Barney characters names character biography

Barney & Friends

American children's television series

Barney & Friends is an American children's television series targeted at children aged two to five, created by Sheryl Leach. The series first aired on PBS on April 6, , and features Barney, a purple anthropomorphicTyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small sway routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] The series ended on November 2, , although new videos were still released on various dates after the last episode aired.

Reruns aired on Sprout from to , and from December 17, to January 25, on Sprout's successor network, Universal Kids. On October 6, , the series was initially renewed for revival with a new season to premiere in , but that never came to fruition.^[10] A CGI-animated series will air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito and stream on Max.^[11]

While popular with its intended audience, Barney & Friends drew severe negative reaction from the older set, who mocked the title character in well-liked culture through song parodies and comedy routines such as creature beaten up by NBA celestial body Charles Barkley on a Saturday Night Live episode.^[12]

History and development

Barney & Friends was created by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas.^[13] She came up with the idea of a children's program after noticing that her son outgrew Wee Sing Together,^[14]^[15] and then recognizing that there were no videos to appeal to her son.

Leach then brought together a team who created a series of home videos, Barney & the Backyard Gang, initially released in The first three videos starred actress Sandy Duncan.^[16]

One day in , the daughter of Connecticut Public Television executive Larry Rifkin rented one of the videos and was "mesmerized" by it.

Rifkin idea the concept could be developed for PBS. Rifkin thought Barney had appeal because he was less neurotic than Big Feathered. He pitched it to CPTV president Jerry Franklin, whose preschool son also fell in affectionate 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.^[17] The show debuted as Barney & Friends in ^[18] The series was produced by CPTV and Lyrick Studios (later bought by HIT Entertainment).^[19]

Although the show was a runaway hit, PBS initially opted not to provide funding beyond the initial episode dash.

When Rifkin and other CPTV executives learned this, they wrote letters to their fellow PBS member stations urging them to get PBS to reconsider. The Lyons Group, meanwhile, sent out notices through the Barney Fan Club, telling parents to compose letters and make phone calls to their local PBS stations to show their support for Barney & Friends.

By the time of the yearly member stations' meeting, station executives across the country were up in arms over the prospect of one of their most trendy shows being canceled. Faced with an atmosphere that Rifkin later described as "like an insurrection", PBS ultimately relented.^[17]

For several years, the show was taped at the Color Dynamics Studios facility at Greenville Avenue & Bethany Drive in Allen, Texas, after which it moved to The Studios at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, and then Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas.

The TV series was produced by WNET from to

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 finish 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 institution 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 unique stuffed form and winks to the audience.

The series first aired on PBS on April 6,and features Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude. Reruns aired on Sprout from toand from December 17, to January 25, on Sprout's successor network, Universal Kids. On October 6,the series was initially renewed for revival with a fresh season to premiere inbut that never came to fruition. The first three videos starred actress Sandy Duncan.

The first story in season 10–11 episodes close 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 afternoon, along with still snapshots from the episode.

Barney ends the segment in seasons 1 and 2 by saying "I admire 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 –, and Dean Wendt –; people who wore the Barney suit included David Joyner ^[20]^[21] and Carey Stinson^[22]): The main character is a purple and green Tyrannosaurus in stuffed animal likeness, who comes to animation through a child's imagination.

His theme song is "Barney is a Dinosaur", whose tune is based on "Yankee Doodle".
Barney & Friends characters - Make-believe Characters Wiki: Here are all the characters that have appeared in every Barney episode, video, or special.
Barney often quotes things as being "Super dee-duper". Episodes frequently end with the song "I Love You", sung to the tune of "This Old Man". Despite being a carnivorous type dinosaur, Barney does not have a carnivore's fearsome teeth.

He likes many distinct foods such as fruits and vegetables, but his main favorite is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk.
Baby Bop (voiced by Julie Johnson): A green Triceratops, who was originally two years old, but turned three in "Look at Me, I'm 3!".

Baby Bop has been on the show since her debut in "Barney in Concert" on July 29, She wears a pink bow and pink ballet slippers and carries a yellow security blanket. She sings the song "My Yellow Blankey" to show how much her security blanket means to her.

She likes to eat macaroni and cheese and pizza.^[23] She is the younger sister of BJ.
BJ (voiced by Patty Wirtz): A seven-year-old yellow Protoceratops,^[24] BJ has been on the show since September 27, He is the older brother of Baby Bop, whom he frequently calls "Sissy" and occasionally calls by her name.

