New Episode Speculation

Up to now, we've always had that list of the complete Backyardigans episodes. I've had it up here, TV. com has it up at their Backyardigans section, and Wikipedia has what I think is the best overall picture of each of the first 20 episodes. But, so far, nothing comprehensive on the next 20 episodes has been released.

So, what can we figure out? We know that the first of the new episodes, Mission to Mars, will be airing in October (incidentally, I saw an ad for that this morning featuring Uniqua, Pablo and Austin in the shuttle, with Tasha and Tyrone supporting them on the ground).

Backyardigans fan Robert G. shared with us in a comment that he's seen an episode titled Samurai Pie on Treehouse TV already (he says it's great, very funny, with a spaghetti western soundtrack). That episode and Mission to Mars will be available on a DVD, titled Mission to Mars, due to be released Oct. 10 (according to the Nick Jr. shop.)

Dropping in on the message boards at Treehouse TV, it seems that there was a second new episode aired recently, Monster Party. Evidently it was a surprise birthday party for Austin. Everyone was a type of monster, vampires and werewolves being specifically mentioned.

According to the DVD description at Amazon, there will be four Backyardigans episodes on there. There is nothing about what the other two episodes will be. The same description says the following about the Mission to Mars episode: "... takes the Backyardigans to outer space and an underground Martian city. This DVD release also features the voice of Grammy award winning singer Alicia Keys as Mommy Martian. Alicia Keys also sings one song titled "Boinga" on the main episode."

What else can we figure out? Well, they just showed another ad, this one a montage of clips from upcoming Nick Jr. shows. The Backyardigans clips included: Tasha and Uniqua in some sort of headdresses, in what looks like a cave, lit by torches; Austin and Tyrone dancing in Karate-type outfits (red belt - Tyrone, white belt - Austin) (probably Samurai Pie); Tasha as an empress in a silk robe (Samurai Pie again?); Tyrone again in the Karate-type outfit, hitting a frying pan like a gong.

Books and other products out right now can give us some more clues (most of these are not yet available except through pre-order):

• Mystery of the Jeweled Eggs - Cover shows Pablo in a Sherlock Holmes type detective outfit with the other kids dressed up in a stereotypically upperclass English fashion. (Austin has a monocle, etc.)
• Cops and Robots - Pablo and Tasha are evil robots, Uniqua and Tyrone are space police trying to keep them from reprogamming all the galaxy's robots to be bad.
• Trouble on the Train - Cover shows Pablo and Tasha, mounted on horses, wearing black masks and black hats. Tasha is whirling a lasso over her head and there is a train in the background. I'm guessing traditional western with two of the other three kids as the sheriff and deputy trying to keep Pablo and Tasha from robbing the train.
• Legend Hunters - No picture available yet, and no description. However, since it's new, there's a good chance it's based on an upcoming episode, not one of the previously aired episodes.
• Mud Monster - Cover shows Pablo and Uniqua, dressed in white overalls, wearing backpacks, running from an extremely muddy Tyrone.
• We Love a Luau - Another one with no picture of description available yet. Luau's are Hawaiian, however ...
• A is for Adventure - Judging from the title, I would guess this is an alphabet book. However, the cover does show Tyrone, Pablo and Uniqa in an airplane, wearing leather helmets and goggles. Maybe a scene from an upcoming flying episode?

So. That gives us three definites (Monster Party, Samurai Pie and Mission to Mars) and six possibilities. I'm inclined to look at the Jeweled Eggs, Cops and Robots, and Train stories as strong possibilities. The others, well, who knows? We'll have to wait and see.

There are supposed to be another two episodes premiering Sep. 29 on Treehouse TV, from 6 - 7 pm. If you get a chance to see them, let the rest of us know what they are, OK?