Blue's Clues
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Image:BluePeriwinkle.jpg Blue's Clues is a daytime children's show which airs on Nickelodeon and now appears on several "On Demand" channels. It features live action superimposed upon paper-cutout animation similar to that of South Park. The series follows a blue dog, named Blue, through her everyday life, providing small children with educational entertainment.
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The Show
From 1996 to 2002, Blue's owner was Steve, a non-animated character played by Steve 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), then searches the house for Blue's three clues. Along the way, the host speaks with many other residents of the house, which are usually 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?"
The show uses phrase repetition and a minimum of editing in an attempt to avoid confusing its young audience.[1]
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. Several direct-to-video DVDs have since been made based around the Blue's Room concept.
Blue's Clues was extensively analyzed by Malcolm Gladwell in his bestselling book, The Tipping Point. According to Gladwell, Blue's Clues has been carefully designed, using methods pioneered by Sesame Street, to allow its educational messages to 'stick' in a child's mind.
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 smartly".
Blues Clues was created at Nickelodeon by a creative team led by Angela Santomero, who is currently creating similarly advanced children's programming with her partner, Samantha Freeman (also of Nickelodeon), at their new production company Out of the Blue Enterprises LLC.
Humongous Entertainment released several PC/Mac games featuring Blue's Clues characters.
Controversy
On 11 February 2003, Nickelodeon aired an episode of Blue's Clues that was an obvious St. Valentine's Day special, yet was referring to the holiday as "Love Day". Nickelodeon was widely criticized for attempting to evade the Christian connotations concerning the Catholic St. Valentine.
Characters
Hosts
- Steve:
Up until 2002, was the host of show. His motivation for leaving was his wish to continue on with college.
- Joe:
Joe is the younger brother of Steve. He took over as the host in 2002 after Steve left for college.
Animated Characters
- Blue - a female blue dog
- Magenta - Blue's best friend, a female magenta dog
- Mailbox
- Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper
- Paprika and Cinnamon - Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper's children
- Pail and Shovel
- Periwinkle - the next-door neighbor, a talking cat
- Side Table Drawer
- Slippery - a talking bar of soap
- Miss Marigold - Blue's Teacher
Parody
- In the Fairly OddParents special Channel Chasers, there is a scene where Timmy runs through a show named "Clint's Hints," a parody of Blue's Clues.
External links
- Blue's Clues on Nick Jr. site
- Blue's World (A Blue's Clues fan/information site)
- steveswebpage.com (Steve's Web Page, where he is now.)
- The Donovan Patton Fan Site (About the actor who plays Joe)simple:Blue's Clues