Tv Guidance Counselor Podcast

In this BONUS! Black Friday Edition of the show Ken welcomes back his muse and the wind beneath his podcast wings Mr. Sean Sullivan to the show.   Ken and Sean discuss the fine line between A Christmas Carol and It's A Wonderful Life by way of Sean's NEW Limited Edition Holiday Podcast Series The 25 Days of A Christmas Carol and via Season 1 and 2 Christmas Episodes of Bonnie Hunt's Life with Bonnie

October 27-November 2, 1990 (Ken's all time favorite issue of TV Guide) This week Ken welcomes fellow podcaster and longtime friend Michael Cook to the show. Ken and Michael discuss how their paths never cross in person, how remote can be normal, and when it's not, not being famous, Oregon, the Entertainment Industry, Lex Luthor, Bizarro Ken, buying puppets, New Year's Eve Sign offs, The New Mutants, loving Los Angeles, living that 24 hour life, the horror resurgence on television, anthology shows, Wes Craven, Indiana isn't the mid-west, Ken Ober, MTV's Remote Control, being on local TV shows as a kid, being in TV Guide and not knowing, Family Ties, the FIRST Parenthood TV series, Trick or treating, David Lynch, Lady in White, 21 Jump Street, John Waters guest starring, Comic Strip Live, John Pinnette, Parker Lewis, Baywatch Nights (season 2), Cat's Eye, Stephen King, Dawn of the Dead, Alan King, The Hitchhiker, not remembering lines, acting scholarships, Murphy Brown, Ames, Hex, Rescue 911, Bernard Goetz, gu

FALL PREVIEW ALERT   September 23-17, 1994 This week Ken welcomes fellow stand up comedian and creator of the first Quarantine Stand Up Comedy Album (that I know of) the great Nore Davis to the show. Ken and Nore discuss the changing nature of time, the Apocalypse, New York, Manhattan, not getting TV Guide, Streets of Rage, Skates, roads not traveled, the pilot vortex, Fall Previews, Family Matters, Steve Harvey, Me and the Boys, why ABC was not ready for black people, Cosby, a pre-CW/pre-UPN world, the horror of Miracle Whip, Due South, My So-Called Life, shopping for other people, Homicide Life on the Street, how Fox was the Rent to Own network, Ghostbusters II, working actors, M.A.N.T.I.S., ER vs Chicago Hope, Prime Time PBS, the last days of In Living Color, Sega Channel, rich kids, Ralph Macchio, selling your soul, Bo Jackson, the Ivana Trump TV movie, Nutty Professor, Eddie Murphy, Susan Powter, Fabio's Healthy Bodies Magazine, talk shows, VR Troopers, Gargoyles, stand up, Full House, America's Funniest

June 20-26, 1981 This week (for the second time)Ken welcomes host of the Let's Face the Facts: Facts of Life Podcast, Mr. David Almeida to the show. Ken and David discuss what they talked about last time, All Media, Mr. Lazaroni, The Facts of Life, Bearded undergrounds, Real People, South Shore Bar Pizza, MTV premiere of Thriller, recreating awful times despite living in the future, Brockton MA, Al from Happy Days' itches, Satellite Dishes, saddle stitching, watch along pageants, Soul Train, Hee Haw, hating Southern Shows, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Murderer's Sanctuaries, Sid Haig, Walter Cronkite's Universe, Dummies, Richard Simmons in Katrina, adoption, Building 19, last names, Flambirds, Paul Lynde, spin-offs, American Dad, Regis Philbin gone wild in Mexico, That's Incredible, Diff'rent Strokes, Cher, Jack Harrell, being forced to impersonate Bette Davis WITH Bette Davis, ABC, The Way They Were, Hanna Barbera costumes, costumed characters, wearing bags over your head, Hal Williams, Wonder Woman, The Incre

