Series 13

The thirteenth series of Thomas & Friends first aired from January to February 2010 in the UK and from September to November 2010 in the US. From this series to the twenty-fourth series, the entire series had been CGI animated.

Michael Angelis and Michael Brandon narrated all twenty episodes, but, like Hero of the Rails, voice actors provided the voices for the characters. Mark Moraghan later re-narrated one episode specially for the Santa's Little Engine DVD in 2013.

Production
Production for this series by Nitrogen Studios began in January 2009, running concurrently with that of Hero of the Rails. Every episode has a copyright of 2009.

Development
In order to cut costs and maximize profits (because of taxation/government tax breaks for UK animation in 2007), HiT Entertainment decided to retire the live-action models and figurines in 2009 and started using full CGI animation for the rest of the franchise until 2020/2021. They enlisted Nitrogen Studios to provide the visuals. Nitrogen had already created CGI elements for the twelfth series. Christopher Skala also added that additionally, it was to add more emotion and flexibility through the stories. Previously Skala claimed that, of his focus group, even those who felt that Thomas, as an institution, should not be changed in this way but ultimately responded positively to the demonstration of the new animation techniques.

Reception
Series 13 had proven to be popular around the world with ratings up 86%* in the UK (FIVE Milkshake!), 50%** in the US (PBS Kids) and 47%** in Australia (ABC).

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Emily
 * Spencer
 * Rosie
 * Hiro
 * Diesel
 * Mavis
 * Victor
 * Rocky
 * Kevin
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Lady Hatt
 * Farmer Trotter
 * Dowager Hatt
 * Farmer McColl
 * The Teacher
 * The Schoolchildren
 * The Bird Watcher
 * The Ginger-haired Boy
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Henrietta
 * Bertie
 * The Duke and Duchess of Boxford
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * The Dairy Manager
 * The Dairy Employees
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants
 * The Blond-haired Boy
 * The Tree Specialists
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher
 * The Lady with the Big Hat
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer
 * Big Mickey
 * Trevor
 * Harold
 * The Little Engines in the Hills
 * Mr. Percival
 * Billy

Returning Characters

 * Stephen Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Allicia Botti
 * The Mayor of Sodor
 * Ffarquhar Quarry Manager

Characters Introduced

 * Charlie
 * Sir Lowham Hatt
 * Mr. Bubbles
 * Bridget Hatt's Friends
 * The Bakers
 * The Dock Manager
 * The Mainland Engines
 * The Mainland Controller

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Bluff's Cove
 * Brendam Docks
 * Brendam Warehouse
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Chestnut Orchard
 * Crosby Washdown
 * Farmer Trotter's Pig Farm
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Henry's Tunnel
 * Kirk Ronan Junction
 * Knapford
 * Knapford Iron Bridge
 * Knapford Yards
 * M.C. Bunn
 * Maithwaite
 * Maron
 * McColl Farm
 * Rail Under Road Bridge and Signalbox
 * Sodor Bakery
 * Sodor Dairy
 * Sodor Slate Quarry
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * Victor's Shed
 * The Coal Hopper
 * The Double Hills
 * The Double Junction
 * The Duke and Duchess of Boxford's Summer House
 * The Fenland Track
 * Fenland Fields
 * The Fenland Junction
 * The Hay Field Bridge
 * The Poppy Field
 * The Viaduct
 * The Watermill
 * Three Tier Bridge
 * Three-Track Level Crossing
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Engine Works
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Tidmouth Town Square
 * Tower Windmill
 * Whispering Woods
 * Whispering Woods Halt
 * Woodland Track
 * Black Loch
 * Great Waterton
 * Sodor Suspension Bridge
 * Dryaw
 * The Library
 * The Transfer Yards
 * Topham Hall
 * The Mainland

Half Hour Format
Each Nick Jr. airing featured two episodes with a song (the song is now used every two airings from the series onwards). However, the PBS airings introduced a Down at the Station segment. On Discovery Kids in Latin America, the Down at the Station segment is no longer used. Select airings from both countries remaster for widescreen the learning segments from the New Series and the morning/night-time sequence from the aforementioned New Series.

Friends and Family

 * Creaky Cranky
 * Song: Go, Go Thomas
 * Down at the Station: Passengers
 * Double Trouble

Slips and Trips!

 * Tickled Pink
 * Song: Go, Go Thomas
 * Down at the Station: Morning
 * Slippy Sodor

Working Well

 * Play Time
 * Song: Sounds
 * Down at the Station: The Railway Line
 * The Early Bird

Marvellous Moments!

 * Thomas and the Pigs
 * Song: Sounds
 * Down at the Station: The Steam Engine
 * The Lion of Sodor

Best Times

 * Time for a Story
 * Song: Thomas, You're the Leader
 * Down at the Station: The Driver
 * Percy's Parcel

Giving and Sharing

 * Steamy Sodor
 * Song: Thomas, You're the Leader
 * Down at The Station: Water
 * The Biggest Present of All

Wild Weather

 * Splish, Splash, Splosh!
 * Song: Determination
 * Down at the Station: The Engine Shed
 * Snow Tracks

Good Deeds

 * A Blooming Mess
 * Song: Determination
 * Down at the Station: Fireman
 * Henry's Good Deeds

Out and About

 * Thomas and the Runaway Kite
 * Song: Roll Along
 * Down at the Station: Engines
 * Buzzy Bees

Helping Hands

 * Toby's New Whistle
 * Song: Roll Along
 * Down at the Station: Water
 * Hiro Helps Out

