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The Backyardigans

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So, I know I’m totally going to give you the idea that all my kids do is watch TV, and this is completely one hundred percent not true.

However, the TV they do watch gives me something to write about, so here it is.

Forget Lazytown (as though I could forget it—it’s my single most popular entry ever)—Sophia got bored with Lazytown because it’s been the same five episodes in rotation for the past two months. The show to watch is The Backyardigans. How much do I love this show? I am tempted to watch it when the kids aren’t around. I sing the songs as I do the dishes. There are only nine episodes so far and I have all nine on our TiVo. I force people just visiting our house to watch some of this show.

I love this show.

backyardigans.jpg

Tyrone, Tasha, Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin

The Backyardigans is a show about five friends—Tyrone the moose, Tasha the hippo, Pablo the penguin, Uniqua the ladybug, and Austin the kangaroo (actually, I’m not sure what Austin is, and he’s the Backyardigan we see the least of anyhow)—who get together every day and have some theme to their play: ghosts, Tarzan, knights and quests, Mounties, Vikings. They all take roles in their adventure that pretty well fit with their personalities. At the end, they repair to one kid’s house for snacktime.

In between, there’s singing, dancing, and general silliness. What’s extremely excellent about this show is that there’s stuff in there for grownups that’s not sneaky or salacious: it’s just on a level most kids aren’t going to find funny in the same way. For example, three Backyardigans are chasing the Yeti across the North Pole:

             TASHA
          We need kayaks to cross
          this water.

     They suddenly spy three KAYAKS on the bank of
     the river.

             TYRONE
          Well, that certainly is
          convenient.

That line cracks me up everytime.

The songs in this show are incredibly memorable. While doing the dishes I like to sing the songs the Vikings sing as their Viking ship rounds a very powerful whirlpool, “You’ve Got To Hold On Tight”:

You've got to hold on tight
Hold on tight
You've got to hold on tight
Hold on tight
You've got to hold on tight with all your Viking might.

Darin’s favorite bit is when they sing a limbo while trying to avoid the laser beams during a super-secret spy mission.

This show has reignited my love of musicals, which has been dormant for some time. (My insistence on musical-only writing music has been helped by the fact that I dug out our CD collection and ripped about 150 of them recently. Of course, I can’t find the one I’m looking for, Linie 1. Sigh.) I want to write a children’s musical, I’m so inspired by this show.

Anyhow: The Backyardigans is on Nick Jr. I highly recommend checking it out.

(Tyrone the moose is my favorite, by the way. In case you’re wondering.)

 

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Update 2/16/05: Wow, lots of comments here! This entry is listed pretty high on Google when you search for “The Backyardigans” so I’m going to assume someone from Nick Jr. has found it. (Hi there! More Backyardigans episodes, please!)

A number of people have posted asking about Backyardigans-themed birthday supplies and other merchandise. As far as I’ve been able to find on the Web, there isn’t any! It might not be licensed yet or might not have gotten to stories yet. All I can say is: Hurry it up! You’ve got lots of customers waiting. If anyone does know of legit Backyardigans stuff, let me know and I’ll put it on this page.

I found a number of Backyardigans songs on LimeWire. I don’t know where they’re from, since a few things tell me they’re not recorded right off of the show. If the production company wanted to put out a CD with each and every song from the show on it, they’d have a bestseller. I think there are plenty of parents out there who wouldn’t mind putting that music on for their kids, and I’d rather pay royalties to the songmakers!

Evidently a new bunch of episodes will start airing in a week or two. I can’t wait…and I think the kids are excited too. All I can say is, keep ’em coming! More! More!

Update 8/11/05: The Backyardigans’ eponymously named CD is now out! The Backyardigans has 19 great songs on it, although it doesn’t include my personal favorite, “You’ve got to hold on tight.” I had downloaded some of these songs from Limewire, but I’m much, much happier having the actual CD in my hot little hand now.

Update 1/28/06: Wow. This entry has 747 comments!

There are a couple of Backyardigan DVDs out now, which means you don’t have to keep every episode on your TiVo any more.

The Snow Fort: Contains “The Snow Fort”, “The Yeti”, “Knights Are Brave and Strong”, and “Secret Mission”.

It’s Great To Be A Ghost: Contains “It’s Great To Be A Ghost”, “Monster Detectives”, “Key to the Nile”, and “Pirate Adventure”.

Polka Palace Party: Contains “Polka Palace Party”, “Heart of the Jungle”, “Viking Voyage”, and one I haven’t seen before — having tea in the Gobi desert. (Maybe it hasn’t aired yet?)

 
Update 1/05/09: Yowsa. I am amazed at how lively this entry still is!

