Nickelodeon's 'The Backyardigans' Take Preschoolers on Three Rockin' Medieval Adventures...

Nickelodeon's 'The Backyardigans' Take Preschoolers on Three Rockin' Medieval
Adventures with a Primetime TV Movie, National Live Tour and New Music CD
"TALE OF THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS," GUEST STARRING TONY-NOMINATED ADAM PASCAL,
PREMIERES MONDAY, JAN. 14, 7 P.M. ON NICKELODEON

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon invites the preschool set to
rock out with The Backyardigans with multiple medieval musical journeys
including a new hour-long primetime TV movie, "Tale of the Mighty Knights,"
premiering Monday, Jan. 14 (7 p.m. - 8 p.m. ET/PT); a new CD release from
Nickelodeon/Sony BMG, titled "Born to Play," available Jan. 22; and the launch
of a new 50-city live theatrical tour, The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the
Mighty Knights, in partnership with Live Nation, on March 28.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080107/NYM142 )
"The Backyardigans has quickly rocked its way to become the number-two
television show for preschoolers, so we're giving fans a triple dose of
backyard, music-filled adventures," said Brown Johnson, Executive Vice
President, Executive Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool Television. "We
hope that this new movie, live tour and CD will provide exciting hands-on
opportunities to jam with Pablo, Uniqua, Tyrone, Tasha and Austin."
"Tale of the Mighty Knights" TV Movie
Special guest Adam Pascal, Tony-nominated star of the original Broadway
cast of Rent and Aida, joins The Backyardigans as narrator of the hour-long TV
movie and performs the original rock opera power ballad "Not An Egg."
In "Tale of the Mighty Knights," royal knights Uniqua and Tyrone are ready
to do mighty deeds in service to their King (Pablo). It seems like a pretty
simple task until the King asks them to babysit an egg, which grows legs and
runs away! A rock opera soundtrack moves the action along as the knights
pursue their egg in Goblin Land and encounter a grabbing goblin (Austin),
through Fairyland where they meet a tiny and mischievous fairy (Tasha), and
finally to Dragon Mountain where they face a mighty baby dragon (Adam Pascal).
Will the knights conquer their greatest challenge yet?
Content from "Tale of the Mighty Knights" will roll out across several
Nickelodeon Preschool platforms including music videos and additional episodes
on Time Warner's Video On Demand service (Dec. 31); streaming clips and music
videos, an interview with Adam Pascal and behind-the-scenes clips from the TV
movie on Nick Jr. Video (Jan. 4); clips on wireless carriers (Jan. 4); and an
interactive game and activities on Nickjr.com (Jan. 4).
"I have two boys who are six and three and they love The Backyardigans the
same way I loved shows like The Electric Company, Sesame Street and Zoom,"
said Adam Pascal. "Those shows stay with me to this day. The Backyardigans
is a classic on that same level, and it will stay with kids for decades to
come. I'm really proud I can be a part of it."
Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights
Based on the primetime special, The Backyardigans Live! will follow the
success of previous Nickelodeon touring shows Go, Diego, Go Live! and Dora The
Explorer Live!. The Backyardigans Live! tour will visit over 50 cities across
the USA kicking off in York, Pennsylvania on March 28, 2008. Nickelodeon's
live stage shows have been among the top grossing touring family shows at New
York's Radio City Music Hall.
During Backyardigans Live!, Pablo, Uniqua, Tasha, Tyrone and Austin will
need the audience's help as they face a mighty dragon and return the egg to
the king. The stage show will have the entire family singing, dancing and
laughing along to songs from the rock opera.
Other scheduled tour stops include: New York, NY; Boston, Massachusetts;
Minneapolis, Minnesota; Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Atlanta,
Georgia; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Tampa, Florida, San Antonio, Texas; and
Houston, Texas. For schedule information visit www.nickjr.com.
The Backyardigans: Born to Play CD
On Tuesday, Jan. 22, Nickelodeon and Sony BMG release the ultimate
playtime playlist as The Backyardigans: Born to Play CD hits retailers
nationwide. The third CD from the hit series features 22 new tracks,
including six songs from "Tale of the Mighty Knights." Joining the backyard
gang in the studio are celebrity guest artists Alicia Keys, Cyndi Lauper and
Adam Pascal. Alicia Keys lends her unique R&B vocals on "Almost Everything is
Boinga." Cyndi Lauper reminds us to think pink on the jazz-tinged "Lady in
Pink," and Adam Pascal powers the Zepellinesque rock-opera ballad "Not an
Egg."
The Backyardigans: Born to Play is packaged at retail with a special
"Backyard Match-Up Game" and is being distributed in an earth-friendly
recycled sleeve. The CD will also be available digitally on iTunes, with a
special deluxe-edition that includes four bonus exclusive tracks and a digital
folder.
The Backyardigans airs regularly weekdays at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET/PT on
Nick Jr. Each half-hour episode features a unique music/dance genre with four
original songs, along with real choreographed movements recreated in
animation. The animated dance steps are choreographed by Beth Bogush, a
former director of the Alvin Ailey Dance School's children's program. The
show's rich animation style features lush, fantasy backgrounds created with
CGI and 3D techniques.
Since its debut on Nickelodeon's preschool weekday lineup, The
Backyardigans has become the number-two-rated preschool show on all of
commercial TV among the target audience of kids 2-5. On average, The
Backyardigans draws approximately 18.5 million viewers every month, including
4.7 million kids aged 2-5 and 5.7 million adults aged 18-49.*
Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon
weekdays from 9 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to
preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.'s Emmy, Peabody and Parents' Choice Award-
winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr.,
kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.
Nickelodeon, in its 28th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for
kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in
everything it does. The company includes television programming and production
in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online,
recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television
network is seen in more than 96 million households and has been the number-
one-rated basic cable network for 13 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all
related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc.
(NYSE: VIA, VIA)
SOURCE Nickelodeon

Sharyn Traub, +1-212-846-6381, Sharyn.traub@nick.com, or Joanna Roses,
+1-212-846-7326, joanna.roses@nick.com, both of Nickelodeon