Series 6

The sixth series of Thomas & Friends was first broadcast in September 2002. Michael Angelis and Alec Baldwin narrated the twenty-six episodes for the UK and US respectively. Angelis also narrated two episodes for the US release of New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures. Later, six episodes were redubbed along with music composed by Robert Hartshorne for the UK on Nick Jr. and the US for PBS Kids in 2005 which featured Michael Brandon as the narrator. This was the first of only two series to be produced by Gullane Entertainment after its rebrand from The Britt Allcroft Company.

Production
After the critical and commercial flop, but successful merchandising and nominations of Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Britt Allcroft was forced to step down as both deputy chairman and director of the company, only to retain sharing responsibilities and become Executive Producer despite being uncredited. On the other hand, David Mitton turned over as a camera operator and a script consultant for all script writers during production. The series was filmed in September 2001-March 2002 and Phil Fehrle took the liberty in creating what was supposed to be the first Thomas & Friends spin-off - Jack and the Sodor Construction Company (filmed two years later) directed by Steve Asquith. Two episodes were to be the gateway to the twenty-six episodic series, but it was cancelled because of financial difficulties, how similar the concept is to Bob the Builder, and the acquisition of HiT Entertainment, so only thirteen episodes were filmed in 2003 and the later half was stored away before the spin-off series could even be finished. However, the thirteen episodes were eventually released on DVD on 2nd October 2006.

From September to November 2005, Michael Brandon and Michael Angelis re-dubbed six episodes: No Sleep for Cranky, A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter, James and the Red Balloon, Gordon Takes a Tumble, Toby Had a Little Lamb and Edward the Very Useful Engine, with music composed by Robert Hartshorne on PBS Kids in the US and Nick Jr. in the UK, to make them series nine-styled when they chose episodes from this series for the airings.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Bill and Ben
 * Diesel
 * Mavis
 * 'Arry and Bert
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Peter Sam
 * Rusty
 * Duncan
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Bertie
 * Trevor
 * Harold
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Stephen Hatt
 * Harold's Pilots
 * Stepney
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Henrietta
 * Terence
 * Jem Cole
 * The Firelighter
 * The Lighthouse Keeper
 * Farmer Finney
 * Oliver
 * Toad
 * George
 * Butch
 * Bulstrode
 * Tiger Moth
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Jeremiah Jobling
 * Mrs. Kyndley
 * Farmer Trotter
 * Refreshment Lady
 * Nancy
 * Tom Tipper
 * Dowager Hatt
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Brown-haired Assistant
 * The Portly Man
 * The Storyteller
 * The Tailor
 * The Fisherman
 * One Little Boy
 * One of the Stone-Dropping Boys
 * The Mid Sodor Railway Manager
 * The Boy
 * The Dryaw Policeman
 * The Inspector with the Bowler Hat
 * One Member of the Elsbridge Cricket Club
 * Ffarquhar Quarry Manager
 * Big Mickey
 * City of Truro
 * Percy's Ghost Engine
 * BoCo
 * Sir Handel
 * Duke
 * Rusty's Ghost Engine
 * The Chinese Dragon
 * Father Christmas
 * The First Butler
 * The Barber
 * The Barber's Customer
 * The Quarry-Master
 * Mrs. Last
 * Boulder
 * Bulgy

Characters Introduced

 * Harvey
 * Salty
 * Elizabeth
 * Jack
 * Alfie
 * Oliver the Excavator
 * Max
 * Kelly
 * Byron
 * Ned
 * Isobella
 * Cyril the Fogman
 * Jenny Packard
 * The Foreman
 * Allicia Botti
 * The Smelter's Yard Manager
 * The Coaling Plant Manager
 * The Vet
 * Headmaster Hastings
 * Farmer McColl
 * Edward's Ghost Engine
 * The Railway Board
 * Farmer Collett
 * The Dockyard Manager
 * The Captain
 * Mr. Jolly
 * Little Giant
 * Nigel

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Brendam Warehouse
 * Bulgy's Bridge
 * Callan
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Cattle Creep
 * Cronk
 * Crosby Tunnel
 * Crosby Road Bridge
 * Dryaw
 * Dryaw Airfield
 * Elevated Town Runby
 * Elizabeth's Shed
 * Ffarquhar Quarry
 * Mavis' Shed
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Jem Cole's Yard
 * Knapford
 * Lower Suddery
 * Lower Tidmouth
 * Maithwaite
 * Maithwaite Quarry Mine
 * Maron
 * McColl Farm
 * Misty Valley
 * Cyril's Cottage
 * Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory
 * Old Stone Bridge
 * Old Quarry Bridge
 * Rheneas Viaduct
 * Skarloey Bridge
 * Skarloey Slate Quarry
 * Sodor Construction Company Yard
 * Sodor Ironworks
 * Sodor Slate Quarry
 * Strawberry Grove
 * The Church Runby
 * The Coaling Plant
 * The Depot
 * The Hay Farm
 * The Mountain Line
 * The Old Tracks and The Farm Field
 * The Quarry Construction Site
 * The Rickety Old Bridge
 * The Viaduct
 * The Village Station
 * The Watermill
 * Tidmouth Bay
 * Tidmouth Beach
 * The Seaside Village
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Engine Works
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Tower Windmill
 * Wellsworth Crossing
 * Toby's Shed
 * Brendam
 * Ffarquhar
 * Tidmouth Hault
 * Wellsworth
 * Bimini

