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Episode Information


"Blazing Paddles" is a wild western-ping pong showdown themed episode of The Backyardigans from the third season.

Characters

Summary

"Algerian Raï music rocks the desert as Sheriff Uniqua practices her paddling to protect the town of Ping Pong Mesa from Pablo, the Ping Pong Bandit!"

Plot

Uniqua is seen in the backyard wearing a brown cowgirl hat. She introduces herself as the sheriff of Ping Pong Mesa, who protects the town's residents. She sings the song "The Sheriff Makes It Right" and tells the viewer that she is heading to Ping Pong Mesa. The backyard transforms into a sandy desert landscape with a few old buildings. Uniqua walks into the Apple Juice Saloon.

In the saloon, she meets with Barkeeper Tyrone. She informs him she would like a box of apple juice. Tyrone slides a box over to her. Uniqua slurps loudly. She walks to a ping pong table where Bar Room Dancer Tasha and Austin the Kid compete in a ping pong match. They start to sing "Ping-Pong." After the song, Uniqua exits the saloon. Then a blue penguin wearing a black suit and hat walks in.

The bandit challenges Tyrone to a game of ping pong. Tyrone accepts. He warns him that the first one who misses the ball loses. Austin and Tasha walk away from the ping pong table so the bandit and the barkeeper can start the game. The bandit performs a move he calls the "Bandit Slam-It," causing Tyrone to lose. After the game, the bandit takes Tyrone's paddle away and clarifies that if somebody loses to him gets the person's paddle taken. He reveals his name: the Ping Pong Bandit.

Next, Bar Room Dancer Tasha challenges the Ping Pong Bandit to a game to win Tyrone's paddle back. The Ping Pong Bandit performs the "Bandit Slam-It" again. Tasha loses, and the Ping Pong Bandit takes her paddle. Austin the Kid challenges him to a game to get his friends' paddles back. He puts up a better fight than the others, but after another "Bandit Slam-It," Austin loses the game and his paddle. Feeling frustrated, Austin goes outside and calls on Sheriff Uniqua to set things straight. Sheriff Uniqua does not like seeing her friends having to give over their paddles and demands the Ping Pong Bandit to give the paddles to the citizens. The Ping Pong Bandit refuses and says they can only get their paddles if someone beats him. Uniqua then challenges him, but she loses to the Ping Pong Bandit's "Bandit Slam-It" to which the others were too late to warn her of that move. The Ping Pong Bandit takes Uniqua's paddle and her sheriff badge. He pins it to his jacket and arrogantly declares himself the new sheriff of Ping Pong Mesa and banishes her.

Uniqua sadly walks out of the saloon. Uniqua walks out of the saloon, hops on her horse, Dusty, and sets off out of Ping Pong Mesa. She rides the horse into the desert. Uniqua tells herself that she will not allow her town to be run by an evil bandit. She spots a small cactus and tells Dusty that it looks like a ping-pong paddle. She uses it to practice ping pong so she can return to Ping Pong Mesa, beat the Ping Pong Bandit in a match, and become sheriff again. Uniqua sings "I Must Be Ready" as she practices her moves. Hail starts to shower down. She uses the hailstones as ping-pong balls. After she has perfected her moves, she walks back to Ping Pong Mesa.

The camera moves inside the saloon, where the Ping Pong Bandit is playing alone. He and the others sing "No One Gets to Play Today." Uniqua, now wearing a purple mask and calling herself "The Pink Fury," walks into Ping Pong Mesa. She challenges the Ping Pong Bandit to a match. She tells him if she wins, all the residents get their paddles back. The Ping Pong Bandit accepts, but he tells her if he wins, he takes her paddle, and she gets out of the town.

The ping pong table is moved from inside the saloon outside to the center of the town. The Ping Pong Bandit and Uniqua begin the match. The Ping Pong Bandit performs the "Bandit Slam-It," hitting the ping pong ball high into the air. Uniqua runs up the large clock tower and hits the ball from high. The ball was hit so hard that fire began to form on it. The ball blasts through the Ping Pong Bandit's paddle, burning a hole. The Ping Pong Bandit sadly admits that he lost.

Uniqua removes the mask and shows everyone that she is the sheriff. Uniqua takes her silver star-shaped badge from the Ping Pong Bandit's jacket and hands over everyone's paddles. The Ping Pong Bandit sadly hands over his paddle, until Uniqua tells him that he can keep it, explaining that it's fun to win but more fun to play. The Ping Pong Bandit cheers up, and they all sing a reprise of "The Sheriff Makes It Right."

