Nick Knacks Specials

We start an epic 40-year journey into the history of Nickelodeon, the first cable channel for kids! How has it changed over the years? What exactly was its golden age? And is it really as bad today as some people seem to think?

In the spirit of Halloween, we're jumping ahead to 1986 for Marc Summers' Mystery Magical Tour! Marc Summers and his friends discover a spooky castle full of magicians. It's cheesy, but in a good way.

Happy Thanksgiving! Or, okay, a few days after Thanksgiving. Sorry this one's late guys, got super duper sick. But hey, the best part about Thanksgiving is the leftovers! Here's a Nickelodeon Thanksgiving special from 1989, not much to look at, but super important in the development of Nicktoons!

This holiday season, we look at the very first piece of animation produced by Nickelodeon, Christmas in Tattertown! This secret pilot comes to us from Ralph Bakshi. Yes, that Ralph Bakshi! Merry Christmas!

Join Boney, Dottie and Socko as they try to save a couple of latke aliens, who are almost metaphores of the Jewish people, from Shining Time Station's Schemer. It's an obnoxious Chanukah miracle! Happy Hanukkah!

Several additions and corrections to the first eight episodes of Nick Knacks. Topics includes a LOST 1979 Nickelodeon show, more works by Brad Williams, the discovery a lost Pinwheel short, and one viewer's amazing eBay find!

At some point in the last five years or so, people got it into their heads that BET used to air as a two-hour programming block in 1980. I thought it was true too, but after further research, it turns out not the be the case. Time to set the record straight.

Happy Halloween! Today we look at possibly the first spooky thing Nickelodeon ever produced, 1983's U.F.O. Kidnapped! Starring the cast of You Can't Do That On Television, this pilot features aliens, black holes, and cute doggies!

Additions and corrections to Nick Knacks episodes #9-15. Topics include episodes of Dusty's Treehouse being discovered, a misplaced show, and an attempt to appease upset Monkees fans.

A conversation with filmmaker Paul Saltzman, the man behind the show Spread Your Wings.

We celebrate Christmas with Magellan, Batly, and the rest of our friends at Eureeka's Castle!

We never thought we'd find it, but here it as, actual footage of By The Way, one of Nickelodeon's premiere shows 1979. We learn exactly what the show was, who Josie was, and just what role it filled for Nick forty years ago.

We jump forward to 1999, with Mo Willem's sendoff to The Off-Beats, a series of animated shorts for KaBlam! Tommy falls in love with on the Populars, August makes a dancing robot and September pines for lost kitty love.

So, I may have completely missed a show that aired on Nickelodeon in 1981. It's not a big deal, just a movie show called Nick's Family Picks, but my face sure is red. Also, what some of the cast of Kids' Writes have been up, new footage of America Goes Bananaz, and George James from Pinwheel!

On October 2019, Are You Afraid of the Dark came back with a three-part mini-series. Was it good? Did it do the original series justice? And just what it say about Nickelodeon's near future? It's a Nick Knacks about a new thing! Holy crap!

There aren't many Hanukkah specials out there, but out of what there is, Rugrats just may have the gold standard. We discuss the show's relationship with Judaism, how A Rugrats Chanukah came to be, and see to just what the Anti-Defamation League was objecting to.

What once was lost, now is found. An episode of Hocus Focus has surfaced, and now we can finally see what Brad William's headline show was all about. Also, Jim Jinkins as a sleazy filmmaker!

A conversation with Julie Weissman Markovitz, the creator and on-screen instructor of Kids in Motion.