World of Tomorrow

"I tried to make the other engines feel better but they were all sure they were going to be replaced."

- Thomas

World of Tomorrow is the third and final double-length episode of the twenty-fourth series.

Plot
Kenji's arrival causes the Steam Team to fear Thomas' original worries, but when a pair of crooks steal the plans for a great new invention, there's a high-speed chase to try and get them back and allow them to prove their worth. In the end, the steam engines prove that they are still really useful.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Nia
 * Rebecca
 * Sonny
 * Kenji
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Sir Robert Norramby
 * Ruth
 * Baz and Bernie
 * Professor Friedrich
 * Dr. Kim
 * Dr. Holyfield
 * Dr. Hetty
 * The Blond Policeman
 * Stanley
 * Stephen
 * Glynn
 * Winston
 * Millie
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Farmer Finney
 * Jem Cole
 * The Thin Clergyman
 * Cyril the Fogman
 * Madeleine's Parents
 * The Indian Fashion Designer
 * The Large Chinned Policeman
 * Hiro

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Ulfstead Castle
 * The Dinosaur Park
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Suddery Junction
 * Sodor Dairy
 * Crosby Tunnel
 * Maron
 * East Maron Junction
 * West Maron Junction
 * Crocks Scrap Yard
 * Sodor Airport
 * Japan

UK, AUS, NZ and MYS

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Gordon, the Fat Controller, Thomas' Driver and the Policeman
 * Rob Rackstraw as James, Bernie and Professor Friedrich
 * Nigel Pilkington as Percy
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca and Dr. Hetty
 * Joe Swash as Sonny
 * Matt McCooey as Kenji
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Dominique Moore as Ruth
 * Bob Golding as Baz
 * Colin McFarlane as Dr. Holyfield
 * Siu-see Hung as Dr. Kim

US and CAN

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * Kerry Shale as Gordon
 * Rob Rackstraw as James, Bernie and Professor Friedrich
 * Christopher Ragland as Percy
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca and Dr. Hetty
 * Joe Swash as Sonny
 * Matt McCooey as Kenji
 * Keith Wickham as Sir Topham Hatt, Thomas' Driver and the Policeman
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Dominique Moore as Ruth
 * Bob Golding as Baz
 * Colin McFarlane as Dr. Holyfield
 * Siu-see Hung as Dr. Kim

Trivia

 * Production-wise, this episode and its predecessor, A New Arrival, as the two specials that form a two-part story, are placed in the exact middle of the regular-length episodes of the twenty-fourth series, between Ace's Brave Jump (the tenth episode production-wise) and Sonny's Second Chance (the eleventh episode production-wise).
 * Thomas mentions the events of Big World! Big Adventures! to Kenji.
 * When Thomas' driver lassos the runaway Sonny, it is very similar to the second series episode Old Iron, when the same act was done by an Inspector and Edward to rescue a runaway James.
 * This special marks last of a few things:
 * Stanley, Farmer Finney, Jem Cole, The Thin Clergyman, Cyril the Fogman, The Indian Fashion Designer, Baz, Bernie, Dr. Holyfield, Dr. Hetty and Professor Friedrich's final appearances, as well as Stanley's only appearance in the twenty-fourth series and Dr. Holyfield and Hetty's only speaking roles.
 * The final double-length special, at least in airing order.
 * The final production with Joey So as director.
 * This special marks the only of a few things:
 * Dr. Kim's only appearance.
 * The only double-length episode set on Sodor not to feature any diesel engines.
 * This special marks the first of a few things as well:
 * The first time the airport was mentioned by name since the twelfth series episode, Excellent Emily.
 * The first production to outright state that Hiro is from Japan.
 * This conversation was a build-up to the episode Kenji on the Rails Again.
 * The first appearance of Suddery Junction since the twenty-first series episode, Emily in the Middle.
 * Gordon's first crash in the CGI series since Being Percy.
 * Gordon's worries about being replaced by an electric engine are similar to his worries from the story High-Speed Gordon, the first story from the 31st book of The Railway Series, Gordon the High-Speed Engine.
 * This is one of the three times in Series 24 where an engine's crew member has a speaking role. The other two are Thomas' Fuzzy Friend and Thomas and the Royal Engine.
 * This is the second episode to deal with a magnet after the fifteenth series episode, Stuck on You.
 * Matt McCooey joins the voice cast.
 * Thomas rocketing down the tracks with the Blastbooster-7 is similar when he rocketed down the tracks with the The Jet Engine in the sixth series episode, Thomas the Jet Engine.
 * Much like Gordon in the seventh series episode, Best Dressed Engine, Kenji has a banner obscure his vision. Unlike with Gordon, however, Kenji's incident was done deliberately in a failed attempt to stop Baz.

Goofs

 * In various shots at the beginning of the episode, Kenji is shown running on the narrow gauge tracks of the Estate Railway.
 * At the beginning of the episode, Emily's number disappeared despite having recieving her number in Emily to the Rescue.
 * After the Fat Controller gets covered in milkshake, Dr. Holyfield's machine mysteriously disappears.
 * During its rampage, the Metal Man leaves no footprints.
 * The Megalosaurus statue is referred to as a T-rex by Ruth during the Metal Man chase.
 * When the Metal Man gets caught in the magnetic field, it has its back facing towards Thomas, but before it hits the tanker, it flips orientation.
 * After Thomas brakes to slow down Sonny, his wheels keep moving in the subsequent scenes until both engines finally stop.
 * Before the two engines stop moving, their wheels do not spark like in the last shots.
 * After Bernie disconnects the coach, the trees outside Kenji's windows move slower than they are actually going.
 * After Thomas brakes to avoid colliding with Kenji's coach, his wheels keep moving in subsequent shots.
 * Thomas' wheels spin at inconsistent speeds after catching up to Kenji. The Blastbooster-7 also uncouples from him in an undetermined matter. In the same shot, however, Thomas' wheels are spinning backwards.
 * When Kenji bumps Thomas, he makes direct contact with him, but in subsequent shots outside his cab, he has moved farther from Thomas' buffers. This was likely done so viewers could see his face much more clearly.

UK/AUS

 * Marvellous Machinery

Merchandise

 * Push Along - Rocket Thomas
 * Motor Road And Rail - Thomas the Tank Engine Kenji and Thomas' Chasing Set
 * Books - Marvelous Machinery/The Royal Engine