manager at station. Days later, Maidment received a call asking if he would allow some of his stories to be used as material – the stories from The Railway Series were frequently based on true events, and Allcroft and Mitton preferred this. Maidment agreed, and was also asked to review each story to make sure that the railway in the show operated realistically. As a result, Maidment received writing credit alongside Allcroft and Mitton. 10,000 pounds was donated to the Railway Children for his work.
These stories are amongst those adapted:
  • "A Better View for Gordon" - the Granville-Paris Express ran through the buffer stop, across the station concourse, and crashed through the station wall; landing in the Place de Rennes below.
  • "Baa!" – a ram invades a railway station and attacks some vandals; additionally, the idea of a "Best Kept Station" competition.
  • "James & the Trouble with Trees" – rain erodes an embankment, causing a tree to slide down and stand upright on the tracks.
  • "Double Teething Troubles" – a diesel stalls while banking a train.
  • "A Surprise for Percy" - a runaway in the Garw Valley that occurred during David Maidment's time as Area Manager at Bridgend.
  • "Busy Going Backwards" - a couple of "hair-raising" runaway trains in the Tondu valleys that occurred during David Maidment's time as Area Manager in South Wales.
  • "Gordon & the Gremlin" – bathwater in a luxury coach splashes around the compartment.
The design for each new character would be chosen by David Eves, and given to David Mitton for approval.

Filming

Mitton shot 2,700 slates for Series 5, the most of any of the series he shot for Thomas, and music from seasons 3 and 4 play while recording the audio to 5.1 surround sound while the final cut uses stereo audio.
The filming for this season lasted from September 1, 1997, to April 30, 1998.

Broadcast

Previously Thomas had only appeared in the US as a segment on the TV show Shining Time Station, but Series 5 aired in the US as part of the half-hour Storytime with Thomas program. Each episode would include a new Series 5 episode, an episode of Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie, and an episode from the previous four seasons narrated by George Carlin, with music videos and footage of Day Out with Thomas in between.

Episodes


Home Video Releases

United Kingdom

All twenty-six episodes were released on VHS in the UK by Video Collection International in four volumes. The last volume was also released on DVD, making it the very first UK DVD release of the show.
DVD titleRelease dateIncluded episodes
Spooks and Surprises5 October 1998
  • "Horrid Lorry"
  • "Gordon & the Gremlin"
  • "Haunted Henry"
  • "Toby's Discovery"
  • "Thomas & the Rumours"
  • "A Surprise for Percy"
  • "Duncan Gets Spooked"
  • "Snow"
  • "Rusty & the Boulder"
Happy Holidays8 March 1999
  • "Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday"
  • "A Better View for Gordon"
  • "Bye George!"
  • "Toby & the Flood"
  • "Oliver's Find"
  • "Make Someone Happy"
    • Rescues on the Railways1 October 1999
  • "Cranky Bugs"
  • "James & the Trouble with Trees"
  • "Put Upon Percy"
  • "Stepney Gets Lost"
  • "Something in the Air"
    • Peep Peep Party9 October 2000
  • "Lady Hatt's Birthday Party"
  • "Baa!"
  • "Double Teething Troubles"
  • "Thomas, Percy & Old Slow Coach"
  • "Happy Ever After"
  • "Busy Going Backwards"
    • Video Collection International later released a complete series VHS set in 2002, 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 in February 2007.
    Episodes from the series have also made it to various compilation releases with other series.