Barney & the Backyard Gang

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 August 1, 1991. The series 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]

Barney & the Backyard Gang
Genre
Created by
Developed by
  • Sheryl Stamps-Leach
  • Kathy O'Rourke-Parker
  • Dennis DeShazer
Written by
  • Frank H. Olsen (1988–1990)
  • Pat Reeder (1988–1989)
  • Kathy O'Rourke Parker (1991)
  • Sheryl Stamps Leach (1991)
  • Dennis DeShazer (1991)
Directed by
  • John Grable (1988–1989)
  • Dwin Towell (1990)
  • Garry Potts (1990)
  • Jim Rowley (1991)
Starring
Voices of
Opening themeBarney & the Backyard Gang Theme Song
Ending themeVarious
Composers
  • Stephen Bates Baltes
  • Lory Lazarus
  • Philip A. Parker
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • Richard C. Leach (1988–1989)
  • Sheryl Stamps-Leach (1990–1991)
  • Kathy O'Rourke-Parker (1990–1991)
Producers
  • John Grable (1988–1989)
  • Dennis DeShazer (1990)
Production locations
Running time30 minutes
Production companyThe Lyons Group
Release
Original releaseAugust 29, 1988 (1988-08-29)[1] –
August 1, 1991 (1991-08-01)[1]
Related

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. 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.

Video list

In order of release date:[1]

  • The Backyard Show (Pilot) (August 29, 1988)
  • Three Wishes (December 10, 1988)
  • A Day at the Beach (February 24, 1989)
  • Waiting for Santa (May 11, 1990)
  • Campfire Sing-Along (June 8, 1990)
  • Barney Goes to School (August 15, 1990)
  • Barney in Concert (July 29, 1991)
  • Rock with Barney (Series Finale) (August 1, 1991)

Cast
Main article: Barney & Friends Cast
  • Baby Bop (Costume) - Dao Knight (1991-1992)
  • Baby Bop (Voice) - Julie Johnson (1991-1992)
  • Barney (Costume) - David Voss (1988–1990), David Joyner (1991)[4]
  • Barney (Voice) - Bob West (1988–1992)
  • Adam - Alexander Jhin (1988–1991)
  • Amy - Becky Swonke (1988–1991)
  • Dad - Bob Reed (1988–1989)
  • Derek - Rickey Carter (1990–1992)
  • Jason - Salim Grant (1988–1989)
  • Jeffrey - Jeffrey Lowe (1990)
  • Luci - Leah Gloria (1988–1992)
  • Michael - Brian Eppes (1988–1992)
  • Mom - Sandy Duncan (1988–1989)
  • Tina - Jessica Zucha (1988–1992)

Guest appearances
  • Sandy Duncan (played Molly the Mermaid in A Day at the Beach)
  • Jeanne Cairns (played Mrs. Claus in Waiting for Santa)
  • Henry Hammack (played Santa Claus in Waiting for Santa)
  • Sonya Resendez (played Tina's Mom in Campfire Sing-Along)
  • Philip Parker (performed as the Bear in Campfire Sing-Along)
  • Lauren King (played Kathy in Rock with Barney)
  • Alexis Harris (played Jennifer in Rock with Barney)
  • Ajay Reddy (played AJ in Rock with Barney)
  • Chris Rodriguez (played Joseph in Rock with Barney)
  • Lourdes Regala (played Adam's mother in Rock with Barney)

Syndication

The first six videos of this series aired on The Disney Channel in November 1990 as a part of its "Lunch Box" program.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Classic Barney Videos". Classic Barney. Tripod.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  2. Lawson, Carol (3 December 1992). "Why Young Children Scream". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  3. Walters, John (February 2002). The Same River Twice. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-9716999-0-8.
  4. Petit, Stephanie (8 June 2017). "Barney Unmasked! Meet the Man Who 'Loved' Playing the Iconic Purple Dinosaur for a Decade". People. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  5. "On the set of "Barney"". Entertainment Weekly. October 5, 1990. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
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