The Backyardigans is for Kids??

The Backyardigans an animated children's TV show, created by Janice Burgess, first shown on November 22, 2004. It is a joint production of Nick Jr. and Nelvana. It also appeared on CBS from October 2004 until September 2006. Music for the show is written by Evan Lurie, of The Lounge Lizards, and Douglas Wieselman. The characters are designed by children's book author and illustrator Dan Yaccarino.

The Backyardigans are Pablo, Tyrone, Uniqua, Tasha, and Austin who use their imaginations to transform their backyard into completely different worlds where they have many exciting adventures.

Uniqua, Pablo and Tyrone appear in every episode, Tasha appears in most episodes and Austin appears in only some.

Pablo, is a blue penguin who wears a blue bow tie and a blue and yellow propeller hat. He's the one who usually has the idea about what to do. He takes the lead in most cases, although he quite often has a panic attack that he gets over quickly. I would say he takes the lead but is not necessarily the leader - one of the good things about the show.

Pablo lives with his wife, Laura, and his two kids, Ben and Jerry, on Long Island.

Uniqua is a confident, high-spirited girl who's pink with polka dots. She is very friendly with strong opinions and a bit of a stubborn streak. She's a bit of a tomboy and often imagines herself in male dominated roles such as pirate captain, scientist, etc. There is some confusion over what species of animal she is. She is actually unique! Hence the name...

Uniqua is in negotiations with Showtime for her own series on Saturday nights, and is an occasional guest host on The View.

Tyrone is a laid-back orange moose. He and Pablo are best friends even though they are opposite in terms of personality. He is relaxed, cool-headed, and dependable. He also has the remarkable gift of being able to put his hands in his pockets, even though he doesn't have pants on.

In his spare time, Tyrone likes to hike and works in a local soup kitchen.

Tasha is Uniqua's best friend. Even though she wears flowered dresses and nice shoes she is tough and likes to get her own way. She likes to play princesses or queens and boss people around. She is giggly and fun most of the time.

Tasha is currently attending law school and hopes to move into politics.

Austin is a fun-loving purple kangaroo who moved into the street recently. He's a little shy and sometimes reluctant to join in. He is, friendly though, and is very helpful to his friends. Although he appears in the show the least-often, he was voted the second-favorite character in a poll, only behind Pablo.

The reason Austin appeared in only a few shows was lengthy, and sometimes painful, contract negotiations. These have been settled, and hopefully he will appear more often in the future.

1. Pirate Treasure - Uniqua and Austin are brave pirates, who seek a hidden treasure after finding half of a treasure map-without knowing that Pablo and Tyrone have the other half, and are also looking for the same treasure. Arrr!

2. The Heart of the Jungle - Professor Uniqua explores the jungle to return Sherman, the Worman, to his home, while three Tarzans-Tyrone (the animal guy), Pablo (the very strong) and Austin (who does not say too much)-try to warn her about the perils of the jungle especially quicksand which she was mostly unaware of.

3. The Yeti - Tyrone and Uniqua track yeti Pablo through the Frozen North, accompanied by Frozen North expert Tasha, who insists that there's no such thing as a yeti. But Uniqua is an expert at recognizing things at the Frozen North (especially parts of the yeti) causing a conflict between her and Tasha.

4. The Snow Fort - While Mounties Pablo and Tyrone defend the snow fort that guards the world's largest snowball, Ski Patrol members Uniqua and Tasha mistake them for people who need help.

5. Secret Mission - Pablo, Uniqua, and Tyrone have a mission: sneak into a museum to return a mysterious item to its rightful owner with the assistance of a Spy Gadget, a Spy Power Rope and some Spy Maple Syrup.

6. It's Great to Be a Ghost - In a haunted house, ghosts Pablo, Uniqua, and Tyrone try to scare unsuspecting stranger Tasha.

7. Riding the Range - Tyrone is on his way to Texas for a hoedown, and he comes across a trio of a cowfolk-Pablo, Uniqua, and Tasha-who are looking for a jumprope, reportedely stolen by a bandit. Each character has a horse in the episode, Harvey (ridden by Tyrone), Pal (ridden by Uniqua), Princess (ridden by Tasha), and Old Paint (ridden badly by Pablo).

8. The Key to the Nile - Princess Cleo Tasha (played by Tasha), ruler of Ancient Egypt, and her royal servants Pablo, Tyrone, and Austin seek three presents for the sphinx Uniqua in order to learn the secret to restoring the river Nile's flow. However, there is just one thing: Princess Cleo Tasha doesn't know how to say please or thank you to her servants after they give her what she wants.

