Thomas & Friends series 6

Thomas & Friends
Series 6
DVD cover art
No. of episodes	26
Release
Original network	Nick Jr.[1]
Original release	16 September (2002-09-16) – 21 October 2002 (2002-10-21)
Series chronology

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 Reverend W. Awdry.

This article lists and details episodes from the sixth series of the show, which was first broadcast in 2002.

This series was narrated by Michael Angelis for the UK audiences, who also re-dubbed two episodes for US audiences, while Alec Baldwin narrated all of the episodes for the US audiences, in what was also his last series. Six episodes were later re-dubbed for PBS Kids by Michael Brandon.

In the United States, this was the second season of the series that was not aired on PBS Kids, instead being released straight-to-video.^[1] Most episodes in this series have one title; the American titles are shown underneath the United Kingdom titles.

This was the first series produced by Gullane Entertainment following its rename in 2000.

Production

Phil Fehrle had taken over as producer from David Mitton and Britt Allcroft, while Angus Wright had been replaced by Allcroft and Peter Urie as executive producers.

This was the first series to oversee an introduction of a writing staff, since the stories from The Railway Series had already been adapted. Staff-written stories had been introduced in Series 5, and this practice remained unchanged. The series was filmed between September 2001 and March 2002,^[2] and premiered on September 16, 2002.

Abi Grant served as script editor for the series.

Steve Asquith, who would later become the all-out director of Thomas & Friends, directed two series 6 episodes in place of David Mitton. However, David still directed the other 24 episodes and went on until series 7. After that, Steve Asquith took over for good.