UK

 * Ben Small as Thomas and Toby
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, the Fat Controller, Dowager Hatt, Sir Lowham Hatt, the Mayor of Sodor and Mr. Bubbles
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Rosie, Mavis, Lady Hatt, Bridget Hatt and her friends and the Teacher
 * Togo Igawa as Hiro
 * Matt Wilkinson as Spencer, Charlie, Victor, Rocky, Cranky, Kevin, Stephen Hatt, the Knapford Stationmaster, the Maithwaite Stationmaster, Farmer Trotter, the Bird Watcher and Farmer McColl
 * Jules de Jongh as Allicia Botti
 * Kerry Shale as Diesel

US

 * Martin Sherman as Thomas, Percy and the Bird Watcher
 * Kerry Shale as Sir Topham Hatt, Henry, Gordon, James, Kevin, Sir Lowham Hatt, Farmer Trotter and the Maithwaite Stationmaster
 * William Hope as Edward, Toby, Rocky, Stephen Hatt, Farmer McColl, the Maithwaite Stationmaster and the Knapford Stationmaster
 * Glenn Wrage as Spencer, Cranky and Charlie
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily, Rosie, Mavis, Bridget Hatt and her friends, Allicia Botti and the Teacher
 * Togo Igawa as Hiro
 * Michael Brandon as Diesel and Mr. Bubbles
 * David Bedella as Victor and the Mayor of Sodor
 * Keith Wickham as Dowager Hatt

Trivia

 * This is the first series for numerous things:
 * The first series animated exclusively in CGI by Nitrogen Studios.
 * The first series to use individual voice actors instead of solely a narrator outside of Italy, France, Poland, Greece, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, as well as Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
 * Sharon Miller's first series as the creative producer.
 * Marion Edwards' first series as executive producer.
 * Greg Tiernan's first series as a director.
 * Nicole Stinn's first series as a producer.
 * The first series in which Thomas appears and speaks in every episode.
 * The first series to have all episodes eight minutes and forty-five seconds long in the television series.
 * The first series where Ben, Harvey, Whiff, Stanley, Hank, Flora, Mighty Mac, Freddie, Hector, Jeremy, Colin and Mr. Percival do not appear since their debuts. Although Mighty Mac and Freddie are indirectly mentioned in one episode.
 * The first series where Duck, Donald, Douglas, Oliver, Stepney, Murdoch, Arthur, Neville, 'Arry, Bert, the Skarloey Railway engines, Toad, Harold, Trevor, Bulgy, the Pack and Jenny Packard do not appear since their returns due to the crew not having enough time to create CGI models for every character. Although Harold and Trevor do appear in the Island of Sodor opening sequence while the other Skarloey railway engines were indirectly mentioned.
 * The first series in which the Sodor Island intro is not used at the start of individual UK broadcasts.
 * The first series to use the newly updated Engine Roll Call as the title music in the intro.
 * The first series to have episodes written by Miranda Larson and Louise Kramskoy.
 * The first series released in the 2010s.
 * The first series dubbed in Icelandic since first series.
 * The first series dubbed in Welsh and Slovenian since seventh series.
 * The first series aired by Disney Channel, Disney Junior, KBS 2, Cartoon Network and Boomerang in South Korea.
 * The first series that not released a Korean dub on DVD in South Korea.
 * The first series that not released on DVD by C4U Media in South Korea.
 * The first series that not have two dubs since the eleventh series in South Korea.
 * The first series released on DVD since the seventh series in Italy.
 * The first series aired by MiniMini since the tenth series in Poland.
 * The first series released on DVD since the eleventh series in Nordic countries.
 * This is the only series for numerous things:
 * The only series in which Salty does not appear since his introduction in the sixth series, possibly due to the entire show being switched to CGI making it hard to make CGI models for every character. he would later appear in Misty Island Rescue.
 * The only series with Dave Peacock as voice director.
 * The only series with Jo Jordan as a creative executive.
 * The only series where Mr. Percival was mentioned as The Thin Controller in the US dub.
 * The only series to have episodes written by Allen Plenderleith, David Richard Fox and Alan Hescott.
 * The only series since the seventh series to have an episode written by Robyn Charteris.
 * The only series that not completely aired by KBS 2 in South Korea.
 * The only series released on DVD by MNV in South Korea.
 * The only series that not released a Korean dub on DVD in South Korea.
 * The only series to play Calling All Engines! version of the Engine Roll Call song in Sweden.
 * The following episodes were released in US theatres:
 * The episodes, Splish, Splash, Splosh!, Play Time, Slippy Sodor and Snow Tracks were shown in November 2009.
 * Thomas and the Runaway Kite, Buzzy Bees, Toby's New Whistle and The Biggest Present of All were shown in January 2010.
 * The Lion of Sodor, Thomas and the Pigs, Time for a Story and Hiro Helps Out were shown in October 2010.
 * This series was going to air on broadcast in 2009, but it was pushed to 2010 after the production of the series ended.
 * The steam engines' whistles now budge up and down every time they blow it.
 * Edward is the only Steam Team member to not get a starring role this series.
 * This is the second series of episodes to have not been released on home media in the Netherlands, since the second series.
 * This is the last series to be released on DVD in South Korea.
 * In the Korean dub, the original British production crew were never credited.
 * In the Icelandic dub, Wilbert Awdry was never credited.
 * In Poland, this series premiered before Hero of the Rails, so the audience would not know about Hiro, Victor, Kevin or Steamworks.

Staffel 13 Temporada 13 העונה השלוש עשרה 13. évad Stagione 13 第13シーズン Seria 13 Сезон 13 第13季