Thomas & Friends "Series 12" (partially found Pierce Brosnan narrations of British children's animated series; 2008)

Season 12 DVD cover.

Status: Partially Found

In 2007, it was announced that actor Pierce Brosnan of James Bond fame would be taking over as narrator for Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, starting with the "The Great Discovery" special. Although Brosnan narrated the special as planned, when season 12 premiered in 2008, the series was still narrated by Michael Angelis in the UK and Michael Brandon in the US. The reasons why Brosnan did not continue aren't fully clear, though it is often falsely rumoured that he left due to his disapproval of the twelfth season's incorporation of CGI.

Evidence has been shown that Brosnan has indeed recorded dialogue for the narration. In the behind the scenes featurette on "The Great Discovery" DVD, Brosnan can be heard recording dialogue for the episodes "Thomas Puts the Brakes On" and "Best Friends".

In 2011, a 38-second audio clip surfaced of Pierce Brosnan's narration of "Gordon Takes a Shortcut". This audio originated from animation director Dino Athanassiou's website. So far, nothing official has been released of the narrations.

Gallery

Sample of Brosnan's narration for "Gordon Takes a Shortcut".

"Behind the Scenes with Pierce Brosnan" featurette featuring audio from "Thomas Puts the Brakes On" and "Best Friends".

See Also

Thomas & Friends

• Thomas & Friends "Jack Jumps In" (found Alec Baldwin narration of British children's TV series episode; 2002)
• Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels (lost original cut of direct-to-DVD film; existence unconfirmed; 2011)
• Thomas & Friends "Series 7" (partially found original music of American dub of British children's TV series; mid 2000s)

Thomas the Tank Engine

• Thomas the Tank Engine "Season 3" (found Michael Angelis narriation of British children's TV series episodes; 1991)
• Thomas the Tank Engine "Season 4" (found pre-recorded version of British children's TV series episodes; 1994)
• Thomas the Tank Engine "Down the Mine" (partially found unaired pitch pilot version of children's TV series; 1983)
• Thomas the Tank Engine "The Missing Coach" (partially found footage from unfinished episode of children's TV series; 1986)
• Thomas and the Magic Railroad (found deleted scenes of children's fantasy adventure film; 2000)
• Thomas the Tank Engine (lost pilot episode of unproduced 2D animated adaptation on "The Railway Series" books; 1976)
• Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (partially lost deleted scenes of British children's TV series; 1984-2021)

Other

• Thomas the Tank Engine (found original illustrated edition of book; 1946)
• Thomas and the U.K. Trip & Thomas Number 1 (found Japanese "Thomas the Tank Engine" crossover TV special and music video; 1993)
• Jack and the Sodor Construction Company (miscellaneous lost media of spinoff series; existence unconfirmed; 2002)
• The Three Railway Engines (found original edition of book; 1945)
• Barry the Rescue Engine (lost production material on cancelled "The Railway Series" book; 1980s)
• The Sad Story of Henry (lost live BBC broadcast adaptation of "The Railway Series" books; 1953)
• Thomas and the Magic Railroad (lost test footage of 3.5" character models for British children's TV series; 1995)
• Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (found build of cancelled NES port of educational game; 1993)
• Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (lost build of cancelled PlayStation educational game; 1999)
• The Thomas & Friends Institute of Innovation (partially found informational short film; 2013-2014)