View source for Blue Prints (partially found unaired pilot of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live action series; 1994-1995)

{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>Blue Prints</center>
|image=BluePrintsTC.jpg
|imagecaption=The title card from the ''Blue Prints'' pilot.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
}}
''Blue's Clues'' is an American animated/live-action children's TV show that aired on Nick Jr. from 1996 to 2006. The show follows Steve Burns and later Joe (Donovan Patton) and his dog, Blue, looking for "clues" (blue paw-prints made by Blue), and then piecing the clues together, leading into the climax of the story.

==Development and Pilot==
The show spent many years in development, with the show's writers experimenting around with different ideas, such as Blue originally being a cat named Mr. Orange, then Mr. Blue. These ideas resulted in the unaired 1994/1995 test pilot created with the working title, '''''Blue Prints'''''.

There is a common misconception that the pilot actually starred Mr. Orange, instead of Blue like in the final show.  This is not true, as what little screenshots and footage are available shows that Blue is the featured character.

The pilot was shot in either 1994 or 1995; there are conflicting sources on the exact year the pilot was shot. The show's creator, Angela C. Santomero, said that the pilot was done in 1994,<ref>[https://instagram.com/p/CKKqCIKlk0T/ Instagram post by ''Blue's Clues'' creator Angela C. Santomero, including a picture from the taping of the pilot.] Retrieved 10 Feb '21</ref> while Dave Palmer, the co-designer of Blue and a crew member for the ''Blue Prints'' pilot, has said in an email that the pilot was done in the summer of 1995 with a small crew.<ref>[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/278331753016328193/775868909382533150/bandicam_2020-11-10_14-07-05-470.jpg Dave Palmer's email with information on the ''Blue Prints'' pilot.] Retrieved 23 Feb '21</ref>

After the pilot was finished, it was only shown to a few preschoolers as a way to test out the show's interactive elements. According to reports, the children ate it up, but there were several changes that needed to be made.  Mr. Salt also had a Brooklyn accent as a contrast to the French accent he was ultimately given. Steve also sported a red shirt instead of his signature green stripes shown in the final show.
==Availability==
The pilot was very obscure and mostly unknown until 2006 when Nickelodeon aired a 10-year anniversary special detailing the history and development of the show. A few short clips of the pilot were shown, and the crew members commented on it. After the airing, fans of the series scoured online resources, including bootlegs, torrents, and file-sharing sites to no avail. Nickelodeon has yet to fully release the episode, as they have stated "it felt it was too different from the rest of the series."{{Cite}}

On October 16th, 2020, the Nick Jr. Twitter account posted a previously unseen screenshot of the pilot that showed Blue with a slightly different design, proving that a copy does exist in Nickelodeon's possession.<ref>[https://twitter.com/nickjr/status/1317169944807747586?s=20 Nick Jr.'s Twitter post with a previously unseen screenshot from the pilot.] Retrieved 16 Oct '20</ref>

In January 2021, the show's co-creator, Angela C. Santomero, posted a picture of her and Steve from a taping of the pilot on her Instagram.<ref>[https://cbr.com/blues-clues-lost-pilot-angela-santomero/ CBR.com article on Angela Santomero saying she has the pilot.] Retrieved 23 Feb '21</ref> In the comment section, she revealed she has a copy of the pilot and stated that it was filmed around 1994.<ref name=AS>[https://instagram.com/p/CKKqCIKlk0T/ Instagram post by ''Blues Clues'' creator Angela C. Santomero, including a picture from the taping of the pilot.] Retrieved 10 Feb '21</ref> It is unknown if she will release it.

On September 10th, 2021, for the show's 25th anniversary, Nick Jr.'s Twitter account uploaded a video about the pilot that includes some never-before-seen clips from it. Some clips in the video appear to confirm that the pilot was the basis for "Snack Time".<ref>[https://twitter.com/nickjr/status/1436378500827697192 Nick Jr.'s tweet with more clips of the pilot.] Retrieved 10 Sep '21</ref>
Some more differences can be seen, such as the cup as the first clue having two paw prints and being orange, as well as the notebook not having the thinking chair on its front cover.

