Ok, Everyone, do you remember the Nick Jr. show “The Backyardigans”? I do. I don’t hate it for it’s strange reason, unnerving characters or it’s lack of base plot and structuring. Well, there was a supposed missing episode from when the show first began.

The episode was titled, “Episode 0”, and was supposedly aired once on Nick Jr. all the way back on October 21st 2002, despite the fact that The Backyardigans started with Nick Jr. in 2004.

I was only a 4 year old when this episode made it’s own grand premiere. That day, I was sitting on the sofa watching TV while eating my cereal. My parents were in the kitchen nearby cleaning dishes as I ate.

While I ate my breakfast, I had the channel on my TV turned to Nick Jr. where I would normally watch things, like Teletubbies, Max And Ruby, Blues Clues, and etc. As I ate, I noticed that some sort of show was airing on TV that I had never seen or heard of before. I gazed up at my television, wondering what I was seeing, and as I watched, it looked strange.

It was a shot of the usual Backyardigans’ houses area at night, the moon being the only source of light in the area. All forms of plant life had died, and withered away. Clouds of smoke engulfed the area, lightning clapped, and thunder boomed in the background. As the storm started to settle in, and the audio was that of the slight sound of rain mixed with the sound of some kind of gate opening as the sound of footsteps became more audible.

A masked man suddenly walked on the screen in an Orange prison jumpsuit, and a ski mask. In his hands, he held a large packet sign, and a hammer. The man stopped at a center of the screen, and slowly began to hammer the sign into the ground. As he slowly hammered the sign into the ground, he looked up at the night sky.

Suddenly, in a flashback like transition, it showed The Backyardigans frockling across their own backyard, with their backyard being in perfect condition. As the gang skipped throughtout their backyard, the sun shining above their heads. They suddenly came across a purple button lying on the ground. Tasha picked up the button in her hands, and the camera pans in on it. The button was a shade of purple, with a skull and crossbones painted on it.

Tasha and the others stared at the button before Tasha pressed it. The button made a loud beeping noise upon pressing. At that moment, Tasha clutched her heart in pain, and fell to the floor shaking. A slight drop of blood seeped from her mouth as she stared off into the distance. I also heard her gagging as her eyes became extremely blood shot, with tears rolling down her eyes. She also began to foam out of the mouth. Pablo, Tyrone, Uniqua, And Austin kneeled down, and let out a series of loud ear piercing ringing sounds. It was so loud, I had to cover my ears. As soon as the sound was over, I noticed blood on the palm of my hands. “Dang It!” I cried out. Those sounds got me killed!

Suddenly, as Tasha lay spread out on the ground, dying, she said, “I-I can see him, He’s looking down at us all…” Soon after, Tasha died. She layed there, her lifeless body spread out on the ground, as her friends began to sob uncontrollably.

Suddenly, a burst of static covered the screen for a few seconds, before an image appeared on the screen. It was that of Tasha. The photo itself was in black and white, and showed Tasha standing in complete darkness, her skin and clothes tattered and dirtied, but most disturbing of all was her face.

Her eyes had turned into black holes, looking as if they were melting off her face, with black ink pouring out of them. Her mouth was wide open, and pitch black, as if she was letting out one last blood-curdling scream before death. As the image lingered, a deep voice spoke, “Tasha Has Died From A Heart Attack”. I was absolutely terrified.

It then faides to show the four remaining, their bodies similarly dirtied, their eyes filled with sadness over the loss of their friend. They sobbed slowly and faintly, as the button that caused this drama laying beside them. As they cried, rain poured down on top of them, with thunder booming in the distance, creating a morbid and sad atmosphere.

As the crying of Pablo, Tyrone, Uniqua and Austin slowly became more and more distorted and more full of hurt, I could faintly hear the sound of whispering in the background, a whisper that couldn’t be made out. Soon, the whisper gradually turned into a giggle, and eventually into a horrific screech that played throughout, and before I knew it, the screen was starting to shake and the sound became more and more distorted.

It then showed Austin reaching over the purple button, tears rolling down his face, as he slowly touched the button, upon touching the button, Austin began to let out a blood-curdling scream of pain that made all the skin and clothes stand on edge. As the skin and clothes on Austin slowly began to fall of, piece by piece, relieving harsh gashes underneath each patch of the organs of the inside of him, blood seeping from each. Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua stared at Austin, watching as their friend slowly bled out.

After that, it cuts to static again. After the static ended, it cuts to an image, once again in black and white, and showcasing Austin standing in complete darkness. His head has been served off, and placed upside down on top of his neck. His eyes, too, were Black Holes with black ink coming out of them. His mouth was curved into a frown, placed with a row chipped, broken teeth. A deep voice spoke, “Austin Has Died From Major Blood Loss”.

Then the episode finally ended. The credits played, but however, the theme in the background was playing backwards.

Now I know what you might be thinking: “how does the episode end normally?” The truth is, I don’t know. Only two screenshots of the episode exist as of now, and no one has been able to find any footage of it.

I’ve looked far and wide for the footage of this episode, but to no avail. I hope to one day find out more about this episode. I’ll be sure to update you when I find the footage, or at least get more information on the episode, because believe me, this is something far bigger than on would expect.