Blue's Clues

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Blue's Clues logo

Blue's Clues is a show about a dog and her friend . It features live action superimposed on paper-cutout animation. The series follows a dog named Blue through her everyday life, providing small children with educational entertainment. The show airs on both Nick Jr. and NOGGIN. The show had aired on Nick Jr. on CBS until September 2006.

[edit] Format

Blue's Clues invites children to play along.

From 1996 to 2002, Blue's owner was Steve, a non-animated character played by Steven Burns. When Burns chose to leave the show, the character Steve went off to college and his younger brother Joe (played by Donovan Patton) moved in to take care of Blue.

The game of Blue's Clues begins near the beginning of the episode, when the host asks Blue some sort of question. Blue responds by jumping at the screen and marking it with a blue pawprint. The host, with the help of the audience (who are constantly spoken to and asked questions by the host, effectively breaking the fourth wall), then searches the house for Blue's three clues. Along the way, the host speaks with other residents of the house, often characters based on inanimate objects such as a side-table drawer, a shaker of salt, and a mailbox. After all three have been found, the host sits in his "thinking chair" and puts the three clues together to form a central image. This image is the answer to the host's original question, which goes along the lines of "What does Blue want to do today?" Blue's Clues also has lots of songs about every event, like "We Just Got a Letter".

The hosts use a few American Sign Language signs during the show, signing words like smart, help, or adventure and also thank you as they speak them. ASL is not used consistently enough to teach ASL to a child, but those who are already learning ASL may enjoy seeing a tiny modicum of sign in a mainstream program.

[edit] Farewell Song

The original version of the Blue's Clues goodbye song (from 1996 to 2002) goes like this:

Now it's time for so long.

But we'll sing just one more song,

Thanks for doin' your part, you sure are smart,

You know with me and you,

and my dog Blue,

We can do anything that we wanna do!

Today, the song goes like this:

Now it's time for so long,

But we'll sing just one more song,

Thanks for doin your part, you sure are smart,

You know with me and you

and our friend Blue

We can do anything that we wanna do!

[edit] Origin

Blue's Clues was created by a creative team led by Todd Kessler -- who was at the time a writer-director -- and producer at Nickelodeon and researcher Angela Santomero. Kessler and Santomero hired cut-out animator Traci Paige Johnson to collaborate on the pilot. (Johnson would eventually provide Blue's voice. A child voice actor filled in for part of season 2.)

Kessler had previously worked on the PBS children's show Sesame Street, and both he and Santomero hoped to build on and improve that model of educational programming. "We wanted to learn from Sesame Street and take it one step further," said Santomero.^[1]

"I love Sesame Street," said Kessler. "But I always believed that kids didn't have short attention spans, that they could easily sit still for a half an hour."^[2] While Sesame Street was originally organized around short, commercial-like segments, each Blue's Clues show is a single extended narrative.

"There was...a theoretical perspective at the time, based in part on Piaget, that a preschool child couldn't follow an extended narrative," according to Daniel Anderson, who helped develop Blue's Clues for Nickelodeon. In the early 1980s, however, research suggestive that narrative was in fact a crucial way that small children organized their experiences.^[3]

The show also uses phrase repetition and a minimum of editing in an attempt to avoid confusing its young audience.[1]

Blue's Clues was extensively analyzed by Malcolm Gladwell in his bestselling book The Tipping Point. According to Gladwell, the show was carefully designed, using methods pioneered by Sesame Street, to encourage its educational messages to "stick" in a child's mind.

[edit] Other versions

A UK version of Blue's Clues also exists, with Kevin Duala as the host. The original show, dubbed in German, appears on German TV under the title Blau und Schlau, literally Blue and Clever. There are also Italian, Korean, Latin American, and Portuguese versions.[2]

Humongous Entertainment has released several Mac OS/Windows games featuring Blue's Clues characters.

[edit] Blue's Room

In a 2004 Blue's Clues episode, "The Legend of the Blue Puppy", Blue talks as a puppet in a segment called "Blue's Room". "Blue's Room" has become a regular segment of the show, with several direct-to-video DVDs based around the concept. Some viewers have argued that Blue's speaking ability in "Blue's Room" negates the purpose of the "clues" she leaves to communicate in the regular show.^{[citation needed]} Other viewers say that the pacing is much faster in this segment.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Actors

[edit] Hosts

Steve (Steven Burns):

Up until 2002, Steve Burns was the host of show. Many rumors surrounded Steve's departure from the show after the 100th episode. One rumor stated that Steve left in order to undergo severe cancer treatment involving the left-lumbar. Supposedly shortly there after the illness was diagnosed as terminal. Another rumor claimed he was a drug addict and he died. The truth is that Steve left to sing. He is alive and well and has his own website at StevesWebPage.com.