In response to many (many, many) comments on here: I came up with the idea that Uniqua is a ladybug from my then-4-year-old (who’s now about to be 9, but still loves the Backyardigans). I’m in complete agreement with everyone who says that Uniqua is just that: unique. I wasn’t paying a whole bunch of attention at the time, and I went with my 4-year-old’s assessment of Uniqua’s identity, ‘kay?

Filed Under: TV

Comments

  1. My 1 year son has been watching Backyardagains since we was a month old he loves them and he falls asleep to the lullaby on the Viking episode everynight (we bought him the CD) and now i want to have a backyardagains birthday for him in Feb. but i cant find anything to use to decorate, but i HOPE eventually they will have more merchandise then they do now.

  3. My kids love this show and i would like to get as many as the songs i can get. Can you please help? Thnak you

  4. Hi my son IS 3 AND IS ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THE BACKYARDAGAINS AND WE ARE HAVEING A HARD TIME FINDING PLAYSETS OR MOVES OR A LIST OF FUTURE RELEASES ON ANYTHING ANY IDEAS?

  5. Me encata el programa soy de Paraguay y tengo 8 años me llamo sofia y mi hermanito kevin no encanta ver el programa nos gusta dodo lo que hacen y quiciera tener mas fotitos para pegarlos en mi cuaderno del cole podrian enviarme en mi correo porfavor..

  8. I found Backyardigan toys at Linens and Things! Also at Kohl’s Department Store. My granddaughter adores them.

  9. Hello, everyone my name is Danielle, and i have a 22 month old son and he is absolutely crazy for the Backyardagians.There would be times that nothing could calm him down except the Backyardagians, when the theme song came on I didn’t hear him cry,whine or yell for 30 mins. And I slowy started getting into it, and now I love them my fav. is Secret Agent and the Pirate Episode, and my son’s fav. is Riding the Range. now my son and I own three DVD’s(Super Wal-Mart) and the Backyardagians CD. We play the CD in the car all the time and people look at me and laugh because i turn it up and my son and I are singing our hearts out and it is just awesome!!!! and you really do need some decorations because my son’s 2nd B-day is coming up and i would love to have a Backyardagians party!! thank you Danielle and Perry Joe

  10. Hello, everyone my name is Danielle, and i have a 22 month old son and he is absolutely crazy for the Backyardagians.There would be times that nothing could calm him down except the Backyardagians, when the theme song came on I didn’t hear him cry,whine or yell for 30 mins. And I slowy started getting into it, and now I love them my fav. is Secret Agent and the Pirate Episode, and my son’s fav. is Riding the Range. now my son and I own three DVD’s(Super Wal-Mart) and the Backyardagians CD. We play the CD in the car all the time and people look at me and laugh because i turn it up and my son and I are singing our hearts out and it is just awesome!!!! and you really do need some decorations because my son’s 2nd B-day is coming up and i would love to have a Backyardagians party!! thank you Danielle and Perry Joe

  11. I love the backyardagians its my favortite show on nick jr.

    “Into the thick of it, into the thick of it but we can’t see where were going”

    I love that episode and all the other ones too!!

  12. My son also loves the backyardigans. His 1st birthday is next month and I can’t find any backyardigan party supplies. I’ve called Birthday express and they don’t carry it. We need to start some sort of petition to get this developed. I found invitations on EBAY.
    Thanks,
    Brandy

  14. you can find backyardigans at kohls i found the unique doll that sings for $20. and pablo and tyrone bath buddies for $5. each

  15. after getting pirate pablo off e-bay for christmas…..my little girl (the thomas the train fanatic) runs around singing argh, argh, argh…then again so do i, soooo when birthday discussions i came up, i offered a backyardigan birthday this year….only to discover that no matter the amount of web surfing i do, the birthday supplies do not exist!!!!!! true i have until may, but i’ve offered a thomas b-day, a pretty pony b-day…..nope ,not working.if anyone finds that backyardigan birthday supplies are around……HELP

  16. hiya,
    there are some party ideas on nickjr.com for the backyardigans. theres invitations decorations and thankyou notes that you can print off, various party game ideas and a fantastic recipie and instructions on how to make a pablo cake that looks fantastic. i know its not quite as easy as just popping out and buying them but with a limeted amout of party favors out there its worth a try.
    the party items are all western themed an i think as you will do it all your self save you a few £/$.
    anyway heres the link, hope it helps all you frantic parents
    http://www.nickjr.com/party/index.jhtml

  17. Hello There Fellow Parents and BACKYARDIGANS LOVES!
    My son absoutely LOVES them… We have all the DVD’s and he watchesit ALL DAY… I have having the same problem.. Justin is 3yrs ols and I would love his bday theme to be Backyardigans and even be able to rent the characters to come to his party.. Last year was spiderman but he is old news.. What am I going to do.. This is impossible that they dont have anything for them.. They have all the other Nick characters for pary themes and Einstein, Dora, Blues..etc but he doesnt want that.. What a shame.. Someone is missing out here but not making these… I know there are soooo many children that love this show.. I did find a couple of toys for xmas a kohls for him but not many at all.. I was VERY disappointed about this..
    Not even bedroom theme stuff blankets etc..
    Well hopefully someone will develop something SOON!

