I think the show demands a younger-type person. Steve was beginning to show his age.
Mrs. Dave-Guy and Halford the Human Eel[sup]TM[/sup] watched the transition show last night. Being a teacher, my wife thought they were smart to do it the way they did, with Steve going off to college. Not only does this keep him from just disappearing, but it allows him to return periodically for a while.
I didn’t really watch the show, so I can’t say if I like Joe better than Steve or what. But, for what it’s worth, an elementary school teacher thinks the transition was handled well, as was the idea of introducing different looking elements for Joe (his handy-dandy notebook, apparently, is different, e.g.).
One of the first things Joe mentioned in the intro to Part 1 of yesterday’s special was that “Steve’s my older brother-even though I’m taller!”
I think the thing is that in the universe of the show, it isn’t a show. You know, just like almost every other show on television. The idea seems to be that the viewer is a friend come to visit the house. Therefore, if Joe has never been to Steve’s house when a game of Blue’s Clues has been going on, he has no idea how to play Blue’s Clues-since in the world of Blue’s Clues, the television show Blue’s Clues does not exist!
All in all , a pretty powerful show today. On the playground, today’s episode probably had the same impact for them as the last episode of **MAS*H **or Seinfled did for our generation.
As for Joe…I think he’ll work out fine. Although, I must admit I was a bit worried in the beginning–he seemed to have a hard time grasping many of the concepts. But Steve, being a patient older brother, did an excellent job in carefully sheparding him through the show’s paces. I only hope that Joe achieves the same level of chemistry with the co-hosts that Steve had…
My 3yo does this with Steve (and Dora.) "I said, ‘It’s right there!’ " We’ve discussed, more than once, the fact that Steve doesn’t seem very bright. She watched the transition episodes yesterday and remarked halfway through that “Joe isn’t very smart, either.”
Something I (may have) noticed: I thought at one point, when Joe said “thank you” to someone, he made the ASL sign for “thank you” at the same time. (He touched his fingertips to his chin, then moved his hand slightly forward.) Is that the correct sign? If so, did anyone else notice it?
Steve has been doing the ASL “thank you” for most of the show’s run. He also did the sign for “smart” when they sing the “We just figured out Blue’s Clues” song. I assume Joe will continue this custom.
So my youngest (four year old boy) saw the new Blues Clues guy yesterday. I know this because Mrs. ShibbOleth told me on the phone “The Boy wants to go to college”. So when I got home I said to him “I hear that you want to go to college.”
“No.”
“You don’t want to go to college?”
“No. I am going to college.”
“Do you know what college is?”
“It’s a big school for big kids.”
“Is Steve a big kid?”
“Nope. He’s a grown up.”
So, that’s not an entirely bad side effect. It never occurred to me that my son might say, in his own way, “Fine, I’m going with him.”
Where the hell is Steve going to college on a yellow school bus? I don’t remember taking the bus to college…
I like Joe. He’s MUCH cuter, and I just want to push his bangs out of his face. My daughter is 15 months old, so we’re just getting into Blues Clues. I don’t think she’ll notice a difference, but I sure will. Mmmmhmmm…
Watching the two of them together was like watching some kind of badly-costumed local theater production of Portrait of Dorian Gray. Steve looked like he was heading off to the retirement home, not college. My theory is that Joe is Steve’s illegitimate son, perhaps mothered by a down-on-her-luck Sesame Streetwalker.
Thanks, Homebrew. As you may have guessed, the show is usually just background noise for me. I mostly just listen with half an ear, TV time being mom-gets-things-done time around here.
