Dudley Moore was a comedy superstar. He had been entertaining audiences across the pond with his partner, Peter Cook for years. Then he made his first big splash in the States with the Blake Edwards comedy, "10," which turned Bo Derek into a household name and made Ravel's "Bolero" appropriate foreplay music for the 1980s. That got immediately followed by the smash, "Arthur," which revived the career of Nepo Baby, Liza Minnelli.
By the early nineties, it seemed natural for television to want to tap that comic potential, which led to this, Mr. Moore's first American sitcom.
"Dudley" was the story of a very successful New York Cabaret performer and playboy (the titular star, playing Dudley Bristol), who was amicably divorced from his ex, Laraine (Joanna Cassidy). Their teenage son, Fred (Harley Cross), verging on the edge of delinquency, had to start living with his nightclub dad and Dudley's housekeeper Marta (Lupe Ontiveros) who only spoke Español (with subtitles so viewers could follow along). Let the NYC misadventures, begin!
Dudley had an issue with saying what he thought and letting the chips fall where they may. That always got him into trouble. For work, his candid comments forced his friend and lawyer Paul (Max Wright) to mop up the Public Relations mess, somehow. At home, his remarks forced Fred to have to deal with some ridiculous thing Dad said about him... either in the press, which became fodder for jokes by his classmates at school, or just around the house which created even more conflict with their already strained father/son relationship.
Dudley didn't know anything about being a parent! He was just a guy doing his job and having fun. Suddenly, responsibility reared its ugly head. What's an entertaining entertainer to do?
The elements of understanding boundaries, revenge against those that wronged you and the music, which allowed Mr. Moore the chance to tickle the ivories, ever so briefly, were all included in the storylines. Bitter was absolutely a flavor used for this comedy.
What would have been great is having Moore always getting in a song, either as part of a performance or rehearsal, or related to the storyline somehow. That might have made for a friendlier reception to his patriarchal antics. But, then again, music would have required royalty payments; that would have been an additional cost for the show's budget. Still they could have picked tunes that were in the Public Domain, just to give a little more of the nightclub feel.
New York played a part because where else is a cabaret performer going to be? The press was constantly around, the late night lifestyle of boozing and playing that Dudley lived, the action and adventure of the city and Fred's prep school attendance provided the setting that the stories were set against. There definitely were a few moments that recalled "Arthur" in this program.
Unfortunately, Dudley Bristol wasn't quite as welcome or charming as Arthur, and though Laraine and Paul tried to wrangle him, neither one was Hobson, the absolutely brilliant Sir John Gielgud from that film. And without that ideal foil for Moore to play his comedy off of, that essential guardrail that restrained and focused the humor, this show sort of went off track.
