Steve vs. Joe - a New Mother's Opinion
Written: Mar 12 '03 (Updated Aug 17 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Educational and fun. Entertaining to toddlers!
Cons: My child would rather watch Blue's Clues than play
The Bottom Line: I'm really not a pro-television parent, but Blue's Clues is one show I don't feel guilty about letting my boy watch. We all watch it together.
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Blue's Clues |
I usually don't write reviews on items that already have 500+ reviews to their credit, but for my son's favorite television show I'll make an exception. Now I have a new problem -- what can I possibly say about the show that hasn't already been said somewhere in one of these other reviews!?! I decided that, along with writing a normal review, I would compare and contrast the two hosts, Steve (Steve Burns) and Joe (Donovan Patton).
What Is Blue's Clues?
Blue's Clues is an award winning children's television show geared for toddlers/preschoolers. The stories are centered around an animated blue puppy named Blue. Blue's owner Steve (who was replaced in Season 5 by his "brother" Joe) is the only non-animated main character -- his environment and the other main characters are all animated.
In every show Steve/Joe and Blue play a game of Blue's Clues. Blue will leave her paw-print on 3 various items, marking them as clues. Steve/Joe then searches for the clues, playing with other friends and learning things along the way. After Steve/Joe finds all 3 clues he uses them to solve the question/mystery of that episode (answering questions like "What animal does Blue want to learn about?", "What is Blue's favorite story?", "What song does Blue want to sing?"). The characters all interact directly with your child -- asking questions and pausing to wait for your child's response.
Blue's Clues currently airs daily on Nickelodeon and Noggin, and airs on Saturday mornings on CBS.
Educational Value:
I'm completely impressed with Blue's Clues! There is obviously a lot of thought that goes into each and every show. Some of the lessons the show teaches include:
1) Looking for clues -- younger toddlers, like my 19 month old son, get such a big kick out of finding a blue paw-print somewhere on the screen. My boy points, yells "clue!" and runs to the television to point it out. I enjoy seeing him get so actively involved
2) Figuring out the clues -- putting the clues together to solve the "mystery" teaches kids to use logic and reasoning to solve problems
3) Lessons during the show -- while Steve/Joe is looking for clues, he interacts with the other characters and helps them solve their problems. These problems are like educational mini-games, usually with multiple-choice answers. For example, in an episode dealing with map-reading Steve must cross a river. He asks how he should get across, and we see colorful, candy-coated versions of a bicycle, a boat, and a car (if memory serves). The sky is the limit -- I've seen them teach colors, color-combinations (yellow and blue make green), size comparisons (larger/smaller), counting, letters -- the list goes on and on!
4) Episode topics -- I'm very impressed with the lessons the show teaches. Some episodes have your normal children's fare (teaching counting, reading, shapes, colors, etc), but others do a very good job with emotions, such as the episode where the mystery was determining what was making Blue sad. The "Blue's Sad Day" episode did an excellent job showing kids productive ways resolve problems, or try to fix things that make them angry or sad. Other touchy subjects, such as Blue being afraid, being frustrated, how to find things you've lost, and being shy, have all been addressed in their own episodes.
5) Songs! -- The show is full of short, fun songs that are sung in every episode. These songs are easy for preschoolers to learn and dance along with. My boy is crazy about mail-time -- he will hold out his hands and sing "mmmaaaaiiiiilllll" along with Steve. He also tries to copy Steve's mail & "we just got a letter" dance. He always waves and says "bye bye" to Blue when the last song plays during the credits.
6) Drawing -- When Steve/Joe finds a clue, he draws the item in his handy-dandy notebook. As a child watches him draw, they also learn how simple geometric shapes go together to render the item. They learn the steps one must go through to translate a 3D object into a simple line-drawing.
7) Appropriate at all levels of toddler/preschool-hood -- my boy got a lot out of the show at just 1 year of age. Many of the topics are above his current level, but the songs and simple things (like finding the clues) keep him engaged. As he gets older he will get more out of the games that are played during each show.