He sings "BJ's Song" about himself. He wears a red baseball cap and red sneakers. He lost his hat in the episode "Hats Off to BJ!". Pickles are his favorite food and he has tried them in various ways, such as on pizza.
Riff (voiced by Michaela Dietz): An orange six-year-old^{[citation needed]}Hadrosaur, who is Toddler Bop and BJ's cousin, Riff has been on the present since September 18, He wears green sneakers.

His theme melody is "I Hear Music Everywhere". Riff loves music and it is in almost everything he does. In the episode "Barney: Let's Go to the Firehouse", it was revealed that Riff also likes to invent things; he created a four-sound smoke detector (the first three were different alarm sounds and the final one his voice).

He is shown to have an interest in marching bands and parades.^{[citation needed]}

Adults and children

The adults and children on the present often appear as teachers, storytellers, or other characters.

Multiple appearances

Role	Actor/Actress	Description and Appearances
Mother Goose	Sandy Walper, Michelle McCarel, Julie Johnson	The rhyme master herself appears in the episodes "Let's Aid Mother Goose", "Honk! Honk! A Goose on the Loose", "A Little Mother Goose", "Barney's Great Surprise", and "Mother Goose/Fairy Tales".
Stella the Storyteller	Phyllis Cicero	Stella travels all around the world, collecting new stories to tell Barney and friends, among other people. She appeared in several episodes from seasons 3 to 6 but reappeared in the video The Best of Barney, where she gave Barney a photo album of his friends over the years she made herself. After she finishes a story and when she says goodbye in every foreign language, she says her catchphrase "Toodles!" before closing the door.
Tomie dePaola	Himself	The famous children's author is also a excellent friend of Barney and usually meets his friends in the episodes he appeared in, which are "Picture This", "It's Raining, It's Pouring", and "Oh Brother, She's my Sister".
Mom	Sandy Duncan	Michael and Amy's mother in the first three Barney & the Backyard Gang videos. Duncan also appeared as Molly the Mermaid in A Day at the Beach.
Dad	Bob Reed	Michael and Amy's father in the first three Barney & the Backyard Gang videos.
Mr. Boyd	Robert Sweatmon	His full label is Grady Boyd and he has a niece named Colleen and a dog named Bingo. He worked as a composer in "Classical Cleanup", "Barney's Band", "Come Blow Your Horn!" and "Play Piano with Me!", a janitor in seasons 3 to 6 and a park keeper in seasons 7 and 8. He later reappeared in The Best of Barney.
Colleen	Claire Burdett	Colleen is Mr. Boyd's niece, who comes to town for a visit and is introduced to Barney and the Children. She is a congenital amputee born without her right hand, as is her actress. She appeared in two episodes, "A New Friend!" and "A Perfectly Purple Day".
Linda	Adrianne Kangas	Linda is Chip's younger sister who appeared in Seasons 5–6, as well as two home videos.
David	Robert Hurtekant	David is a boy in a wheelchair who appeared at the beginning of two episodes: "Falling for Autumn!" and "Shawn and the Beanstalk".

Puppets

A lot of puppets appeared in many seasons.

The most notable puppets were:

Scooter McNutty, a brown squirrel (seasons: 4–6, –) performed and voiced by Todd Duffey
Miss Etta Kette, a purple feathered (seasons: 4–6, –) performed and voiced by Brice Armstrong; Armstrong also voices Beauregard the Tabby in the video It's Age for Counting.
Booker T.

Bookworm, an orange worm with interests in books (season 5: –) performed and voiced by Earl Fisher

Children

Throughout the series' run, over children have appeared in the series, with most of them from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.^{[citation needed]} Only a small portion of these actors have made notable appearances in media since their roles, including:

Episodes

Main article: List of Barney and Friends episodes

Airings

Other than the United States, the series has aired in Canada, Mexico and Latin America, France, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan (on English-based DVDs under the name "Let's Play with Barney in English!

(バーニーと英語であそぼう！, Bānī to Eigo de asobō!)" and on television as simply "Barney & Friends (バーニー&フレンズ, Bānī ando Furenzu!)"), the Philippines, Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. Australian based corporation and distributor Southern Star handled non-US rights to the series from the mid-'90s^[25] until when HIT revoked the deal after acquiring Lyrick.^[26]

Two known co-productions of Barney & Friends have been produced outside of the US.

