“What if the viewer could become her/his own programming director; what if s/he could define the very entertainment-happiness it was her/his right to pursue.” – David Foster Wallace
First of all, don’t get pissed: This is the last Nick of Time piece. Even worse, it’s not a real Nick of Time piece. Sorry.
Now, yes, I still have a few more shows left to investigate, analyze, and deconstruct, but, well, this modest little hat trick actually worked. That’s right: The history of Nickelodeon’s “golden age” I’ve been developing alongside my Nick of Time series will be published by Plume, an imprint of Penguin, next year.
As such, we’re going to have to stop with the articles for now to focus on the book. But, as long as I don’t:
— Get my penis sliced on a collapsing bandstand as with what happened to that star-cross’d audience member on the set of Double Dare.
— End up with chicken pox after being around hundreds of kids as with what happened to DJ MacHale, creator of Are You Afraid of the Dark?
— Get rousted by the mad genius creator of Ren & Stimpy, John K.
— Get sick from being doused by actual green slime from You Can’t Do That on Television.
— Or end up getting lost camping with Salute Your Shorts’ “Sponge” in the Hollywood Hills (wait until you hear his story!)
I should be able to finish by deadline so that chall can read about your favorite kid shows, stars, and creators (with a few added surprises along the way) in your own handy-dandy book form.
Get your Christmas lists ready early, and thanks to all of those who helped me in this quixotic quest — especially all the Nick principals who took time to talk with me, Adam from Splitsider for letting me do this, and all you fine readers who showed a first-time “blogger” (I guess?) that, hey, maybe there is something to all this Internet drivel. (We’ll see…)
And any of you Nick folks out there who have been reading my articles, if you’d like to get in touch with me about your stories, feel free to shoot me an email.
Now reprise the theme song and roll the credits…!
Mathew Klickstein co-created a TV show for National Lampoon, wrote a movie for Steven Seagal and helped run Southern California’s oldest free-weekly into the ground. He’s the author of published novels you’ll never read, has written for numerous publications you’ve never heard of and he’s developing a book about the early years of Nickelodeon before someone else does.
