Series 9

The ninth series of Thomas & Friends was first broadcast in September 2005. The series was narrated by Michael Angelis in the UK and Michael Brandon in the US. Twenty-six episodes were produced.

Production
The ninth series was filmed around the time HiT Entertainment had put themselves for sale because of straining toy firms. Private equity investment group Apax Partners decided to purchase HiT to save them from any possible downfall. The year this series released, 2005, was also the same year that included the hiring of Sharon Miller as she was enlisted to be Script Editor.

In the episode, The Magic Lamp, Peter Sam's small-scale model was used for the first time since the fifth series (excluding stock footage in the seventh series). The model was used for the scene where Peter Sam met Harold, as there was not a large-scale narrow gauge Harold and the large scale Peter Sam model would have been severely out of scale.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Emily
 * Bill and Ben
 * Harvey
 * Diesel
 * Mavis
 * 'Arry and Bert
 * Salty
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Peter Sam
 * Rusty
 * Duncan
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Bertie
 * Trevor
 * Harold
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Sodor Brass Band
 * The Dockyard Manager
 * The Ice-Cream Factory Manager
 * The Dairy Manager
 * The Dairy Employees
 * Dowager Hatt
 * Lady Hatt
 * Farmer McColl
 * The Mayor of Sodor
 * The Photographer
 * Arthur
 * Henrietta
 * George
 * Caroline
 * Butch
 * Tiger Moth
 * Stephen Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Mrs. Kyndley
 * Jem Cole
 * Refreshment Lady
 * Lord Callan
 * The Duke of Boxford
 * The Teacher
 * The Storyteller
 * The Lighthouse Keeper
 * The Tailor
 * Two Members of the Railway Board
 * One Member of the Railway Society
 * Big Mickey
 * City of Truro
 * Elizabeth
 * Jeremiah Jobling
 * Kuffy the Clown
 * The Clowns
 * Toad
 * Mr. Jolly
 * Cyril the Fogman
 * Allicia Botti

Characters Introduced

 * Molly
 * Neville
 * Dennis
 * Mighty Mac
 * Mr. Percival
 * The Famous Artist
 * The Baker
 * The School Choir
 * Proteus

Locations

 * Abbey
 * The Steam Team Statue
 * Bluff's Cove
 * Brendam Docks
 * Brendam Warehouse
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Callan Castle
 * Coastal Cliffs
 * Culdee Caves
 * Culdee Fell Hill
 * Dryaw
 * Dryaw Airfield
 * Echo Pass Ravine
 * Ffarquhar Quarry
 * Mavis' Shed
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Henry's Forest
 * The Valley Viaduct
 * Kellsthorpe Road
 * Kirk Ronan Junction
 * Knapford
 * Knapford Yards
 * Maithwaite
 * McColl Farm
 * Middle Station
 * Mountain Village Station
 * Main Line Junction
 * Neville's Bridge
 * Norramby
 * Norramby Beach
 * Peel Godred
 * Rheneas Viaduct
 * Rocky Ridge Line
 * Ruined Castle Yard
 * Shen Valley
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Skarloey Bridge
 * Skarloey Coal Yard
 * Sodor Bakery
 * Sodor Dairy
 * Sodor Flour Mills
 * Sodor Fuel Depot
 * Sodor Ice Cream Factory
 * Sodor Suspension Bridge
 * Sodor Toy Factory
 * The Abandoned Mines
 * The Campsite
 * The Church Runby
 * The Coal Mines
 * The Coaling Plant
 * The Dead End Mountain
 * The Headlands
 * The Intersection
 * The Lumber Mill
 * The Mountain Line
 * The Narrow Tunnel
 * The Runby Bridge
 * The Transfer Yards
 * The Twisty Tree
 * The Valley Cliffs
 * Tidmouth Beach
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Engine Works
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Tidmouth Tunnel
 * Toby's Shed
 * Topham Hall
 * Tower Windmill
 * Wellsworth Vicarage Orchard
 * Skarloey Apple Orchard
 * Sodor Museum
 * Wellsworth
 * Hackenbeck Bridge
 * The Depot
 * The Difficult Bend

Half Hour Format
When the ninth series was airing on Nick Jr. in the UK and Ireland, PBS Kids in the US and Treehouse TV in Canada, the airings were paired with not just seventh series episodes, but even some sixth series episodes which were originally narrated by Alec Baldwin and re-dubbed by Michael Brandon in the US, with Michael Angelis re-dubbing his narrations in the UK. In the sixth series episodes, music was also re-dubbed with music from episodes produced by HiT Entertainment as well. Also since this was the first series to have the title cards read, the episodes from the sixth and seventh series did the same thing. In the beginning of the Nick Jr. airings in the UK and Ireland and the Treehouse airings in Canada, an opening when Thomas' crew gets him ready for another day's work. When they aired in Latin America on Discovery Kids, the sixth and seventh series episodes were no longer paired with the airings.

