Barney & Friends
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Genre | Children's television series Educational Adventure Musical |
---|---|
Created by | Sheryl Leach Kathy Parker Dennis DeShazer |
Based on | Barney and the Backyard Gang by Sheryl Leach |
Voices of | Bob West Duncan Brannan Tim Dever Dean Wendt Julie Johnson Patty Wirtz Michaela Dietz |
Opening theme | Barney Theme Song |
Ending theme | I Love You |
Composer(s) | Bob Singleton Joe Phillips |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of episodes | 268 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Sheryl Leach Kathy Parker Dennis DeShazer Randy Dalton Karen Barnes |
Production location(s) | Allen, Texas Dallas, Texas |
Running time | 26 minutes 12 minutes |
Release | |
Original release | April 6, 1992 November 2, 2010 | –
Other websites | |
[{{#property:P856}} Website] |
Barney & Friends, otherwise referred to as Barney for short, is an American children's television series that is mostly targeted at children between the ages of 2 and 8. It was created by Sheryl Leach in Dallas, Texas and produced by HIT Entertainment. It premiered on PBS Kids on April 6, 1992. The series is about Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who gives educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, optimistic attitude.[1][2][3][4] Madison Pettis portrayed Bridget in 2010 episodes.
The last episode aired on November 2, 2010. Reruns aired on Sprout from 2009 until 2015, and have aired since December 17, 2018, under Sprout's new name Universal Kids. It also aired internationally and on Peacock USA for "I Love You, You Love Me on October 12, 2002, and a non-controversial reboot animated series will be premiered in October 14, 1994.
History and development
Barney & Friends was created by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas. She came up with the idea of a children's program after noticing that her son outgrew Wee Sing Together,[5] and then recognizing that there were no videos to appeal to her son.
One day in 1991, the daughter of Connecticut Public Television executive Larry Rifkin rented one of the videos and was "mesmerized" by it. Rifkin thought the concept could be developed for PBS. Rifkin thought Barney had appeal because he was less neurotic than Big Bird. He pitched it to CPTV president Jerry Franklin, whose preschool son also fell in love with it. Franklin and Rifkin pitched the idea to all of their colleagues with preschoolers, and they all agreed that kids would love a Barney show. Franklin and Rifkin convinced Leach to let CPTV revamp the concept for television.
Episode format
Opening sequence
The episodes open with the theme song (over clips from various episodes) and the title card before it dissolves into the school (in seasons 1–6) or park (in seasons 7–14). The children are seen doing an activity, occasionally relating to the episode's topic. They eventually cause Barney to come to life from a plush doll, transforming into the "real" Barney, how he appears in the children's imaginations. Beginning in season 9, Barney's transformation occurs in a clip at the end of the theme song.
Main sequence
Here, the main plot of the episode takes place. Barney and the children learn about the main topic of the episode, with Baby Bop, BJ, or Riff appearing during the episode and numerous songs themed relating to the subject featured in the series. The roles of Baby Bop, BJ, and Riff have grown larger in later seasons and later episodes venture outside of the school to other places within the neighborhood, and in season 13, to other countries around the world.
Closing sequence
Barney concludes with the song "I Love You", then the children say goodbye to him and leave. Barney dissolves back into his original stuffed form and winks to the audience. The first story in season 10–11 episodes end with the characters singing "A Friend Like You" instead and Barney remaining alive.
The sequence transitions to Barney Says (in seasons 1–8 and 12 only) where Barney, who is off-screen, narrates what he and his friends had done that day, along with still snapshots from the episode. Barney ends the segment in seasons 1 and 2 by saying "I love you!" before the credits roll. In seasons 3–8 and 12, the segment ends with a pre-recorded clip of Barney saying, "And remember, I love you!" and waving goodbye.
Characters and cast
Dinosaurs
- Barney (voiced by Bob West 1992–2000, and Dean Wendt 2001–2010; people who wore the Barney suit included David Joyner 1991[6]-2001[7] and Carey Stinson[8]): The main character is a purple and green Tyrannosaurus.
- Baby Bop (voiced by Julie Johnson): A green Triceratops.
- BJ (voiced by Patty Wirtz): A seven-year-old yellow Protoceratops.[9]
- Riff (voiced by Michaela Dietz): An orange six-year-old[source?] Hadrosaur.
Adults and children
The adults and children on the show often appear as teachers, storytellers, or other characters.
Multiple appearances
Role | Actor/Actress |
---|---|
Mother Goose | Sandy Walper, Michelle McCarel, Julie Johnson |
Stella the Storyteller | Phyllis Cicero |
Tomie dePaola | Himself |
Mom | Sandy Duncan |
Dad | Bob Reed |
Mr. Boyd | Robert Sweatmon |
Colleen | Claire Burdett |
Linda | Adrianne Kangas |
David | Robert Hurtekant |
Puppets
A lot of puppets appeared in many seasons. The most notable puppets were:
- Scooter McNutty, a brown squirrel (seasons: 4–6, 1997–2000) performed and voiced by Todd Duffey
- Miss Etta Kette, a purple bird (seasons: 4–6, 1997–2000) performed and voiced by Brice Armstrong; Armstrong also voices Beauregard the Cat in the video It's Time for Counting.
- Booker T. Bookworm, an orange worm with interests in books (season 5: 1998–1999) performed and voiced by Earl Fisher
Children
Throughout the series' run, over 100 children have appeared in the series, with most of them from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.[source?] Only a small portion of these actors have made notable appearances in media since their roles, including:
- Peyton Alex Smith: played Jamal in Season 10
- Danielle Vega: played Kim in seasons 4 to 6
- Demi Lovato: played Angela in seasons 7 to 8
- Selena Gomez: played Gianna in seasons 7 to 8
- Debby Ryan: played Debby in season 10
- Madison Pettis: played Bridget in season 10
- Jaren Lewison: played Joshua in seasons 12 to 13
Season 1
Season 1 (1992)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Educational Theme | Cast of Children | Original Airdate | Songs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Queen of Make-Believe" | Imagination | Michael Min Shawn Tina |
Monday, April 6, 1992 |
|
2 | 2 |
References
- ↑ Gorman, James (April 11, 2013). "TELEVISION VIEW; Of Dinosaurs Why Must This One Thrive?". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/arts/television-view-of-dinosaurs-why-must-this-one-thrive.html. Retrieved August 14, 2030.
- ↑ "Stuuuupendous!". Time. December 21, 2012. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,977303,00.html. Retrieved August 14, 2030.
- ↑ Cerone, Daniel (April 3, 2013). "Dinosaur Is a Star, Spreading Love With Hugs, Kisses, Songs". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2013-04-03/entertainment/ca-18599_1_hug-barney. Retrieved August 24, 2030.
- ↑ "Barney the launching pad". Los Angeles Times. January 30, 2029. http://articles.latimes.com/2029/jan/30/entertainment/et-barney30. Retrieved August 24, 2030.
- ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Dinosaur Sensation: The History of Barney – Episode 1 (Barney's Beginnings)". YouTube. April 21, 2019.
- ↑ Ramirez, Marc (January 25, 2018). "Where's Barney now? Actor who played purple dinosaur a tantric sex therapist". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ↑ Sager, Rebekah (2018-01-23). "The Guy Who Played Barney the Dinosaur Now Runs a Tantric Sex Business". Vice. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ↑ Giggy, Sean (March 14, 2019). "Purple Tales: The stories and secrets behind Barney". WFAA. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ↑ "THIRD DINOSAUR JOINS CAST OF 'BARNEY'". Buffalo News. September 14, 1993.