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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. I love this show it draws the attention of my 8 mth daughter. I think its the songs and colors that draws her. I personaly love the show it is extremly cute. Everyone can relate to a show that focus on a childs imagation.

  3. why isn’ t there any Backyardigans birthday stuff. my daughter keeps asking me to have a Backyardigans party. She loves the show i hate to disappoint her. please if anyone finds backyardigans stuff let me know. i need it by april 11th 2005. We want backyardigans stuff now.

  4. Ok, it’s me again, I was looking for Backyardigan stuff, (Because they ROCK) and I found some stuff on ebay. Like t-shirts, or iron ons, braclets, charms, etc… they are not from Nick Jr. but I couldn’t wait. I bidded on a personalized Backyardigan towel, and I WON IT!!! I was just letting you know that they do have Backyardigan stuff on ebay, (if you MUST have it, or REALLY REALLY want it) Well go check it out for yourself. BACKYARDIGANS ARE AWESOME!!!

  5. Which episode had the song sneaking and hiding? My grandson sings it all the time and I want to Tivo it for him

  6. I AM A FANATIC FOR BACKYARDIGANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Come on NICK JR. where are the goods? My son is having his 1st b-day party and I would lov- no let me get my point across I would L-O-V-E to do a Backyardigans themed party. can anyone H-E-L-P me puhleeze? His birthday is July 9th so I am hoping there is something on the market soon. I will spend whatever it takes to get the Backyardigans! I want to kidnap these creatures and make them sing and dance all day for my son! (not to be takin seriously) I’ll even feed them lunch at the end!!!! Anyways the backyardigans are the best thing out right now .I have my own personal fav which is UNIQUA. You go girl! she is my fav ladybug, monster, unique creature, whatever she is she is that thing and she knows it! As soon as they hit toys stores I’ll be there.

  8. The Backyardigans is a great show, it is the only tv show that actualy holds my 10 month olds attention. He loves to sway back and forth to the music and my husband and I also find ourselves singing the songs.

  9. I’m 25 years old and I love to watch the bacyardigans with my 5yr old daughter and 2yr old son. I wish they would make a soundtrack to it I would leason to it more then my kids would

  10. Oh my gosh! I did a search for Backyardigan’s Birthday Party supplies and found this site. I have to say – I LOVE the Backyardigan’s too! It’s the only kids show I will watch. I have a 2 year old and a 10 month old whose faces light up when it comes on. The 2 year old dances around too. Those Backyardigan’s have got the moves! Anyway – I too would have liked to throw a themed party of the Backyardigan’s for my son but I cannot find any supplies. Thanks Nick Jr. for such a cute show!

  11. I THINK I LOVE THE BACKYARDIGANS MORE THAN MY
    GRANDDAUGHTER DOES. SHE’S 19 MONTHS, AND WE LOOK
    FOR THE SHOW EVERY DAY. AND YES, I WATCH THEM
    WHEN SHES NOT HERE. I LOVE THE MUSIC AND THE
    DANCING. SOME TAP, JAZZ…IT’S GREAT.

  12. My daughter absolutely loves this show!! She has been fascinated by it since she was 3 months old, and now at 7 months, the gang is like a bunch of friends to her. I’ve been checking periodically with the Nick Jr. website for Backyardigans merchandise, and as of December they wrote me back saying there were no plans to market the Backyardigans at that time. I suggested they start making plans because I’d buy anything and everything! I’d probably even listen to a CD of songs without my baby girl, and I’m a mature adult… no, really!! Keep spreading the word!

  13. I am 28 year and the backyardigans is the only show i like to watch saturday mornings on wwny tv 7, my local cbs affialiate,except for the saturday early show.i watch it alone. yes, no kids.

  14. The Backyardigans Rule!!! I usually put the show on for my 7 month old little girl… she does watch it while playing in her saucer…She seems to enjoy the bright color and songs… The songs are Great!! KEEP MAKING NEW EPISODES FOR US WE WANT MORE!

  15. uniqua is not a lady bug she is an alien. if you look at meet the backyardigans on nick jr. they tell you.

  16. THIS IS THE ONLY SHOW THAT MY GIRL LOVES YA SHE WILL WATCH DORA BUT IS IT IN LIKE 3 OR 4 TIMES BEFORE LUNCH I HOPE NICK JR SEES I GOOD THING AND START PRODUCING ITEMS

  17. The Backyardigans are the best! I am 24 (female), my roomates are 27 and 28 (male) and we LOVE to watch the Backyardigans. Their dance moves are the best and they have the cutest voices ever. We discovered the show while flipping through the channels on TV- we paused to hear the song from the Ghost episode and now we are hooked. I would recommend this show to ALL ages cause it rocks!

