Barney & Friends
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Editing of this article by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. If you are prevented from editing this article, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or create an account. |
| Barney & Friends | |
|---|---|
 Current Barney & Friends logo |
|
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Creator(s) | Sheryl Leach |
| Starring | Carey Stinson (Barney suit) Dean Wendt (Barney voice) Jeff Ayers (Baby Bop suit) Julie Johnson (Baby Bop voice) Patty Wirtz (B.J. voice) Kyle Nelson (B.J. suit) Adam Brown (Riff suit) Michaela Dietz (Riff voice) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 208 (as of season ten) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS |
| Original run | 1992 – present |
Barney & Friends is a popular children's television show produced in the United States, mainly aimed at preschoolers. Barney is a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys learning through jumping around singing children's songs with a friendly, optimistic attitude.
Contents |
Origin and development of the show
Barney was created in 1987 by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas. She came up with the idea for the program while considering TV shows that she felt would be educational and appeal to her son. Leach then brought together a team who created a series of home videos, Barney and the Backyard Gang, which also starred actress Sandy Duncan in the first 3 videos. Later, Barney was joined by the characters Baby Bop, BJ and Riff .
Although the original videos were a modest regional success, Barney only became a mega hit when the character and format were revamped for series television and picked up by the Public Broadcasting System, debuting as "Barney & Friends" in 1992. The series was produced by Lyrick Studios (bought by HIT Entertainment). For several years, the show was taped at the ColorDynamics Studios facility at Greenville Avenue & Bethany Drive in Allen, after which it moved to The Studios at Las Colinas, Texas. Currently, the series is produced in a northern suburb of Dallas. The TV series and videos are currently distributed by HIT Entertainment.
Barney & Friends is now shown in other countries where it is translated if necessary. One such example is the Latin-American version produced in Mexico which is called Barney y Sus Amigos, (Spanish translation of "Barney and his Friends.")
Criticism
The show has been criticized for its lack of educational value. However, studies conducted by Yale researchers Dorothy and Jerome Singer have confirmed that episodes actually contain a great deal of age-appropriate educational material, calling the program a "model of what preschool television should be." [1]
Cast
Crew
- Sheryl Leach (creator)
- Kathy Parker (producer)
- Dennis DeShazer (director)
- Mark S. Bernthal (writer)
- Stephen White (writer)
Specials
- Barney's Imagination Island (1994)
- Barney's Great Adventure (1998)
Funding
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1992-1998)
- Viewers Like You
- Kimberly Clark (1993)
- Chuck E. Cheese's (1995-2006)
- Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (1998-2000)
- Chef JR (1997-1999)
- Johnson & Johnson Corporation (1995)
Airing history
- USA
- UK
- GMTV(1994-2000?)
- The Children's Channel
- LIVINGtv
- Cartoon Network TOO (2006-)
- Five
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Asia
- Israel
- Shesh
- Philippines
- Spain
- Latin America
- Turkey
- ATV
iTunes
- A majority of the albums of Barney and Friends feature Bob West's voice as the voice of Barney. Though the most recent one, The Land of Make-Believe, has Dean Wendt's voice.
See also
- List of Barney & Friends episodes and videos
- Barney's Hide and Seek (Sega Genesis/Megadrive console game)
- Anti-Barney humor
- PBS
- PBS Kids
- PBS Kids Sprout
- Treehouse TV
- Baloney & Kids
External links
- HIT Entertainment official website
- PBS official website
- Barney & Friends web page at TreeHouseTV.com
- Barney & Friends at the Internet Movie Database
