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 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 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 its was also set in Dayton.
In fall 1985, following the 2-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.