The Israeli co-production Hebrew: החברים של ברניHachaverim shel Barney (The Friends of Barney) produced from to in Tel Aviv, Israel, was the first of these. Rather than dubbing the first American episodes in seasons 1 to 3, the episodes were adapted with a unique put and exclusive child actors.^[27]^[28] The second co-production was broadcast in South Korea from to on KBS (under the name "바니와 친구들" (Baniwa Chingudeul (Barney and Friends))).

This one, however, adapted the first six seasons (including the first three that the Israel co-production did).

Music

The show's theme song was "I Cherish You", with new lyrics sung to the melody of the public domain song "This Mature Man".

The new lyrics were written for the melody in by Indiana homemaker Lee Bernstein for a children's book titled "Piggyback Songs" (), and these lyrics were adapted by Barney producers in the early s, without knowing the words had been written by Bernstein.

Upon discovering the usage of her lyrics, Bernstein retained lawyer Daniel Glavin who negotiated with Barney producers for writing credit and royalties, reported as a one-time payment of $7, plus $2, "every several years." In when Barney-related licensing was bringing in an estimated $50&#;million for the Lyons Group, Bernstein sought a higher royalty payment in court.^[29]^[30]

A majority of the albums of Barney & Friends feature Bob West as the voice of Barney; however, the recent album The Land of Make-Believe has Dean Wendt's voice.

The anthem "I Love You" was among those used by interrogators at Guantanamo Bay detention camp to coerce detainees.^[31]

Awards and nominations

Award	Recipient	Result
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Series	Sheryl Leach, Kathy Parker, Dennis DeShazer	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series	Stephen Colorless, Mark S. Bernthal	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Inhabit and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects	Ron Balantine, David M. Boothe	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Exceptional Children's Series	Sheryl Leach, Kathy Parker, Dennis DeShazer	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series	Sheryl Leach, Dennis DeShazer, Jim Rowley	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lighting Direction	Ken Craig, Murray K. Campbell	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Sound Mixing	Ron Balantine, David M. Boothe, Gary French	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Exceptional Directing	Jim Rowley, Fred Holmes, Steve Feldman	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Superb Live and Direct to Tape Sound Mixing	Ron Ballantyne, David M. Boothe, Gary French	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Live and Manage to Tape Sound Mixing	Ron Ballantyne, David M. Boothe, Gary French	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Inhabit and Direct to Tape Sound Mixing	Ron Ballantyne, David M. Boothe, Gary French	Won (tied with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire)
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Sound Mixing – Live Action and Animation	Patrick Sellars, Neal Anderson	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Directing	Jim Rowley, Fred Holmes, Steve Feldman	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling	Lisa Odette Albertson, Traci Hutton, Lyle Huchton	Nominated
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling	Lisa Odette Albertson, Traci Hutton, Lyle Huchton	Nominated

Reception and legacy

Further information: Anti-Barney humor

Several people own concluded that episodes contain a great deal of age-appropriate educational material, including Yale University researchers Dorothy and Jerome Singer, who called the program a "model of what preschool television should be".^[32] Others have criticized the show for a lack of educational value, as well as being repetitive.^[33]

The show is often cited as a contributing factor to the perceived sense of entitlement seen in millennials, who grew up watching the show.^[34]^[35] One specific criticism is:

His shows do not assist children in learning to deal with negative feelings and emotions.

As one commentator puts it, the real danger from Barney is "denial: the refusal to realize the existence of unpleasant realities. For along with his constant diet of giggles and unconditional love, Barney offers our children a one-dimensional world where everyone must be happy and everything must be resolved right away."^[36]^[37]

In , the Barney franchise generated $ million in retail sales.^[38]

The creator and performer of the San Diego Chicken mascot, Ted Giannoulas, called Barney a "ubiquitous and insipid creature" in a court case.^[39]^[40]^[41]

Barney & Friends ranked No.

50 on TV Guide's list of the 50 worst TV shows of all time.^[42]

In a newspaper article, Jerry Franklin, the head of Connecticut Widespread Television, which co-produced Barney & Friends at the time, was quoted thus:

When adults tell they do not like Barney, Franklin says, 'in a way, we take that as a compliment.

Barney is not planned for parents, whereas Sesame Street is designed for parents and children. We made a awake decision to make Barney easy. It is not a program for parents. Barney relates to preschoolers. We think he speaks to them at their level, which is in simple terms and with music.^[43]

Howard Blumenthal, producer of Where in the Planet Is Carmen Sandiego?, said "Even the most knowledgeable people … can't really understand why that [Barney] phenomenon happened and another didn't".^[44]

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