Trivia

 * This was the first series of many things:
 * The company is renamed to Gullane Entertainment. However, it was eventually bought by HiT Entertainment in late 2002 after the production of the sixth series. Despite this, Britt Allcroft was not done with her involvement yet despite none of the credits in each episode crediting her, she was only executive director behind the series. The series is also the first to have various writers like Ross Hastings, Jenny McDade, Robin Kingsland, and Paul Larson. Brian Trueman has written episodes for the show, and it was the last time that he had written episodes for TV shows before he retired. The sixth series is broadcasted on Nick Jr. in 2002 and then a year later in 2003 on CiTV when the show returned there for the first time since they had broadcasted Series 3 in 1993.
 * The first series filmed in 16:9 widescreen. However, most of the first six episodes were matted from full screen, but whenever they use Tidmouth Sheds, The Seaside Village, Tidmouth Beach and the church for locations, the scenes are filmed in widescreen.
 * The first series that Thomas' original chuckling face appeared as his new grinning face.
 * Phil Fehrle's first series as producer.
 * Peter Urie's first series as executive producer.
 * The first series to have a writing team.
 * The first time Robin Kingsland, Paul Larson, Abi Grant, James Mason, Brian Trueman, Robyn Charteris and Jenny McDade wrote episodes for the series.
 * Abi Grant's first series as script editor, as well as head writer.
 * The first series to feature Steve Asquith as a director.
 * The first series made by Gullane Entertainment under its current name.
 * The first series to feature Toby's unused pre-fourth series depressed face.
 * The first series to have more than two narrators in the English dubs.
 * The first series not dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese, German and Greek.
 * The first series to use a Proteus 3 and Virtuoso 2000 to compose the music.
 * The first series where Annie and Clarabel do not speak in any of their appearances.
 * The first series to premiere on Nick Jr. in the UK.
 * The first series since the third series to appear on CITV, marking the television series' return to terrestrial television. Though it made its UK television debut on Nick Jr. the year before.
 * The first series to see incomplete episodic VHS releases in the UK and Australia due to the rising popularity of DVD.
 * The first series not to release every episode on home video before the complete series in the UK.
 * The first series not to release every music video on home media in the UK and Australia.
 * The first series released music video on VHS and DVD by C4U Media in South Korea.
 * The first series released music video on VHS in South Korea.
 * The first series that not released on DVD by DVD Acadamy in South Korea.
 * The first series to not have a voice over English dub in South Korea.
 * The first series that released music videos completely on DVD in South Korea.
 * The first series to not have two dubs until the thirteenth series in South Korea.
 * The first series not to feature Wellsworth since its introduction in the first series.
 * The first series where the Fat Controller says "confusion and delay", though the second to feature the phrase because the narrator and other characters said it in two fifth series episodes.
 * The first series where the narrator says, "Luckily, no one was hurt," a phrase that also becomes very iconic for the show.
 * The first series in which where Stepney and George appear, but do not speak since their introductions in the fourth series.
 * The first series in which Oliver does not speak since his debut.
 * The first series where BoCo, Derek, Bertram, Toad, Old Slow Coach, The Horrid Lorries, Caroline and Thumper do not appear since their debuts. However, BoCo and Toad do appear in music videos, whilst the latter appeared in a deleted scene photo of this series.
 * The first series released in the twenty-first century and the third millennium, as well as the first series released in the 2000s.
 * The first series in which Thomas does not appear in the finale.
 * The first series to have no episodes titled with just one word.
 * This was the last series of several things as well:
 * The last series to feature the old Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends logo in the intro.
 * The last series to feature the runaway theme until The Adventure Begins.
 * The last series until the eleventh series where Mavis speaks in more than one episode.
 * The final series where Duncan only appears in two episodes until the twentieth series.
 * It is also the last series where Duncan speaks in another accent instead of a Scottish one in the US dub.
 * The last series to be fully released in the "classic" era format in the US, as the seventh series would instead be formatted similarly to the HiT Entertainment series when the episodes first aired on TV, and later home media releases. The episodes would feature new music by Robert Hartshorne as well as the intro of Series 8 to make it fit in with later series of the show. (This would later happen in the UK for a few episodes as well) However, for the US VHS and DVDs New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures and Thomas and the Jet Engine and Other Adventures, seven episodes from the seventh series were released in the classic era format with the original intro and music by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. It should be noted that this series did get a similar treatment as the seventh series in both English dubs when 6 episodes aired on PBS Kids during the time Series 9 was airing, where the music and narration was changed (with Michael Brandon as the narrator in the US and Michael Angelis rerecording his original narrations in the UK) to fit with the other episodes being aired at the time. Only a select few episodes got this treatment and these versions haven't been released for home media yet.
