TV Show Review: Hey Dude - Season 1

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good characters and light plots makes for good escapist watching

Cons: Poor production and acting

The Bottom Line: 

Yes, some weaknesses

But still so much fun I want

To visit Bar None

Return to the Late 80's and the Bar None with Season 1 of Hey Dude!

While I didn't watch much TV growing up, I did catch a few shows while visiting relatives or friends.  One I got hooked on was Hey Dude!  Season 1 just hit DVD, and I snapped it up.  The show doesn't quite hold up as well as I remember it, but it is still fun.

This show originally aired from 1989-1991 and was one of Nickelodeon's first scripted shows produced.  Right there, it holds a place in television history, right?

The show follows the misadventures of the staff of a dude ranch in Arizona.  While all the sets were constructed, it was filmed on an actual guest ranch in Arizona, giving it a very real feeling.

In the first episode, we meet the teen staff.  The three returning staff members are Ted (David Lascher) who has just been promoted to senior staff (whatever that means).  There's Melody (Christine Taylor) who is the lifeguard at the rarely seen pool.  Rounding out this trio is Danny (Joe Torres), a Hopi Indian.  The new girl on the block is Brad (Kelly Brown).  She's rich yet is working at the ranch because she loves horses.  On the adult front, there's Lucy (Debrah Kalman).  She's in charge of the stables and is kind but firm.

As the series opens, the ranch has just been bought by Benjamin Ernst (David Brisbin), and he's moved out there from New Jersey with his son Buddy (Josh Tygiel).  Mr. E doesn't know his way around the ranch and is often trying to come up with ways to advertise that don't quite work out.  He's your typical bumbling adult on a kid's show, but he does have his moments that show he's much smarter than he normally looks.

The plots for these episodes are usually fairly light and fun.  The guys take on the girls to prove who is the best.  Ted takes on all kinds of odd jobs to buy a saddle he wants, talking his friends into taking care of his regular chores for him.  A drought brings a water crisis to the ranch.  Brad and Melody have to spend the night in the desert to show they are ready to lead overnight camping trips.  And in my favorite episode of the season, Ted and Brad get handcuffed together overnight and must find a way to deal with each other that long.

The only relationship they ever really played up was Brad and Ted.  They have the usual snipping relationship characters often have when denying they have feelings for each other.

As you can see, the plots of the show are fairly standard fair.  While there's no laugh track, I'd definitely say it borders on the sitcom side of the spectrum.  The stories are light and fun with everything being wrapped up by the end of the 25 minute episode.  This is good escapism - nothing more and nothing less.

I hadn't seen the show for quite a few years, so I was surprised at several things that jumped out at me.  For one thing, this is obviously low budget.  The sound echoes at times and a few of the sets look cheap.  The 80's fashion and hairstyles are pretty obvious at times, too, especially Ted's mullet.  I have a feeling these might be a turn off if I weren't already familiar with the show, but as I got caught up in reuniting with these old friends, I soon didn't notice these flaws at all.  In fact, they added to the charm.

Then there's the acting which is...adequate.  There's a reason that most of the cast pretty much only did this show.  It's not that the acting is bad enough to push you out of the show.  But when the actors have to do much that shows range, they appear to really struggle.  Again, as I get caught up in the show, this isn't something I regularly notice, so it's not super bad, but it is noticeable.  The exceptions are Christine Taylor (yes, Mrs. Ben Stiller) and David Lascher who are the only two to have gone on to other things.  Again, it's not that the rest of the cast isn't watchable.  These two are just the best actors of the bunch.

This show produced a bunch of short seasons, so season 1 consisted of only 13 episodes.  They're presented here on two discs in their native stereo and full screen.  I would have been happy with just the episodes, but there is a bonus feature - an almost 17 minute interview with Christine Taylor talking about her memories of working on the show.  She seems to recall it with fondness, although she never realized just how popular it was.

Those with my fond memories of Hey Dude! will love watching season 1 again.  The characters are entertaining enough that it overcomes the poor production values and iffy acting.

Season 1 Episodes:

1. Day One at the Bar None

2. Battle of the Sexes

3. Goldilocks

4. Ted's Saddle

5. The Competition

6. Rehearsal for Romance

7. Perfect Father

8. The Good, the Bad, and the Obnoxious

9. Rainmen

10. Ted & Brad Get Handcuffed

11. Suspicion

12. Employee of the Week

13. Pain in the Neck