Series 7

The seventh series of Thomas & Friends was first broadcast in October 2003, the same day it was first released on DVD and VHS. In the UK, all twenty-six episodes were narrated by Michael Angelis and have at least a version with original music. In the US, all twenty-six episodes were narrated by Michael Brandon and have at least a version with new music. Michael Angelis also re-narrated four episodes for the US release New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures.

Filmed during HiT Entertainment's acquisition of Gullane Entertainment, this was the final of only two series produced by Gullane (replaced by HiT Entertainment starting with the eighth series up until the twentieth series, when it was replaced by Jam Filled Toronto up until the twenty-fourth and final series and finally by Nelvana starting with Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go). On Nick Jr. and PBS Kids airings, an episode was paired with the eighth and ninth series airings.

Production
Whilst the acquisition of HiT Entertainment had neared completion, Britt Allcroft not only became a non-executive director, but also started to focus on outside business necessities in her second hometown of Santa Monica, California, USA. Acting as creative consultant would end up being her final involvement with Thomas & Friends.

David Mitton quietly followed suit, deciding not to remain as a full time director for the show anymore due to him going on retirement the same year, and also because of the fact that he was constantly frustrated with HiT Entertainment for the lack of creative freedom on Thomas he was given when it came to HiT's choices and demands. Both of them were joined by Robert Gauld-Galliers, who shared the same interest.

When the eighth series first aired in 2004 on Nick Jr. in the UK and PBS Kids in the US, a seventh series episode that is thematically similar to the two eighth series episodes in the airing would be shown between them. As there were thirteen of these airings, thirteen episodes of the seventh series were recomposed by Robert Hartshorne for these airings. Additionally, the UK version of Rheneas and the Roller Coaster with the new music was released on Bumper Party Collection! in May 2005.

This continued in late 2005 with the ninth series, but this time, only six episodes from the sixth series were used for the airings, thus six episodes from the seventh series were not, one of which was "Rheneas and the Roller Coaster". However, they have all been released on home video in the US. The other five episodes that were not broadcast for TV are The Refreshment Lady's Tea Shop, Bad Day at Castle Loch, Snow Engine, The Runaway Elephant and The Grand Opening, and they are the only episodes of the series to not have a known UK version with the new music.

Conversely, there are only seven episodes of the series known to have a US version with the original music. On the 2004 US VHS/DVD New Friends for Thomas, the episodes Gordon and Spencer, Emily's New Coaches, The Spotless Record and Peace and Quiet are re-narrated by Michael Angelis for American audiences, and they retain the original music. On another 2004 US VHS/DVD, Thomas and the Jet Engine, the episodes Harold and the Flying Horse, Bulgy Rides Again and Salty's Stormy Tale are narrated by Michael Brandon as usual yet still retain their original compositions by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.

This series also uses more stock footage than any other series, possibly due to the fact that it was filmed alongside Jack and the Sodor Construction Company.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Oliver
 * Bill and Ben
 * Harvey
 * Diesel
 * Mavis
 * 'Arry and Bert
 * Salty
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Peter Sam
 * Rusty
 * Duncan
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Toad
 * Bertie
 * Bulgy
 * Elizabeth
 * Harold
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Lady Hatt
 * Stephen Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Refreshment Lady
 * The Little Boys
 * The Tailor
 * Harold's Pilots
 * Tiger Moth's Pilot
 * The Lighthouse Keeper
 * The Fisherman
 * The Dockyard Manager
 * The Captain
 * The Storyteller
 * One Member of the Railway Board
 * Terence
 * Trevor
 * Jem Cole
 * The Vicar of Wellsworth
 * The Coaling Plant Manager
 * Farmer Trotter
 * Farmer Collett
 * Big Mickey
 * Stepney
 * Henrietta
 * George
 * Butch
 * Tiger Moth
 * Jeremiah Jobling
 * Mrs. Kyndley
 * Farmer Finney
 * Nancy
 * Tom Tipper
 * Cyril the Fogman
 * Jenny Packard
 * Farmer McColl
 * One of the Stone-Dropping Boys
 * The Inspector with the Bowler Hat
 * The Second Butler
 * The Mid Sodor Railway Manager
 * The Fire Brigade
 * The Injured Sailor
 * The Portly Man
 * The Smelter's Yard Manager
 * Headmaster Hastings
 * Three Members of the Railway Board
 * Duke
 * The Crovan's Gate Policeman
 * The Dryaw Policeman
 * City of Truro
 * Lorry 2
 * Daisy
 * BoCo
 * Class 40
 * S.C. Ruffey
 * Bulstrode
 * The Elsbridge Cricket Club
 * The Quarry-Master