 * Britt Allcroft's third and last series as executive producer. She would later be a script consultant in the seventh series despite the former being uncredited.
 * Alec Baldwin's last series as the US narrator following his departure in favour of him pursuing to work on other movie and television projects.
 * The last production produced solely by Gullane Entertainment prior to its acquisition by HiT Entertainment in 2002.
 * The last series to have John L. Wright as editor.
 * The last series where Thomas' laughing face from the second series (with added teeth) appears.
 * The last series to not feature Emily, since she appeared in every series since her debut, but not every special since her debut.
 * The last series to have more than half its episodes released on VHS in Australia.
 * The last series that used Futaba Corporation remotes to control the engines and vehicles.
 * Prior to the airings on PBS Kids, this series was only available on home video in the US.
 * This series had the most narrators in it out of all series.
 * Despite the title of the show being shortened to Thomas & Friends in 2000, this series, for unknown reasons, uses the original name on some releases and on others the shortened logo.
 * From this series onwards, all stories were written by individuals on a writing staff.
 * Starting with this series and the next series, due to it started being filmed in 16:9 widescreen, whenever stock footage from previous seasons is used (all made in 4:3 fullscreen), they were matted into widescreen (except in the 4:3 fullscreen versions of these episodes on home video).
 * This series was broadcast on Nick Jr. in the UK in late 2002, before airing from CiTV on 6 January-10 February 2003. Then all twenty-six episodes were repeated on CiTV from 11 February-18 March 2003, followed by another repeat of the first three episodes ending with Harvey to the Rescue on 21 March 2003.
 * On masters of episodes that feature the Gullane endboard, Britt Allcroft is credited as executive producer alongside Peter Urie. On masters that end with either the Nick Jr. UK or HiT Entertainment endboard, Britt Allcroft is not mentioned in the end credits at all.
 * Originally, the small-scale narrow-gauge models were set to appear but were replaced by the larger scale versions.
 * In the European Portuguese, Romanian, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Serbian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Korean DVDs, Chinese Mandarin, Taiwanese Mandarin and Cantonese dubs, Michael Angelis was credited as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed to their respective languages.
 * In the Spanish and French dubs, credited Alec Baldwin 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.
 * This is the only series of several things:
 * The only model series to have more than one director.
 * The only series in which Thomas does not speak in the premiere (not counting Jack and the Sodor Construction Company).
 * The only series until the twelfth series in which Max appears without Monty.
 * The only series until the thirteenth series to contain episodes that have three English narrators.
 * The only series in which Donald and Douglas do not have Scottish accents in the US dub. However, in Michael Brandon's re-dub of James and the Red Balloon, he gives the twins accents.
 * David Mitton's only main series as model consultant.
 * The only series to have Jonathan Trueman, Phil Fehrle and Ross Hastings as part of the writing team (not counting Jack and the Sodor Construction Company).
 * The only time Simon Nicholson wrote episodes for the series until the tenth series.
 * The only series not to feature Thomas' scared face after its return in Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
 * The only series in which Harold's sad face is slightly combined with his happy one.
 * The only series in the Classic Series to not feature Wellsworth.
 * The only series until the twenty-fourth series in which Oliver does not speak or appear with Toad.
 * The only series in the Classic Series to have special intro.
 * The only series in the Classic Series to not feature the scene of Thomas passing the windmill from Thomas and Bertie in the intro. Instead, a deleted scene from Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure, as well as a scene from Percy's Promise are used.
 * Leah Charles King and Michael Underwood introduced the series on CiTV in 2003.
 * The series aired weekdays at 8.25am on ABC Kids in Australia. The promo featured clips from Percy's Chocolate Crunch, James and the Red Balloon, Middle Engine and Gordon Takes a Tumble.
 * A hi-8 tape containing raw footage from some episodes from this series are now owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch.

Staffel 6 Temporada 6 העונה השישית 第6シーズン Seria 6 Сезон 6 第6季