Follow us for updates
© 2021 reportr.world
Read the Story →

Why Steve of Blues Clues Had Us All in Tears

It's a mental vacation without leaving the house.
by Clara Rosales
4 hours ago
Photo/s: Screengrab: Blue's Clues and You!
Shares

For the 25th anniversary of children’s show Blue's Clues, original host Steve Burns spoke to his audience of kids now grown up, explaining why he left and saying he never forgot anyone, leaving the Internet in tears over closure they didn't even know they needed.

For the uninitiated, Blue’s Clues was the first cutout animation series for kids and aired on Nickelodeon’s sub-channel Nick Jr. during the 2000s. Titular character Blue is a dog that leaves behind a series of clues around her house marked with a pawprint for the audience and the host to find. The entire series features only one human—a host named Steve played by Burns, using his real name.

On the surface, it’s just a kids’ show. So why did a two-minute video of the now 47-year-old Burns put the collective in their feels?

Nostalgia illuminates dark times

“When we look back at our lives, our memories are all we’ve got, and reliving all those nostalgic moments often feels really fun, but nostalgia can also cause pain,” said Dr. Laurie Santos, a psychology professor at Yale University.

Continue reading below ↓

Nostalgia is an affectionate longing for the past, one usually painted in broad strokes of happiness. While a bittersweet sentimentality, it’s often more sweet than bitter.

“Psychologists have observed that thinking wistfully about the past can make us feel really good,” Santos said in an episode of her podcast The Happiness Lab.

“We use memories, just as we use imagination, to make us feel better now. Nostalgia is a very good way to take a little mental vacation without leaving your home,” said Dr. Felipe De Brigard, who teaches philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience at Duke University. 

“It looks as though when you’re in a negative situation, the more likely you are to generate this sense of nostalgia,” De Brigard said.

Continue reading below ↓
Recommended Videos

Intimacy is the pandemic’s mortal enemy. Being within arm’s reach of a friend is too close and the only way to make room for friendship is either struggling to talk in person with masks on or suffering the lag of a video call.

Continue reading below ↓

With the lack of social, physical connection, it makes sense to seek happiness from the before-times when work lunches and weekend getaways were taken for granted.

“We also get a happiness boost from merely thinking about past social times especially if we’re feeling lonely in the present,” Santos said.

Couple lockdown loneliness with a distinct childhood memory represented by a familiar character and you have yourself waterworks on the Internet. Most of the globe has been isolating, and Steve getting back in touch with his friends on the other side of the screen is a much-needed silver lining.

See Also

Life was simple

My groupchats exploded with reactions to Steve’s message. Some friends could only spam the conversation with crying stickers and emojis, while another friend sent a short clip of herself crying at the fact that her childhood friend was back.

Sophie, not her real name, reminisced about her youth, saying “ang simple lang ng buhay noon,” when she copied the show’s art after watching hosts draw on the handy-dandy notebook (which now also functions as a smartphone, by the way.)

Continue reading below ↓

Another friend even asked us if we remembered Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper’s two children—Paprika and Cinnamon. Cue the disbelief when I told them the spice parents actually had two more kids—twins Sage and Ginger who were revealed during the 2019 show’s reboot.

Angelina, not her real name, is well-aware that Steve is fictional, but proudly joked that if anyone were to diss her for taking it slow during the pandemic, “sasabihin ko sa kanila sabi ni Steve na I look great and he never forgot me.”

“It’s like he was really my friend. Eto na lang nagpapasaya sakin, kukunin ko na,” AJ, also not his real name, said.

A quick scroll through Twitter showed adults simmering in a concoction of relief, joy, and assurance that an old friend remembers, and has been beaten up just as badly by college, student loans, and the responsibility of family. Life for Steve has been just as hard, and for a viewer that’s been stuck at home for more than a year, it’s nice to know they’re not alone.

Continue reading below ↓

The world spins on

After Burns left the show in 2002, Donovan Patton stepped in to play Joe, Steve’s brother. He traded Steve’s signature green stripes for a square-blocked sweater as he searched for Blue’s clues until the show stopped production in 2004.

In 2019, the series got a reboot with Burns joined as writer and director on the new show. Along with Patton, they helped cast the new host, Joshua Dela Cruz who plays Josh, Steve and Joe’s cousin.

See Also

The reboot sparked interest online, with past viewers relieved to know Blue would still leave clues for a new host. Burns’ reemergence also got people reminiscing, but not in the same intensity it has now, where he pulled Steve from the archives to say he was busy doing adult things, too.

Though still catered to kids, adults can easily access Blue’s Clues anniversary footage online for a shot of nostalgia during a quarantine that’s blurred the hands of time.

Continue reading below ↓

Reportr is now on Quento. Download the app or visit the Quento website for more articles and videos from Reportr and your favorite websites.

Latest Headlines
more about:
Read Next
Recent News
The news. So what? Subscribe to the newsletter that explains what the news means for you.
The email address you entered is invalid.
Thank you for signing up to On Three, reportr's weekly newsletter delivered to your mailbox three times a week. Only the latest, most useful and most insightful reads.
By signing up to reportr.world newsletter, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.