TV Talk: Mister Rogers comparisons abound in ‘Barney’ doc ‘I Love You, You Hate Me’

There are some interesting ideas explored in Peacock’s “I Love You, You Hate Me,” a two-part docu-series about 1990s PBS phenomenon “Barney & Friends,” the kids’ show starring a loved and loathed purple dinosaur.

But the series, now streaming, veers from its nostalgia lane into true crime territory. Is the cautionary tale of fame and its side effects a part of the “Barney” story worth exploring? Or is it included because true crime is a popular genre and adding an arguably gratuitous element was the only way to get this program sold?

There is an invasive ick factor in the show’s second hour when it reaches for that true crime element – “Barney” creator Sheryl Leach’s son, Patrick is involved in a shooting crime almost two decades after she ceased working on “Barney” – that left me uncomfortable even as I leaned in during the more salacious parts of the story. (And let’s take a minute to acknowledge Peacock could have stretched the “Barney” story to the breaking point, as streaming services are sometimes wont to do, but two hours, while still probably 30 minutes more than necessary, is not atrocious. But why even make it two one-hour episodes? Why not just a two-hour documentary? Or better yet a 90-minute documentary?)

Most of the series is about the creation of “Barney” – Sheryl Leach was inspired to create “Barney” by her then-preschooler son Patrick’s interest in “Wee Sing Together” VHS tapes — and reactions to ”Barney,” particularly “Barney” bashing, which was both rhetorical and literal: College kids disemboweled stuffed Barneys. The San Diego Chicken beat up a faux Barney on the baseball diamond.

“It hit a nerve at the dawn of the social media era when the world learned to love to hate,” says Bob Curran, founder of the I Hate Barney Secret Society. Hatred of Barney flowed freely in AOL forums in the show’s heyday. (“I Love You” does not get into another reason to hold a grudge against “Barney:” Its role in the cancellation of PBS critical hit “Wishbone,” made by the same production company.)

Some of the most interesting observations expressed in “I Love You, You Hate Me” come from Steve Burns, the original host of “Blue’s Clues.”

“When someone is so implausibly happy all the time, unfortunately, in the darker corners of all our spirits, there is a desire to find joy in tearing that down,” Burns says. “Barney is so impossibly wholesome, people like to pop the balloon.”

With “Barney,” the reaction was extreme.

Bob Singleton, music director for “Barney,” said he was threatened with the death and dismemberment of his family over his involvement in the annoying-to-some-but-ultimately-benign children’s television series.

Travis Fox, who staged a Barney bash event at the University of Nebraska in 1993, suggests it was jealousy that drove “Barney” haters.

“The reason we went after ‘Barney’ is it was a replacement to our ‘Sesame Street.’ He was encroaching on our childhood so we decided to push back,” Fox says, ignoring that plenty of other children’s shows came before and since “Barney” that didn’t fuel as strong a reaction. Where’s the “Paw Patrol” Haters Club or the Jihadists Against Daniel Tiger?

Pittsburgh’s own Fred Rogers gets mentioned at several points in the series.

“One of the cool parallels between Barney and Mister Rogers is that as a child watching, here you have an adult who is just your friend, somebody who takes the time to look into your eyes and talk to you and ask you questions and it feels like a conversation, like a relationship,” says Patrice Pascual, who worked in public relations for a Connecticut public television station. (Did Barney have the mind/emotions of a child, as I thought, or was Barney an adult dinosaur? Discuss.)

Another interviewee paraphrases remarks attributed to one of Rogers’ sons about how “It was difficult to have the second Christ as your dad.”

In the same section, “I Love You, You Hate Me” posits that Patrick Leach viewed Barney as an unwanted sibling competing for Sheryl’s attention. The show draws a parallel between Patrick Leach and Candice Bergen, who felt overshadowed by her father Victor Bergen’s ventriloquist’s dummy, Charlie McCarthy.

Even when Rogers is not mentioned, there are unspoken parallels. Rogers was criticized by some for seeming too “soft,” an accusation also leveled at “Barney,” and the idea that for a boy to like something soft was unmasculine.

In its second episode, “I Love You, You Hate Me” explores how some of the kids featured on “Barney” rebelled (pretty typical child-actors-growing up stuff) and then it gets into the thorny question of Patrick Leach’s crime and whether “Barney” and its impact on his family contributed to Patrick Leach’s criminal act. Up to that point, this “Barney” doc is fun and even thoughtful, but then it starts to feel needlessly exploitative.

Peanuts specials stream

Apple TV+, which now has rights to the classic “Peanuts” specials, will not make holiday episodes available for PBS stations to air this year. However, the episodes will be available for free streaming at tv.apple.com or via the Apple TV app. (“Peanuts” shows are always available to Apple TV+ subscribers.)

“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” will be available for free streaming Oct. 28-31; “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” will be available for free streaming Nov. 23-27 and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will be available for free streaming Dec. 22-25.

Kept/canceled/spun-off

Amazon’s Prime Video renewed “Outer Range” for a second season.

Hulu renewed animated comedy “Solar Opposites” for a fifth season.

Showtime canceled “The Man Who Fell to Earth” after a single season.

NBC ordered “America’s Got Talent: All-Stars,” hosted by Terry Crews and featuring judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel, for a 2023 premiere.

Channel surfing

The latest WQED-TV “Future Jobs” installment, “The Growing Field: Future Jobs in Agriculture,” premieres at 8 p.m. Oct. 20. … The final “Law & Order: SVU” episode for actress Kelli Giddish (she plays Det. Amanda Rollins), who is leaving the series, will air Dec. 8 on NBC. … Amazon Freevee’s “Judy Justice,” the successor series to TV’s “Judge Judy,” returns for its second season on the streaming service Nov. 7, debuting a new episode each weekday through Dec. 16. … Blake Shelton will exit NBC’s “The Voice” after the spring 2023 season, which will see Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan join returning coaches Shelton and Kelly Clarkson.