9. Knights Are Brave and Strong - Uniqua the Pink is sent by Queen Tasha to take a message to King Austin, who shall make her a knight if she succeeds.

10. Viking Voyage - Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua seek to discover uncharted lands, though a mermaid (played by Tasha) has other ideas.

11. Castaways - Uniqua, Tyrone, and Pablo are castaways on a deserted island, and as they struggle to find food and a place to live, they receive mysterious help. Could it be a mischievous intruder, or just a fellow castaway, maybe Austin, who's too shy to say hello to the others?

12. Race to the Tower of Power - Two wicked supervillains, Dr. Shrinky (Tyrone) and Yucky-Man (Pablo) are intent on stealing the Key to the World, which lies inside the Tower of Power, and taking over the world. Stopping them is the duty of superheroes Weather Woman (Uniqua) and Captain Hammer (Austin).

13. The Quest for the Flying Rock - Four explorers find a mysterious map for the legendary Flying Rock atop Stone Step Hill (really a pyramid), but upon a disagreement on what path to choose, Uniqua and Tasha compete with Pablo and Tyrone on a race filled with unknown obstacles.

14. Polka Palace Party - Cowboys Tyrone, Uniqua, Pablo, and Austin-united by a shared love of polka music-need to get to Cheyenne by sundown in order to play at a surprise birthday party for Sherman the Worman's brother Herman.

15. Surf's Up! - Pablo is on the lookout for Tiki Beach to ride the perfect wave, but he can not find it. Little does Pablo know that he must learn a lot of radical moves before he can find that place and ride the perfect wave, and he will only do that with the help of other fellow surfers and a mysterious lifeguard, Austin.

16. Eureka! - On the South Dakota mountains, two brilliant scientists-Uniqua and Tasha-look for the bones of the legendary Flappassaurus, and whilst searching come across two dusty old prospectors-crusty old Pablo and dusty old Tyrone, and their pack mule, Clementine-in search of gold.

17. Race Around the World - Austin has never won a race before, but he is well prepared for the difficult "Race Around the World". He will compete with veteran racers Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua for his first gold medal.

18. Monster Detectives - Pablo is a (seemingly) fearsome Soccer Monster, who lives in a big castle but has nobody to play with. Tyrone, a Monster Detective, has to enter his castle to retrieve Uniqua's stolen soccer ball.

19. Cave Party - The Mountain Cave People-Austin and Tasha-invite the Valley Cave People-Uniqua, Pablo, and Tyrone-to howl at the moon when it hits the highest peak. While the three Valley Cave People must get there on time, the two Mountain Cave People must fill their time, all with the help of handy new inventions.

20. High Tea - When Pablo, Tyrone and Uniqua can not agree on what to do, they let Tasha decide-and she leads them on a quest for the perfect cup of tea that takes them to Borneo, the Ming Empire (ruled by a grumpy Emperor Austin) and the Gobi Desert.

1. Mission to Mars - Astronauts Uniqua, Austin, and Pablo are sent by ground controllers Tasha and Tyrone to Mars in a space shuttle to investigate an odd audio signal. This episode features a guest appearance by Alicia Keys as Mommy Martian.

2. Samurai Pie - Samurai Pie Maker Tyrone must train apprentice Austin to make the Great Pie for Empress Tasha, while fending off a raid from pie-stealing ninjas Uniqua and Pablo.

3. Scared of You - Austin is having his worst birthday ever when his Master, Mad Scientist Tasha, orders him to bring three monsters back to her laboratory-Mummy Tyrone, Werewolf Uniqua and Vampire Pablo. What Austin does not know is that a big surprise birthday party awaits him when he gets back

4. Whodunit? - Sherlock Holmes-style detective Pablo explores Mystery Manor's mazes and secret passageways to find out who stole Lady Tasha's jewels. Was it Butler Tyrone, Mr. Austin Frothingslosh, or Inspector Uniqua Underhood?

5. The Legend of the Volcano Sisters - Luau Brothers Austin, Pablo, and Tyrone have to appease the Volcano Sisters (Tasha and Uniqua) with a special gift to keep them from ruining the big luau with a volcanic eruption. The only catch is, that the Volcano Sisters won't tell them what they want.

6. The Swamp Creature - Swamp tour guides Uniqua and Pablo promise to show tourists Tasha and Austin the Swamp Creature, even if they have to trick them when they believe that there's no such thing as a Swamp Creature. Little do they know is that there really is a Swamp Creature-Tyrone.