    Our favorite episodes are Pirate Treasure, Soccer Monster and Snow Fort…

    SOCCER SOCCER…..GRRR SOCCER…
    I can totally relate to all the other Moms… because I to wash the dishes and sing the songs.. HA.. My mom and older son sing it as well..
    If anything finds anything please email me @
    kellyq391@hotmail.com
    Thanking you in advance!

    Kelly & Justin

  18. From what I hear, they’re not planning on putting out birthday party stuff until next year sometime – as in 2007. They are really missing the ball on this one! You can find stuff on Ebay, though, as well as the stuff that is available to be printed off at the Nick Jr. site.

  19. I am in love with the Backyardigans. My son stops what he is doing everytime the theme song comes on and he even twirls when they do. He loves it. The only thing I don’t like is that I have the songs stuck in my head all day long. My favorite has to be “Into the thick of it”. If you have heard it you can only imagine me mimicking the same tones lol. My son will def. have a Backyardigans birthday party! 🙂

  21. Ok My recently turned 1 year old DD loves this show she claps and sceams when she hears the intro she also received a UNIQUA ski patrol for het birthday and adores it!! Where can I find clothing and more dolls that Talk??? I also just bought all the DVDS and the CD in the event its no longer on TV???

  22. Another fan here. My 2 Year old things Pablo’s neuroses are hilarious. Glad to see this sweet, polite group of kids-and out of Nick Jr no less. Not big on the Ps and Qs over there w/some other shows. Anyway, I too cook to the music. I love the Disco tunes. How great is “qwesting, qwesting, qwesting?” Was hoping to actually have people dressed up in Backyardigans mascot style suits for her 3rd in June, but apparently no luck. Just discovered how little is available. Step up to the plate Nick Jr!!

  23. My name is Paulina and I have a 1 year old daughter. She is reading the backyardagans. I was wondering where would I get a free backyardagans CD, She really loves to here them sing.
    Please Help,

    Paulina Wilson
    Milwaukee, WI

  25. hey! my brother watches the backyardigans. i am only 13 but think that the songs are really cute!!! I’ve been trying to find the lyrics to some of the songs so I could sing them to him when he cries. well, anyway, WHAT THE HECK IS UNIQUA? Some say that she is a ladybug and some say she is unique and isn’t an animal at all… WHAT’S ^ WITH THAT???

  26. New DVD released 3/7/06 — Cave Party. There is another set for release 5/30/06 but I don’t remember the name. My 11-month old LOVES them and has since she was less than 3 months old. She loves the songs and bright colors. Now she dances with them.

  27. I love the Backyardigans, I am an 18 year old freshman in college and I get up everyday at 10:30 to watch my favorite out of the group is Austin. I think that Austin is just adorable and I love to see them sing and dance they are so cute but they know big words for being so young. I love this show much more than Dora the Explorer.

  29. My husband and i have a 4 month old who LOVES the backyardigans, our first child and I never thought we would actually enjoy watching cartoons!We have all 3 of the dvds does anyone know if there are anymore or if there will be a new one soon?

  30. My daughter is going to turn 1 in a few months and she loves the Backyardigans. But I can’t find nothing at the stores or on the internet they are pretty popular they should already have party stuff for them but they dont. What’s wrong with these people? They should get their butts on the roll here.

  31. I have a now 7 month old son and when he was almost 3 months a clip of Tyrone doing a Cowboy dance came on and he got so excited and from that second on he has been in love with the Backyardigans. He has every dvd, books, the whole nine. The thing is I want to throw him a b-day party with the BAckyardigans themem but I can’t find it anywhere. can any one pleae help?!?!?!?!?!?

  32. hi this is mariel and i totally lovew the backyardigans i wish i could watch em but i got heom to late from school and i was wondering do u no the lyrics the the backyardagans theme song becuase i would love to no them thankx-love ya-

  33. I have found a website that has the lyrics for 9 of the songs! Copy and paste them into a document so you can print them out! I was so happy when I found the website yesterday! Here’s the link Here’s the link!

  34. Hi.I have a 9 month old son that loves the backyardigans. For his first birthday I would love to do a backyardigans party for him but the problem is that I can’t find supplies. Could anybody tell me where can I find it?
    Thanks..

  35. I can’t believe there are no party favors for the Backyardigans. There is obviously a hold on this stuff so that when it is finally released, we’ll all pay an arm and a leg for it! I have been looking for at least 5 months and I see that others have been looking even longer. I will stay in touch to see if someone hears about the release of party favors. My son is 10 months old and he literally freezes when he hears the show coming on. To entertain ourselves, my husband and two older sons learned the theme song so that whenever the baby throws a minor tantrum, we start singing just to watch him instantly stop crying and freeze in his tracks….it’s classic.

