Series 8

Season 8 aired in August 2004

Episodes

 * 1) Thomas and the Tuba
 * 2) Percy's New Whistle
 * 3) Thomas to the Rescue
 * 4) Henry and the Wishing Tree
 * 5) James Gets a New Coat
 * 6) Thomas Saves the Day
 * 7) Percy's Big Mistake
 * 8) Thomas, Emily and the Snowplough
 * 9) Don't Tell Thomas
 * 10) Emily's New Route
 * 11) Thomas and the Firework Display
 * 12) Gordon Takes Charge
 * 13) Spic and Span
 * 14) Edward the Great
 * 15) Squeak, Rattle and Roll
 * 16) Thomas and the Circus
 * 17) Thomas Gets it Right
 * 18) As Good as Gordon
 * 19) Fish
 * 20) Emily's Adventure
 * 21) Halloween
 * 22) You Can Do it, Toby!
 * 23) James Goes too Far
 * 24) Chickens to School
 * 25) Too Hot for Thomas
 * 26) Percy and the Magic Carpet

Songs

 * Sounds
 * Emily
 * Surprises
 * A World Around You
 * Determination
 * Patience
 * Ode to Gordon
 * Engine Roll Call

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Oliver
 * Bill and Ben
 * Harvey
 * Emily
 * Arthur
 * Spencer
 * Diesel
 * Mavis
 * 'Arry and Bert
 * Salty
 * Skarloey
 * Peter Sam
 * Duncan
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Terence
 * Bertie
 * Elizabeth
 * Harold
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Farmer McColl
 * Sodor Brass Band
 * One member of the Railway Board
 * The Dockyard Manager
 * The Coaling Plant Manager
 * Stepney (does not speak)
 * Murdoch  (does not speak)
 * Trevor  (does not speak)
 * Refreshment Lady  (does not speak)
 * Lady Hatt  (does not speak)
 * Allicia Botti  (does not speak)
 * The Duke and Duchess of Boxford  (do not speak)
 * Henrietta  (cameo)
 * George  (cameo)
 * Caroline  (cameo)
 * Butch  (cameo)
 * Tiger Moth  (cameo)
 * Big Mickey  (cameo)
 * Stephen Hatt  (cameo)
 * Bridget Hatt  (cameo)
 * Mrs. Kyndley  (cameo)
 * Jem Cole  (cameo)
 * Jeremiah Jobling  (cameo)
 * Farmer Trotter  (cameo)
 * Nancy  (cameo)
 * Cyril the Fogman  (cameo)
 * The Storyteller  (cameo)
 * The Photographer  (cameo)
 * Harold's Pilots  (cameo) ​
 * Toad  (faceless; cameo)
 * City of Truro  (picture cameo)
 * The Mayor of Sodor  (mentioned)
 * Mr. Jolly  (factory logo cameo; mentioned)
 * Rheneas  (music video cameo)
 * Rusty  (music video cameo)
 * The Fisherman  (music video cameo)
 * Donald and Douglas  (mentioned, music video/deleted scene cameo)

Characters Introduced

 * The Ice-Cream Factory Manager
 * The Halloween Engine  (does not speak)
 * Kuffy the Clown  (not named; does not speak)
 * The Dairy Manager  (cameo)

Japanese Voice Cast

 * Leo Morimoto as the Narrator
 * Keiko Toda as Thomas
 * Yasuhiro Takato as Edward and Arthur
 * Ryō Horikawa as Henry
 * Kenji Utsumi as Gordon
 * Katsuji Mori as James
 * Chisato Nakajima as Percy and Clarabel
 * Yasuhiko Kawazu as Toby, Spencer and Farmer McColl
 * Yuka Shioyama as Emily and Mavis
 * Hikaru Midorikawa as Harvey and Bertie
 * Daisuke Gōri as Diesel
 * Yūki Satō as Iron 'Arry and Harold
 * Keiji Hirai as Iron Bert
 * Naoki Tatsuta as Salty
 * Tomoko Naka as Annie
 * Fu Suzuki as Elizabeth
 * Hisao Egawa as Cranky
 * Takeshi Aono as Sir Topham Hatt

30-minute episode version
This is an episode format that includes 2 episodes of Season 8 and a short episode from Season 7 in the middle of the airing. In addition, it also includes educational segments and additional songs. This format aired on August 1, 2003, PBS Kids in the US on September 4, 2003 and Treehouse in Canada. Thomas premiered as a whole television program in 2003.

