Blue’s
Clues made its debut in 1996 as part of the Nick Jr. block of preschool
programming for Nickelodeon. Nichelodeon is one of the largest producers
of children’s television programming in the world, and was ranked the
number one rated cable network in the U.S for three consecutive years
(1997-1999). Back in 1992 and 1993, Nick Jr.’s ratings were low and
dragging down Nickelodeon as a whole. Nickelodeon’s parent company,
Viacom International, decided to commit $60 million over a five year
period to develop original shows for toddlers by conducting research
with both kids and the education community.
The show creator, Angela Santomero, was working as a freelance writer
for Nick Jr. when she came up with the idea of Blue’s Clues. Angela
wanted to create a game show for preschoolers and decided to break some
of the rules of traditional preschool television. She liked the
unconventional ideas of a talking directly to the audience and of a real
person living in an animated world; hence, the creation of the
character, “Steve”. She also felt a smaller animated character was
needed to help children play the game. The first choice for the animated
character was a kitten. Since there was another program in development
with a kitten, the character of choice became a puppy named “Blue”
instead. Another key element of the show is the “Clues”. Steve asks
the preschoolers questions and helps them find clues to solve problems.
According to Angela, “Clues are a way kids can solve problems.” In
fact, the use of clues to stimulate problem solving is not only
educational, but also a novel and fun way to encourage interaction with
the Blue’s Clues characters.
Blue’s Clues “play-to-learn” philosophy focuses on developing the
following skills: critical thinking, language, listening, perceptual,
social-emotional, motor control, role-playing/drama, and reading. Each
Blue’s Clues episode takes about ten months to complete. Each proposed
script is thoroughly researched and tested for relevancy to
preschoolers. Educational consultants, parents, and teachers provide
reviews and feedback, followed by field tests with actual preschoolers.
Approximately 150 children in the viewing age range play the games,
watch the rough cut, and view the edited version. Once completed, the
same episode of Blue’s Clues is aired every day for a week. The
repetition provides an opportunity for preschoolers to learn concepts
and achieve mastery. The fact that preschoolers like repetition is often
quoted as one of the premises for the success of the show.
For those unfamiliar with the Blue’s Clues show, Blue, the star of the
show, is a blue puppy that places clues around her world for viewers to
find so that they can figure out what Blue wants to do. Blue leaves her
blue paw print on the clues to make the task a little easier. Steve, a
human, helps the preschooler viewers find the clues. Tickety Tock, the
clock, teaches how to tell time. Magenta and Blue’s other friends help
entertain the preschool viewers while they are waiting for the next
clue. When a clue is found, Steve and the viewers can draw the picture
in their Blue’s Clues Handy Dandy Notebook. After all the clues have
been found, the preschool viewers help Steve figure out what Blue wants.
Blue’s Clues is one of the most viewed programs for the preschool set.
In 1999, Multichannel News magazine reported that Blues Clues had "outrated
all the other preschool shows on commercial TV, giving PBS staples such
as Sesame Street a run for their money”. The May 2000 issue of
Cablevision Magazine reported, “Nick (Nickelodeon) still has the most
kids watching around the clock. For total day viewership, the network
averages 848,000 kids 2-11, topping the combined total of Cartoon
Network and the Disney Channel.” Although Blues Clues is only one of
several children’s programs produced by Nickelodeon, Blues Clues and
Rugrats are Nick’s most popular kids’ programs. In June 2000,
Multichannel News magazine reported Viacom Inc.’s acquisition of CBS
Corp resulting in a three year partnership on preschool shows between
corporate siblings Nick and CBS. The new CBS Saturday children’s
schedule , called “Nick Jr. on CBS” included Blues Clues, Little
Bill, Little Bear, Franklin and Kipper, and Dora the Explorer. With
Blue’s Clues debut on CBS, Blue’s Clues crossed the boundary of
cable TV into public television.
Other interesting trivia about the Blue’s Clues:
 | Boy
Blue’s Clues characters are: Slippery Soap, Mailbox, Shovel, and
Purple Kangeroo. Girl characters are: Blue, Magenta, Paprika, Green
Puppy, Side Table Drawer, Pail, Tickety Tock, Orange Kitten, and
Baby Bear.
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| In
1998, Nickelodeon & Paramount Home Video released the first
Blue’s Clues videos, “Blues Clues: Arts and Crafts”, and
“Blue’s Clues: Story Time”.
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| Blue’s
Clues has won numerous awards, including the Television Critics
Award for Outstanding Children’s show in 1998 and 1999.
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| A
“Blues Clues Live!” tour began in 1999 and is projected to run
for at least three years.
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| In
1999, Nickelodeon decided to build an apparel program that inherited
Blue’s Clues unique approach by developing “problem-solving
clothes”. The result was “kissing fish” on shoes to
distinguish left from right, larger kid-friendly buttons and neck
openings, and color-coded tags to signify matching items.
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| Nickelodeon
and Gateway formed an alliance in 1999 to create specially branded
computers designed just for kids. The Blue’s Clues and Rugrats
Gateway Astro editions include the Blue’s Clues and Rugrats
educational and entertainment software titles.
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| The
first Blue’s Clues feature length movie made for video and DVD,
“Blue’s Big Musical Movie” was released in 2000.
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| Thanks
to the Blue’s Clues, you can now buy blue Mott’s applesauce.
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