8) Layered music -- one of my favorite things. As a clue is discovered a little piece of music is associated with it. When another clue is found a different music/sound is associated and layered over the music from the first clue. When all 3 clues are found there are 3 layers to the music, usually making quite a cute little tune. It is a subtle, cute way to help kids see the complexity that makes music so interesting.
9) Sign language -- although I have not yet seen "All Kinds of Signs" (the episode that features sign language), Steve/Joe does do a bit of sign language in almost every episode. It is like a natural gesture when they do it, accompanying the word as they speak it (such as when they say "smart" or "help"). Now my boy will grow up associating the signs with the words, making it natural to him.
Random Observations:
Why can't the dogs talk when every other animal can? Blue and her puppy cohorts (Magenta and Green Puppy) cannot talk -- they can only say "bow-bow-bow" (although you can often tell what they are saying from the inflection). Every other animal (Orange Kitten, Periwinkle, Purple Kangaroo, etc) and many normally-inanimate objects (Mailbox, Shovel, Pail, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Pepper, Side Table Drawer, etc) talk all the time! What is wrong with the dogs?
I'm very impressed with the children's voices on the show. Many of the regular characters are voiced by children. These children are quite talented -- they can act and sing quite well.
Skidoos were a stroke of brilliance on the show creators' part. Although most episodes take place in Blue's house or yard, Blue and Steve/Joe can "skidoo" into any photograph, book, mural, computer game, etc -- meaning that they can basically go anywhere and do anything! They've gone into the jungle, into a Candyland game, into a color palette, even into Sleeping Beauty's dream. I love the fact that most of the show is set in a common and comfortable place, but for a few minutes the characters can go everywhere and do anything!
Some people might complain that the show is over-commercialized. You can find a Blue's Clues version of just about anything! While I agree that it is possible to go overboard, at this point in my son's life I'm actually quite grateful that there are so many Blue's Clues items available. Brushing my boy's teeth used to be a huge chore -- he absolutely hated it! Then my husband got the bright idea to get him a Blue's Clues toothbrush. Suddenly my son loved the idea of tooth-brushing -- he actually wanted to do it himself! I've never seen such a quick 180º turn-around. My son sleeps every night snuggled up to his Magic Moves Blue, and his all-time favorite toy is his Blue's Clues Radio. Some of his favorite books are ones that feature Blue. We don't buy him everything that is available (or else we would be broke and he would be spoiled), but the few Blue's Clues items he owns are all very special to him.
We got to see the transition episodes (when Steve handed the show over to Joe) when they were re-run, and I couldn't imagine a better transition. I applaud the show's writers/producers for taking into consideration the fact that many kids were very attached to Steve, and that his leaving needed to be addressed delicately and in a positive manner. In a 3-episode story arc, Joe is introduced at the end of episode #1 (after spending the episode preparing for his arrival), then Steve teaches Joe how to play Blue's Clues in episode #2, then in episode #3 Steve announces that he is leaving to go to college, and that Joe will be staying with Blue. I don't think they could have possibly handled it with any more skill and ingenuity.
Did you know that there are 3 snails hidden at various points in each episode? Sometimes the snail is quite obvious, but other times we get to the end of a show and I realize that I've missed one of them!
There have been some impressive guest stars on the show. I still haven't seen every single Steve episode, but my favorite guest-star to date was Ray Charles, who provided the voice and songs of Mr. G-Clef in "Blue's Big Musical Movie". Other guest voices include Nell Carter as Mother Nature, and Wynonna Judd actually appeared in person in "Blue's Big Holiday".
My son's favorite episode: "Hide and Seek" -- Blue plays hide & seek throughout the episode, and my son gets so excited every time he finds her
My favorite episode: "What's So Funny" -- a silly episode, Steve makes a few little glances and comments that let the parent know that he too thinks what he is doing is awfully silly
Steve vs. Joe
Let me start by saying that when we first started watching the show, Joe was already the host. I liked Joe just fine. We watched Joe episodes until we had seen them all, then when we tired of the Joe re-runs we started to look for Steve episodes.