Episodes

Main article: List of Thomas & Friends episodes

No. overall	No. in series	UK title (top) Main title (middle) US title (bottom)	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
131	1	"Salty's Secret"	David Mitton	Robin Kingsland	16 September 2002 (2002-09-16)
A new sea-loving diesel shunter called Salty gets sad when he is made to work at the Quarry. Note: The episode's events were recreated in "Away from the Sea".
132	2	"Harvey to the Rescue"	David Mitton	Jonathan Trueman	17 September 2002 (2002-09-17)
The engines are skeptical of a new crane engine named Harvey, but he soon proves his usage after Percy has an accident.
133	3	"No Sleep for Cranky"	David Mitton	Paul Larson	18 September 2002 (2002-09-18)
Cranky ends up being even more Cranky than ever after having to listen to Salty's stories all day. He soon gets what he paid for when he accidentally knocks over a shed; stranding Salty, Bill and Ben.
134	4	"A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Simon Nicholson Story by : David Mitton	19 September 2002 (2002-09-19)
		"A Bad Day for Harold"
Harold boasts to Percy that he can handle all the mail in one trip after he gets stuck at a broken signal, but soon gets his comeuppance after his motor fails.
135	5	"Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry"	David Mitton	Paul Larson	20 September 2002 (2002-09-20)
		"Elizabeth the Vintage Quarry Truck"
When Thomas breaks his coupling rods, his crew finds a vintage Sentinel lorry named Elizabeth inside a shed.
136	6	"The Fogman"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Jonathan Trueman Story by : David Mitton	23 September 2002 (2002-09-23)
The Fat Controller replaces Cyril the Fogman with a Foghorn but doesn't realize it's unreliability after Thomas has a landslide accident directly caused by the Foghorn.
137	7	"Jack Jumps In"	Steve Asquith	Jonathan Trueman, Phil Fehrle and Abi Grant	24 September 2002 (2002-09-24)
Thomas delivers a friendly, enthusiastic new front loader called Jack to an excavation site. However, Jack has a tendency to try jobs that he is not suited to. Note: This was the first part of a setup for a planned spin-off.
138	8	"A Friend in Need"	Steve Asquith	Phil Fehrle, Jonathan Trueman and Abi Grant	25 September 2002 (2002-09-25)
Jack joins Miss Jenny's crew in excavating the land under an old railway bridge, but a steam shovel called Ned is too clumsy to lower his arm enough while passing under the bridge, and by accident, he knocks the important keystones loose; leading to Thomas almost collapsing down the bridge. Note: This was the second part of a setup to a planned spin-off.
139	9	"It's Only Snow"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : James Mason Story by : David Mitton	26 September 2002 (2002-09-26)
With Toby, Thomas delivers a holiday tree over to a village; but when his snowplough breaks and demolishes a watertower; Thomas doesn't want to give up.
140	10	"Twin Trouble"	David Mitton	Brian Trueman	27 September 2002 (2002-09-27)
Donald and Douglas end up in an argument after an accident and refuse to work with each other anymore. However, they soon realise how much they miss each other.
141	11	"The World's Strongest Engine"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Paul Larson Story by : David Mitton	30 September 2002 (2002-09-30)
Diesel is sent to help out the engines at Brendam Docks while Henry is away for repairs but is pressured by the trucks to pull them all at the same time.
142	12	"Scaredy Engines"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Robin Kingsland Story by : David Mitton	1 October 2002 (2002-10-01)
On Halloween, Thomas teases Percy for being scared in the Smelters Yard; but he soon gets what he paid for.
143	13	"Percy and the Haunted Mine"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Robyn Charteris Story by : David Mitton	2 October 2002 (2002-10-02)
Percy ventures into an abandoned mine and is spooked by the sinking buildings and the proclaimed "naughty gnomes".
144	14	"Middle Engine"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Brian Trueman Story by : David Mitton	3 October 2002 (2002-10-03)
Percy is made a middle engine by 'Arry and Bert, leading to him being sent through the coal loading ramp and being blamed for it. James tries to convince him that he can outsmart the diesels, but proves himself wrong.
145	15	"James and the Red Balloon"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Jenny McDade Story by : David Mitton	4 October 2002 (2002-10-04)
When Thomas delivers a hot air balloon to the airfield, he and James become worried that it could take away their passengers.
146	16	"Jack Frost"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Paul Larson Story by : David Mitton	7 October 2002 (2002-10-07)
James and Percy have to deliver coal around the Island to prepare for a big freeze. After Thomas jokes to him about "Scary Jack Frost", Percy gets scared while James is not convinced.
147	17	"Gordon Takes a Tumble"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Robin Kingsland Story by : David Mitton	8 October 2002 (2002-10-08)[nb 1]
Gordon does not feel that it would be dignified for an express engine to pull goods trains, but when Salty teases him and Gordon is assigned to deliver a goods train, Gordon is determined to show Salty how an express engine pulls trucks.
148	18	"Percy's Chocolate Crunch"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Brian Trueman Story by : David Mitton	9 October 2002 (2002-10-09)
Percy is upset that he has all the dirty jobs, and due to a water shortage, he is restricted to one washdown per day. He desperately tries to stay clean, but he gets dirtier everywhere he goes, frustrating him even more.
149	19	"Buffer Bother"	David Mitton	Ross Hastings	10 October 2002 (2002-10-10)
Ben gets new buffers, making Bill feel jealous; putting his responsibility and reliability aside.
150	20	"Toby Had a Little Lamb"	David Mitton	Jenny McDade	11 October 2002 (2002-10-11)
During the winter, Toby is flagged down by a farmer who needs a vet to examine his lambs on the other side of the hill. Duck tries to clear away the snow, but it becomes too thick for him to plough.
151	21	"Thomas, Percy and the Squeak"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Jenny McDade Story by : David Mitton	14 October 2002 (2002-10-14)
Thomas is chosen by the Fat Controller to collect the famous Italian opera singer Allicia Botti from the docks, leaving aside dirty Percy, who is a "Guaranteed Connection". However, Thomas' pride soon goes away once Allicia screams at the sight of a mouse in Clarabel.
152	22	"Thomas the Jet Engine"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Ross Hastings Story by : David Mitton	15 October 2002 (2002-10-15)
		"Thomas and the Jet Engine"
Gordon boasts to everyone that he is the fastest engine on Sodor, but when Thomas is sent on a wild hayride after a jet engine he is made to deliver is accidentally turned on; Gordon ends up having the last laugh.
153	23	"Edward the Very Useful Engine"	David Mitton	David Mitton	16 October 2002 (2002-10-16)
		"Edward the Really Useful Engine"
Gordon believes that Edward is too old, but when he gets stuck on his hill; Edward proves how useful he can be.
154	24	"Dunkin' Duncan"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Jenny McDade Story by : David Mitton	17 October 2002 (2002-10-17)
Impatient Duncan wants the other engines at the incline to work faster, but they instead stick to the railway rules.
155	25	"Rusty Saves the Day"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Paul Larson Story by : David Mitton	18 October 2002 (2002-10-18)
Rheneas and Skarloey's old line is too battered for them to run on. Rusty works hard to clear their line, but as a result, he falls behind on his quarry work, leaving the Fat Controller with no choice but to shut down the line altogether, and Rheneas and Skarloey are forced to join Rusty at the quarry.
156	26	"Faulty Whistles"	David Mitton	Teleplay by : Ross Hastings Story by : David Mitton	21 October 2002 (2002-10-21)
When Peter Sam accidentally gets his whistle knocked off by a branch and is barred from working until he gets a new one, Duncan teases him and boasts that any proper engine has a whistle. He soon learns his lesson when his own whistle comes off while delivering an organ.

