Michael

This article is about the character portrayed by Brian Eppes. You may be looking for the character portrayed by Michael Taber.

Michael
Appearance Information
Years	1988-1993, 1999
Series	Barney & The Backyard Gang Barney & Friends
Seasons	1, 2
Appearances	26 Episodes 10 Home Videos 3 Books 4 Live appearances
First appearance	The Backyard Show
Last appearance	Sing & Dance With Barney
Portrayer	Brian Eppes
In-universe Information
Gender	Male
Family	Amy (sister) Mom Dad Buster (pet dog)

Title card of Michael used for Barney & The Backyard Gang.

Barney posing with Michael.

Michael is one of the main characters who appeared in the Barney & The Backyard Gang video series, as well the first two seasons of Barney & Friends. Michael is Amy's older brother. He and his sister Amy were original owners of the Barney Doll as shown in the first trilogy of Barney & The Backyard Gang. Starting in the second season of Barney & Friends, he would attend a different school compared to the other main cast of children in that respective series. Michael was portrayed by Brian Eppes.

In-universe facts

• ​Family: Michael lives with his mom, his dad, his younger sister, Amy and their dog Buster. It's revealed in the episode "Be A Friend" that Michael has another dog named Sparky. As mentioned in the episode "My Family's Just Right For Me", Michael and his family cook breakfast together every Saturday morning and sometimes he and his family go to baseball games. He also has a cousin who is his pen pal (as mentioned in "Be A Friend").
• Favorite Food: Cold watermelon (as mentioned in the episode "Eat, Drink And Be Healthy!")
• Abilities: Playing the cello (as seen in "Practice Makes Music"). His reason for learning to play the cello was because he likes music (as mentioned in "Everyone Is Special"). Michael also plays soccer, as alluded to in the episode "Having Tens Of Fun!".
• Likes: When Michael goes camping, he likes to look for rocks given that he has a rock collection at home in a box (as mentioned in "A Camping We Will Go!"). He would later mention his rock collection in the episode "Everyone Is Special".
• As mentioned in "Stop, Look And Be Safe!", Michael is a school crossing guard.

Background

Development

Michael was originally named Billy in the first drafts of The Backyard Show and A Day At The Beach.

Role in series

Barney & Friends

"Be A Friend"

Michael made a picture of the playground outside while Derek made a picture of Barney to put within Michael's background (which was titled "Barney in the Playground"). Michael was looking forward to taking the picture home in his room, however Derek wanted to take it home to show it to his brothers. Michael further explained that he did more work on the picture while Derek explained that the Barney centerpiece was most important. After helping to teach Tosha the song "The More We Get Together", Michael and Derek became friends again. At the end, Derek and Michael give her a picture they helped create together.

"Practice Makes Music"

Michael is nervous because he has to play "London Bridge" on his cello at a school concert and has been unsuccessful. Barney tells him that it gets easier with practice and it becomes more fun. Towards the end of the episode, Michael successfully plays the song he was working on.

Appearances

• Barney & The Backyard Gang
• Barney & Friends
• Home Videos
• Live appearances

1. The Backyard Show (Home Video and book adaptation)
   
2. Three Wishes (Home Video and book adaptation)
   
3. A Day At The Beach (Home Video and book adaptation)
   
4. Waiting for Santa
   
5. Campfire Sing-Along
   
6. Barney Goes To School
   
7. Barney in Concert
   
8. Rock with Barney

1. "The Queen Of Make-Believe"
   
2. "My Family's Just Right for Me"
   
3. "Hop To It!"
   
4. "Eat, Drink And Be Healthy!"
   
5. "Four Seasons Day"
   
6. "The Treasure of Rainbow Beard"
   
7. "Going Places!"
   
8. "Happy Birthday, Barney!" (cameo)
   
9. "Our Earth, Our Home"
   
10. "Let's Help Mother Goose!"
    
11. "Be A Friend"
    
12. ""I Just Love Bugs""
    
13. "1-2-3-4-5 Senses!"
    
14. "Practice Makes Music"
    
15. "A Camping We Will Go!"
    
16. "A Splash Party, Please"
    
17. "Doctor Barney Is Here!"
    
18. "Home Sweet Homes"
    
19. "Everyone Is Special"
    
20. "Falling For Autumn!"
    
21. "Red, Blue And Circles Too!"
    
22. "Hoo's In The Forest?"
    
23. "Picture This!"
    
24. "The Exercise Circus!"
    
25. "Stop, Look And Be Safe!"
    
26. "Having Tens Of Fun!"

1. Barney's Magical Musical Adventure
   
2. Sing & Dance With Barney

1. Barney in Concert
   
2. Barney's 1st Live Sing-Along Concert (August 11, 1990)
   
3. Barney & Friends World Premiere Gala (March 28, 1992)
   
4. CPTV / Hartford Civic Center shops (June 6, 1992)

Gallery

Michael wearing a hat.

Michael in "Having Tens of Fun!"

"Barney, I wondered if you said that!"

Michael in "Sing And Dance with Barney"

Trivia

• Michael is technically the first human main character to appear in Barney & Friends and says the first line of the show ("Ladies and gentlemen.")
• Besides Barney, Tosha appears in all of Michael's season two appearances on Barney & Friends.
• Although Michael didn't appear in the episode, "On The Move" or the home video The Best of Barney, he made a cameo from archived material in both memory books of both videos.

See Also

• Images of Michael - categorized images featured on Barney Wiki of the character Michael.