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Thomas & Friends (series 12)
Series 12
DVD cover art
Release
Original network	Five
Original release	1 September – 26 September 2008
Series chronology
← Previous Series 11 (2007) Next → Series 13 (2010)
List of episodes

Thomas & Friends (previously known as 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 the Rev. W. Awdry.

This article lists and details episodes from the twelfth series of the show, which was first broadcast in 2008. This series was narrated by Michael Angelis for the UK audiences, although Michael Brandon narrates the episodes for the US audiences.

Most episodes in this series have two titles: the original titles from the UK broadcasts are shown on top, while the American-adapted titles are shown underneath.

Production

Filming and animation

Series 12 marked the beginning of Thomas & Friends' transition into CGI (Computer-generated imagery). Characters' faces were animated through CGI with the aid of motion capture animation - the physical models' molded faces were replaced by targets in order to fix a computer-animated face in post-production. Static models of people and animals were replaced by 3D animations. The animation was provided by Nitrogen Studios, the studio contracted for future full-CGI episodes. This change marked the movement of production of the show from the United Kingdom to Canada, although the model scenes were still filmed at Shepperton Studios. This was the last series where Ed Welch provided the music, while Robert Hartshorne continues to compose the music afterwards.

HIT Entertainment's Senior Vice President of Production and Programming, Christopher Skala, stated that the change, aside from budgetary reasons, was intended to convey more emotion and flexibility through the stories. Skala claimed that, of his focus group, even those who felt that Thomas, as an institution, should not be changed in this way ultimately responded positively to the demonstration of the new animation techniques.

Closed captioning for the 30-minute version of the show was produced by CaptionMax.

Episodes

Characters

New

• Hank (Heave Ho Thomas)
• Flora (Tram Trouble)
• Colin (The Party Surprise)
• The Bargeman (The Party Surprise)
• The Percival Twins (Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon)
• The Tree Specialists (Henry Gets It Wrong)

Returning

• Thomas
• Edward
• Henry
• Gordon
• James
• Percy
• Toby
• Duck
• Donald and Douglas
• Oliver
• Emily
• Murdoch
• Neville
• Ben
• Rosie
• Whiff
• Stanley
• Diesel
• Mavis
• Salty
• Skarloey
• Rheneas
• Sir Handel
• Peter Sam
• Rusty
• Duncan
• Fearless Freddie
• Mighty Mac
• Toad
• Hector
• Troublesome Trucks
• Bertie
• Jack
• Harold
• The Fat Controller
• Lady Hatt
• Dowager Hatt
• Stepney
• Harvey
• Arthur
• Arry and Bert
• Annie and Clarabel
• Henrietta
• Rocky
• Trevor
• Alfie
• Farmer McColl
• Bulgy
• Jeremy
• Cranky

References

1. , My DigiGuide - Five schedule
2. ^ , Licensing.biz, "Hit reveals new look for Bob and Thomas"
3. ^ , Worldscreen, "Thomas, Bob Take CGI Route"
4. , Nitrogen Studios website

• Thomas & Friends episodes
• 2008 television seasons