When TV series featuring puppetry like Sesame Street and The Muppet Show rose to prominence, studios from all parts of the globe go on to make their own puppetry shows. Today, puppetry, along with traditional animation, seem to have faded from the media, probably as a result of the rise of computer animation. Nevertheless, the Sesame Street and Muppet franchises are still relevant.
In the mid-1990s, a series called Blue's Clues aired on the Nickelodeon channel. While the series was still running in the early 2000s, someone decided to make a different version of the series called Blue's Room. But unlike the first series which uses cutout animation, this later series uses Muppet style puppetry. I have a feeling puppetry was still in its heydey at the time.
As I am hardly a fan of the franchise, I never saw Blue's Room on television. However, I was able to watch two episodes online recently. Anyway, in the first series, Blue only barks. But in this show, Blue actually speaks which I find quite expressive (I also adore the bark-only Blue). This series centers on Blue who interacts with other puppet characters in her house. Also included is Joe who is the host the of the first series at the time. Besides interacting with the show's new characters, Blue and Joe would at times play a classic Blue's Clues game of finding clues indicated by canine paw prints. When the show entered its second season, we are introduced to Blue's baby brother Sprinkles who, to date, is Blue's only known relation. I wonder what it would be like if he (Sprinkles) were to return in a later series?
Upon watching the show online, I felt like I travelled by back in time to when some things were still common, namely puppetry. I can also tell the whoever designed this show did a find job in giving the Blue franchise a more realistic feel.
