Nick at Nite Thread

[minor muppetz]

For years I have seen a commercial for a special called The Nick at Nite Do it Yourself Sitcom Search (actually, the promo was for a rebroadcast, as it had quotes from critics), hadn't actually found the special online, I wondered if maybe it had an article on Lost Media Wiki (as far as I can tell, Lost Media Wiki does not have any pages regarding Nick at Nite, though it does have many for Nickelodeon programming).

But then I found this article, which mentions that the winning sitcom pilot was called Tattertown, and used to air annually during the Christmas season.

A Look Back at Nick at Nite : The Retro Network

I wonder if that was correct. Seeing it mentioned there, I guess I thought it was a special showing multiple "sitcoms" made by viewers (and I guess I expected them to be short enough that they could fit multiple sitcom pilots in a half hour or two). It did not occur to me that Nick at Nite might have had people watching and deciding themselves on the best sitcom, and only showing the winner.

But reading about Christmas in Tattertown elsewhere (and I vaguely recall hearing about it recently, maybe as part of the Nick Knacks series), I see that it was an animated pilot made by Ralph Baski. Somehow, that doesn't sound right. I would have thought the entries were all made by regular people as opposed to professionals in the business (though I guess entering would be a foot in the door), when Ralph Baski is a professional in the animation business and was known. But I also would have thought the sitcoms submitted would all be live action (especially if the people sending them were average viewers with no television experience).

And I have looked up Christmas in Tattertown with no information on it being part of the sitcom search. The article I linked is the only place I have found to say that the Do-It-Yourself Sitcom Search led to Christmas in Tattertown.

It might be hard to find answers, I can barely find anything online about the Do-It-Yourself Sitcom Search. Looks like this came right when Nickelodeon was starting to become popular.

And if I may suggest things for Lost Media Wiki that don't seem to be online, I'd like to see more of the String-A-Thon (only a few segments are online) and the Picture Perfect marathon (a late-night marathon where reruns were presented inside a picture frame). There's also a number of marathons that I have been unable to find promos or special segments for (like the Happy Days "Chachinated or De-Chachinated" marathon, and The Odd Couple on Ice).

 

[JaclynF]

I was an 80s kid and regularly watched Nick at Nite. I do remember the "Sitcom Search" event, so I wanted to share my recollections, although I don't have any of it on tape.

From what I remembered, there were 5 "finalists" who had their lives turned into a sitcom. Whether it was each contestant recording themselves, or whether Nick at Nite did the recording, I don't know. I do remember that the winning "sitcom" was called "A Perfect Mess." I think it had something to do with a frazzled mom/housewife trying to keep things clean at home before an important event. But that's all I remember. I think they showed clips from all 5 finalists, and I seem to remember that one of the other finalists had a gag where someone drank a jar of ****, thinking it was beer or lemonade or whatever.

They actually did the Sitcom Search again the following year. I remember that winning sitcom was called "Everyone Loves a Clown" or something similar. And I remember not liking that one as much, since the idea of having one character be a clown was a bit weird and not in line with the idea of people having their regular lives turned into a sitcom.

Sorry, that's all I remember!