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Episode Information


"The Swamp Creature" is an episode of The Backyardigans from the second season.

Characters

Summary

"Sixties surf pop music rocks the boat as Tour Guides Uniqua and Pablo lure in customers Tasha and Austin with promises of a Swamp Creature. Little do they know, Swamp Creature Tyrone actually exists!"

Plot

Uniqua and Pablo are in the backyard wearing caps with images of a swamp on them. They introduce themselves to the viewers as tour guides of the Icky-Finicky Swamp. They start singing "The Totally Awesome Swamp Adventure" as they explain how every tour means an exciting adventure for tourists visiting the Icky-Finicky Swamp.

The backyard transforms into the Icky-Finicky Swamp. Uniqua and Pablo walk out onto a pier, now wearing yellow-and-black life vests. They begin to look for tourists, and Pablo spots Tasha and Austin at the edge of the swamp. They sing a reprise of "The Totally Awesome Swamp Adventure" to Tasha and Austin to get them excited about touring the swamp, but Tasha and Austin are not interested. "We want to see something really awesome," says Tasha. They begin to leave. In order to get more customers, Uniqua and Pablo tell them about a mythical creature called the Swamp Creature and how they will get to see it on the tour. Alhough Uniqua and Pablo believe that they are tricking their customers, little do they know that the story they told is actually true.

The four get on a tour boat as Uniqua begins the tour. Tasha and Austin, who are now wearing blue life vests over their clothes, get excited. Austin films Tasha with his camcorder as she exclaims "I can't wait to see the Swamp Creature!" As they leave the dock, Tyrone the Swamp Creature emerges from the water. "Did she say 'Swamp Creature'? Why, that's me!" he exclaims to the viewer. He waves hello to others in the tour boat, but no one sees him. "Nobody ever comes looking for me. I should try to find those nice folks," he says happily. The Swamp Creature starts following the tour boat.

On the tour, Pablo speaks through his tour guide bullhorn, pointing out various sights of the swamp to Tasha and Austin. Pablo finds them interesting, but Tasha and Austin want to know more about the Swamp Creature. Uniqua decides to "make something up," and she tells them that he is green. Pablo goes along with it. The four begin singing the song "He's Green" as they describe what the Swamp Creature looks like. During the song, Tasha and Austin ask various questions about him, such as where he sleeps, and what he eats. Uniqua tells Tasha that he eats s'mores on a stick (which is an important clue that nobody knows yet).

After the song, Tasha starts to become impatient and wants to see the Swamp Creature now. Uniqua tells everyone to take their seats as she prepares to show them something. Uniqua and Pablo, who remain unaware of the Swamp Creature's existence, try to come up with a trick to convince Tasha and Austin that they saw the Swamp Creature. Uniqua gives Pablo a snorkel and tells him to go underwater and blow some bubbles when they stop. "All right, boss. Here goes nothing!" answers Pablo. Tasha and Austin get excited as the boat stops. Pablo gets off at the back. Uniqua tells Tasha and Austin to be quiet, and look for bubbles. The three wait patiently, then they spot bubbles in the water near the tour boat. Austin films the bubbles with his camcorder as he and Tasha lean over to get a closer look. The bubbles come toward the boat, then Pablo's snorkel emerges from the water. Tasha grabs it and pulls Pablo up from the water. "Pablo! You're not the Swamp Creature!" she says in surprise. Having failed, Pablo gets back in the boat.

Uniqua gets back to business. "Now customers, please take your seats. There's lots more swamp to see!" she tells them. "But we don't want to see more swamp!" says Austin. "We want to see the Swamp Creature!" insists Tasha. Uniqua assures them that they will, as soon as the adventure continues. "Continues! Continues! Continues!" cries Pablo through his bullhorn. Tasha and Austin give in and the tour boat takes off again. Just then, the Swamp Creature emerges from the water behind. "I guess I missed them again," the Swamp Creature says as he continues to follow the boat.

As the swamp tour continues, Pablo announces through his bullhorn "On your left, you will see trees with moss! On your right, moss with trees!" but Tasha and Austin are bored. "We want to see the Swamp Creature!" demands Austin. "Or else, we wanna go home..." says Tasha. The four children sing "The Customer Is Always Right" as Tasha confronts the tour guides, telling them that she is not satisfied with what they have been shown. Afterwards, Uniqua comes up with another trick and tells Pablo that when they stop, he is to climb up in the trees and shake them. Pablo agrees. As the boat takes off again, the Swamp Creature pops up from behind a bush next to a tree. "Aw, man!" he says to the viewer, having missed them again. The tour boat stops at the edge of the swamp and Pablo hops out onto land. Uniqua directs Tasha and Austin's attention to the trees as Pablo climbs one nearby.

"Keep looking. The Swamp Creature should be there...any minute!" she says, signaling Pablo to start shaking the leaves. As Pablo shakes the leaves, a swarm of Can't-See-Ums hovers above him and starts to tickle him, causing even more rustling in the leaves. This attracts Tasha and Austin's attention again. Tasha tries to locate the Swamp Creature, but Pablo tumbles out of the tree and lands back in the boat. Then there was trouble: the swarm of Can't-See-Ums suddenly descends and starts tickling all four of them. They all run around the boat, trying to avoid them. Tasha takes control of the wheel and attempts to steer them back home. Uniqua protests and runs over to the wheel. She tells her to let go, but Tasha persists. Pablo grabs onto Uniqua as Austin grabs onto Tasha and the boat speeds up. The four steer the boat to and fro around the swamp as they argue about whose tour it is. Then there was trouble though: they back up the boat at high speed and it crashes into a rock.

