I love you, you love me, Barney at the BJC.

After an excruciating three-year wait since he last brought his catchy songs and life lessons to State College, the big purple dinosaur returns at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Barney's Colorful World will bring the joy of Barney -- live, no less -- to "a whole new generation," Jordan Center director of sales and marketing Bernie Punt said.

Yes, a whole new generation of college students has waited with bated breath for the return of Barney, along with his oddly-named pals BJ and Baby Bop.

"Let's just say you and your roommate and your boyfriend ... I don't see you coming to this show," Punt said.

So ... the show's not geared to college students?

"Obviously this is geared toward families with very young children," he said. "It's fun for parents as well, and grandparents."

While 18 to 22 year-old single college students are out of luck at the Jordan Center for the two nights of the show, Punt pointed out that Centre Region residents, Penn State faculty and staff and students with children will enjoy Barney's Colorful World.

Not all parents are thrilled about the big foam characters traveling the world to the tune of 28 interactive songs.

"My boyfriend has a child, and he refuses to take him to see Barney," Laura Marlatt (senior-biology) said. "But he went to Disney on Ice."

Maybe Barney is not as fresh, innovative and un-annoying as he was when his first video was released in 1988, but HIT Entertainment, the producer of Barney's Colorful World, maintain otherwise.

" ... [T]he series remains the premier pre-school show on public television. A study from Yale University reveals that the show is more educational than ever, with as many as 150 teaching moments per episode," the production company said in a press release.

Educational or not, students have a different perspective.

"I didn't know he was still popular," Marlatt said. "I thought he went away a long time ago."

Scott Brown's (senior-information sciences and technology) experience as a camp counselor brought the general sentiment about Barney into focus.

"One kid had Barney sheets, and the other kids made fun of him for it," Brown said. "There seems to be a natural hatred for Barney."

Granted, Barney is no Blue's Clues or Thomas the Tank Engine or even The Wiggles. One might say he's the aging, played-out Madonna to Dora the Explorer's cheeky, consciously corny Hilary Duff. But back in the day, Barney & Friends was the next big thing, cherished by parents and babysitters alike.

"I always thought it was horrible, all the singing and little lessons in every show," Brown said with a cringe.

So maybe not all babysitters enjoyed the fantasy series or have a Dino Dance Barney (with exclusive CD) on their Christmas wish lists. But kids who drag their parents along will see Barney, BJ, Baby Bop and some new friends take a super-dee-duper trip around the world, from the rainforest to the beach and the Arctic to the depths of the ocean.

"It's not Pearl Jam or Dave Matthews," Punt said. "But it's been a great fall for top-notch family shows."