One of the new Backyardigans DVDs is a collection of three shows called The Tale of the Mighty Knights. The series, which plays on Noggin or the Nickelodeon channels, is about five colorful animal-neighbors who use their imagination to have musical adventures in their shared backyard, until hunger drives them indoors for a snack. The title episode is a rock-opera with Uniqua and Tyrone as knights set to guard a hatching egg. The storyline is one that has been used over and over in Dora the Explorer and (shudder!) Barney books, but humor, Austin as the Grabbing Goblin, and Tasha as the Flighty Fairy help redeem the predictable plot. One of the songs is clearly influenced by Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and there is a lot of electric guitar, as well as eggy puns. Much more original is the second episode, “Blazing Paddles,” with lyrics and music by Rodney Stringfellow and Douglas Wieselman. Pablo the Ping Pong Bandit had captured all the paddles in Ping Pong Mesa, and even Sheriff Uniqua is no match for him until she goes into the desert, finds a paddle-shaped cactus pad, and practices in the midst of a hail storm. The score is set to raj music (think Bollywood), and the musical numbers are delightful.
Then there’s “Garbage Trek,” with sound effects from the original Star Trek and 70s funk music for the songs and dances. Yes, the Enterprise is now a garbage scow – sorry, Scotty. When the imagination sequence began I burst out laughing, remembering “The Trouble with Tribbles” and how Scotty threw the first punch when his honor, his izzat, was offended. I hope the shades of James Doohan and Gene Roddenberry get a smile out of this one. ~~ Chris Paige
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