Barney & Friends

I have been watching this since my 9 year old nephew was just a year old. Over the years, and now that my own children watch it, I see it differently. My son really remembers the things that Barney and Friends teaches and I am thankful. It's almost like Barney confirms the things I teach my son and they seem to sink in better (say manners). I have noticed that even at my age, I have favorite characters and can see the obvious difference between the original shows when it was The Backyard gang, and the new shows. Since this is meant for kids and it really gets down there with kids, it seems that parents and other grown ups who find it annoying, should just leave the room. I personally didn't start liking the show until I sat down with my nephew and watched it with him, singing and dancing with him. He had so much fun seeing me do what they were doing! Yay for Barney!

I have to admit that I do not like Barney. BUT, everyone who has commented, remember that the show is aimed at PRESCHOOLERS, not you! My son is 3 years old and loves it. This show encourages his love of music and singing. It has helped him learn how to use his imagination. The songs and characters might drive me nuts sometimes but I cannot fault a show that encourages imagination. I have to admit as much as the song "I love you" used to drive me nuts, I love the fact that every time my son sings it/hears it, "With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you", he runs over to wherever I am and hugs and kisses me like the song says. It encourages children to care about one another. (To those of you who keep saying it is mind numbing and restricting--WATCH IT WITH A PRESCHOOLER! See what they get out of it). I should say that Sesame Street is still my all-time favorite kids show, but don't knock the show unless you have a pre-schooler and have watched it with them.

"Barney and Friends," the notoriously stupid kids' show about a big cuddly purple dinosaur who makes kids use their imaginations, has been the brunt of so many jokes since it started airing (my favorite spoof of it was Animaniacs' "Baloney & Kids," in which Baloney, the numbskull orange dinosaur, is taunted and has anvils dropped on his head). There are too many things wrong with this show for me to discuss here, so I'll just say my favorite ones:

(1) All the kids look like they are (and they probably are) preteens and teenagers, and this dopey purple idiot is teaching them things like the alphabet, counting, colors, shapes, and everything else every 5-year-old should know. If this were real life, the kids (or, should I say, teens) would throw stuff at Barney and laugh, instead of sitting in awe while he teaches them the difference between indoor and outdoor voices.

(2) I know that using one's imagination is important, but here, Barney needs to tell them to imagine. It's as if they can't imagine so much as a rock without saying, with Barney's instruction, the magic words "Shimberee, shimberah, shimberee, shimbeRAAAAHHHH!"

(3) The show's methods of teaching lessons to the 2-to-5-year-old crowd are really lame. The dialogue is so banal that I can't see how even the cast members believe any of this junk. And the lines are not unintentionally hilarious enough to inspire a chuckle in a cynic like me. Except for one notable exception, the "5 Senses" episode, which contained lines such as the following (all said in amazed tone of voice):

"This rock is smooth...but it's hard!"

(banging on sand) "This sand is hard. (picking it up) But now it feels soft. (rubbing it in hands) But now it feels scratchy!"

(surprised/delighted even beyond usual "Barney" standard) "This chair is hard!!!! But the cushion is soft!!!!!!!!"

So if you want a good educational show for your kids, turn on "Sesame Street" or "Mr. Rogers." They are much better than this baloney.

Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Postman Pat, Oscar the Grouch, the Happy Giant. What do all of these names have in common. They're wonderful memorable childhood TV characters. Why? Because they're classics. And classics are timeless pieces of entertainment that will stay with you forever. They shape your early years, how you learn, what you learn, and even how you act with others. And you know who isn't in that list? Barney the Dinosaur. And why? BECAUSE HE IS THE MOST ANNOYING CHILDREN'S CHARACTER EVER CREATED BY GOD!

Imagine a purple therapod about 9 feet tall with a voice so high it makes dogs howl at a 5-mile radius. Then add a theme song based on "Yankee Doodle" and voilà! you have Barney. The problem with this character is that he is extremely annoying. And I don't mean annoying as in uncomfortable to stand. I mean mentally grating and painful to see and hear. While Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Grover are down to earth characters that are fuzzy and lovable, Barney is more sugary, yippidy, and "in your face". And let's not forget the infamous "I Love You" song played EVERY TIME the show finishes. It's so deliciously bad, it's "download onto your ipod to torture friends" worthy.

1/10

From the adult perspective, this show would seems really stupid and horrible. But for my brother and I as toddlers watching the show, I loved it. My brother and I learned things about sharing, different cultures, mixing colors, etc. At the time, I thought it was a great show. You all have to remember, IT IS A KIDS SHOW. It is not meant to make tons of sense in a real-world setting or be a wonderful, inspiring show (actually, to a toddler, it is a wonderful and inspiring show). It's just a nice, entertaining program for very young children. Nothing more, nothing less. But then again, are any childrens shows anything more than that? No. Barney and Friends has given me some really fond childhood memories of just enjoying things for what they were, not analyzing them. Save the horrors of that for when children are older. Anyway, If you really want some bad childrens television, watch teletubbies. You'll probably become dumber.