Trivia

 * This was the first series of several things:
 * The first series produced by HiT Entertainment.
 * Simon Spencer's first series as producer and show-runner.
 * The first series not to have Britt Allcroft, David Mitton, Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell involved in production.
 * The first series in the US where all episode titles are the same as the UK.
 * Sam Barlow's first series as story executive.
 * Marc Seal's first series as a part of the writing team.
 * The first series entirely directed by Steve Asquith after David Mitton retired as well as since the sixth series and the Jack and the Sodor Construction Company series. Stock footage directed by David Mitton, however, was used until Edward the Great and in music videos.
 * The first series to have music composed by Robert Hartshorne and Ed Welch.
 * The first series to use the font, Flange BQ (Bold), for title cards and credits.
 * The first series in which Duck, Donald, Douglas, Oliver, Bill, Ben, Terence and the Skarloey Railway do not appear since their debuts, although Duck, Oliver, Rheneas and Rusty made stock footage cameos in some songs, Donald and Douglas were mentioned in one episode and they also appear in a deleted scene from another episode. Bill and Ben also appear in another deleted scene of yet another episode.
 * The first series to use new opening and closing titles, the Island of Sodor introduction sequence and Engine Roll Call as the theme. The original opening, however, is used in the Greek version.
 * The first series shot using BetaCam videotape, as opposed to 35mm film.
 * The first series that established the Steam Team, and the first series to feature Emily as part of the main cast.
 * The first series to air on PBS outside of Shining Time Station.
 * The first series to air on American television in a half hour format since the fifth series on Fox Family's Storytime with Thomas.
 * The first series to be dubbed in Indonesian and European Spanish.
 * This was also the last series of several things as well:
 * Abi Grant's second and last series as script editor.
 * The last series broadcast on CiTV in the UK, who would lose the license to Channel 5 in 2006.
 * The last series narrated by Leo Morimoto in Japan, as well as the last series to feature the original Japanese voice cast from Aoni Production.
 * The last series to use stock footage from episodes produced by The Britt Allcroft Company and Gullane Entertainment.
 * The last series to be completely released on VHS in the US.
 * The last series to see any VHS releases in Australia, though incomplete.
 * The last series to be dubbed by Aoni Production in Japan. Starting in Calling All Engines!, the Japanese dubbing is taken over by 81 Produce, resulting in the voice cast also getting replaced.
 * This was also the only series of several things as well:
 * Paul Larson's only series as script editor.
 * The only series Dave Ingham and Robin Rigby were a part of the writing team (not counting Rigby's cancelled Jack and the Sodor Construction Company episodes).
 * The only series to use an extended version of the theme for the end credits.
 * The only series to not have any narrow gauge engines since their introduction in the fourth series.
 * This series contained the 200th episode of the television series which was As Good as Gordon.
 * When broadcast on CiTV from 2005-2006, the episodes were shown with a different theme arrangement and lacked the Engine Rollcall before the credits.
 * Due to series 5-7 never being shown in Finland, the viewers who live there would not have known who Emily, Harvey, Arthur, Spencer, 'Arry and Bert, Salty, Elizabeth, Cranky, Farmer McColl, Murdoch and Allicia Botti are.
 * A deleted scene from Squeak, Rattle and Roll suggests that Thomas would have appeared in the episode. Had he actually appeared, this would have been the first series where Thomas appears in every episode instead of the ninth series. Regardless of whether he would have spoken in the episode or not, the thirteenth series would still be the first series where Thomas speaks in every episode.
 * Only six episodes of this season were aired on CITV from 3rd May to 7th June 2005 where it ended the terrestrial television rights and later aired from 20th September-6th October on Channel 5