==Gallery==
===Images===
<gallery mode=packed heights=175px>
Mr orange.jpg|Mr. Orange.
MrBlue175px.jpg|Mr. Blue.
SteveBluePrints300px.png|Steve in the pilot, wearing his red shirt, instead of his iconic green striped shirt. 
Screenshot 2020-05-07 at 8.17.31 PM.png|Steve in a farm setting.
House300px.png|Steve's house.
300px--Blue Prints- Title Card.png|The closing card for the pilot.
Prekblueprints300px.png|The preschool audience watching ''Blue Prints'' (1/2).
Blue prints screenshot.png|The preschool audience watching ''Blue Prints'' (2/2).
EsG4WQMXEAsGnu9.png|Picture from the taping and Angela's comment.
</gallery>
===Footage===
{{Video|perrow  =1
  |service1     =youtube
  |id1          =1lLz-ZK1KfU
  |description1 =Clip compilation featuring snippets from the ''Behind the Clues'' special and Nick Jr.'s social media accounts.
}}
===Videos===
{{Video|perrow  =2
  |service1     =youtube
  |id1          =qbzMjlFTzw4
  |description1 =LSuperSonicQ's video on ''Blue Prints''.
  |service2     =youtube
  |id2          =MnmI2ObRSl0
  |description2 =Scribbles to Screen's video on the subject.
}}

==See Also==
===Blue's Clues===
*[[As Pistas da Blue (partially lost Portuguese adaptation of Nickelodeon TV series; early 2000s)]]
*[[Riddle Blue/수수께끼 블루 (partially found KBS Korean adaptation of Nickelodeon TV series; 2000-2001)]]
*[[Blue's Clues (found British adaptation of Nickelodeon TV series; 1998-2003)]]

===Bumpers and Interstitials===
*[[Loretta the Letter Lady (partially found Nick Jr. short interstitial series; mid 1990s)]]
*[[Nick Jr. (partially found revamped Face promos of Nickelodeon channel block; 2003-2004)]]
*[[Nick Jr. Power Play Summer (partially found Nick Jr. interstitial series; 2005)]]
*[[Snappy Larry's Showtime (partially found Nick Jr. UK interstitial series and American dub; mid-2000s)]]

===Pilots===
*[[The Backyardigans (partially found Nick Digital pilot of Nick Jr. CGI animated series; 2002)]]
*[[Bubble Guppies (partially found unaired pilot of Nick Jr. CGI animated series; 2006)]]
*[[Dora the Explorer (partially found unaired pilot episodes of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)]]
*[[Me and My Friends (partially found live-action pilot of "The Backyardigans" Nick Jr. CGI-animated series; 1998)]]
*[[Oswald (lost unaired pilot of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)]]
*[[Super Why? (partially found stop-motion Nick Jr. pilot of PBS Kids CGI series; 1999)]]
*[[The Umizumiz (partially found unaired pilot of "Team Umizoomi" Nick Jr. CGI-animated/live-action series; 2008)]]
*[[Wallykazam! "Monty's Magic Words" (partially found pilot for Nick Jr. education series; 2010s)]]

===Other===
*[[Binyah Binyah! (found spinoff of "Gullah Gullah Island" Nick Jr. musical series; 1997-1998)]]
*[[Downward Doghouse (partially found precursor to "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan" Nick Jr. animated series; 2000s)]]
*[[Made by Maddie (partially found Nick Jr. animated series; 2020)]]
*[[Whoopi's Littleburg (partially found Nick Jr. musical miniseries; 2004)]]

==External Links==
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue's_Clues Wikipedia page on ''Blue's Clues''.]
*[https://bluesclues.fandom.com/wiki/Blue_Prints ''Blue's Clues'' Wiki page on ''Blue Prints''.]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Lost animation]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]