NICK GUY, PRIVATE EYE

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

INTRODUCING NICK GUY

I had the idea for the Nick Guy character for some time. He made his first appearance in REALiTY CHeCK episode #25 entitled The Hidden Treasure. I liked him so much I brought him back for a 2-part feature (REALiTY CHeCK episodes 34 & 35 entitled Saul of Tarsus), where I introduced the Dr. DeSoto character. It became apparent after those initial uses that for this character to be used to his fullest potential he would need a longer format to work from.

My first thought was to develop a series along the lines of the old radio serial programs from the 1930s & 40s. Each installment would begin with an announcer setting the stage leading into a 15 minute segment. Each segment would end with a tense moment and the announcer inviting the audience to tune in next week to see what happens. The story lines would follow each case through to completion, with a new case being introduced at the end.

I began work on a script, but I wasn't long into it when I knew it just wasn't any good. Nothing seemed to be working. The story line was weak and the characters just weren't working. I shelved the project. I realized that a big part of the problem was that series lacked a reason, a purpose. I didn't simply want to produce an entertaining program, but one with a mission.

NICK GUY GETS A PURPOSE

I have always had an interest in Christian apologetics. Apologetics is a branch of theology that seeks to give a defense for the truth of Christian doctrines. It struck me that, in many ways, the work of an Apologist is much like the work of a private detective. Searching through the data to discover the truth. With this settled, Nick Guy was back in production.

QUARTERLY SPECIALS

I had been writing, performing, producing and engineering the 5-minute REALiTY CHeCK programs for some time. The short format made it easy to crank out one a day if I needed to. The half-hour Nick Guy programs would not be that easy. The plots and characters were more complex. Creating a new show every week would be a daunting task. It was then that I had a conversation with a good friend of mine Bruce Munsterman, Station Manager at KHCB 105.7 FM in Houston, Texas. He suggested releasing the Nick Guy Series as special programming (i.e. Christmas & Easter Specials). That way I would have the time to write and produce them. He also felt that they would have a better chance of getting aired as specials. Radio stations are more likely to play special programming as they aren't likely to have a regular half hour of available air time.

WEEKLY SERIES

By January 2014, I found that I had more than enough Nick Guy episodes to have the series run for over a year without having to repeat. This made it practical for me to begin offering the program as a weekly series. Some of the stations that were airing the quarterly specials began airing the adventures weekly, and I continued to add new stations as well.

THE FUTURE

As to the future of Nick Guy, Private Eye, our intent is to continue writing and producing new adventures. There seems no end of topics to be addressed and adventures he can have. As long as there continue to be listeners to enjoy and benefit from them, we will continue to produce them.

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