So, yes, I have memories of Blue’s Clues and Steve, though not from my childhood. If we want to talk about what Sesame Street has become since I watched it as lad…well, that’s another topic entirely.

H.
- from the generation just before Sesame Street and the Electric Company, but young enough to have driven her own parents nuts singing “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function?”

My research into the life and loves of Ms. Williams (Walker Williams?) was rather limited, probably because I didn’t want to find any evidence that she was involved with anyone but Steve. Illusions, especially those based on the potential relationships of human characters in an animated children’s television series, tend to be somewhat fragile—well, the good ones do; evil, misguided illusions tend to stand up not only to scrutiny but to direct frontal assault, but that’s a topic for another day. My point (if it could still be called a point) is that Miranda is, in my mind, forever waiting for Steve to pluck up the courage and make the first move.

Okay, that’s not entirely accurate. In my mind, the first, second, third, and indeed many, many moves have been made, none of which are suitable for the show’s target audience or most rational adults.

But I digress and in doing so risk being branded a deviant. Let’s talk about Joe vs. Steve some more.

You are correct that Joe is generally more ebullient than Steve, though I don’t necessarily agree that Steve ever presents a “ho hum” attitude. I suspect that Joe’s effervescence may play a part in why I actually prefer Steve who, as P.G. Holyfield points out, slyly takes the parents of his audience along for the ride into the land of pretend puppies.

I can only hope, like my 2 year-old’s current insane love of Max and Ruby, that your boy will grow out of this need for the abomination that is Joe.