Shining Time Station

After the success of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends in the United Kingdom, Britt Allcroft and her production company teamed up with PBS station WNET in New York City to produce and distribute the sitcom-esque Shining Time Station, every episode of which would include a couple of episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. The series starred Ringo Starr, George Carlin, Didi Conn, Brian O'Connor, and the Flexitoon Puppets. Ringo Starr, who had already been providing the narration for the British series, agreed to extend the role to include the on-screen character called Mr. Conductor in Shining Time Station. He left the show after its initial season to focus on his musical career and was replaced by George Carlin. Production took place in New York City for the first season and then subsequently in Toronto. Shining Time Station received critical acclaim. In a review for Entertainment Weekly, Ken Tucker states that, compared to the faster paced Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, "'Shining Time Station' wants to slow things down. It's an old-fashioned show that creates a gentle, lulling atmosphere to convince children that life is fun and that trains are the way to travel." It was a ratings success as well. In its first season, the show averaged a 0.9 Nielsen rating, translating to about 1.2 million viewers on average. At the peak of its popularity, the show brought in up to 7.5 million viewers per week. ==Overview==

The Shining Time Station is a fictional train station on the Indian Valley Railroad in an unknown part of the United States. It is managed by Stacy Jones. Its workshop is run in the first season by Harry Cupper, and thereafter by Billy Twofeathers. A local named Horace Schemer, simply referred to as Schemer, runs the station's arcade and serves as the series' comic relief. He often comes up with tricks and schemes (hence his surname) to get his ways, although they usually backfire on him as a result of his foolishness. The narrative is driven by regular and incidental visitors to the station. Mr. Conductor is a tiny man who lives in a signal house inside the station's mural and tells the stories taken from Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends to the kids. He also introduces songs to the kids in the Anything Tunnel. Sometimes, he may present to the kids a magic bubble that has the song inside as a way of introducing it. On occasion, the kids may look through a film viewer to see the song or film. ==Cast==

Main • Didi Conn as Stacy Jones, the kindhearted station master and aunt to Matt and Dan • Brian O'Connor as Horace Schemer, the proprietor of the station's arcade • Ringo Starr as Mr. Conductor (season 1, Christmas special), a 20-centimetre tall conductor with a magic whistle that helps him teleport away • George Carlin as Mr. Conductor (seasons 2–3, family specials), the first Mr. Conductor's cousin • Leonard Jackson as Henry "Harry" Cupper (season 1, Christmas special, family special 3), an engineer and grandfather of Tanya and Kara • Nicole Leach as Tanya Cupper (main, season 1, Christmas special; guest, season 2), Harry's granddaughter and Kara's cousin • Jason Woliner as Matthew "Matt" Jones (main, season 1, Christmas special; guest, season 2), Stacy's nephew who visits the station • Tom Jackson as Billy Twofeathers (seasons 2–3, Family Specials), the engineer who replaced Harry after he left and Kit's uncle • Erica Luttrell as Kara Cupper (seasons 2–3, Family Specials), Harry's granddaughter and Tanya's cousin • Ari Magder as Daniel "Dan" Jones (seasons 2–3, Family Specials), Stacy's nephew and Matt's cousin • Danielle Marcot – Becky (recurring, season 2; main, season 3, Family Specials), a local girl who is friends with Dan and Kara Recurring • Jerome Dempsey as Osgood Bob Flopdinger, the mayor of the town of Shining Time • Mart Hulswit as J.B. King, Esq., the superintendent of the Indian Valley Railroad • Bobo Lewis as Midge Smoot, the town gossip • Jonathan Shapiro as Schemee (seasons 2–3, Family Specials), Schemer's nephew • Gerard Parkes as Barton Winslow (seasons 2–3), the proprietor of the town's general store • Barbara Hamilton as Ginny Johnson (seasons 2–3, Family Specials), a farmer • Aurelio Padrón as Felix Perez (seasons 2–3, Family Specials), a bus driver • Bucky Hill as Kit Twofeathers (Family Specials), Billy's nephew Notable guest stars • Ardon Bess as Tucker Cooper, Harry's cousin (Tis a Gift") • Lloyd Bridges as Mr. Nicholas (Tis a Gift") • Rachel Miner as Vickie (Tis a Gift") • Ed Begley Jr. as Ned Kincaid and his great-grandson ("Once Upon a Time") • Jack Klugman as Max Okowsky ("Second Chances") • Teri Garr as Sister Conductor ("One of the Family") • Jeannette Charles as the Queen ("Queen for a Day") The Jukebox Band • Jonathan Freeman as Tito Swing, the pianist • Olga Marin as Didi, the drummer • Wayne White (1989) and Alan Semok (1990–95) as Tex, a guitarist • Craig Marin as Rex, a guitarist • Peter Baird (1989–95), Alan Semok (1989), and Kenny Miele (1990–95) puppeteering Grace, the bass guitarist • Emily Bindinger as the singing voice of Didi • Rory Dodd as the singing voice of Tex and Rex • Vaneese Thomas as the speaking voice (1989) and singing voice (1989–95) of Grace • Beverly Glenn-Copeland as the speaking voice (1990–95) of Grace The instrumentation of the songs was performed and produced by Steve Horelick, who also arranged the vocals. The music was arranged by Larry Wolf. ==Segments==

