BJ

BJ is a main recurring character on the television series Barney & Friends.

A seven-year-old yellow Protoceratops, BJ made his first appearance in season two of the show^[2] with the episode "Look at Me, I'm 3!" in 1993. He debuted as a six-year-old, but eventually turned seven in the national stage show tour of Barney's Big Surprise (1996-1998).

BJ is a good friend of Barney's and the older brother of Baby Bop, whom he frequently calls "Sissy", though on rare occasions, he does call her by name. He is also Riff's cousin and his best friend.

BJ is described as an impulsive dinosaur^[3] but is always eager to help his friends. As an active seven-year-old, BJ also likes to run, jump, and ride around on his red scooter. Although he loves baseball, basketball and soccer, it's safe to say that BJ has never met a sport he didn't like. He also likes to play the drums and the guitar. It was established in Come On Over to Barney's House that he also played drums in his rock band 'BJ and the Rockets.' BJ enjoys to pretend to be Captain Pickles, his super hero alter ego, with the name being a nod to his favorite snack, pickles.

BJ's theme song is none other than the titular "BJ's Song".

History

Creation

The writers on Barney & Friends added BJ because they wanted a sibling relationship to work with (as characters Barney and Baby Bop are just friends) in order to have more relatable stories that children watching could understand and relate to. (e.g. Little Red Rockin' Hood) ^[4]

Naming

BJ was named after Sheryl Leach's father, Billy Joe "B.J." Stamps.^[5] Originally spelled B.J., the name was reduced to simply BJ starting in Barney's Fun & Games, to avoid questions as to what the name stood for.

Costume

On camera, unseen in any final videos, BJ's color was seen as white as opposed to being yellow on camera, which was a similar occurrence that happened to Barney where his color turned blue as opposed to purple. BJ's white color caused the video electronics to spike and automatically dim the video feed during the early stages of production.^[6]

In his early appearances seen on the show, BJ was slightly taller than Barney. He was redesigned in season three; his height was shrunken to better suit his age of six (and later seven) years old.

BJ always wears his red baseball cap with his red and white sneakers. He has three hairs on his frill that goes in front of his baseball cap.

See Also: BJ Through the Years

Portrayal

Barney and BJ with Patty Wirtz, the original voice actress of BJ.

Voice Portrayal History

BJ's voice was originally a much deeper voice when he debuted in "Look at Me, I'm 3!". The voice became higher pitched as time passed throughout the years.

Actors

Costume Actors

Jenny Dempsey (1993)
Jeff Brooks (1994-2002)
Mike Hagan (1996, Barney's Big Surprise)
Pat O'Connell (1996-1998)
Kyle Nelson (1997-2009)
Adam Brown (1997, some shots of "E-I-E-I-O")
Charles L. Shaw (1999-2002)
Jerad Harris (2003-2004, 2011-2012)

Voice Actors

Patty Wirtz (1993-2011)
Carol Farabee (understudy in Barney Live! In New York City)

Trivia

Originally, BJ had a trademark whistle that would let the audience know of his arrival.^[7] Although it was not heard in Barney Safety or Barney's Fun & Games, it was officially discontinued in Barney's Musical Scrapbook.
Like the voices of Barney and Baby Bop, BJ was voiced by an unknown stand-in for the live show of Barney Live! World Tour - A Celebration!.
In November 1998, it was announced that BJ was going to have his own animated spin-off series titled BJ and the Radical Rumblebutts which would've been produced by Lyrick Studios and Toronto’s Portfolio Films.^[8] The project didn't come to fruition however, scripts were written.

Appearances

References

[1] Barney and Friends Veteran Actor Shares Success as a Little Person

[2] Baby Bop will get a brother on "Barney'

[3] PBS Ready To Learn Caregiver Guide

[4] TELEVISION; New Season, Old Cast, Room for One More

[5] THE PURPLE ONE\ THERE'S NO STOPPING HIM

[6] Facebook

[7] | Just for parents

[8] New development mandate at Lyrick

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BJ

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