Barney & the Backyard Gang | |
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Genre | |
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Written by |
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Starring |
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Voices of | |
Opening theme | Barney & the Backyard Gang Theme Song |
Ending theme | Various |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 8 |
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Producers |
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Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | The Lyons Group |
Original release | |
Release | August 29, 1988[1] – September 21, 1991 [1] |
Related | |
Barney & Friends |
Barney & the Backyard Gang is an American direct-to-video series produced by The Lyons Group and released in periodic installments from August 29, 1988, to September 21, 1991. The first installment in the Barney franchise, the series' success led to the launch of the children's television show, Barney & Friends , which in its original run aired on PBS from April 6, 1992, to November 2, 2010. [2]
The first three episodes from 1988 and 1989 include Sandy Duncan as Michael and Amy's mother. (At the time, Duncan was starring on the NBC sitcom The Hogan Family .) Music for the Barney & the Backyard Gang videos was created by Stephen Bates Baltes and Phillip Parker (as with the television series), and Lory Lazarus wrote the first original song produced for Barney, "Friends Are Forever", sung by Duncan. In the first five videos, "I Love You" was sung at the beginning. Although "I Love You" was sung at the end of Barney Goes to School and Barney in Concert , and later frequently sung at the end of all episodes of Barney & Friends , it was not featured at the end of Rock with Barney.
The series was a regional success, but only a moderate success throughout the rest of the country.[ citation needed ] Then one day, in 1991, Larry Rifkin, then head of Connecticut Public Television, rented a Barney video for his daughter Leora. [3] He liked the concept and talked to Leach about possibly putting Barney on television through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Rock with Barney was the final video in the series before the television show debuted. Also, only four of the kids from the videos (Michael, Derek, Tina, and Luci) were carried over to the television show.
In order of release date: [1]
The first six videos of this series aired on The Disney Channel in November 1990 as a part of its "Music Box" program. [5]
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, 1992, 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. The series ended on November 2, 2010, although new videos were still released on various dates after the last episode aired. Reruns aired on Sprout from 2005 to 2015, and from December 17, 2018 to January 25, 2020 on Sprout's successor network, Universal Kids. On October 6, 2015, the series was initially renewed for revival with a new season to premiere in 2017, but that never came to fruition. A CGI-animated series aired on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito on October 18, 2024, and streamed on Max on October 14, 2024.
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Robert Matthew West is an American voice actor and graphic designer. He is best known as the original voice of Barney in the PBS children's television series Barney & Friends, and its preceding home video series "Barney & the Backyard Gang".
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Kathryn "Kathy" O'Rourke Parker is a children's educational television producer and writer, best known for being co-creator of the popular children's show Barney & Friends with Sheryl Leach and Dennis DeShazer. Kathy received her B.S. in Special Education in 1976 and an M.A. in Learning Disabilities in 1979, both from Eastern Michigan University. She taught in the field of special education in Michigan from 1976 to 1981, before moving to the state of Texas. From 1981 to 1987 she worked at DLM, Inc. of Allen, Texas marketing early childhood educational products and materials. Then, in 1987, personal friends Parker and Leach began working together on the idea that would become Barney & Friends.
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