Debuting 50 years ago, the show covered a series of detective in a more banal, day-to-day take on cop live when cops-and-robbers was all the craze.

The very next year, 1992, “Barney and the Backyard Gang” hit PBS as “Barney & Friends” and found its way into the homes of millions of kids. “Barney was a one off,” Rifkin said.

Barney debuted in "Barney & the Backyard Gang" in 1988 and later "Barney & Friends" in 1992, soon becoming a worldwide sensation. It lasted 14 seasons on PBS, wrapping up with its final show in 2010.