YMMV / Hey Dude!

• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Melody is played by Christine Taylor, who would go on to be Marcia in The Brady Bunch Movie and appear in films such as The Wedding Singer, Zoolander, and Dodgeball (the latter two with her husband Ben Stiller).
  • David Lascher (Ted) had quite a nice career in the 90's and early 2000's, including a recurring role on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which starred another Nickelodeon alumna, Melissa Joan Hart.
  • Writer, story editor, and creative consultant Alan Goodman later served as creator and executive producer of The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo.
  • Writer Graham Yost would go on to write blockbuster action films like Speed and Broken Arrow (1996) as well work on highly acclaimed TV dramas like From the Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers, Justified, Silo, Boomtown, and The Americans.
• So Okay, It's Average: It's a decent show on its own merits, but compares poorly to the likes of The Adventures of Pete & Pete or Salute Your Shorts. Somewhat justified in that as one of Nick's first forays into traditional scripted television, the show was written more like a family-friendly sitcom that just happened to air on a kids' network rather than a comedy squarely aimed at kids.
• Unintentional Period Piece: Worth mentioning for just how jaw-droppingly quickly the episode "Do the Right Thing" became dated. The premise involved an archaeologist unearthing a Native American burial ground that Danny wanted to protect. 14 days after the episode aired, Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, making the ethical debate moot since the archaeologist's actions were now a federal crime.
• Values Dissonance: The episode "Amnesia" has Mr. Ernst, an adult, get amnesia and believes he’s 17 years old. At one point he starts flirting with Melody… an ACTUAL teenager… needless to say even played for comedy this would never fly today.
• Values Resonance: Some of the Very Special Episode's revolved around Danny and his Native American heritage. Episodes such as "Rainmen" sought to properly de-mystify and debunk many stereotypes of the Native American that were perpetuated in media for generations. While Joe Torres was not technically a Native American or affiliated with any tribe, a native cast member being treated like any other kid as opposed to the Token Minority is very progressive even 34 years later.
  • The episode "Do the Right Thing" is especially resonant due to its plot. It involves Danny protecting a native burial ground from an archeological excavation. A mere TWO WEEKS after the episode aired, congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Reparations Act, which would've made the archeologists guilty of a federal crime.