''The Art of Being Nick'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

created by

Bruce Helford Bruce Lewis Helford (born January 28, 1952) is an American television writer and producer. Career Helford was the co-creator of '' The Drew Carey Show''. He served as executive producer of the series for its entire run, from 1995 to 2004. Hel ...

, that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

as a special on August 27, 1987. The pilot stars Scott Valentine as environmental artist, Nick Moore, who appeared as Mallory's (

Justine Bateman Justine Tanya Bateman (born February 19, 1966) is an American writer, director and producer. Her former acting work includes ''Family Ties'', '' Satisfaction'', ''Men Behaving Badly'', ''The TV Set'', ''Desperate Housewives'', and ''Californic ...

) boyfriend in ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States f ...

''. Also in the cast were Kristine Sutherland,

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...

, and John Daman.

Overview

Due to the popularity of the Nick Moore character, three versions of a spin-off were produced. In the first incarnation titled ''Taking It Home'', Nick returns to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

to live with his sister and grandfather (portrayed by

Herschel Bernardi Herschel Bernardi (October 30, 1923 – May 9, 1986) was an American actor and singer. He is best known for his supporting role in the drama television series ''Peter Gunn'' (1958–1961) and his leading role in the comedy television serie ...

). After Bernardi's death in May 1986, the series was canceled. The second version features Nick working in a day care center for

juvenile delinquents Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

. In the final version, Nick, his sister ( Kristine Sutherland) and her son (John Daman) live together in an East Village apartment with Nick working in a bookstore. ''The Art of Being Nick'' aired on August 27, 1987. Despite garnering solid ratings, NBC didn't pick the series up reportedly due to the network's reluctance to lose the popular Nick character from ''Family Ties''.

Cast

* Scott Valentine as Nick Moore * Kristine Sutherland as Marlene Moore *

as Rachel * John Daman as Louis * Ray Buktenica as Bob

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Art of Being Nick 1987 television specials 1980s American television specials NBC television specials Television pilots not picked up as a series Television series by CBS Studios