If you were a child in the 1990s, you probably have memories of yelling at your television while watching Blue’s Clues to tell Steve where the pawprint was. That’s how I recall the 1990s, at least. The generation that watched the show from 1996 to 2006, which I credit to my own love of mysteries and detective fiction, received so much joy from it. For this reason, you’re likely to see a lot of adults watching Blue’s Big City Adventure, a film that reunites all three former hosts to watch Josh (Joshua Dela Cruz) and Blue travel to New York City so Josh can audition for Broadway.
When you think of Blue’s Clues, if you’re of a certain age, you probably see Steve. Steve, who was portrayed by actor Steve Burns, had a particularly strong connection to the show, and when he left, fans were heartbroken to learn what had become of their friend. Joe wasn’t a terrible replacement, though. Even though Donovan Patton was an amazing “little brother” to Steve, there were still some unanswered issues.
Burns discussed his resignation in a recent interview with Variety, and spoiler alert: He left since he was getting close to 30. Recall all the rumours you and your friends from school used to spread about what had happened to Steve? Well, it was really that easy. Then why all the theories about whether he passed away or had a terrible illness? Untrue.
The interview is excellent because Burns is so honest about his involvement in the programme. He still has Blue’s Clues items in his house, and he claimed that he now enjoys playing Steve much more than in the past. Burns remarked, “I’ve never appreciated being Steve more than I do right now. I’m permitted to don a trenchcoat. It’s a clown character that resembles Grover and Columbo. That strangely seems extremely liberating.
When you hear Steve (the character) speak to someone, whether it be in the new movie or elsewhere, you may easily find grownups who are feeling nostalgic crying. Burns said that he saw Blue’s Clues’ use of the pronoun “you” as a method to address the audience. “Because you did it!” he said. “‘Blue’s Clues’ is essentially a one-on-one conversation between me and you. And I had a real sense of it.
But in addition to becoming older, one of the actual reasons Burns departed the programme was that he was struggling with melancholy and needed to look after himself. “I was the happiest miserable person in North America, though I was unaware of it at the time, he claimed. I had terrible clinical depression the entire time I appeared on the show. It became hard for me to always be absolutely and utterly full of delight and wonder, which was my responsibility. I could always dive deep and find something that seemed genuine to me and was good enough to appear on the programme, but there was a price after endless years of drawing from the well without refilling it.
In case you were wondering, Burns does have a favourite among the everyday items we’ve grown to like. The response? Mister Salt
