Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Reverend W. Awdry. This article lists and details episodes from the first series, which was originally broadcast in 1984. This series was initially narrated by Ringo Starr for the United Kingdom audiences, who later re-narrated 25 episodes for the United States. The entire series was narrated by George Carlin for the US audiences.