September 7-11, 1987 Today Ken welcomes long time friend, fellow depression sufferer, fellow Bostonian, and comedic hero Gary Gulman to the show. Ken and Gary discuss Rhoda, bedtimes, writing books, not having children, Jewish women, Valerie Harper, Mary Tyler Moore, being replaced with Sandy Duncan, AIDS, Dungeons and Dragons, Frank Welker, renting a movie, Charles Kuralt, the soothing nature of TV News Anchors, 60 Minutes, Married...with Children, This Old House, driving around, parent jokes, nice parts of town, It's Your Move, Kate & Allie, Newhart, how great Julia Duffy is, The Great Depresh, revolting Swiss Colony, The A-Bomb, Max Headroom, Moonlighting, being not cool, hating things that are popular, always knowing you'll be a writer, After School Specials, being too empathetic, crying, Chris Elliot as Rags Maloney on the Equalizer, how laughter is our only weapon, Bill Boyers, how great Adam Resnick is, YO! MTV Raps, Highway to Heaven, Saturday Morning Preview specials, sports, and the wonder of Th

June 22-28, 1963 It's a TWOFER week as Ken welcomes genius level funny, author of the new memoir "We Saw Scenery" Merrill Markoe to the show. Ken and Merrill discuss needing to get back to dark and gloomy weather, being shocked at how much TV you watched as a kid, We Saw Scenery, being in love with sitcom sons, being boy crazy, being on the wrong side of variety TV, The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, Newhart, Burns and Allen, breaking the 4th wall, surrealism on TV, being the first generation of people making TV who grew up on TV, Saturday Night Live, The New Laugh In, The Late Show with David Letterman, Vaudeville, cigarette ads, the war between TV and movies, The Donna Reed Show, unlikable male characters, the inherent sexism of Hollywood green lights, pitching shows, watching the networks fall, coverage of JFK's travel, the dissolution of Equal Time, Crazy Guggenheim, Jackie Gleason, how big is small and small is big on TV, cute casting, the Rifleman, loving beans being eaten in a tin, Ed Sullivan, Kliph Nesteroff

April 30 - May 6, 1977 This week welcomes musician, DJ, Pogue and all around excellent human Cait O'Riordan to the show. Ken and Cait discuss lockdown, visas, being an immigrant, loving New York City, the dangers of '80s Alphabet City, loving all the bad things about the U.S.A., allowing the locals to be your tour guides, Cheers, Boston, tribalism, The Sex Pistols on Grundy, kids wearing bin bags, 1977 The Year Punk Broke, The Dystopian Nightmare of 1970s England, class systems, addiction, feeling bad for Sid Vicious, getting spit on, enablers, Mental Illness, Frost v. Nixon, Reagan and Thatcher, the strange case of Chevy Chase, Charlie's Angels, stitching up punks, being a sensible nerd, Dukes of Hazard, Hee Haw, Dolly, building a cocoon, the wonders of old movies, the biggest pre-CGI Smash up, Horror movies as family entertainment, The Damned, Spanish Dracula, parental bedtime rules, supper clubs, The Flesheaters, being put in charge of everyone's lives, record collections, Phantom of the Opera, Claude Rain

October 21-27, 1978 This week Ken welcomes author, TV movie genius and all around cool chick Amanda Reyes to the show. Ken and Amanda discuss living in Texas, movie around as a kid, being via satellite, glamour, Las Vegas, LA, Vegas with Robert Urich, The Nightstalker, being a BYOTVG guest, WKRP in Cincinnati, being a horror fan, being an expert, Made for TV movies, how Amanda became an expert, Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee, Are You In The House Alone? a TV Movie compendium 1964-1999 , Bad Ronald, soaps, how TV movies are often just "movies" in the UK and Europe, Kate's Secret, Meredith Baxter-Bernie, representation for women's stories, older women's stories and classic Hollywood actors, Black Christmas, slasher flicks, exploitation directors, Special Bulletin, the amount of TV movies and specials in the 1978-1979 season, Peyton Place, The Bradys, Escape from Gilligan's Island, Rhoda, Carter Country, reunion movies, Westerns, The Hardy Boys, Battlestar Gallactica, Gallactica 80, cult deprogramming, Max Gayl

