Changes: BJ

Revision as of 17:43, 6 July 2021

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.

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.^[4]

Naming

BJ was named after Sheryl Leach's father, B.J. Stamps.^[5]

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 occurence 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 head that goes in front of his baseball cap.

See Also: BJ Through the Years

Portrayal

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

File:BJ1994CostumeFunWeekBook-0.png

1994 Costume

Jenny Dempsey (1993)
Jeff Brooks (1994-2002)
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)
Unknown Stand-In (Barney Live! World Tour - A Celebration!)

Trivia

To avoid questions about what B.J. stands for, the name was reduced to simply BJ starting in Barney's Fun & Games.
Originally, BJ had a trademark whistle that would let the audience know of his arrival. Although it was not heard in Barney Safety or Barney's Fun & Games, it was officially discontinued in Barney's Musical Scrapbook.

Appearances

Barney Live! In New York City
A Day in the Park with Barney
Barney's Big Surprise
Barney's Musical Castle
Barney's Colorful World
Barney Live - The Let's Go Tour
Barney's Let's Imagine
Barney's Space Adventures
Barney Live in Concert - Birthday Bash!
Barney Live! World Tour - A Celebration!
Barney's Greatest Hits - Live On Stage

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

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Character (Significant)|voiced_by=[[Patty Wirtz]] (1993-2011)<br>''[[BJ#Voice_Actors|see all below]]''|costume_performer='''Principal performers'''<br>[[Jeff Brooks]] (1994-2002)<br>[[Kyle Nelson]] (1997-2009)<ref>[https://youtu.be/pnZiCkIJhDc?t=451/# Barney and Friends Veteran Actor Shares Success as a Little Person]</ref> <br>[[BJ#Costume_Actors|see all below]]''|gender=Male|first_appearance="[[Look at Me, I'm 3!]]" (1993)|title1=BJ|image1=BJ2011.png|species=Protoceratops|nicknames=Beej ([[Riff]])|age=Seven years old|favorite_foods=Pickles|created_by=[[Sheryl Leach]]<br>Irene Corey<br>(designer/builder) <br>[[Jess Nelson]] (designer)|catchphrases= Aye-yie-yie|alias= [[Captain Pickles]]|Alias=[[Captain Pickles]]|family=[[Baby Bop]] (sister)<br>[[Riff]] (cousin)}}
+{{Character (Significant)|voiced_by=[[Patty Wirtz]] (1993-2011)<br>''[[BJ#Voice_Actors|see all below]]''|costume_performer='''Principal performers'''<br>[[Jeff Brooks]] (1994-2002)<br>[[Kyle Nelson]] (1997-2009)<ref>[https://youtu.be/pnZiCkIJhDc?t=451/# Barney and Friends Veteran Actor Shares Success as a Little Person]</ref> <br>[[BJ#Costume_Actors|see all below]]''|gender=Male|first_appearance="[[Look at Me, I'm 3!]]" (1993)|title1=BJ|image1=BJ2011.png|species=Protoceratops|nicknames=Beej ([[Riff]])|age=Seven-years-old|favorite_foods=Pickles|created_by=[[Sheryl Leach]]<br>[[Irene Corey]] <small>(designer/builder)</small><br>[[Suzanne Lockridge]]<br><small>(designer/builder)</small><br>[[Jess Nelson]] <small>(designer)</small>|catchphrases= Aye-yie-yie|alias= [[Captain Pickles]]|Alias=[[Captain Pickles]]|family=[[Baby Bop]] (sister)<br>[[Riff]] (cousin)}}'''BJ''' is a main recurring character on the television series [[Barney & Friends|''Barney & Friends'']].
+A seven-year-old yellow [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoceratops Protoceratops], BJ made his first appearance in season two of the show<ref>[https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/09/27/baby-bop-will-get-a-brother-on-barney/# Baby Bop will get a brother on "Barney']</ref> 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 7-year-old yellow male Protoceratops who has been on the show since [[Season 2]] (1993).
 BJ is a good friend of [[Barney|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|Riff's]] cousin and his best friend.
-BJ is described as an impulsive dinosaur<ref>[https://westernreservepublicmedia.org/images/caregive.pdf?fbclid=IwAR19-8Nq96bDVeZ0y67MK3SJUKlVijMoBxKQQO_J83a6mJRa2FYhTccatlk|PBS Ready To Learn Caregiver Guide]</ref> but is always eager to help his friends. As an active 7 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.
+BJ is described as an impulsive dinosaur<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160616205927/http://westernreservepublicmedia.org/images/caregive.pdf# PBS Ready To Learn Caregiver Guide]</ref> 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.
 BJ's theme song is none other than the titular "[[BJ's Song]]".
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 <br />
-==Creation==
+==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.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/31/arts/television-new-season-old-cast-room-for-one-more.html/# TELEVISION; New Season, Old Cast, Room for One More]</ref>
@@ Line 25: / Line 27: @@
 ''See Also: [[BJ Through the Years]]''
+== Portrayal ==
 === 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 ====
-==Portrayal==
-===Costume Actors===
 [[File:BJ1994CostumeFunWeekBook-0.png|thumb|201x201px|1994 Costume]]
 *[[Jenny Dempsey]] (1993)
 *[[Jeff Brooks]] (1994-2002)
 *[[Kyle Nelson]] (1997-2009)
-*[[Adam Brown]] (1997) (Some shots of "[[E-I-E-I-O]]")
+*[[Adam Brown]] (1997, some shots of "[[E-I-E-I-O]]")
 *[[Charles L. Shaw]] (1999-2002)
 *[[Jerad Harris]] (2003-2004, 2011-2012)
-===Voice Actors===
+====Voice Actors====
 *[[Patty Wirtz]] (1993-2011)