The Art of Being Nick
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The Art of Being Nick was a sitcom pilot created by Mark Helford, later of Roseanne, and starring Scott Valentine as artist/environmentalist Nick Moore. Also in the cast were Kristine Sutherland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who would go on to play Elaine Benes on Seinfeld), and John Daman. The show centered Moore's return to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, to reconnect with his family.
There are two versions of the show's production history. In the first, The Art of Being Nick was a straight spin-off of the Nick character from Family Ties, but it was deemed too bizarre and burned off in the summer of 1986.
The other story is that the two shows were not originally connected. NBC wanted a crossover appearance on one of their current hits as a preview of The Art of Being Nick, and chose Family Ties since it was also set in Ohio (Columbus).
In fall 1985, following the two-hour Family Ties Vacation movie and a two-part season opener, the third show of the season introduced Nick as Mallory's (Justine Bateman) boyfriend. The appearance was a hit, and NBC, never enamored with the pilot, decided to keep Nick as a recurring character on Family Ties. The pilot aired the following summer in Family Ties' time slot.
