The fifth season of Barney & Friends premiered on PBS from November 2, 1998 to November 27, 1998 and consisted of twenty episodes. This season continues to display Barney coming to life through a child's imagination, whenever he is needed for something, helping his friends, through educational themes tailored for toddlers, which is the viewing audience.
Continuing off of season four, this season continues to take place at the school and treehouse, brings back all of the main characters from the previous season as an prolongation of the same, with the exception of Maria, and adds two new children by the name of Linda and Emily, while also adding the character named Booker T. Bookworm, a worm who lives in the school's library and loves to read.
This is the first season to not be executive produced by the series creator, Sheryl Leach.
Production
Production for this season began in March and ended in July 1998.
Cast
Dinosaurs
- Barney (Costume: David Joyner, Voice: Bob West) [20/20]
- Baby Bop (Costume: Jeff Ayers, Voice: Julie Johnson) [7/20]
- BJ (Costume: Jeff Brooks, Voice: Patty Wirtz) [7/20]
Children
- Hannah (Marisa Kuers) [8/20]
- Keesha (Mera Baker) [8/20]
- Robert (Angel Velasco) [8/20]
- Stephen (Chase Gallatin) [8/20]
- Curtis (Monté Black) [7/20]
- Danny (Jeffrey Hood) [7/20]
- Kristen (Sara Hickman) [6/20]
- Ashley (Maurié Chandler) [6/20]
- Jeff (Austin Ball) [6/20]
- Chip (Lucien Douglas) [5/20]
- Emily (Hannah Owens) (debut) [5/20]
- Kim (Erica Rhodes) [5/20]
- Linda (Adrianne Kangas) (debut) [3/20]
- Alissa (Monét Chandler) [1/20]
Adults
- Stella the Storyteller (Phyllis Cicero) [4/20]
- Mr. Boyd (Robert Sweatman) [3/20]
Animals
- Scooter McNutty (Todd Duffey) [20/20]
- Miss Etta Kette (Brice Armstrong) [20/20]
- Booker T. Bookworm (Earl Fisher) [4/20]
Guest Appearances
- The Marching Band Musicians (in "Barney's Band")
- Riders In The Sky (in "Howdy, Friends!")
- DeWayne Hambrick (played Old King Cole in "A Royal Welcome")
- Saint Adeogba (played Aunt Rachel in "Aunt Rachel Is Here!")
- Renee Michéal (played Ashley and Alissa's Mom in "Aunt Rachel Is Here!")
Episodes
| # | Episode | Written By | Directed By | New Barney Songs | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Stephen White | Steven Feldman | November 2, 1998 | |
| When Curtis behaves too much like Booker T. Bookworm, Barney and the kids remind him that it's best to just be yourself. | |||||
| 2 |  |
Stephen White | Fred Holmes | November 3, 1998 | |
| Baby Bop and BJ switch identities for the day to learn a valuable lesson of coping with jealousy. | |||||
| 3 |  |
Mark S. Bernthal | Steven Feldman | "Tell a Grown-Up Friend", "Saying "Be Careful" Means I Love You" | November 4, 1998 |
| Safety Officer Baby Bop helps the kids learn valuable safety rules at school and at play. When a crow steals nuts from Scooter McNutty, Miss Etta reminds him to be careful around strangers. | |||||
| 4 |  |
Heidi Kirby | Jim Rowley | "The Tummy Song" | November 5, 1998 |
| After BJ eats too many pancakes, Barney and the kids help him overcome his fear of round objects. | |||||
| 5 |  |
Perri Verdino-Gates | Steven Feldman | November 6, 1998 | |
| After Kristen wishes that she had a brother or a sister to play with, Barney reminds her that every family is special. | |||||
| 6 |  |
Troy Charles | Fred Holmes | "When I'm Old Enough to Join the Band" | November 9, 1998 |
| Barney and the kids have fun playing with musical instruments and marching. After Mr. Boyd's band cancels their concert, Barney invites his band friends to perform at the school. | |||||
| 7 |  |
Perri Verdino-Gates | Steven Feldman | "You Might Like Something New", "I Can Do It", "I Can Do" | November 10, 1998 |
| Danny is nervous about speaking in front of his class because he has never done it before. Baby Bop is worried about sleeping with the light off for the first time. Barney ensures them that trying new things is fun! | |||||
| 8 |  |
Donna Cooner | Fred Holmes | "I Put a Smile On" | November 11, 1998 |
