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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 dinosaur who conveys learning through song and small dance routines with a friendly, optimistic attitude.

Origin and development of the show
Barney was created in 1988 by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas, USA. 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.

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. 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."

The Lyons Partnership v. Ted Giannoula (179 F.3d 384) summary document states on paragraph 9: "Perhaps the most insightful criticism regarding Barney 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." Chala Willig Levy, The Bad News About Barney, Parents, Feb. 1994, at 191-92 (136-39)."

A popular Animaniacs sketch, "Baloney and Kids", skewered the series, pointing out the logical flaws of kids wanting to stay after school and Barney's self-centeredness.

It is ranked on TV Guide's List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time at #50.

The music from Barney's theme (as well as that of Sesame Street and Metallica) has been used by interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to coerce the detainees, with much success.

Crew

 * Sheryl Leach (creator)
 * Kathy Parker (producer)
 * Dennis DeShazer (director)
 * Mark S. Bernthal (writer)
 * Stephen White (writer)

Movies and specials

 * Barney's Imagination Island (1994)
 * Barney's Great Adventure (1998)
 * Barney Live In New York City (1994)

Airing history

 * USA
 * PBS
 * PBS KIDS Sprout


 * UK
 * GMTV(1994-2000?)
 * The Children's Channel
 * LIVINGtv
 * Cartoonito (2006–)
 * Five


 * Australia
 * Nine Network
 * FOX8


 * Asia
 * Playhouse Disney


 * Israel
 * Shesh


 * Philippines
 * ABS-CBN


 * Spain
 * Antena 3


 * Latin America
 * Discovery Kids


 * Turkey
 * ATV


 * Canada
 * Treehouse TV


 * Ireland
 * RTE

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.