Joe (Donovan Patton):

Joe is Steve's younger brother on the show. He was phased in as the new host in 2002, with a number of shows featuring both Joe and Steve (sometimes only Steve's voice).

Kevin (Kevin Duala):

Kevin is the host of the UK version.

Duarte (Duarte Gomes):

Duarte is the host of the Portuguese version.

[edit] Other actors

Courtney Taylor Burness: Steve's Friend
Alex Hoffman: Journal
Traci Paige Johnson: Blue
Nick Balaban: Mr. Salt
[(Rue McClanahan)]: Steve's Grandma

[edit] Animated characters

Blue - is a female blue dog, Nickjr.com refers to Blue as a "she." (See http://www.nickjr.com/shows/blue/about_blues_clues.jhtml.)
Side Table Drawer - talking furniture that holds the clue notebook; first interacted directly with the host in "Steve Gets the Sniffles"
Slippery Soap - a talking male bar of soap; first appeared in "What Does Blue Need?"
Tickety - a talking clock; first appeared in "What Time Is It for Blue?"
Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper - The French salt and pepper shakers
Paprika and Cinnamon - Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper's children. Paprika, a girl, first appeared "Blue's News"; Cinnamon, a boy, debuted in "The Baby's Here". They are soon to have a child named Oregano.
Shovel and Pail - talking sandbox toys; first appeared in "Story Time"
Mailbox - delivers the mail at mail time; first talked in "Mailbox's Birthday"
Magenta - Blue's best friend, a female dog; first appeared in "Blue's Story Time"
Periwinkle - the next-door neighbor, a talking male blue cat; first appeared in "Blue's Big Mystery"
Miss Marigold - Blue's teacher; first appeared in "A Surprise Guest"
Green Puppy - Blue's female friend and classmate; first appeared in "Blue's Sad Day"
Orange Kitten - Blue's female friend and classmate; first appeared in "Blue's Sad Day"
Purple Kangaroo - Blue's male friend and classmate; first appeared in "Blue's Sad Day"
Turquoise - Blue's pet turtle; first appeared in "Blue's Birthday"
Polka Dots -A green dog with purple polka dots; first appeared in "Meet Polka Dots!"
The Felt Friends - characters who live in a world of colored felt shapes; two recurring Felt Friends are Freddy and Fifi, who first appeared in "Blue's Favorite Song"
Moona - A moon fairy who tells what time it is. She has a crescent-shaped body and crescent-shaped pigtails
Horace - Steve's stuffed anteater; first appeared in "Blue's Big Pajama Party"
Boris - Joe's toy duck; first appeared in "Joe's First Day"
Sprinkles - Blue's baby brother; first appeared in "Meet Blue's Baby Brother"

[edit] Movie

In 2000, a Blue's Clues movie called Blue's Big Musical came out. In this movie, a music show is planned. Blue and Tickety want to sing a duet together, but Tickety loses her voice and decides to ring her bells instead. Blue needs another partner because a duet needs two singers. They play Blue's Clues to find Blue a new partner. Also, Side Table Drawer wants to sing in the music show, but is too shy to ask and everyone else is too busy to notice. Meanwhile, Periwinkle sees the show being prepared and mistakes it for a magic show, so he gets himself ready by practicing magic tricks.

During the "Blue Skidoo" segment, a music lesson is provided by G-clef (played by guest star Ray Charles). Throughout the movie, Steve keeps complaining that he never gets to find the clues by himself, and he eventually finds the third one without the viewers' help. In the end, Steve figures out that Blue wants to sing a duet with Side Table Drawer.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season 1

Snack Time 9/8/1996
What Time Is It for Blue?
Mailbox's Birthday
Blue's Story Time
What Does Blue Need?
Blue's Favorite Song
Adventures in Art
Blue Goes to the Beach
Pretend Time
A Snowy Day
The Trying Game
Blue Wants to Play a Game
The Grow Show
Blue Wants to Play a Song Game!
What Does Blue Want to Make?
What Story Does Blue Want to Play?
Tickety's Favorite Nursery Rhyme
What Is Blue Afraid Of?
Magenta Comes Over
Blue's News!