Dusk falls. Uniqua, Pablo, Tasha, and Austin realize that they are stuck. Uniqua declares to the others, "We get out and we walk." Uniqua points out a dry, forested area a short distance away from where they are. The four disembark and start walking in the swamp water. "Yuck!" exclaims Uniqua. As they walk away, the camera turns to the Swamp Creature's feet stepping onto the rock they just left. As the four walk through the water, their clothes and feet get muddy.

"It's all part of the Totally Awesome Swamp Adventure!" Uniqua says happily, taking it all in stride. "Adventure, adventure, adventure," Pablo groans tiredly. Tasha exclaims that it is not awesome whatsoever. "Well, it is awesomely bad," Austin reasons. The four start singing "An Awesomely Bad Time". After the song, Tasha says she wants to go home, but Uniqua begs her not to. "You can't go home! We still haven't seen the Swamp Creature!" she reminds her. "Come on! We'll build a campfire! And we'll have s'mores" Uniqua tells them. Austin gets excited about having s'mores and Pablo adds that Swamp Creatures love eating them too. Uniqua confirms to Tasha that Swamp Creatures love s'mores and campfires. "This time, you will definitely, definitely, definitely see the Swamp Creature." she tells her. Tasha reluctantly gives in and tells her "Fine, but this is your last chance." then they head for the trees.

Night comes and Tasha and Austin sit by the campfire in a circular clearing of trees. Uniqua tells Pablo that they "really, really, really" have to show them something this time, so she tells Pablo to dress up as a Swamp Creature. Pablo asks how and Uniqua tells him to cover himself with some sticks and mud, believing that the third trick will be pulled off. Uniqua tells Tasha and Austin to sit and wait. Meanwhile, the real Swamp Creature, The Swamp Creature, watches them from behind a bush. He spots the campfire and tells the viewer "I sure do like campfires!". Austin begins filming with his camcorder again. He films Tasha and says "Smile, Tasha!", but Tasha replies "I'm tired and grumpy. I don't wanna smile!" Uniqua reassures her that she will smile when she sees the Swamp Creature. She explains that the best way to attract him is to perform the "Secret Swamp Creature call". Uniqua calls for the creature. Austin joins in. Pablo, who now has some sticks, mud, and leaves on his tour guide uniform, says that he had better hurry, just as the Swamp Creature walks past him from behind. The Swamp Creature hears them and says "I'm a-comin'!"

The Swamp Creature comes out and waves hello. "The Swamp Creature!" Tasha and Austin exclaim. Uniqua, who still does not know that he is real, runs over and compliments the Swamp Creature's costume, thinking it is Assistant Pablo. "Assistant Pablo?" the Swamp Creature asks confusedly. Austin films the Swamp Creature with Uniqua and Tasha standing beside him, but then, Pablo runs out to them, pretending to be the Swamp Creature. "Blah! Blah! I am the Swamp Creature!" he says, trying to pull off a convincing act. Uniqua suddenly realizes that the other Swamp Creature is not her partner. "Howdy, m'am. I'm the Swamp Creature," he says happily. Then there was trouble: Uniqua and Pablo scream. They start running around the campfire, while Austin continues to film them. "There really is a Swamp Creature!" exclaims Pablo. "Wait a second...you didn't think there was a real Swamp Creature?" Tasha asks Uniqua. Uniqua tells her that they just wanted to give them a "totally awesome swamp adventure". "Adventure! Adventure!" Pablo echoes, trying to cheer her up.

Tasha understands. She and Austin reflect on their journey. "It was a totally awesome swamp adventure!" she tells the tour guides. "Really?" they ask. The tourists assure them that they enjoyed it. Then there was a little bit of trouble: The swamp creature's stomach growls, causing Uniqua and Pablo to scream. "Swamp Creatures can get pretty hungry," he tells them. Uniqua invites everyone back over to her house for s'mores. "Swamp Creatures love s'mores," Tyrone says dreamily. The five run back to Uniqua's house as the swamp transforms back into the backyard, and the Swamp Creature transforms back to Tyrone. They sing the end song and go inside the house. The door closes. As the episode ends, Pablo reopens the door and says to the viewer "It's the Totally Awesome Swamp Adventure! Adventure!" before reclosing the door.

Roles

Songs

Trivia

  • This is the 7th and final episode of Season 2 and 9th overall in a row to have all 5 characters, as Tasha is absent in "Horsing Around".
  • Tyrone doesn't sing any of the songs the other characters sing in this episode.
  • This is the second Season 2 episode where Pablo has a panic attack. The first one was in "The Legend of the Volcano Sisters".
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"
"The Funnyman Boogeyman" • "Break Out!" • "The Action Elves Save Christmas Eve" • "Robot Rampage" • "The Amazing Splashinis" • "Follow the Feather" • "Los Galacticos" • "The Magic Skateboard" • "Pablor and the Acorns" • "Elephant on the Run" • "The Flipper" • "The Big Dipper Diner" • "For the Love of Socks!" • "The Tale of the Not-So-Nice Dragon" • "Super Team Awesome" • "Dragon Express" • "Catch that Train!" • "Attack of the 50 Foot Worman" • "Flower Power"
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