I admit, for about 20 years I was a Barney "hater". The toxic discourse around the beloved children's character in the 1990s and 2000s was waiting for me when I grew out of the franchise ... and from there I believed many mistruths that left indelible stains on an otherwise golden legacy of entertaining and educating children worldwide.
I eventually grew out of my misdirected disrespect and I wondered why Barney was such a viscerally hated character. There were no definitive answers ... until this documentary dropped on Peacock.
The documentary does a valiant job entertaining some of the reasons why Barney endured some of the most intense wrath hurled from all corners of society - from toxic masculinity to some of the haters' own self-hatred. Unfortunately, the 60-minute two-episode format doesn't lend itself well to the material. A lot of valuable information is either truncated or left out. Some 45 interviews were conducted for the documentary and key people associated with the franchise had to be cut. With a longer series, some interesting perspectives could have been explored in more intricate detail.
However, there are some gems in the docuseries - lots of never-before-seen behind the scenes footage is a delight to witness for fans and people who are Barney-curious. Some of the cast and crew give a good insight into the production and we get to hear some interesting stories.
All in all, worth a watch, but be prepared to feel some frustration at some questions that are still left unanswered at the conclusion of Part 2.