  18. omg i lvoe this show! i started babysiting this one little boy whos not even 1 and he watches it 24/7!!! i lvoe the theme song! i sing it all day and people dont no what im even doing!!! I LOVE THE BACKYARDIGANS

  19. I am 28 year old and love the backyardigans…they are sooo cute…they have great upbeat tunes for kids, and they are no where near as annoying as barney was…I LOVE EM! I also sing the theme song all day long and no one knows what i am doing. Did i mention that i have no kids?…does that make me a loser? OMG..who cares. they are cute.

  20. hi there folks.I have a 10 month old and well he LOVES this show. 1 problem though. the songs are addicting. Ive heard his mom ( and me at work) singing ” Feeding time feeding time c’mon horses get your food” “YIP YIP YIP YIP”. Well can u guess what is my sons favorite episode? Anyways im glad that the show has more than a token audience.

  21. My daughter loves this show. We started watching it in November, and she just got glued to it. Whenever it comes on, she squeals and starts dancing back and forth. She doesn’t really watch the tv screen, as she does listen to it. I think it’s great! She is 15 months old, and she still just loves it. Even a picture of them on the internet is enough to get her going. She likes when I go to http://www.nickjr.com and play the videos. It’s a great show!

  22. I LOVE THIS SHOW!! I TOO MAKE PEOPLE WATCH I LOVE THE SONGS AND THE DANCES. I HAVE MY TV SET FOR IT TO COME ON AND NO THE KIDS AREN’T ALWAYS AROUND WHEN I WATCH.

  23. I watch the Backyardigans with my baby brother, but I’m pretty sure I like the show More than he does. The funny, catchy phrases like Tyrone’s “that certainly is convienent” and songs got me watching it in the first place. I downloaded a couple of the songs on to my iPod, but I don’t know where I got them from. I couldn’t navigate through Limewire, so does anybody else know where to get the music?
    My favorite episode is the Quest for the Flying Rock!!!

  24. The Backyardigans are the best. My 18 month old and I watch it every day. She even tries to imitate them and sings the songs.. “pra pra pra” for A pirate, a pirate, a pirate. My whole family enjoys it. I even find myself talking to my grown up friends about them and telling them to watch. My kids prefer it over Dora, Blues Clues, and even my favorite Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch.

  25. Im 18 and I love this show! So do a few of my friends, they’re around 16, we love to watch it on the weekends! Its great! We all want a tee-shirt with our favorite character on it! We need them!!! We’re looking forward to many more episodes!

  26. OMG This Is My Favorite Show! lol… im 13 and me and my best friend watch it like no matter wat…weve never missed a show

  27. ok im 16years old and my 2 year old sister loves the backyardigans and well… i have to say that they are really good except for the fact that they repeat the songs over and over and over again but oh well i just wanted to say thank you for the info on uniqua being a ladybug and austin is a kangaroo so yeah well bye!!

  29. I got this wierd demo disc last fall, for this show I never heard of, so I promply stuck it in the junk drawer and forgot about it. A few months ago, I was watching nick jr with my son and there was a show on that was really well done…and I remembered about the disc. It is a backyardigans disc with the theme song, please and thank you(from the show about the Nile), secret agent, and yeti stomp…it now does not leave the cd player. And I can’t get it out of my head.

  30. My 5yr old daughter and I love Backyardigans!!! I’m really trying to find them on DVD because she misses the show while she’s at school. HELP!!!!

  31. I love Lazy Town AND Backyardagains.
    My 4 year old daughter wants her hair cut like Stephanie so badly. We got her some pink hair gel to abate her for awhile. I love the story regarding the creation of Lazy Town, especially Stefan Karl (Robbie Rotten) and his Rainbow-Children organization which works to create awareness about bullies in school.
    http://www.regnbogaborn.is/web/?&OZON=Z3JvdXA9MTcxNw==
    I like the Icelandic accents of Robbie, Sporticus and Ziggy. Reminds me of Bjork formerly of the Sugar Cubes. (Showing my age and college genre)

    Backyardagains seems to have the same stories over and over again too. Hey, the kids like it and it encourages the use of imagination. Man, I remember going all over the neighborhood using my imagination to create all sorts of adventures. Too bad kids now are relegated to the back yard from fear of being abducted.
    -sigh

  32. We love the Backyardigans at our house too. I have four children ages 7, 5, 2, and 10 months. This is the only show they (and me too!) like to watch. Love it!! There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t find myself singing one the songs, even if I missed the episode that day! I too would love a CD of all the songs. Can’t wait to see more new episodes!

