SHORT LEASH; STEVE BURNS OF `BLUES CLUES' WON'T STRAY FROM NICK JR. SHOW FOR A WHILE.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

For a young actor in New York, being cast as a guest lead in NBC's acclaimed show ``Homicide: Life on the Street'' should have been a career boon.

But for Steve Burns it could have been a career breaker. You see, his decision to play a murderer on the edgy cop drama series just didn't set well with parents of preschoolers who know him as the host of Nick Jr.'s ``Blue's Clues,'' one of the most popular children's shows on commercial TV.

``In hindsight, I wouldn't have done that (`Homicide') job if I had known the response it would have gotten from parents and kids who are fans of `Blue's Clues,' '' Burns said this week. ``It only takes one e-mail saying, `Hey, Mom, why is Steve so mean?' ''

For those who are clueless about ``Blue's Clues,'' Steve is the live-action master of a crudely animated puppy named Blue. They share their little two-dimensional house with salt and pepper shakers, a bar of soap, a clock and other everyday items that talk. The character and background art are chunky and simplistic, the palette straight out of an eight-pack of Crayolas.

In each episode, Blue challenges Steve to a game in which her blue pawprints signify clues to a puzzle. Steve makes line-drawn entries in his notebook, then sits down in his thinking chair to solve the riddle. Along the way, he talks straight to the camera, encouraging young viewers to shout out to him when they spy a clue or figure out the answer.

``I always try to push it as close to live theater as possible,'' Burns said. ``I like to call it `The Rocky Horror Children's Show' because the kids always respond.''

Tonight ``Blue's Clues'' gets the warm fuzzy treatment with the prime-time premiere of ``Blue's Big Pajama Party.''

This rare evening special allows Burns a change of costume and, stranger still, a human guest star: ``Seinfeld'' regular Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Louis-Dreyfus plays Julia, the slipper repair shop lady, who helps introduce the show and at the end returns to read a bedtime story with Steve.

In the half-hour episode, the characters admire a colorful sunset, find animals outside who wake up at night, and in a make-believe sequence, explore outer space and learn about Earth's rotation in a way accessible to preschoolers.

``I'm kind of proud of that episode in general,'' said Burns, a co-producer on the series. ``I think that whole pajamanaut exploration into space really visually shows the reason there is night.

``A lot of kids have a fear about night, especially at this age. We're trying to show them gently, and also in a fun interactive way, that night's cool and nighttime is fun and going to sleep is great.''

Burns, who turned 26 on Saturday, says he never had done children's theater before moving to New York City.

When the ``Blue's Clues'' audition came around, he went in expecting to try out for a voiceover of an animated character, the kind of job actors love for its good pay in a relatively short amount of time.

``There was a camera in the room so I realized I'd better start jumping around or something,'' he said. ``I had ideas for the show that (the producers) also agreed with. And I liked the interactive nature of it, that it talked through the television, that it was kind of anti-TV TV.''

Burns said taping the series is ``a lonely experience.'' ``I work entirely on a blue screen (set). There are no actors - except me,'' he added quickly with a laugh.

``It's very difficult and sometimes tedious work. You just remember so many kids are learning from this stuff,'' he said. ``We get a lot of letters from parents of kids with autism. We're having a tremendous affect there. We don't know why. I get to speak with a lot of parents who are very grateful and very sincerely thankful that the show even exists. That makes me feel great.''

Burns considers himself ``as micro a celebrity as you can be,'' but there are some places he avoids when he's not in the mood to be greeted by an adoring public: malls and toy stores, for example. ``I don't think I'll ever set foot in a Discovery Zone,'' he said.

``It's not the kids, the kids have no idea,'' Burns said. ``The parents are the only ones who recognize me. (Young children) are really expecting to see the (green striped rugby) shirt and the dog.''

And if he wants to meet some admirers?

``I can turn it on. It's really funny,'' said Burns, who is more laid-back than his peppy, cheerful character. ``I did it for my mom when I was home in Pennsylvania.

``I can do Steve and just kind of walk around and people will notice,'' he said with a laugh. ``I'm really nothing like that in person. My whole manner is different. So unless I want them to recognize me, they won't - which is cool.''

Burns expects the show, which was launched in 1996, will continue in production for at least another couple of seasons, but he doesn't want to do it forever.

``We're definitely not in a rush to end things, but I don't see this being a `Mister Rogers' gig,'' he said. ``I don't know how kids will react to Steve's receding hairline. They know I'm not 11, and I actually look much older now than I did the first couple of seasons. They call me `the big boy,' so I think they're responding more to my energy and my demeanor than how I look.'' Burns says he hopes to be able to work in a few night classes around his production schedule so he can complete the theater degree he began at Allentown College in Pennsylvania.

What about when Blue doesn't want to play anymore?

``I'd like to take some acting classes - you know, fail privately,'' he said. ``I came to New York to do a certain kind of thing and was pleasantly diverted by some commercial success, so I'll probably pick up where I left off there.''

The facts

The show: ``Blue's Big Pajama Party.''

What: A prime-time ``Blue's Clues'' special aimed at making bedtime fun.

Who: Steve Burns, Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Where: Nickelodeon.

When: 8 tonight.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO Steve Burns and Blue take some of the fear out of nighttime in the ``Blue's Big Pajama Party'' episode.