Random clicking of news and tidbits on current and past television programming in the U.S., as well as what's happening in the TV-on-DVD market. Pop culture on the tube. Reliving our childhood one disc at a time.
New Release Tuesday for July 16, 2013 is jam packed! The shelves are stocked today with a ton of TV-on-DVD releases and Stay Tuned is highlighting those shows that deserve a second look and maybe even a purchase.
Sci-Fi Pick of the Week
Alphas - Season 2
Syfy's science-fiction drama about a group of individuals with superhuman abilities see its second season released on DVD this week. Alphas slowly gained a following thanks in part to its well written storyline and characterization but it wasn't enough to prevent its cancellation earlier this year. This final season ends with an unresolved cliffhanger that will leave many in a lurch.
Superhero Pick of the Week
The Adventures of Superboy - Season 3
After spending years tied up in legal battles, the Superboy series is finally being released through Warner Archive Collection's made-to-order website. WAC has released some excellent TV shows in recent years and even though the episodes are not remastered, the studio has listened to fans' calls and produced season sets. The third season of Superboy was full of dramatic changes. Aside from the title change, the tone and storylines of the series were much darker than the light-hearted and even campy episodes from the shows' previous seasons. This season also features the alternate version of Superboy, a storyline familiar to comic book fans. Superman and, in general, comic book fans will want to scoop up this set. Check out Warner Archive's website (Warner Archive Collection)
Thriller Pick of the Week
Damages - Season 5
The fifth and final season of the FX legal thriller drama wraps up its usual case-of-the-season and featured guest star (this season, Ryan Phillippe). As the show winds down to its end, the tense rivalry that has brewed between Patty and Ellen for almost the entire run of the series finally comes to a shocking end.
Kid (or Kid-at-Heart) Pick of the Week
Hey Dude - Season 5
The fifth and final season of Hey Dude is released today exclusively through Shout! Factory's Shout Select line (Shout! Factory). Nickelodeon's original series continues the adventures at the Bar None Dude Ranch in this final season and ends with the gang trailing off into the sunset. Check out Stay Tuned's previous Throwback Thursday post on the history of Hey Dude (Stay Tuned's TBT - Hey Dude).
Comedy Pick of the Week
George Lopez - Season 3
The long-awaited release of the third season of George Lopez's comedy show has finally arrived! After three years since the release of the second season, this latest installment picks up where it left off following the lives of the dysfunctional Lopez family. George Lopez was an instant success on ABC and was one of the few shows to feature an all-Latino cast. Good to see Warner Bros. decided to allow this release.
Sleeper Pick of the Week
Hell on Wheels - Season 2
AMC's western drama revolving around the post-Civil War world sees its second season released on DVD. The season continued to focus on Cullen Bohannon as he forges west during the expansion of the Union Pacific Railroad. Hell on Wheels has become a tucked little gem of a show with a loyal following of post-Civil Warbuffs.
What releases interest you? What would you pick up today, if possible? Share with us below and remember to Stay Tuned for more random bits of everything television.
Stay Tuned is premiering another new feature today: Throwback Thursday! #TBT is nothing new in the social media realm and it celebrates the great music, movies, TV shows, toys, and gadgets (just to name a few items) that marked our childhoods. Are all of them classics? Not necessarily. How about retro? Yes, yes they are and we just love it! Each Thursday we'll highlight a TV show from the past and get those memories jogging.
So without further ado, let's hop in the DeLorean and glide back a few years...
If you grew up in the late '80s/early '90s watching Nickelodeon then you might have come across an episode or commercial for Hey Dude. Nickelodeon had just begun to produce original live-action programming and Hey Dude was one of the earlier shows that broke ground on the kid's network. With the increasing growth of cable television and more youth watching television after school, Nickelodeon took advantage of the opportunity and target that demographic. Years later, shows like Hey Dude were models for the current string of original programming on Nickelodeon, TeenNick, and The N.
The setting of the show was the Bar None Dude Ranch near Tuscon, Arizona. Truth be told that after watching Hey Dude, we all wanted to go work on a dude ranch for the summer. It was like summer camp but with sweet digs and pay...and no boatload of kids. The premise of the show was divorced father Mr. Ernst acquires the dude ranch and moves to Arizona with his son Buddy and a dog that disappears after the first season. No explanation for the dog's whereabouts. She didn't die, she didn't run away...she just gone.
The ranch is staffed with female ranchhand Lucy and summer workers Ted, Danny, Melody, and Brad. Later on in the show Mr. Ernst's nephew Jake and Lucy's ex-boyfriend's son Kyle would join the show's cast.
Episodes of Hey Dude were geared towards a teenage audience and they varied in tone, theme, and storyline. Mostly comedic in nature, episodes usually followed the adventures of the summer staff as they worked on the dude ranch. You know, the normal stuff like leading overnight camping trips, telling ghost stories, competing for employee of the month, learning to swim, getting tied up by playful little kids, and misplacing a camper or two somewhere in the desert. Normal stuff. But Hey Dude also touched upon sensitive topics like cultural misconceptions, alcoholism, physical disabilities, theft and robbery, and the occasional murder (which later would be a misunderstanding). Oh and of course it wouldn't be a teenage show without frequent romances and crushes. Viewers particularly enjoyed the love-hate relationship between cocky senior staff member Ted and snobbish greenie Brad.
Hey Dude was the vehicle that launched the acting careers of David Lascher (Ted) and Christine Taylor (Melody). David Lascher would go on and enjoy long stints on Blossom and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well as numerous television guest spots. Christine Taylor was more successful with a television and film career. Her breakthrough movie role as Marcia Brady on The Brady Bunch Movie propelled Taylor to stardom where she would film many popular movies with future husband Ben Stiller.
Fans of Hey Dude can currently purchase all four seasons on DVD, and the fifth and final season is scheduled to be released July 16, 2013. Shout! Factory acquired the rights to Hey Dude several years ago and have been non-stop in releasing the seasons. The first three seasons are available to purchase through your preferred shop for DVDs while seasons 4 and 5 are exclusive available through Shout's Shout! Select program. Shout! has done an amazing job bringing many Nickelodeon shows to DVD and the company continues to impress us with ever-increasing library of releases. Click on the link above and check out why we can't get enough of Shout! Factory.
Do you have any memories of Hey Dude? What is your #TBT show? Share with us and keep watching Stay Tuned!
