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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, October 23
Abbott Elementary - "Class Pet" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Janine gets a budget for class pets, but Melissa is resistant to taking on the added work and responsibility for her room’s guinea pig. An IT rep from the school district arrives to set up new computers.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Bullies" (Comedy Central, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chris gets a gig DJ-ing at a drag ball and develops drag queen eyes.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Career Tests" (Comedy Central, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Chris and Greg tape over a porno rented from Caruso and must replace it.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 21)
Wednesday, October 23
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Watch Billy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - NBC's Today catches up with Olivia some time between 7-9am.
- Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere) - Bridget talks about Somebody Somewhere on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- David Henrie (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place/Wizards of Waverly Place/How I Met Your Mother/The Pitts) - David discusses Wizards Beyond Waverly Place on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings. One or two Wizards Beyond Waverly Place cast members will be on New York Living at 10:05am.
- Judith Light (Who's the Boss?/Phenom/Transparent) - Judith talks about Before on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Billy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - Mariska talks about the greatest thing sheĆ¢€™s learned since turning 60 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Dexter Darden (Saved by the Bell) - Dexter talks about Peacock's Fight Night; The Million Dollar Heist on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Essence Atkins (Poppa's House/Marlon/Mr. Box Office/Are We There Yet?/Half & Half/Smart Guy/Under One Roof) - Essence talks about Poppa's House on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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