Barney & Friends

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Barney & Friends
Format Children's television series
Created by 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 Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 228 (as of season eleven)
Production
Running time 30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel PBS (1992-Present)
PBS Kids Channel (1999-2005)
PBS Kids Sprout (2005-Present)
Original run April 6, 1992 – Ongoing

Barney & Friends is a 1992 children's television show produced in the United States aimed at preschool children. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyranosaurus Rex who conveys learning through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, optimistic attitude.

Contents

Origin and development of the show

Barney the Dinosaur
Barney the Dinosaur

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 major success when the character and format were revamped for series television and picked up by the Public Broadcasting Service, debuting as "Barney & Friends" in 1992. The series was produced by Lyrick Studios (bought by HIT Entertainment) and Connecticut Public Television. 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 and Lionsgate.

Barney & Friends is now shown in other countries where it is translated if necessary. One such example is the Spanish language version produced in Mexico which is called Barney y Sus Amigos, (Spanish translation of "Barney & his Friends.") Another example is the Hebrew production produced in 1997 in Israel, which redoes the Season 1 episodes of the American show instead of dubbing the show. The only way you can see this version now is by getting the DVDs by Clasikaletet.

Criticism

The show has been criticized for its lack of educational value[citation needed]. 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]

One specific criticism is that "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 recognize the existence of unpleasant realities. For along with his steady 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.'"[2]

Cast

Main article: Barney & Friends cast

Crew

Movies and specials

Airing history


Japanese Title: Barney to eigo de asobo!

  • Israel
    • Shesh
  • New Zealand

Music

  • A majority of the albums of Barney and Friends feature Bob West's voice as the voice of Barney. Though one of the most recent ones, The Land of Make-Believe (and every album starting with Start Singing with Barney), has Dean Wendt's voice.

See also

References

  1. ^ IPTV
  2. ^ Lyons Partnership v. Ted Giannoula, 179 F.3d 384, 386 (5th Cir. 1999), citing Chala Willig Levy, "The Bad News About Barney", Parents, Feb. 1994, at 191-92 (136-39).

External links

v • d • e
PBS Kids shows (as of September 2008)
Current shows
PBS Kids GO! programs
Past Shows
3-2-1 Contact · Adventures from the Book of Virtues · Adventures of Dudley the Dragon§ · Bill Nye the Science Guy · Big Comfy Couch§ · Bob the Builder · Captain Kangaroo · Charlie Horse Music Pizza · The Electric Company** · Gerbert§ · Ghostwriter · The Huggabug Club§ · In the Mix · Katie and Orbie§ · Kidsongs§ · Kratts' Creatures · Lamb Chop's Play-Along · Liberty's Kids · Long Ago & Far Away · The Magic School Bus · Mark Kistler's Imagination Station§ · Newton's Apple · Noddy · Pappyland§ · PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch · Powerhouse · The Puzzle Place · Shining Time Station · Square One Television · Seven Little Monsters · Theodore Tugboat · Tots TV · Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? · Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? · Wimzie's House · Wishbone · Zoobilee Zoo§
Note
This list does not include shows from networks airing PBS Kids shows but not funded directly from PBS, such as KLCS shows.
See also
* No new episodes are being produced; reruns still airing on many major PBS stations ** New version to debut in 2009
§ Not distributed via PBS, but by American Public Television.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_%26_Friends"
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