The intro to each episode consists of the main theme song of the show, played to footage of the Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844 and the credits of the series' characters. Only the first verse is sung for the beginning theme. The closing credits contain more shots of the Union Pacific 844, in addition to the full Shining Time Station theme song. For the Christmas special "'Tis A Gift", the footage used for the opening and closing sequences was filmed at the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, Arizona and features their locomotive #18. • Flexitoons Puppets & Marionettes – The Jukebox Band – the show's station band that performs a song inside the jukebox. They consist of pianist Tito Swing, drummer Didi, guitarists Tex and Rex (who control the guitar together), and bass guitarist Grace Bass. JJ Silvers is the manager of The Jukebox Band. • Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends – Storytellers, Ringo Starr and George Carlin. • The Anything Tunnel – Inside the tunnel on the station's mural is a song with a cartoon, a stop motion clip, or a live action one. Sometimes instead of the Anything Tunnel, Mr. Conductor would show a magic bubble or one of the kids would look through a film viewer. ==Episodes==

Series overview Season 1 (1989) Season 2 (1991) Season 3 (1993) Specials (1995) ''Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales'' (1996) All episodes directed by Steve Wright and written by Sean Kelly. Notes ==Merchandise and home media==

VHS Most VHS releases (the exceptions being Tis a Gift", "Shining Time Station Singsongs", "Schemer Presents: The World According to Me", and the two Jukebox Band videos) featured new wraparounds, presenting the episode as the main feature at the "Shining Time Drive-In Movie Theater", complete with in-universe commercials. These videos also featured "Schemer Presents!", bonus educational sketches starring Schemer, following the episode. The model drive-in scenes are sampled from the art film Easy Living by Chip Lord and Mickey McGowan. • Tis a Gift" • "Sweet and Sour" • "Stacy Cleans Up" • "Schemer Alone" • "Bully for Mr. Conductor" • "Becky Makes a Wish" • "Billy's Party" • "Schemer's Special Club" • "Mr. Conductor's Evil Twin" • "Shining Time Station Singsongs" • "Schemer Presents: The World According to Me" • "The Jukebox Band: A Day in the Life" • "The Jukebox Band: Lullaby" Book • A book, titled This Old Band, was written by Britt Allcroft and Rick Siggelkow. It featured the Jukebox Band and was published by Quality Family Entertainment in 1994. Music Four cassettes were released featuring music from the series performed by the Jukebox Band: • Sleepytime Singsongs (1993) • Rainy Day Singsongs (1993) • Rise and Shine Singsongs (1994) • Birthday Party Singsongs (1994) All four featured dialogue linking the songs, including in-universe ads. Australian label Silbert Records released four soundtracks to the series, compiling all of the songs, between May 2023 and February 2024. ==References==