some perent are never happy
Following Series 7, a number of very significant changes took place.
The series was taken over by HIT Entertainment (ironically, the owners
of Bob the Builder). Episode length was increased from five to seven minutes, a new theme tune was composed and the series title was shortened to Thomas & Friends. The number of characters was greatly reduced, with stories focusing on Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby and Emily.
Following a number of complaints from parent action groups concerning
the number of accidents in the series, the stories' emphasis was moved
from action to character, with episodes generally focusing upon morals.
However, this decision did not prove popular with long-running fans of
the series.