7. Horsing Around - The fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" gets the Backyardigans treatment as Cowgirl Uniqua and Jockey Pablo decide to have a race to see who is the best. Austin is the race announcer. They are joined by a rather unusual third racer: even-tempered Farmer Tyrone and his slow and steady-moving burro, Molasses. Given that Pablo and Uniqua spend more time trying to outdo each other than race, the winner may not be who anyone expects...

8. Special Delivery - Tasha, Uniqua and Pablo are a biker gang called the "Do-Gooders". Tyrone is a mailmoose who is afraid of bikers. While driving along in his mailtruck, he sees the Do-Gooders, gets scared and drives off. A bag of mail falls out the back of his truck, which the Do-Gooders try to return to him. Unfortunately, now Tyrone thinks they are chasing him and want to steal his mail.

9. The Secret of Snow - Uniqua loves snow and wants to know its secret. She is told by a mysterious narrator (voiced by Austin) that the Ice Lady (played by Tasha) might know, so she goes to see her. This is an unusual episode, as the entire adventure is told in storybook format. Because of this, there is no catchphrase and no snack: The storybook closes as the Backyardigans play in the new-fallen snow, ending the episode by wishing the audience, "Happy holidays, everyone!"

10. Movers of Arabia - Tyrone, the Sultan of Arabia, has a lot of magical stuff he needs moved from his treasure cave to his palace. He phones Uniqua and Pablo, the Movers of Arabia, to do the job. They are excited, as this is their first job, and, upon arriving to the palace, are given a bottle by Sultan Tyrone containing a genie (Austin) who will grant them three wishes in case they get into trouble. They end up needing their wishes sooner than they think....

11. Cops and Robots - Sergeant Tyrone and Officer Uniqua are space cops who must stop T-900 (Tasha) and the Pablonator (Pablo) from breaking into the robot factory and reprogramming all the robots in the galaxy from "good" to "bad".

12. Save the Day - Very determined fisher-lady Tasha is saved time and time again by diligent Harbor Patrollers Uniqua, Tyrone, and Pablo from sharks and other hazards. But she still insists on going to the most dangerous places to catch a fish!

13. Sinbad Sails Alone - Tyrone is Sinbad the sailor, who sails alone on his quest to find the end of the rainbow. Pablo is a sailor and Sinbad's biggest fan. He wants to join Sinbad but 'Sinbad sails alone'. Pablo sneaks aboard Sinbad's ship in order to help him. Sinbad finds him, and is forced to let him stay aboard. Comedy ensues, as Pablo's youthful enthusiasm ends up causing more trouble than assistance, but Sinbad soon learns that everyone needs help sometimes. Even himself. Even if it's Pablo.

14. Best Clowns in Town - Uniqua, Pablo and Austin are a team of clowns: 'The Best Clowns In Town'. They're looking for a circus to work in. Tyrone is the ringmaster of the local circus, which is packing up to head to the Big City. They ask to join his circus, but Tyrone refuses, because he hates clowns. While he's explaining this, the train leaves without him. Tyrone is furious. Uniqua makes a deal with him: if they can get Tyrone to his train before it reaches the Big City and the circus starts, he'll let them join. Can they do it and maybe teach Tyrone to like clowns, too?

15. Into the Deep - Pablo and Tyrone are undersea explorers who plan to discover a mermaid. They find not just one but two (Tasha and Uniqua), who don't appreciate the boys being in their territory and do everything they can to get rid of them, because they think they plan to capture them and ruin their garden.

16. Newsflash - Tasha, Uniqua and Austin work for W-IOWA, a news station. Most of their news involves corn and how good the season has been. Tyrone and Pablo are farmers who are proud of their corn crop, but what they phone in to the station just isn't considered news. So, they decide to make some news to get on the air...

17. Catch That Butterfly - Professor Pablo, world famous English bug expert, is hunting the Gilded Golden Butterfly. He chases it all the way to the West where he meets stagecoach drivers Tyrone and Uniqua and hires them to help him 'catch that butterfly'!

18. A Giant Problem - Grumpy Queen Uniqua wants to take a nap, but she can't do that with a huge (but friendly) giant on the loose (played by Tasha), so she hires clumsy Wizards Pablo and Tyrone to get rid of her. They try several spells on Giant Tasha before stumbling on a rather novel solution...