After viewing my first few older episodes, I knew that I preferred Steve as the host. My husband, who was about the last person I figured would have an opinion on the matter, surprised me by commenting that he really, really, really liked Steve better than Joe. When I got over my initial shock, I wondered exactly what it was that appealed to my husband and me -- why we both preferred Steve to Joe. Thus began my study, comparing the two hosts.
I still like Joe. He appears to go through life blissfully happy. He is very, very enthusiastic about everything! He has a childlike glee that can be quite fun to watch. On the other hand, he appears to only have 2 expressions -- "grinning wildly" and "profoundly confused".
Steve, on the other hand, has a much wider range of emotions. Rather than over-reacting to everything, he acts as though talking to normally inanimate objects and small animals is absolutely normal and mundane. He does get excited about things, but is not in a constant state of excitement like Joe is. He can be cutely over-enthusiastic about minor things, but it stands out more when he does it because he isn't that way all the time. Steve also seems very earnest and sincere, particularly when talking directly to the viewing audience.
Joe is more conventionally handsome than Steve. Joe is attractive yet still manages to look quite childlike, so he would appeal to both kids and their mothers. Steve may not be as ruggedly good-looking, but I still find him to be quite attractive. He has large, puppy-dog eyes and very cute dimples. He looks like a kid, which may be part of the reason why my kid enjoys watching him so much.
Both Joe and Steve have nice, calming voices that are very pleasurable to listen to (unlike Elmo or Barney -- I liken their voices to fingernails on a blackboard). Steve has the better singing voice, but Joe's isn't terrible. Steve also has other talents, such as playing guitar and juggling -- both of which have been incorporated into the show down through the years. Perhaps Joe has hidden talents that we just haven't witnessed yet.
Both Joe and Steve must "play dumb" -- allowing toddlers to find clues and figure out solutions to problems that adults would consider beyond easy. This can become quite tedious to adults viewing the show. Steve often manages to convey the fact that the "real"-Steve behind the tv-character-Steve knows just how ludicrous this all is, giving the occasional side-glance or expression, or via a quick, sly comment or quirk to the tone of his voice. He appears to have a sense of humor about it that adults can pick up upon, but kids cannot.
In Joe's defense -- we are comparing 1 year of Joe against 4/5 years of Steve. Season 1's Steve isn't quite as good as Season 4's Steve. Joe is doing a very good job for his first season, and I foresee him changing and improving in the coming years.
My boy really doesn't seem to prefer one host over the other. He can say "Joe" easier than he can say Steve (or "Steeb"), but I don't think that counts as a vote for Joe. He likes both hosts, but his favorite character by far is Blue.
My guess would be that some kids may indeed like Joe more than Steve, whereas many parents would like Steve more than Joe. Joe displays a very childlike and enthusiastic personality on the show that should appeal to kids, whereas Steve can act silly but still manages to maintain a sly, winking sense of humor that parents can pick up upon.
Parting thoughts:
Although we came to the show with Joe as the host, it only took a few episodes with Steve to convert us to Steve-fans. There is really nothing wrong with Joe, he is a great host and he does a really good job on the show, we just happen to prefer Steve.
As a whole, I'm eternally grateful that Blue's Clues, a show that is educational and fun, is available for my toddler. I'm not a big fan of television and would prefer that my boy run around and play, but when he needs a sit-down break I am a big fan of Blue's Clues.
Related WebSites:
http://www.steveswebpage.com - Keep up with Steve Burns in his post-Blue's Clues life, and check out his fantastic new album, Songs for Dustmites
http://www.nickjr.com - Official Blue's Clues site w/ games and the tv schedule
Related Reviews:
I did mention that my son LOVES Blue's Clues, right? Here are some of my reviews on other Blue's Clues items...
Learning Time ABC Playhouse
Play 'n Learn Keyboard
Sing Along Radio
Magic Moves Blue
Show Review: Steve vs. Joe
Joe's Handy Dandy Notebook
Bubble Blower Carry Case
Color in the Tub Activity Case
Blue's Tunes
Bounce with me Blue
Bubble and Sand Toy
Recommended:
Yes
Type of Program: Educational
Program Quality: Thought-provoking, original material
Best Suited For: 12 to 36 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
Trusted by: 202 members
About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
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