Characters

Main article: List of Thomas & Friends characters

Introduced

• Harvey
• Salty
• Elizabeth
• Jack
• Alfie
• Oliver the Excavator
• Max
• Kelly
• Byron
• Ned
• Isobella
• Cyril the Fogman
• Jenny Packard
• Allicia Botti
• Farmer McColl (not named in original versions)

Recurring cast

• Thomas
• Edward
• Henry
• Gordon
• James
• Percy
• Toby
• Duck
• Donald and Douglas
• Bill and Ben
• Diesel
• Mavis
• 'Arry and Bert
• Skarloey
• Rheneas
• Peter Sam
• Duncan
• Rusty
• Troublesome Trucks
• Bertie
• Trevor
• Harold
• Cranky
• The Fat Controller
• Stephen Hatt
• Stepney (does not speak)
• Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
• Henrietta (does not speak)
• Terence (does not speak)
• Jem Cole (does not speak)
• Farmer Finney (not named; does not speak)
• Oliver (cameo)
• George (cameo)
• Butch (cameo)
• Tiger Moth (cameo)
• Bridget Hatt (cameo)
• Mrs. Kyndley (cameo)
• Farmer Trotter (cameo)
• The Refreshment Lady (cameo)
• Nancy (cameo)
• Tom Tipper (cameo)
• Dowager Hatt (cameo)
• Bulgy (mentioned)

Home video releases

United Kingdom

Series 6 was released on VHS and DVD in the UK by Video Collection International in three volumes. They were released in their original widescreen ratio on DVD, however, The Chocolate Crunch was released in fullscreen on both formats.

DVD Title	Release Date	Included Episodes
The Fogman and Other Stories	7 October 2002 (7 October 2002)	"The Fogman" "No Sleep for Cranky" "Salty's Secret" "Harvey to the Rescue" "A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter" "Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry" "Twin Trouble" "Gordon Takes a Tumble"
The Chocolate Crunch and Other Stories	24 March 2003 (24 March 2003)	"Percy's Chocolate Crunch" "Jack Jumps In" "The World's Strongest Engine" "Middle Engine" "Buffer Bother" "Thomas the Jet Engine" "Dunkin Duncan" "Faulty Whistles"
Brave Little Engines	16 June 2003 (16 June 2003)	"A Friend in Need" "Scaredy Engines" "Percy and the Haunted Mine" "James and the Red Balloon" "Toby Had a Little Lamb" "Thomas, Percy and the Squeak" "Edward the Very Useful Engine" "Rusty Saves the Day"

The only two episodes not released in these volumes are "It's Only Snow" and "Jack Frost", the former of which was included in the Series 7 release Engines to the Rescue.

2 Entertain released a complete series DVD volume in 2007.

Episodes from the series have also made it to various compilation releases with other series.

Note

1. This episode was first released on The Fogman and other Stories VHS/DVD on 7 October 2002.

References

1. "New Thomas & Friends Episodes to Air on Nick Jr. In the UK".
2. Katherine Griffiths (19 December 2001). "Gullane to pay £1.6m for half the rights to 'Fireman Sam'". The Independent. Independent Digital News & Media Ltd.