 |
Blue's Clues History | |
BLUE'S CLUES HISTORY 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:
Click
here for Blue's Clues products. |
||