Characters Introduced

 * Emily
 * Fergus
 * Arthur
 * Murdoch
 * Spencer
 * Sodor Brass Band
 * Lord Callan
 * Dusty Miller
 * The Teacher
 * The Duke and Duchess of Boxford
 * Mrs. Collett
 * The Mayor of Sodor

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Brendam Warehouse
 * Brendam Canal
 * Bulgy's Bridge
 * Bulgy's Field
 * Collett's Farm
 * Dryaw
 * Dryaw Airfield
 * Elephant Park
 * Elevated Town Runby
 * Ffarquhar Quarry
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Henry's Tunnel
 * Knapford
 * Knapford Sheds
 * Maithwaite
 * Maithwaite Quarry Mine
 * Maron
 * Misty Valley
 * Black Loch
 * Castle Loch Causeway
 * Callan Castle
 * Norramby Fishing Village
 * Oliver's Shed
 * Rheneas Viaduct
 * Rocky Ridge Line
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Sodor Castle
 * Sodor Cement Works
 * Sodor Ironworks
 * Heavy Industrial Area
 * Sodor Pudding Factory
 * Sports Field Halt
 * Suddery Castle
 * Tea Room Station
 * The Coaling Plant
 * The Craggy Track
 * The Depot
 * The First Three-Track Station
 * The Goods Station
 * The Intersection
 * The Mountain Village
 * The Old Trestle Bridge
 * The Old Wooden Bridge
 * The Pier
 * The Runby Bridge
 * The Sheep Field
 * The Single-Track Halt
 * The Watermill
 * Tidmouth Bay
 * Tidmouth Beach
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Engine Works
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Tidmouth Tunnel
 * Toby's Shed
 * Toby's Windmill
 * Tower Windmill
 * Valley View
 * Wellsworth
 * Wellsworth Crossing
 * Wellsworth Yards
 * Topham Hall
 * West Lakeside Junction
 * Whispering Waterfall
 * Bluebell Valley
 * Crovan's Gate
 * Dryaw Canal Runby
 * Knapford Harbour
 * Lakeside
 * Neptune Refreshments
 * Skarloey
 * Skarloey Bridge
 * Skarloey Slate Quarry
 * Strawberry Grove
 * The Hay Farm
 * The Seaside Village
 * The Second Seaside Station
 * The Viaduct
 * Ulfstead
 * The Mainland
 * Scotland
 * Marseille