19. International Super Spy (Parts one and two) - The very first two-part Backyardigans episode (often shown as a single hour long episode), and a faithful parody of James Bond movies, it also has an opening in the style of the episode rather than the regular ones. Pablo is a smooth international agent who likes his apple juice shaken and drives a red automobile/jet-ski/helicopter/airplane. He is hired by Miss "T" to protect three containers from the evil "Lady in Pink" and her sidekick, Tyrone.

Note: Not all episodes have been shown in the US.

1. Who Goes There? - Tyrone is a night watchman at a museum where the exhibits (Uniqua, a character from an Impressionist painting, Austin "Austicles", a figure on a Greek urn, and Pablo, a statue of Napoleon) come to life at night. Once Tyrone discovers them they play a game of tag and make a mess of the museum but manage to clean up before curator Tasha returns to find them.

2. Blazing Paddles - Uniqua is Sherrif of the small Western town of Ping Pong Mesa. Tyrone is the town saloon barkeep, Tasha is the bar-room dancer and Austin is the Deputy. Then, a stranger enters the town: Pablo, the Ping Pong Bandit, who's the best Ping Pong player in the west. He challenges them to a game of ping pong and, if they lose, they lose their paddles until someone can beat him. Unfortunately, they lose. Finally, Uniqua challenges him and loses as well. She leaves the town in disgrace and, after finding a cactus that looks just like a ping-pong paddle, decides to practice up and return to town in disguise to beat Pablo. Can Uniqua, as the Pink Fury, beat the bandit at his own game and teach him to share?

3. Garbage Trek - In this Star Trek-themed episode, Captain Tasha, Lieutenant Uniqua and Ensign Austin of the garbage collection space ship USS Collector roam the galaxy collecting space garbage. The Moosians, Tyrone and Pablo, try to take the garbage away by tricking them with fake distress calls.

4. Fly Girl - Uniqua is a pilot who delivers singing telegrams. She delivers telegrams to grumpy Pirate Moody (Pablo) during ship-cleaning day, Maharani Tasha, who just wants some peace and quiet, and Tyrone the abominable snowman, who just finished making a path through the snow to his cave. Her arrival angers them until she sings her telegram. They want to thank her for making them feel better (by singing back), but she keeps running off because she thinks she's going to get in trouble. Can the three finally catch up with Uniqua to thank her?

5. What's Bugging You? - Tyrone and Uniqua are the Best Pest Control; they deal with household pests by talking to them instead of exterminating them. Lady Tasha hires them to deal with a pest problem (a worman) before Mister Spiffy (Pablo) arrives. She's about to become a member of the Spiffy Club and he's here to look over her house. Unfortunately, everything Tyrone and Uniqua do seems to attract more wormans and then Mister Spiffy arrives! Can they take care of the worman problem and keep Mister Spiffy from seeing?

6. Chichen-Itza Pizza - Uniqua and Tasha own Chichen-Itza Pizza, in the middle of the Mexican jungle. After getting the store set up, they get a call from King Tyrone, who wants them to deliver to his Great Golden Pyramid. Uniqua, who thinks she knows a short-cut, accidentally goes to the Pyramid of the Earth and sets off a trap, which they barely escape. Can they make it through the Pyramids of the Winds and the Waters in one piece as well, and get King Tyrone his pizza while it's still hot?

7. To The Center of The Earth - Tyrone has lost his lucky penny. Brilliant inventors Uniqua and Pablo decide it must have fallen to the centre of the earth and use their rocket drill to find it. They travel to the bouncy layer of the earth, the slippery diamond layer of the earth, then to the centre of the earth itself to get Tyrone's penny, but somehow their inventions just make things more difficult...

8. Front Page News! - Tasha is the photographer for Big City News, but also has a secret: she's SuperSnap, super fast superhero and Big City's newest hero! The city is under attack by a giant robot and her boss, Pablo the editor, asks her to get a picture of it and SuperSnap for the front page, but she's so busy helping out resident superheroes Captain Bubble (Tyrone) and Bug Girl (Uniqua) defeat the robot that she forgets to get a photo of herself. Can she help Captain Bubble and Bug Girl and get a front page picture of herself for Pablo?

9. The Tale of the Mighty Knights - A two part special shown as an hour long episode that follows the adventure of knights Uniqua and Tyrone after King Pablo orders them to guard an egg; this episode is in the theme of a rock opera. Chasing the egg through the caves of the Grabbin' Goblin (Austin) and the forest of the Flighty Fairy (Tasha). The egg leads them to Dragon Mountain to discover what lies inside! The opening is different with the theme done in an 80's power ballad style.

