Saturday, July 23, 2011
Digital Digest: Hey Dude - Season One DVD Review
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“It’s a little wild and a little strange, when you make your home out on the range,” states the first few lines of the show’s theme song and when you watch this show, you believe it. Hey Dude aired on Nickelodeon from 1989-1991 (and in reruns for nearly a decade after that.)
The series takes place on the Bar None Dude Ranch (hence the title) in Arizona. In the first episode, it’s explained that New York City nerdy accountant Ben Ernst (David Brisbin) bought the ranch to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, bringing his pre-teen son Buddy (Josh Tygiel) with him, who would have rather stayed in the city. A group of teens from a wide variety of backgrounds is hired to staff the ranch, and it’s here where most of the storylines come from. The first season only featured four teens: Ted (David Lascher,) a troublemaker who’s always trying to find a new scheme; Danny (Joe Torres,) a less uptight Hopi Native American; girl-next-door Melody (Christine Taylor); and rich girl but great horse rider Brad (Kelly Brown.) Also on hand were ranch hand Lucy (Debra Kalman) and Buddy’s dog Cassie.
Episodes involve Mr. Ernst’s sometimes vain attempts to become accustomed to ranch living, Ted’s wild schemes (some of which involve trying to win over Brad,) and the various problems that go along with a dude ranch: wild horses, annoying guests, and getting in trouble with management.
The show was mainly geared towards teenagers, and while I wasn’t quite in that age range when the show originally aired, I still enjoyed it and thought it was funny. The laughs mostly tend to hold up here. Some of the jokes do tend to be a bit on the corny side, but in my opinion, that only makes the show that much more endearing.
The episodes run around 24 minutes each and thus, appear to be uncut.
Disc 1:
1. Day One at the Bar None (24:01)
2. Battle of the Sexes (24:01)
3. Goldilocks (24:02)
4. Ted’s Saddle (24:01)
5. The Competition (24:02)
6. Rehearsal for Romance (24:01)
7. Perfect Father (24:01)
Disc 2:
8. The Good, the Bad, and the Obnoxious (24:02)
9. Rainmen (24:01)
10. Ted & Brad Get Handcuffed (24:01)
11. Suspicion (24:01)
12. Employee of the Week (24:03)
13. Pain in the Neck (24:00)
This two-disc set comes in a clear Amaray case with a page to hold the second disc. The outer artwork, while attractive at first glance isn’t without problems. All of the artwork has a western dude ranch motif, which looks good. The front of the case has the show’s logo, the words “Season 1” and a cast photo from the first season. The photo, however, appears to be at a very low resolution. It’s a little pixilated, and not very clear. Looks like it may have come from an internet fan site or something. The rear cover features some more (clearer) photos of the cast and a description of the series. The interior of the box maintains the western motif, and each side of the case lists the episodes and gives a short description. The discs themselves have the show’s logo and a photo of the cast.
The main menu is quite attractive and features the same photo as the front cover (although clearer) and gives the options of Play All or Episodes (and on disc two, Bonus Feature). The show’s logo animates onto the screen in the same way it does during the opening theme, and the show’s closing theme song plays. Another piece of background music plays as you select one of the menu options. Chapter marks are placed at appropriate spots throughout the shows. There are however, no closed captions or subtitles.
Audio and video quality are very good considering the age and source of this series. This was a videotaped show from the late 80s/early 90s, and was really Nickelodeon’s first venture into episodic television. The videotape masters, while not always the sharpest, are as clear as one could really expect them to be. Audio is clear and in stereo. Mainly the music benefits from the stereo sound, but there are some other effects, including making actors’ voices sound like they are coming from off-screen.
There is only one special feature on this set, but it is a nice one. “Interview With Christine Taylor” runs 17:05. In the interview, Christine reveals a lot of interesting facts from behind the scenes, including how she got the role of “Melody,” how the cast interacted (varying from being friends, to having crushes on each other, to getting mad and not speaking to each other) and the effect that the show has had on the rest of her career and the rest of the world. Christine has had a wide and varied career, including playing Marcia Brady in both of the Brady Bunch movies, and tons of other roles on television and in movies, and is now married to megastar Ben Stiller. She says she owes it all to her first big break, “Hey Dude.” She also shares an interesting story about how a girl who looked about her age came up to her saying “You were Melody on Hey Dude! I watched that show since I was five years old!” and someone else tells her that girl was Paris Hilton.
While I thoroughly enjoyed that interview, there are other bonus features that could have been included, and hopefully are on future sets. Anything from Nickelodeon promos, to blooper reels (which Christine mentioned in her interview) would have been good to include. At least there are four seasons to go.
In general, I think this is a very good set and Shout Factory did a good job putting it together. The show brings back a lot of memories for me, having watched it on Nickelodeon in the early 90s (back-to-back with Salute Your Shorts, another show I hope comes to DVD eventually). The show wasn’t ground breaking comedy, and it wasn’t great television, but it was a neat little show that appealed to the Nickelodeon crowd at the time, and it’s great that so many of these retro Nick shows are finally getting proper treatment on DVD. I hope to see future seasons of this show released soon.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Monday, May 23
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Ring" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
As Marty prepares to propose to his girlfriend, Calvin and Tina work with party planner Chika (Gina Yashere) to throw a celebration that properly honors their future daughter-in-law’s Nigerian heritage.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Beard in Her Pulpit" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When a new charismatic pastor joins their congregation, Abishola is thrilled that Bob has renewed interest in church, but less so when her mother takes a new interest in the pastor. Also, when Dottie gives out bonuses to upper management, Bob must make sure he doesn’t lose his best employee.
Breeders - "No Body" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Ally and Paul learn the truth about a thing that has been terrifying them; for Ally, her job and for Paul, his MRI result; Ava and Luke both feel frozen out by the people they care most about.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 23)
Monday, May 23
- D'Arcy Carden (Barry/The Good Place) - Watch D'Arcy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Billy appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simples Rules/Ladies Man) - Kaley is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Glen Powell (Scream Queens) - Glen will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood/New Girl/Modern Men) - Max appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Howie is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show) - Jennifer will be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Paul Rudd (Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Hacks) - Carl will be on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Susan Kelechi Watson (Louie) - Susan talks about This Is Us on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
- Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay talks about Top Gun: Maverick on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. NBC's Today catches up with Jay in the 9am hour.
- Ron Howard (Arrested Development/Happy Days/The Andy Griffith Show) - Ron talks about We Feed People on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (February-May)
02/08 - Last Man Standing - The Complete Ninth Season
02/22 - Everybody Hates Chris - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
02/22 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Eight
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/15 - Head of the Class - The Complete Fourth Season
03/15 - The Proud Family - The Complete Original Series - Anniversary Collection
03/22 - The Honeymooners Specials - The Complete Collection
03/29 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-5 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/29 - Young Rock - Season One
04/05 - Up All Night - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
04/26 - The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy) - The Complete Fourth Season
04/26 - Jackie Gleason TV Treasures - 70th Anniversary Collection (including Honeymooners Rarities)
05/03 - No Activity - Season Three
05/31 - Becker - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
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