October 1-7, 1966 This week Ken welcomes legendary punk rock icon, record collector and raconteur Jello Biafra to the show. Ken and Jell discuss becoming part of the Zoom generation, cigarette ads, the wonders of muck raking journalism, out scooping your competitors, watching the news as a kid, The Vietnam War, being a newshound, seeing Oswald get shot on live TV, having parents who don't shield you from stuff, Chef Boyardee, Kars for Kids, the 2012 vote, how cameras change everything, Route 66, Dragnet, Lee Marvin, good acting and good writing, Hulabaloo, Batman '66, the incredible music in the original Spider-Man cartoon, surf music, Star Trek, country music, Martin Luther King Jr, Bobby Kennedy, The Night James Brown Saved Boston, growing up wanting to be the Penguin, Eric Burdon and the Animals, River of Blood, The Midnight Special, Suicide on TV, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Elliot Ness's drinking problem, The Untouchables, being paid in exposure, How Ariana Huffington may be a lost

April 24-30, 1971 This week Ken welcomes writer/comedian and author of the excellent new memoir "My Dirty Life in Comedy", Lois Bromfield. Ken and Lois discuss German, how in Europe "American" is the Children's menu, growing up in Toronto, getting the crap kicked out of you (emotionally) in NYC, the greatest of L.A., appearing on the Dick Clark show with Oingo Boingo and Joan Jett, free therapy, British Sitcoms, the oxymoron that IS German Sitcoms, Bonanza, Lorne Greene, writing checks in the 19th Century, SCTV, Westerns, Masterpiece Theater, The Muppets, the mystery of all your siblings going into comedy, The Honeymooners, working with drunks, Grace Under Fire, working with Brett Butler, Roseanne, the great insanity of working on Roseanne, asking "Who's Jackie?", The Jackie Thomas Show, getting good breaks, pitching stories, cigarette ads, celebrity bowling, 1971 women's hair care products, wanting to be or be with, black characters on Westerns, Mary Tyler Moore, the studio where it was all shot, being a par

December 28, 1996 - January 3, 1997 This week Ken welcomes NPR TV critic, musician and author of the great book Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation, Eric Deggans to the show. Ken and Eric discuss Eric's smooth radio voice, growing up in Gary Indiana, being a touring musician, becoming a TV critic in 1996 in Florida, getting sick of pop music, how hard jobs were to get as a teenager, Letterman, watching TV late night, being a fan of weirdo comedy, SCTV, Ernie Kovacs, being signed to Motown, making sure you always have an HBO Subscription, touring Japan, getting a VCR, the importance of phone trees when black people would be on TV, the paranoia of Dark Skies, the importance of criticism, Siskel and Ebert, Cybill, committing mail fraud with Columbia House to exponentially increase you record collection, experiencing White Rock Music, Quincy Jones, The original Bill Cosby Show, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Saturday Night Live, Eddie Murphy, jamming, In Concert, The Midnight Special,

In this BONUS! episode Ken welcomes former private eye, current Dog Rescue super hero and daughter of the late, great James Garner, Gigi Garner. Ken and Gigi discuss LA vs Boston, living all over the world, being a licensed P.I. in Tennessee, living in the U.K., putting out records, writing three #1 Christian songs, having no acting talent, The Rockford Files, having to drive your Dad's work car to High School, not feeling like a Hollywood kid, getting a late start acting, James Garner's purple hearts, always being able to revisit your relative who's passed, David Cassidy, loving the Partridge Family, continuing her Dad's Legacy, the James Garner Animal Rescue Fund (jgarf.org), kill shelters, how trying to quit smoking led to having a dog, product endorsements, Mazda, Polaroid, having a natural charm, running a talent management company, The Americanization of Emily, Awards nominations, Murphy's Romance, keeping treasures from a life well lived, Grand Prix, The Cinerama Dome, being good at golf, The Notebook,

