Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

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.

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.

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.

I have been watching the DVD's (usually the best of, or one that highlights a character) with both of my boys, and I LOVE this series, I haven't seen any yet with Ringo Starr as the narrator, but I am sure those will be just as enjoyable when I do get the first season. Does any one know what size they are modeling the series at? As a Train enthusiast, they look 'O' gage to me, but not sure if they have a different system over there to determine train size. I would love to see them at some point run a contest to create a new character ya know a color, face, name type thing.

And for those of you that got the season 1 DVD, How many episodes and what kind of bonus features came with it? I know I would like to see the sets they work with in terms of size alone because they must be HUGE!

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.