I Love You, You Hate Me examines what makes people (men especially) so hostile to a children's dinosaur. But it's spoiled by sensational side trips and settles on the idea that haters just need a hug.

What made Barney, the purple dinosaur and nineties kids’-TV sensation, so infuriatingly loathsome? Was it his doofy voice and inane giggle, coming at you like a low-watt Pillsbury Doughboy? His ...