Colo(u)rs

 * Percy and the Oil Painting
 * Learning Segment: Who's Under the Coal Dust? - James
 * James and the Red Balloon
 * Learning Segment: Same Colour
 * Thomas and the Rainbow

Caring/Taking Care

 * Thomas' Milkshake Muddle
 * Song: Buffer Up and Share
 * Spotless Record
 * Learning Segment: Thomas and the Shape Bridge
 * Mighty Mac

Respect

 * Molly's Special Special
 * Learning Segment: Who Can Get to the Washdown?
 * Edward the Really Useful Engine
 * Learning Segment: Emily Respects
 * Respect for Gordon

Celebration

 * Thomas and the Birthday Picnic
 * Song: Party Time
 * Learning Segment: Which Load for Which Party?
 * Harold and the Flying Horse
 * Learning Segment: Guess the Engine - Gordon
 * Tuneful Toots

Achievement

 * Thomas and the Toy Shop
 * Learning Segment: Which Load to Which Station?
 * Something Fishy
 * Learning Segment: What Route Should Thomas Take?
 * Rheneas and the Dinosaur

Change

 * Thomas and the New Engine
 * Learning Segment: Changing Sounds
 * Learning Segment: What's New at the Station?
 * Bulgy Rides Again
 * Learning Segment: Getting to Bluff's Cove
 * Toby Feels Left Out

Night and Day

 * Thomas Tries his Best
 * Song: Day and Night
 * Learning Segment: Seeing in the Dark
 * No Sleep for Cranky
 * Learning Segment: Percy in the Dark
 * The Magic Lamp

Shapes

 * Thomas and the Statue
 * Learning Segment: What is Thomas Thinking Of?
 * Toby's Windmill
 * Learning Segment: Which Load for Which Route?
 * Henry and the Flagpole

Pride

 * Emily Knows Best
 * Song: Pride
 * Learning Segment: What Makes Thomas Happy?
 * Gordon Takes a Tumble
 * Learning Segment: Job Destinations - Gordon, Mavis and Percy
 * Thomas' Day Off

Lost and Found

 * Thomas' New Trucks
 * Learning Segment: Job Destinations - Edward, Henry and Gordon
 * Toby Had a Little Lamb
 * Learning Segment: Dot to Dot - Thomas
 * Learning Segment: Where can Neville find Salty?
 * Duncan and the Old Mine

Bravery

 * Bold and Brave
 * Song: Brave
 * Learning Segment: Dot to Dot - James
 * Fergus Breaks the Rules
 * Learning Segment: Knowing What to Do
 * Skarloey the Brave

Loyalty

 * Saving Edward
 * Song: Togetherness (cut)
 * Learning Segment: Fixing the Engines
 * A Bad Day for Harold
 * Learning Segment: Being Kind
 * Thomas and the Golden Eagle

Seasons

 * Keeping Up with James
 * Song: Every Day's a Special Day on Sodor
 * Learning Segment: What Can Cool Down Thomas?
 * Edward's Brass Band
 * Learning Segment: Cool Down Delivery
 * Flour Power

Trivia

 * This is the last series of several things:
 * The last series in which the half-hour formats feature episodes directed by David Mitton.
 * The last series to have any of its episodes released on VHS in the US, though this only happened with six episodes.
 * The last series narrated by Ian MacAmhlaigh in Scotland and Daniel Vulcu in Romania.
 * The last series to feature Edward's unused deadpanned face from the fourth series.
 * The last series to feature Cranky's angry face from the sixth series.
 * The last series to feature Percy's furious face from the second series.
 * The last series released on VHS in South Korea.
 * The last series to have Scottish Gaelic dubs.
 * The last series aired by JimJam in Poland.
 * Rusty was referred to as a female in early American narrations of Tuneful Toots and Duncan and the Old Mine that broadcast on PBS Kids. This was corrected in later airings and on the DVD releases.
 * This was Sharon Miller's first series as part of the writing team and as script editor. She later became the first head writer in the twelfth series.
 * A large-scale gauge 3 model of Thomas was built for when he interacted with the Narrow Gauge engines.
 * The Korean DVDs credit Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed in their respective language.
 * This is the only series of a few things:
 * The only series that Simon A. Brown was a part of the writing team.
 * The only model series where none of the non-human characters introduced appeared in full CGI.
 * The only series to feature Rusty's sleeping/wincing face, albeit in a deleted scene.
 * Thomas and the Toy Shop was the only episode not to air on MiniMini from this series in Poland.
 * This series marks the first for several things:
 * The first series where Thomas appears in every episode, albeit not speaking in all of them.
 * The first series to have Steve Asquith as the head writer, succeeding Paul Larson and Abi Grant.
 * The first series to air on Milkshake (it aired in November 2006).
 * The first series since the sixth where Cranky speaks in more than one episode.
 * The first series where the episodes' title cards are read aloud by the narrator, including the episodes of the sixth and seventh series airing in between. However, a few US episodes did not have their titles read aloud in the Thomas and the Toy Workshop DVD.
 * The first series where Rusty's gender is male.
 * The first series in which Arthur, Murdoch, Spencer, The Duke and Duchess of Boxford, Elizabeth and Jem Cole do not appear since their introductions. However, Elizabeth, Jem Cole and The Duke of Boxford make appearances in music videos, as does Arthur in a DVD game; and The Duke did appear in a deleted scene.
 * The first series where Diesel speaks in all of his appearances.
 * The first series in which Maron station does not appear since its return in the sixth series.
 * The first series since the second not to release any episodes on home video before being broadcast.
 * The first series produced by HiT Entertainment under ownership of Apax Partners.
 * The first series that not released music video on DVD in South Korea.
 * Marc Seal's first series as Additional Material Written.

Staffel 9 Temporada 9 העונה התשיעית 第9シーズン Seria 9 Сезон 9 第9季