July 19-25, 1986 Today Ken talks to writer, host, podcaster, and bizarro Ken Jake Fogelnest. Ken and Jake discuss the Stuff, John Waters, being a "precocious" kid, Larry Cohen, Squirt TV, Cable Access, Night Flight, working from home, branding, Midnight Blue, The Comedy Store, supportive parents, Cypress Hill, The Beastie Boys, seeing Rocky Horror live, refusing to recognize authority, Channel J, Channel 23, watching Degrassi for the first time, getting an idea of what a cool teenage room is, Ladies and Gentlemen the Fabulous Stains, rebuilding cable, being an advocate for lost media, being Star Struck, Valley Girl, Steve Jones, dead malls, Kevin Smith, Tom Green, Jerri Hall sitcoms, unsold pilots, Criterion, MTV's 120 Minutes, the children of Night Flight, Maron, stand up comedy, Rachel Sweet, The Gong Show, lost movies, Penelope Spheeris, Ken's huge balls, Albert Brooks, The Day the Clown Cried, Harry Shearer, owning film prints, Private Parts, Howard Stern, 4k UHD, Vamp, James Cameron's pitch of Aliens, Ev

June 1-7, 1968 This week Ken talks to former actor, producer, current investment banker and long time good dude Scott Valentine. Ken and Scott talk about Ken moving to L.A., Scott moving back to New York, Scott's true love, climate change, when Scott got run over by a truck, Knight Rider, Family Ties, The Art of Being Nick, the cast of Family Ties, working with smart people, the best sitcom lines, not being no Charles Bronson, visiting the Smokey Mountains, Ginger vs. Maryanne, Raymond Burr, facing Andy Griffith while wearing tight leather pants, Petticoat Junction, My Demon Lover, Pizzatskis, movie acting, being on the stage, being blamed for film failure, The Actor starring Alec Guinness, voice over, Phantom 2040, The DC Animated Universe, Rob Paulsen: Good Dude, entitled actors, coke heads, being caught in a battle between Gary David Goldberg and Brandon Tartikoff, Aaron Spelling hating you, awful executives, becoming a producer, Maverick Pictures, being incredibly lucky, a life well lived, working with Me

October 11-17, 1975 This week Ken welcomes writer, drummer, actor and all around great guy Frank Whaley to the show. Ken and Frank discuss Ken's mispronunciation, upstate New York, being "Evicted Boy" in Spenser for Hire, being 24 and pretending you are 16, being dirt poor, getting commercials, The Freshman, getting to act with the best actors, Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster, Field of Dreams, After School Specials, James Earl Jones, how Little Monsters put Born on the 4th of July in jeopardy, gambling on baseball, bookies, bowling, Cornhole on TV, being a punk kid, making rednecks angry, garbage bags full of drums, sleeping on an ottoman in a sublet, the dangers of New York, trying to self sabotage, luck, The Jimmy Show, stand up comedy, doing improv in Career Opportunities, John Candy, having Burt Reynolds rub your inner thigh, making out with Ann-Margaret, loving disco, Soul Train, The Midnight Special, planning private time, loving Cher, The Bay City Roller, variety shows, loving all the women of Mary Tyler

June 20-26, 1998 This week Ken welcomes producer, writer, showrunner and creator of the new NBC Medical Drama Transplant, Joseph Kay. Ken and Joseph discuss being in Toronto, being stuck behind a border, Transplant, a show set in Canada being an NBC co-production, The X-Files, Chris Carter, learning how to run a show working on a show, serialization in television, the ongoing story in Transplant, the difficulty of telling stories without a definitive end, Medical Dramas, E.R., immigration stories, George Clooney: Movie Star, how medical dramas are the new detective/mystery shows, re-inventing cop shows, Spielberg, secret identities, super hero origins, broken people, how 1998 is a transitional year, the end of Larry Sanders, Sex in the City, when HBO became an original programming contender, Seinfeld, Mr. Show, The Kids in the Hall, New York City, SCTV, Johnny LeRue, Toronto, the current state of TV criticism, Ted Lasso, Major League, anti-heroes, stand up on TV, Still Standing, Mike Birbiglia, Crashing, Step