Trivia

 * This was the final series of many things:
 * The final series of the classic era in most countries except the US and Canada, in which it is part of the HiT Entertainment model era, due to the dub being released during said era.
 * This technically means that this is the first series of the HiT model era in the US and Canada.
 * Oddly enough though, a select few episodes were released in the classic era format in the US through the DVDs of New Friends for Thomas and Thomas and the Jet Engine.
 * David Mitton's final series as director.
 * Phil Fehrle's last main series as producer.
 * Peter Urie's last series as executive producer.
 * The final series to have Robin Kingsland, Brian Trueman and Jenny McDade write episodes for the series.
 * The final series to include music composed by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell and thus the final series to use the original opening credits and theme.
 * The final series of the main show produced by Gullane Entertainment.
 * The final series dubbed by The Maidstone Studios.
 * The final series dubbed by Mike Erander.
 * The final series to have Britt Allcroft involved in a Thomas production, as well as the only series to have her as script consultant before moving to America, specifically, Santa Monica California.
 * The final series to use 35mm movie cameras.
 * The final series in 4:3 fullscreen in Japan (as well as the last series to be released on VHS in Japan).
 * The final series to use music composed with Proteus 2, Prophet 2000, Proteus 1, Proteus 2000, Proteus 3 and Virtuoso 2000.
 * The final series of the main show since the fourth series to use stock footage from episodes produced by Clearwater Features.
 * The final series in Japan where episodes ended with a nameboard sequence of the characters featured.
 * The final series to feature Terence until the twenty-first series.
 * The final series to feature Donald and Douglas until the eleventh series, although they appeared in a deleted scene in the next series.
 * The final series to feature Duck, Stepney, Oliver and Toad (with a face) until the twelfth series.
 * The final series to feature Duke (albeit via stock footage).
 * The final series in which Robyn Charteris wrote episodes for the series until the thirteenth series.
 * The final series narrated by Kim Il in South Korea.
 * The final series not dubbed in German until the twenty-first series.
 * The final series not dubbed in Greek until the twelfth series.
 * The final series not dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese.
 * The final series released music video on VHS and DVD by C4U Media in South Korea.
 * The final series released music video on VHS in South Korea.
 * The final series to feature Thomas' unused panicked face from the third series.
 * This was also the first series of several things:
 * The first series produced by HiT Entertainment.
 * The first series that all the episodes have music scored by Robert Hartshorne and Ed Welch in the US and later the UK in 2004. The original music by Mike O' Donnell and Junior Campbell however, is still composed in the music videos.
 * Jocelyn Stevenson's first series as executive producer.
 * The first series where the The Post Train does not appear, but makes an appearance in a music video.
 * The first series since the third to make its debut on UK television on CITV. The sixth series had previously premiered on Nick Jr. in the UK before airing on CITV.
 * The first series to use the Thomas & Friends logo in the opening titles as well as the first season to come out after the rename.
 * The first series where Edward, Toby, Duck, Annie and Clarabel, Toad, Mavis, Diesel, 'Arry and Bert, Bill and Ben, Donald and Douglas, Elizabeth, Bulgy and Cranky only speak in one episode each.
 * The first series where Salty, Harvey, Harold, Oliver, Henry, Bertie and Duncan only speak in two episodes each.
 * The first series since their introduction in the previous series where the Pack do not appear, due to this series being filmed alongside Jack and the Sodor Construction Company.
 * The first series not dubbed in Norwegian until the twelfth series.
 * The first series not dubbed in Slovenian.
 * The first series where Thomas is given a new wincing face since the original face made it's last appearance in Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
 * The very first series to premiere on PBS, along with the half-hour formats in the eighth series.
 * The first series to start using JR Propo remotes to control the engines and vehicles.
 * This marks the only series for several things:
 * The only series to have Jan Page, George Tarry and Polly Churchill as episode writers, as well as the only series to have them and Nickelodeon UK involved.
 * Jan Page's only series as script editor.
 * The only series in the classic era to have all of its episodes recomposed with new, different soundtracks in the US, which was done by Robert Hartshorne. It also uses the eighth series intro with Engine Roll Call as the theme, which makes it as part of the HiT model era of the show. In the sixth series, this only happened with six episodes.
 * Another reason is possibly to make American viewers not notice the establishment of the Steam Team implemented in the eighth series.
 * The only series of the HiT model era in the US directed by David Mitton, produced by Phil Fehrle and Gullane Entertainment, and the music videos composed by Mike O' Donnell and Junior Campbell.
 * The only series where Duck does not have an individual speaking role.
 * The only series where Stepney only appears via stock footage.
 * The only series where the Mail Train does not appear.
 * The only series not to release any of its songs on official home video in the UK.
 * The only series where Edward speaks in one episode until the twenty-third series.
 * The only series to have Lee Pressman write episodes for the series and the only series where Toby speaks in one episode until the seventeenth series.
 * The only model series made in the 2000's that does not have Abi Grant involved.
 * The only series to use stock footage from music videos.
 * The only series until the twelfth series to not be dubbed in Norwegian.
 * The only series to feature Fergus.
 * The only main series to be produced by two companies instead of one (not counting the Jack and the Pack spin-off series).
 * In the Swedish, Danish, Hungarian, Serbian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Korean DVDs, Chinese Mandarin, Taiwanese Mandarin and Cantonese dubs, credited Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed their respective languages.
 * In the Spanish and French dubs, credited Michael Brandon as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed their respective languages.
 * In the Vietnamese dub, Michael Angelis' dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.
 * Edward and Toby are the only Steam Team members to have only one speaking role in one and episode each. The same goes for Donald and Douglas.
 * This series was never shown in Brazil, Spain, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Greece.
 * The CiTV broadcasts of this series saw the return of two episodes being compiled into one ten-minute block. The only difference is that the opening titles were shown again at the end of the first episode. At the same time, CiTV also compiled the previous episodes from the sixth series into ten-minute blocks. Not all the sixth series episodes aired as did the seventh series.
 * This series was produced in association with Nickelodeon UK, as indicated by the endboard seen on Nick Jr. airings and UK DVD prints of the episodes.
 * The series was later aired from 5th January-16th February 2004 when it was rebroadcast on CiTV.
 * CiTV aired Snow Engine on Christmas Eve 2004 with two other episodes airing on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
 * This series and the eighth series was not introduced by a CiTV presenter but was shown on a CiTV segment of It's on at Quarter Past Three. A classic clock was shown before the episodes.
 * Mavis only has one line of dialogue throughout this entire series.
 * Emily and Spencer are the only new engines introduced in this series to be in CGI.
 * The series aired weekdays at 3.25pm on ABC Kids in Australia. The promo featured clips from James and the Queen of Sodor, The Old Bridge, Bill, Ben and Fergus, Percy Gets it Right and What's the Matter with Henry? in that order.

Staffel 7 Temporada 7 העונה השביעית 第7シーズン Seria 7 Сезон 7 第7季