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
Thursday, September 28
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)
Thursday, September 28
- George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Catch George on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. He joins Drew for the entire show opening up about meeting the love of his life Amal, revealing the sweet thing they still do for each other to this day, their engagement story and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Eva Longoria (Telenovela) - Eva appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Diane Morgan (After Life) - Diane appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (How to Be a Bookie) and Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie/Corporate) - Sebastian and Baron are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Garcelle Beauvais (Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has an interview with Garcelle at 11pm on E!.
- Kerry Washington (Unprisoned) - Kerry is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
- Ed Begley Jr. (Young Sheldon/Your Family or Mine/Gary Unmarried/Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)) - Ed talks about his new book To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It! A Memoir on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani discusses her latest cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Sam Jay (Bust Down) - Sam talks about her just-released HBO comedy special, Salute Me or Shoot Me, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
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