  33. I love the Backyardigans! Please release Backyardigans videos and DVDs, and more Backyardigans. My favorite character is Tasha. She wears red clothes, my favorite color. She also has a beautiful accent.

  34. I love the Backyardigans! Please release Backyardigans videos and DVDs, and more Backyardigans products. My favorite character is Tasha. She wears red clothes, my favorite color. She also has a beautiful accent.

  35. I LOVE the Backyardigans! Allow the Backyardigans to be broadcast and released in many different languages (English, French, German, Italian, etc.)!

  36. If you have a digital video camera you can tape the programs .

    Then transfer to your computer.

    Next copy to DVD -RW (just the song portions)

    Download free DVD audio ripper

    Rip DVD audio usually it will only allow 5min at a time

    Do all the songs seperately into one folder as mp3

    once your collection is complete open windows media player search and copy to a cd done deal

  37. I am 12 but my whole family loves backyardigans. My friends and I are always singing their songs. My favorite episode is the “Riding the reigns” episode. I love the “cowboys cowgirls” song

  38. my granddaughter emma loves the show. she loves tasha.
    i was at her home and saw it for the very first.
    now i would love to get dvds.games.dolls. but i can not find your stuff.
    by the way emma will be 3 on sunday.

    so if there are items to purchase please email me.
    thank you
    linda

    and your show is the best.

  39. Hi my name is Kristin Klabunde. I am the singing voice of Tasha (The yellow hippo.) I am so happy that you all like the show. I have a website, it is http://www.KristinKlabunde.com …. Well it is cool to know that you all like the show.
    Kristin AKA Singing Tasha

  40. Hi my name is Kristin Klabunde. I am the singing Tasha, (The Yellow Hippo.)It so cool to hear what you all think. I have a website: http://www.kristinklabunde.com …. It is so cool to know that you all like the show.
    Kristin AKA Singing Tasha

  41. my son watches that show all the time i know all the songs because that seems the only way he will eat now. and now he has to have it on just to go to sleep. we no longer have cable but, come sat. morning we are up so we don’t miss a thing. that show is a blessing all by it’s self and i am one parent that enjoys all kinds of cartoons but, this right here is the bomb…
    zander is my son he is my first born and let me tell you he is extremelly smart for his age all because of this show he can point out what a horse is and all kinds of cool things…
    from a loving family

  42. I am a 27 year-old woman with no kids and I love the backyardigans! I stumbled upon it one Saturday morning on CBS and have been addicted ever-since. The characters are vibrant and funny and the music is fantastic! I hope to someday have kids and when I do, I hope that the backyardigans are available on dvd. By the way, my favorite character is Uniqua.

  44. “Home on the range, home on the range, home on the range, yahoo! I have seen just the one episode, and you have me. What a wonderful show. I hope nickelodeon knows what a hit it has on its hands.

  45. Well,thanks for the different ideas on what Uniqua is. I go with the theory that she is a ladybug. My kids believe she is from another planet. And when I say kids, I mean from my 19,16,12 and 4 year old. We all love them including my husband who is 41. This is a great show. Love the music, the voices, the choreography and the story line. And by the way, my 12 year old is a boy who is into being cool, he will sit and watch it right with the rest of us. My vote for the best show is the Pirate episode. Well, time to go to my house for a snack! Bye from Nai.

  46. My husband, my 2 year old and my 9 year old love this show but are getting burnt out on the only one that is currently On Demand. Give us more Nick!

  47. I am also awaiting Backyardigans party supplies for my child’s second birthday. I hope they hurry up. I am going to send a letter to the show about it.

  48. I am sooo obsessed with the backyardigans. I am twelve years old and have never loved a show more than this. I have a few corrections though. Everyone is saying that Austin is a Kangaroo but he is really a purple dog. He says so on the Pirate treasure episode. The theme song lyrics say that they say “Together with the backyardigans” when it is really “Together in the Backyard again.” I know that it’s pathetic to watch this show but no one can stop me from doing it. O, by the way, my favorite is Pablo.He is the cutest thing i’ve seen since pooh bear!!!

  49. Funny thing, my kids and I were just asking what the heck Uniqua is. A lady bug? I thought she was a lizard!

    My son loves this show…I do too…

  50. Funny thing, my kids and I were just asking what the heck Uniqua is. A lady bug? I thought she was a lizard!

    My son loves this show…I do too…