Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

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!

I will always have a love for Thomas the Tank Engine. This show's first few seasons are great! However, the show got worse over time, meaning a lot of the show's later episodes are not that good. If you wanna watch the show, stick to the original 7 seasons.

I've been a fan of Thomas all my life and i have to say that the older series is a lot better than the new one. i don't really like how hit entertainment change to cgi but after viewing it the animation was good. most of the episodes aren't that good anymore though. they use a lot of recycled plots and introduce characters we only see once. and hit didn't use characters that they had from previous seasons. i like to view before I give my opinions so ya if Your going to show your kid Thomas show the old episodes first. ill love Thomas for the rest of my life but i just hope hit does better writing in the future and they have with misty island rescue. i give the show an 8 out of 10

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.