[edit] Season 2

Steve Gets the Sniffles
What Does Blue Want to Build?
Blue's Senses!
What Experiment Does Blue Want to Try?
What Does Blue Want to Make out of Recycled Things?
What Was Blue's Dream About?
Blue's ABCs
Math!
Blue's Birthday
What Does Blue Want to Do With Her Picture?
What Does Blue Wanna Do on a Rainy Day?
Blue's Surprise at Two O'Clock!
The Lost Episode!
Blue's Sad Day
What Game Does Blue Want to Learn?
What Did Blue See?
Nurture!
Blue Is Frustrated
What Is Blue Trying to Do?
Mechanics!
Hide and Seek 7/19/1998

[edit] Season 3

Blue's Big Treasure Hunt 3/8/1999
Art Appreciation 4/26/1999
Weight and Balance 5/10/1999
What's That Sound? 6/7/1999
Animal Behavior! 6/21/1999
Blue's Big Pajama Party 10/10/1999
Draw Along With Blue 10/18/1999
Blue's Big Holiday 11/29/1999
Pool Party 4/3/2000
Anatomy 4/10/2000
Signs 4/25/2000
Nature 7/3/2000
Geography 7/10/2000
Musical Show 2000
Occupations 7/17/2000
Blue's Big Mystery 9/25/2000
Periwinkle Misses His Friend 10/2/2000
What's So Funny? 10/9/2000
Inventions 10/23/2000
Blue's Play 10/30/2000
Prehistoric Blue 11/6/2000
Opposites 11/13/2000 (aka The Wrong Shirt)
Words 12/5/2000
Magenta Gets Glasses 2/19/2001
Blue's Collection 2/26/2001
Cafe Blue 3/5/2001
Shy 3/12/2001
Environments 3/19/2001
Stormy Weather 3/26/2001
Thankful
Blue's Big Costume Party

[edit] Season 4

The Anything Box 4/16/2001
Adventure! 4/19/2001
Superfriends! 4/23/2001
What's New, Blue? (1) 10/8/2001
Blue's New Place (2) 10/15/2001
Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper Day (3) 10/22/2001
The Baby's Here! (4) 10/29/2001
Making Changes (5) 11/5/2001
Bugs! 11/12/2001
¡Un Día Con Plum! 11/19/2001
What's Inside? 11/26/2001
Blocks 12/3/2001
Blue's Backyard Ballgame Bonanza 2/15/2002
Puppets 2/25/2002
Rhyme Time 3/4/2002
Let's Plant! 3/29/2002
Imagine Nation
Blue's Book Nook
Let's Boogie!

[edit] Season 5

Joe's First Day (1) 4/29/2002
Joe Gets a Clue (2) 4/29/2002
Steve Goes to College (3) 4/29/2002
Can You Help? 4/30/2002
Colors Everywhere! 5/6/2002
The Snack Chart 5/13/2002
The Big Book About Us 5/20/2002
Playing Store 5/27/2002
Patience 6/3/2002
Blue's Clues 100th Episode Celebration! 6/10/2002
Joe's Birthday Party 8/5/2002
I'm So Happy! 9/2/2002
The Boat Float 9/9/2002
Bedtime Business 9/16/2002
Shape Searchers 9/23/2002
Blue's Checkup 9/30/2002
Contraptions! 10/7/2002
A Brand New Game 10/21/2002
A Surprise Guest 1/6/2003
The Dress-Up Day 1/13/2003
Blue's Big Band 2/17/2003
Up, Down, All Around! 3/3/2003
The Story Wall 4/28/2003
The Alphabet Train 5/5/2003
Numbers Everywhere! 5/12/2003
Blue's Predictions 5/19/2003
Our Neighborhood Festival 6/23/2003
Blue Takes You to School 8/11/2003
Meet Polka Dots! 9/15/2003
The Scavenger Hunt 9/16/2003
Let's Write! 9/17/2003
Magenta's Messages 9/18/2003
Body Language 9/19/2003
Blue's Big Car Trip 9/22/2003
Look Carefully... 9/23/2003
I Did That! 9/24/2003
Animals in Our House? 9/25/2003
Morning Music 9/29/2003
Blue's First Holiday 12/12/2003

[edit] Season 6

The Legend of the Blue Puppy 2/8/2004
Love Day 2/16/2004
Blue's Wishes 2/16/2004
Joe's Clues 2/23/2004
Skidoo Adventure 3/15/2004
Playdates 3/22/2004
The Fairy Tale Ball 4/5/2004
Soccer Practice 4/26/2004
Bluestock 5/10/2004

[edit] Season 7

Behind the Clues: 10 Years with Blue
Meet Blue's Baby Brother 8/6/2006

[edit] 10th anniversary

To celebrate the 10th anniversary (2006) of Blue's Clues, a "Meet Blue's Baby Brother" primetime special premiered on August 6, 2006, where her brother was revealed to be a multi-colored puppy named Sprinkles. Nickelodeon also created a 12-minute documentary going behind the scenes of Blue's Clues.

[edit] Trivia

A pink snail appears in each episode three times as an extra challenge for older kids.
The "12" on the face of the clock Tickety changes each episode depending on the particular plot at that time.
The first episode shares its name with a common segment on Pee-wee's Playhouse. Also, when Steve sings the word "mail" in "Here's the Mail", his voice almost copies that of Pee-wee Herman.