July 19-25, 1969 This week Ken welcomes film fan, Rifftrax-er, and voice of Tom Servo, the great Kevin Murphy to the show. Ken and Kevin discuss fishing, Elvis, the Apollo 11, Boy Scout Camp, the space race, the political unrest of 1968, Vietnam, Iowa, Nebraska, jock itch, hemorrhoids, corn, being too old for diaper rash, smoking, Jackie Gleason, Hardcore Corn-ography, the greatest music on television, The T.A.M.I. Show, WHA PBS, Kevin's history in television production, Mason Williams, the FCC, befriending the tape librarian, The Outer Limits "The Invisible Enemy", The Day the Earth Froze, Miss Universe, Mission Impossible, The Shock Theater package, WGN's movie library, seeing Hammer Films on TV, Creature Features, being a cool 60s cat, Tarus Bolba, "blood and thunder", Gogolos, Ken Barry, Mayberry R.F.D., profiling Paul Lynde, when Arnold directed William Hickey, The Johnny Cash Show, Green Acres, the skillsets lost in time, The Munsters, The Prisoner, The Finale Programme, Dean Martin's Golddiggers, going

April 24 - May 3, 2004 This week Ken welcomes actor, musician Kaitlin Huwe to the show. Ken and Kaitlin discuss the misery of a New England climate, The Bay Area, the California Vibe, Pandemic niceness, having a great Drama teacher in High School, moving to L.A. at 17, NYC, UCLA, being completely baffled by TV Guide, PBS's Arthur, Hollywood's seedy underbelly, faking it til you....fake it, Fake film festivals, music videos, doing the training, women of SNL, TV on flip phones circa 2004, buying three throw blankets as a comfort reaction, redesigning your own bedroom, 7th Heaven, That's So Raven, why S Club 7 is too provocative, wrapping over theme songs, having a very specific set of skills, the good and bad of stand up, Ken's dislike of Stand Up specials, knowing why you don't like a thing, Two and a Half Men vs. Half and Half, Comedy Central's Bar Mitzvah, why acting is the opposite of improv...in theory, learning lines, working with Anthony Hopkins, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, getting a day boyfriend fr

January 13-19, 1968 This week Ken welcomes the incredible English writer, comedian and all around amazing human Jo Brand to the show. Ken and Jo discuss the good that has come out of a Global pandemic, how incredibly shocking 1968 seems looking at it from 2020, USSR representations of the USA, Ken's deprogramming, Housewife Dracula, how to say "take the piss" in America, Female stand up comedians, the UK Alt-Comedy scene, man-hating, what makes it to the US from the UK and vice versa, remaking British Comedies for the United States, Getting On, the U.S. obsession with looks, being in the thing you create, earning your place, getting insults thrown at you, Billy Connolly, Ken having to pretend to be Canadian, Up the Creek, The New Cross Tavern, Vic Reeves, Harry Enfield, Big Night Out, Shooting Stars, heckles, bits that don't work, coughing blood, snarky sarcasm, panels shows, The Newlywed Game, Mr. and Mrs., our modern fairy tales, My Three Sons, court ordered tea parties, Morecambe and Wise. The Young Ones,

August 2-8, 1975 This week Ken welcomes actor, writer, director and all around good dude D.B. Sweeney to the show. Ken and D.B. discuss enjoying the depth of TV Guide listings, growing up as townies in Long Island, when Spenser for Hire is your first day in show business, befriending Robert Urich, Lonesome Dove, being a Red Sox fan in Long Island, Billy's Triple Crown, Mary Tyler Moore vs. Emergency, Randolph Mantooth, Dead Martin and Jerry Lewis, being a comedy guy, playing real people, 8 Men Out, Gardens of Stone, Two and a Half Men, being a hocky dad, the greatness of Jon Cryer, Art Carney: Santa Claus, aliens, Rat Patrol, S.W.A.T., missing out on meeting John Houston, Peter Falk, Ireland, being mistaken for an IRA money runner, Roommates, how Hollywood changes the source material, how difficult Romantic Comedy is, The Cutting Edge, Chiller Theater, Thriller, The Saint, taking a swing at M*A*S*H via Family Guy, Good Times, old time song and dance men, variety shows, offending Tony Orlando, procedurals, Str