  36. My kids love this show and I must say it grabs my attention too! I am looking for their ring tone for my cell phone. Does anyone have it or know where I can get it? Let me know

  37. I am looking for party goods on the Backyardigans. Any help is appreciated.
    I just printed coloring sheets from Nickjr.com of some of the carracters. My baby loves the program and I want to celebrate her first year with pablo, uniqua, tasha and tyron….they are my favorites…..PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

  38. We are now 14 & 16 & we still watch the greatest show EVER made. OH MY GOSH! Why is it SO great?!? We love Riding The Range. It’s our favorite. We have the cd. We love it majorly!

    Well, see ya backyardigans fans!

    Your backyard friends, the backyardigans! Together in the backyard again. In the place where we belong and we’ll probably sing along and we’ll maybe dance along. We’ve got the whole wide world in our yard to explore. We always find things we’ve never seen before that’s why everyday we’re back for more. Your backyard friends, the backyardigans!

    By the way, we’ve posted several times. Look for us every now & then!

  39. Did you look at the following URL on nickjr.com?

    http://www.nickjr.com/home/shows/backyardigans/index.jhtml

    I didn’t have time to peruse it that close, but it seemed to have a lot of info. Also look at the Backyardigans message board on nickjr.com, there is a lot of discussion about different supplies in regards to the backyardigans.

    Just another old guy who loves to watch the Backyardigans with my grandkids.

    Larry (My grandkids favorite is Tasha, and we have been fortunate enough to become friends with the young lady who is Tasha’s singing voice. Her name is Kristin Klabunde and she is a cute young woman who has a beautful voice.)

  40. Hola mi hijo de tres años quiere que le haga la fieesta de backyardigans, aqui en venezuela no hay nada de ellos, quisiera por favor me hicieran llegar alguans imagenes para yo poder hacer todo (piñata, mantel, torta, cotillones, decoración, etc)… gracias!!! Ah, olvidaba me gustaria saber como consigo las canciones en español…

  41. I came across this site looking for Backyardigans items for my 18 month old twins who LOVE them! I just came from searching on ebay and wanted to let everyone looking for party supplies know that I did see some edible cake images and some invitations in the Backyardigans on ebay. Hope that helps some of you looking for party supplies!!

  43. My favorite episode is the hig tea one because it has all the characters in it and because I like the songs on it. The backyardigans is a wonderful show. I hope more episodes come out soon. My favorite character is Pablo because of his spanish name, and because he has the same voice actor as the guy from the show Avatar (air bender show).

  44. My son Nathen is 2 and cant start a day without Pablo. We love them all! There are lyrics on treehousetv.com go there hope that helps.

  45. Well my daughter is 8 months and she loves the Backyardigans. I enjoy watching it with her as well. She gets very excited and starts laughing out loud and giggling. My favorite Backyardigan is Uniqua. I guess alot of people have been going crazy looking for the party supplies. Well, as for me I have been looking everywhere for them also because I will love to have a Backyardigans party for my daughter’s 1st Birthday.

  46. go to Nick Jr website and ebay – type in Backyardigan party supplies for personalized party invitations for the Backyardigans.

  47. Hola!!! tengo una bebe de 11 meses y pronto cumplira su añito y le quiero hacer su fiesta de cumpleaños de Backyardigan pero aqui en Venezuela no hay nada de eso, me gustaria contar con imagenes de los personajes y de la serie en si para poder realizarle la fiesta, a ella le encanta esta comiquita, si pudieran ayudarme se los agradecería.
    Gracias
    Ana Isabel e Isabel

  48. Hi I’m Pablo –
    My name is Tyrone –
    I’m Uniqua –
    I’m Tasha –
    And my names Austin and,
    We’re your backyard friends the Backyardigans –
    Together in the backyard again –
    (In the place where we belong;
    where we’ll probably sing along;
    and we’ll maybe dance along)-
    We’ve got the whole wide world in our yard to explore –
    We always find things we’ve never seen before –
    That’s why everyday we’re back for more with your friends the Backyardigans
    ***My daughter LOVES the Backyardigans. When the theme song comes on she get the biggest smile on her face. I’ve purchased all 4 DVD’s, I claim for her but really for me. I love the Viking song Hold on Tight.

  49. I’m 15 almost 16 and I love the backyardigans.

    My favorite is Uniqua and Tyrone.
    I love the episode “Surf’s Up” I saw it for the first time today, but the Quest for the Flying Rock turned me on to the Backyardigans.

  50. I can’t get enough of this show! The songs are soooo cool and the backyardigans can dance! My 18 month old is always shaking to the beats. I am all into backyardigans.