Sheryl Leach proposed a preschool video series, which eventually would be Barney & The Backyard Gang, to DLM, Inc (Developmental Learning Materials). At the time Sheryl Leach was working at DLM, Inc. The board she proposed to turned her down. Sheryl's idea was brought to production at The Lyons Group, Leach, who was Sheryl's father-in-law, agreed to back her with the project with $700,000 of his own money. When Sheryl pitched Barney & The Backyard Gang to her father-in-law Richard, he asked that Kathy help to develop the character and show concept. Parker also had a 2-year-old child named Kaitlin. Both Leach and Parker began testing videos on their children, taking notes of what worked and what didn't work, as well as going to different preschools for research. The duo took inspiration from their own childhood programs like Romper's Room, Captain Kangaroo and The Mickey Mouse Club while also combining aspects of the then current kids' programs like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
![barney barney](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DWanELKRUCI/maxresdefault.jpg)
įrom their research, around twenty essential concepts were devised, such as using live-action instead of animation so children could better relate, having children as role-models, featuring simple music and having a familiar setting. They also concluded that imagination needed to play a big role, as well as having loving messages. The bear concept was eventually scrapped due to Leach's son having an interest in dinosaurs after visiting a Science Place exhibit.Īfter the initial concept was devised, The Lyons Group hired various local production crew personnel to help further develop the show. The one thing that hints at it being more than that is a butterfly that flies out of her camping book (and Barney's wink).They hired Irene Corey Design Associates to build the dinosaur costume.
![barney barney](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/FAsAAOSwu89gr~Gm/s-l1600.jpg)
These help Barney and the rest of the Backyard Gang find her. She suddenly remembers Barney's advice from earlier about getting lost: stay where you are, hug a tree, and blow your whistle. Chekhov's Classroom: While playing with a turtle, Tina gets lost in the woods.When Barney and the gang encounter him later on, they startle the bear as much as he startles them. Said bear turns out to be a Beary Friendly type who happened to be awoken from his nap. Barney and the kids wind up exploring a cave that is home to a bear and upon realizing it, run out as fast as they can. Apocalyptic Log: "I'm Being Eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex".
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After the trip is over, Tina wakes up and realizes it was all just a dream - and a magical one at that. Back at the campfire, songs are sung around it and everyone learns how to make S'mores. They even explore a cave where a bear lives. Barney takes the gang through different fun experiences from pitching tents and looking for animals to having a picnic in the woods. After hearing a bedtime story about a family that goes on a camping trip, Tina wishes she could go camping and dreams about going on a camping trip with Barney and the rest of the Backyard Gang.