Barney - Barney's Halloween Party [VHS]
It's October 31 and Barney and the kids are decorating for a Halloween party at school. This means a trip to a local farm for the usual pumpkins, the Indian corn, and a good excuse for some seasonal songs ("You can call it fall, if that's what you please / But I say I like autumn.") There are  14 songs, including at least one repeat from an earlier tape, and the usual Barney-ized versions of traditional tunes--the most bizarre being "S-M-I-L-E" to the music of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." The prehistoric galoot and his "Halloween team" make some construction-paper spiders and paper-bag owls that are easy to duplicate at home and some foot-painting that would do a number on your carpets. The party is the big payoff, complete with prizeless games, a candy-filled piñata, and Barney boogeying down. The secondary story has BJ and Baby Bop on a dismal trick-or-treat outing, which includes safety advice but ultimately seems to suggest that this most-typical Halloween activity isn't a good idea. On the costume front, cowboys, ballerinas, and scarecrows are the order of the night, as this festive, but decidedly unspooky, 50-minute tape sidesteps the whole ghost/witch/goblin theme.--Kimberly Heinrichs