Nick at Nite wasn't just a block of old shows, it was truly an immersive experience. I've never seen a station work that hard to bring you into the world of nostalgia and make you never want to leave. While other kids groaned when Nick changed to Nick at Nite, I was absolutely delighted. I loved the tongue-in-cheek segments like How to Be Swell and Milkman, I looked forward to events like the St. Patty's Day green tinting of all the shows, and everytime I saw promos like these, I was charmed. Nick was special, but Nick at Nite was home. At 35 I still love classic shows and watch Antenna TV every day and MeTV now and then. I'm grateful they exist, but they'll never feel as comforting as Nick at Nite.
Thank you for mentioning How to Be Swell and Milkman...gosh I haven't thought of any of this stuff in ages! I loved Nick at Nite so much when was a kid! My parents weren't the type to splurge on a lot of extras, but I'm so thankful they opted for an extra cable box so I could watch Nick at Nite while they were watching their shows. I loved Get Smart, Dragnet, Green Acres, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mork & Mindy, Mary Tyler Moore, Mr. Ed, etc. In the summer I'd stay up all night and I remember Alfred Hitchcock meant the night was just beginning.
I've been trying to put my finger on what made these bumpers so special. And IMO it's because there's such a range of high quality camp production for a block that's specifically aired in the middle of the night while most people are asleep. It was like a secret society of late night TV nostalgia. Way before Adult Swim. And if it weren't for the internet, many of us would have ever seen these. Nick at Nite cared enough about their overnight audience that they created it's own retro world just for them. That's why I miss themed cartoon and sitcom blocks on network and cable TV. I remember this N@N very well but was a child(born in 1980) I wasn't the demographic though I was an old soul. On Fridays after TGIF was over, I would watch the Best of Saturday Night, SCTV and Laugh-In on N@N. Then maybe watch Arsenio afterward. It was the one night where I could stay up late and I had the main TV all to myself. I have no idea what it's like now but i heard it only airs about 4 shows repeatedly.
definitely felt like an old soul too myself being a pre-teen in early to mid 90s watching Nick at Nite especially during summertime when I could stay up late. I don't think I understood the adult sophistication but I still appreciated it.
I know, right. When I seen this I could just picture myself and my grandmother sitting in the living room, watching the floor model tv after supper, and preparing to watch Mr. Ed. Those nights "were" magical and I love the nostalgia that just washes over me when I see things like this..
As a kid, I remember always getting a little sad when the Nick At Nite ads started because it meant the cartoons were over for the day. BUT it did mean I Love Lucy was incoming, so there was still something I had to look forward to.
Green Acres, Car 54 where are you, I dream of genie... It was on those warm summer evenings. I didn't appreciate the intro's as a kid, sure do now; All of it. Thanks for posting.
here's another thing I remember from Nick at Nite, the block party summer where they actually show all the old shows from Monday through Friday (🎵Ah, memories🎵)
What I love is that, while catering to a 1990s/early 2000s audience, they were trying hard to recreate the vintage television-watching experience (that of the 1950s and 60s, the so-called "Golden Age of Television"). These bumpers were clever and used catchy jingles that really stayed with you. Man, I miss old school Nickelodeon and TV Land.
Storytime: one of these jingles just popped into my head out of nowhere and I sang it to my 14 year old son. He looked at me like I was crazy. So I got on youtube, found this video, and played the original for him. It's the one with the troglodyte at 4:30. He still looked at me like I was crazy, but I felt kind of vindicated for remembering a jingle word for word that I haven't heard in decades.
There happens to be a missing Nick at Nite bumper which an announcer saying something like this: "Hey, that guy's really great! Ahem. Now, we'll take a break from all those commercials for some regular commercials. And then, we will have more commercials when we return."
I wish there was a way to watch these old shows the way I watched them back then...with all the old bumpers and the program blocks :( having the shows as dvd sets isn't the same. If there was a nick at nite channel or streaming service that incorporated these aspects, it would probably be very successful
They do have a Nick at Nite channel but it just ain't the same, I wish they have a Nick at Nite Retro Channel, I would pay 6.99/month with no commercials on an app or on DISH
+Marcie Swadener yeah, same here, but with the way people can watch t.v. nowadays, im afraid the original nick will never be seen back on the airwaves, but maaaaaaaan, how i wished it would. Id love to see all these old promos and some new ones as well. I remember when the channel FX premiered in the mid 90s; all they had on were old 66 Batman episodes and The Green Hornet, but theyd also show an old 60s commercial or two during breaks. lol I loved that! Looking back now, all of this sorta makes me feel like i grew up in a time that i actually didnt.
***** same here. I just stream a lot of the stuff on hulu. Im a fan of the action shows of the 70s and 80s as well, like Chips, Dukes of Hazzard, A-Team, Knightrider, Quantum Leap, Fall Guy, Charlies Angels, and a lot of other old stuff, but i love Golden Girls, 3s Company, Andy Griffith, Dennis The Menace, ugh...lol, should i keep going?
When I was a kid I pretty much had Nick on 24/7, so it was inevitable that I would eventually see some N@N programming. I remember The Munsters being the gateway show, and I pretty much went all in from there. Nick at Nite and TV Land were just as big a part of my childhood as Nickelodeon. I also used to love AMC when I was a kid when they played old classic movies. I own most of my favorite Nick at Nite shows on DVD now but it's not the same. The whole Nick at Nite package was an experience unto itself that no network since has duplicated.
Thank you so much. Talk about "nostalgia!!", when I watched this it took me back so far. The sh*t they show now isn't worth a damn, and they don't even call it "Nick at Nite" anymore..., it's "TV Land" and the oldest show on there is Rugrats which just disgusts me. That's old?..., lmao I was in middle school when Rugrats came out and I don't consider myself vintage lol. Buts that's the way of the world now, if it's older than 15 seconds then it's in the past because we are in such a hurry these days. Sad...., truly sad.
Nick lost its feel big-time. This was so creative and original. Its like even the cars from the mid 50s to mid 60s were awesome, then ever since the 70s that groove fell out and people overall settled for junk nationwide