The Ping Pong Bandit's stomach rumbles, and he invites everyone to his house for nachos (pasta in the UK dub). The town of Ping Pong Mesa transforms back into the backyard and The Ping Pong Bandit transforms back to Pablo. The five characters sing the end song. They walk into Pablo's blue house. Uniqua opens the previously closed door and says to the viewer, "So long, partner." before reclosing the door, and the episode ends.

Roles

Songs

Running Gags

  • Tasha saying, "I do declare."
  • Pablo performing his Bandit Slam.

Trivia

  • This episode was first released to the DVD "Tale of the Mighty Knights" before premiering on the main Nickelodeon channel 7 weeks later.
    • It premiered at 9:00 AM as part of the Nick Jr. block's Wild Western Playdate on April 11, 2008.
  • The episode title is a reference to the 1974 Mel Brooks film, Blazing Saddles.
  • The main cast's ping pong paddles actually correspond with their skin color.
    • Pablo is blue, so his ping pong paddle is blue.
    • Tyrone is orange, so his ping pong paddle is orange.
    • Uniqua is pink, so her ping pong paddle is pink.
    • Tasha is yellow, so her ping pong paddle is yellow.
      • Austin is the only one who's ping pong paddle does not correspond with his skin color. In this case, his ping pong paddle is brown, despite the fact that he is purple.

Goofs

  • When Pablo tells everbody to come to his house for some nachos as they are running back to the backyard, the camera zooms to Uniqua's house instead of Pablo's house, because they're going the wrong way.
  • When Uniqua's ping pong paddle makes the ball trudge towards Pablo's ping pong paddle in a fiery manner, it causes it to have a hole in the middle. However, when Uniqua gives the ping pong paddles back to Tyrone, Tasha, and Austin, the hole on Pablo's ping pong paddle disappears.

Video

Sheriff_Uniqua_Battles_the_Ping_Pong_Bandit_Pablo!_🤠_Full_Episode_-_The_Backyardigans

Sheriff Uniqua Battles the Ping Pong Bandit Pablo! 🤠 Full Episode - The Backyardigans

Pilots
"Me and My Friends" • Nick Digital pilot
"Pirate Treasure" • "The Heart of the Jungle" • "The Yeti" • "The Snow Fort" • "Secret Mission" • "It's Great to Be a Ghost!" • "Riding the Range" • "The Key to the Nile" • "Knights Are Brave and Strong" • "Viking Voyage" • "Castaways" • "Race to the Tower of Power" • "The Quest for the Flying Rock" • "Polka Palace Party" • "Surf's Up" • "Eureka!" • "Race Around the World" • "Monster Detectives" • "Cave Party" • "High Tea"
"Mission to Mars" • "Samurai Pie" • "Scared of You" • "Whodunit" • "The Legend of the Volcano Sisters" • "The Secret of Snow" • "The Swamp Creature" • "Horsing Around" • "Special Delivery" • "International Super Spy: Part 1" • "International Super Spy: Part 2" • "Movers of Arabia" • "Cops and Robots" • "Sinbad Sails Alone" • "Best Clowns in Town" • "Save the Day" • "Into the Deep" • "News Flash" • "Catch That Butterfly" • "A Giant Problem"
"Who Goes There?" • "Blazing Paddles" • "Garbage Trek" • "Fly Girl" • "What's Bugging You? " • "Chichen-Itza Pizza" • "To the Center of the Earth" • "Front Page News" • "Tale of the Mighty Knights: Part 1" • "Tale of the Mighty Knights: Part 2" • "Le Master of Disguise" • "Match on Mt. Olympus" • "The Great Dolphin Race" • "Caveman's Best Friend" • "Ranch Hands from Outer Space" • "Robin Hood the Clean" • "Escape from Fairytale Village" • "Pirate Camp" • "The Two Musketeers" • "The Masked Retriever"
"Robot Rampage: Part 1" • "Robot Rampage: Part 2" • "Catch that Train!" • "Attack of the 50 Foot Worman" • "Dragon Express" • "Flower Power" • "The Funnyman Boogeyman" • "Follow the Feather" • "Break Out!" • "The Action Elves Save Christmas Eve" • "Los Galacticos" • "For the Love of Socks!" • "The Flipper!" • "Elephant on the Run" • "The Magic Skateboard" • "Pablor and the Acorns" • "Super Team Awesome!" • "The Big Dipper Diner" • "The Amazing Splashinis" • "The Tale of the Not-So-Nice Dragon"
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