| Mr. Boyd needs some assistance in picking a color for the school hallway. With some help from Barney's special color hat, the kids have fun with colors. | |||||
| 9 |  |
Stephen White | Steven Feldman | "My Jeans are Always Blue" | November 12, 1998 |
| Barney takes the kids to a dude ranch. Country group Riders in the Sky stops by for a yodeling sing-along and to teach the kids the cowboy way. | |||||
| 10 |  |
Mark S. Bernthal | Fred Holmes | "I Love to Read", "This is the Day We Grow the Corn" | November 13, 1998 |
| BJ can't wait for his exciting camping trip. To help pass time, Barney and the kids help him plan activities to do over the next week. | |||||
| 11 |  |
Troy Charles | Steven Feldman | November 16, 1998 | |
| After cleaning the treehouse, Barney shows the kids how they can recycle "yesterday's throw-aways" by transforming them into "today's treasures". | |||||
| 12 |  |
Stephen White | Steven Feldman | November 17, 1998 | |
| Old King Cole informs Barney and the kids that he will visit the school soon. So to make him feel at home, the kids transform the treehouse into a Great Hall. | |||||
| 13 |  |
Perri Verdino-Gates | Jim Rowley | "Little Honey Bees" | November 18, 1998 |
| The kids are placing fresh flowers out in the school's windowbox garden. Mr. Boyd shows the kids his bee farm. | |||||
| 14 |  |
Mark S. Bernthal | Fred Holmes | "Colors Make Me Happy" | November 19, 1998 |
| Barney and his friends share a whole day of doing their favorite activities while putting together a special puzzle. | |||||
| 15 |  |
Troy Charles | Steven Feldman | November 20, 1998 | |
| A visit from Ashley and Alissa's Aunt Rachel inspires the children to have a party in her honor. All of the children share their favorite memories of their own aunts, uncles and cousins. | |||||
| 16 |  |
Perri Verdino-Gates | Jim Rowley | "Being Together" | November 23, 1998 |
| On a rainy day, Barney explains the importance of rain. Barney and the kids help Baby Bop shows overcome her fear of thunderstorms. | |||||
| 17 |  |
Mark S. Bernthal | Fred Holmes | "Riding on a Bike" | November 24, 1998 |
| Barney helps the kids figure out how to move a trunk full of things from the classroom to the treehouse. Meanwhile, BJ helps Scooter McNutty gather nuts for the Winter. | |||||
| 18 |  |
Perri Verdino-Gates | Jeff Gittle | "I Am Learning to Spell My Name", "The Alphabet Parade" | November 25, 1998 |
| Barney and his friends help Linda learn the letters in her name. Barney hosts a special game show. | |||||
| 19 |  |
Perri Verdino-Gates | Steven Feldman | November 26, 1998 | |
| Danny shows the other kids how to work a computer. With some help from The Adventure Screen, Barney shows the kids how computers are used in society. | |||||
| 20 |  |
Mark S. Bernthal | Jim Rowley | November 27, 1998 | |
| Barney and his friends put together a package for a friend that has moved away. | |||||
Release
Home media
A to Z with Barney was a home video with the episodes of "What's In A Name?" and "Howdy, Friends!" featured from this season that was released May 8, 2001.
Trivia
- In this season, Marisa Kuers (Hannah) did the funding for the show.
- Although the vocals for the "Barney Theme Song" were rerecorded, the instrumental track remained the same from the previous season.
- However, international versions used the original vocals from Season 4 while the new vocals were used at the end. In the international versions of "Colors All Around", "Sweet As Honey", "What's In A Name?", and "A "Little" Mother Goose", the full Season 4 vocals were used.
Changes
- This season marked:
- The second season to air in only one month, as the first season was season 4.
- The only televised appearance of Booker T. Bookworm.
- The first season where Mr. Boyd has more than one appearance.
- The final television appearances of Ashley, Alissa, Curtis, and Kristen.
- The final season to have the 1993 PBS Kids logo with the e/i balloon next to the P-Pals.
- The final season that was not released on DVD.