10. Le Master of Disguise - Inspector Austin of the Paris police is chasing down Le Master of Disguise (Pablo), who he has cornered on the Orient Express bound for Istanbul. All Austin has to identify Le Master of Disgiuse with is his nasty laugh. Can he ferret out Le Master of Disguise from the passengers of the train, including the Conductor (Uniqua), a Cowboy (Tyrone) and Tasha, the Circus Balancer before the train reaches Istanbul and Le Master of Disguise makes his escape?

11. Match on Mt. Olympus - Tyrone and Pablo (the weatherman and sportscaster on an Ancient Greek news station) forecast sunny weather that is perfect for playing basketball. They are just about to start playing when it begins to rain. They decide to climb Mount Olympus to ask Tasha, Goddess of the Weather for sunshine. Along the way they meet and befriend Austin, the God of Laughter and Uniqua, the Goddess of Naps. In the end, along with the help of Austin and Uniqua, they end up challenging Tasha to a game of basketball. If they win, they get a sunny day, if she wins, it rains forever...

12. The Great Dolphin Race - Austin the caveman wants a pet, so he goes to Uniqua's pet store and gets a dinosaur pup. Uniqua warns him that his pup is pretty frisky and that he shouldn't take his leash off, but Austin doesn't hear her. He goes to the park, removes the leash and the pup takes off. Can Austin, along with the help of Uniqua, Pablo the Police Officer and Tyrone the Fireman get his pup back?

13. Caveman's Best Friend - Austin the caveman wants a pet, so he goes to Uniqua's pet store and gets a dinosaur pup. Uniqua warns him that his pup is pretty frisky and that he shouldn't take his leash off, but Austin doesn't listen. He goes to the park, removes the leash and the pup takes off. Can Austin get his pup back?

14. Ranch Hands From Outer Space - Tasha the rancher wants to hire some ranch hands to help her out. Zablo and Zuniqua (Pablo and Uniqua) from the planet Zorbidor have landed their ship just outside her ranch. Tasha thinks they're the ranch hands she's looking for and she hires them to help around the ranch for a big plate of pancakes (which happen to power their ship).

15. Robin Hood The Clean - The village of Filthingham is the muddiest, filthiest, grossest village in the world. Tyrone, Tasha and Uniqua wish they could all take baths and be clean, but their mayor, Austin Stinkypants, has forbidden cleanliness and locked all of their soap and shampoo in the dungeon. Tyrone sneaks out of the town to find Robin Hood the Clean (Pablo), in the hopes that he can help Filthingham and it's villagers.

16. Escape From Fairytale Village - Tyrone, the paperboy, believes that Uniqua the witch, Pablo the giant, and Austin the big bad wolf, are all out to get him on his new paper route through Fairytale Village.

17. Pirate Camp - Aspiring pirates Uniqua and Pablo attend Captain Austin's pirate camp. Aboard his ship, Captain Austin instructs the campers in the fundamentals of pirating and they learn to heave ho, scalawag and swashbuckle.

18. The Two Musketeers - Tasha wants nothing more than to join the only two musketeers, Pablo and Tyrone. When the Empress's guards, Uniqua and Austin, try to capture them, Tasha proves her abilities by saving them, but will they make her the third musketeer?

19. The Masked Retriever - Uniqua the librarian, sets off with her horse Toronado, in search of Don Austin and his overdue library books that Tasha wants to check out. Will she able to get the book back for Tasha and make it past Don Austin's guards, Pablo and Tyrone?

Your backyard friends, the Backyardigans!
Together in the backyard again,
In the place where we belong,
Where we'll probably sing a song,
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 every day we're back for more
With your friends, the Backyardigans.

Janice Burgess is the creator and executive producer of The Backyardigans, a CGI-animated series on Nick Jr. about five high-spirited friends and their imaginative, musical journeys.

Burgess served as project manager for Ghostwriter at Children's Television Workshop. In that position, she coordinated the efforts of the magazine, outreach and teacher materials with the content and goals of the television show.

She joined Nickelodeon in 1995 as an executive-in-charge of production at Nick Jr and later became Vice President. In this capacity, she oversaw the production of Peabody and Emmy Award-wining Nick Jr. shows including Blue's Clues, Little Bill and Whoopi's Littleburg. She also served as co-executive producer of the Little Bill.

Burgess grew up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from The Ellis School in 1974.