Tv Guidance Counselor Podcast

December 2-8, 1978 This week Ken welcomes producer/actor Nancy Valen (Heavenly Kid, Hull High, Baywatch) to the show. Ken and Nancy discuss Ken's great creative idea, being a latchkey kid, learning from television, growing up in NYC, moving to Florida, Queens, Sesame St, Mr. Rogers, culture shock, Miami Vice, Heavenly Kid, Loverboy, SOAP, Richard Mulligan, Fonzie, being able to suppress being starstruck, Ryan's Hope, Garth Brooks, being on Jay Leno, TV Land, Farrah Fawcett, Dick Van Patten,Windmill Entertainment, Black Scorpion, Baywatch, Tim Van Patten, directing, Hull High, musicals, Riverdale, Welcome Back Kotter, Cheers, Rhoda, Good Times, Love Boat, All in the Family, Brandon Tartikoff, Little House on the Prairie, The White Shadow, Made for TV movies, Cindy Williams in Suddenly Love, divorce, Lou Grant, Newhart, video vs. film, to binge or not to binge, Knotts Landing, Dallas, storytelling, Q*Bert, Space Invaders, being obsessive, Three's Company, Taxi, John Ritter, The Jetsons, living in the future, Bi

Today Ken welcomes TV veteran and author of the new book "Tuesdays with Ted", Russ Woody. Ken and Russ discuss Burbank, wildfires, worshiping television, Ted Danson, Becker, Cheers, seeing the top of your head, Dick Van Dyke, Working at MTM, Newhart, St. Elsewhere, comedy vs. drama, Barney Miller, multi-cam sitcoms, how hard it is to tell a story in 19 minutes, bad people on TV, Cybill, Roseanne, Cosby, insane stand up comedians, how remarkable it is that anything good ever gets made in Hollywood, Green Acres, Tom Poston, Absolutely Fabulous, The Royle Family, US remakes of UK shows, network censors, Jacob's Ladder, Norsemen, Liam Neeson's improv, Toast of London, working in a writers' room, navigating personalities, Dabney Coleman, Slap Maxwell Story, winning people over, living with depression and anxiety, empathy, perspectives, the solitary nature of writing, Murphy Brown, being perfect like an orange, Jay Tarses, mentors, George Clooney, sticking up for people because you can, treating people right, cost

September 7-13, 1991 Today Ken welcomes librarian, podcaster and best all around Margaret H. Willison. Ken and Margaret discuss shortened versions of your name, feminine flowers, post it notes, ribbons, splitting the bill, The Appointment Television podcast, Northern Exposure, Homicide Life on the Street, Highlander the Series, Twin Peaks, The New Leave it to Beaver, Murder, Murder She Wrote, Permeable vs. Impermeable, Amateur vs. professional, Bringing Up Baby, Who's that Girl?, screwball comedies, Totally Hidden Video, being a family of nerds, Larry's thievery, classic radio, model train people, pretending to be somebody else, alter egos, Spaulding Grey, Herman's Head, Avonlea, Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, Judy Bloom vs. Beverly Cleary, being a Private Eye, focus groups, Colombo, The Charles Stuart Murder case, Rescue 9-11, the late Mayor Menino, sidescrapers, cults stealing babies, The Last Prostitute, Night Court, Quantum Leap, The Simpsons, pop culture blind spots, The Office, Poiro

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It's a super sized 2019 Halloween Special.   This year Ken welcomes back Lamont Price, Sam Furst (Monsters are Good) and Rachel Reid to the show. We watch the first three Halloween episodes of Roseanne (Season 2, 3 and 4) and discuss it and all things Halloween.

April 23-29, 1994 This week Ken welcomes comedian Ethan Marsh to the show. Ken and Ethan discuss swingers, Jason Alexander's commercial work, John Candy's death, George Wendt in "Hostage for a Day", what Tammy Faye Baker watches, talk shows, getting your pet spayed or neutered, having a lawyer father, growing up in rural New Hampshire, SNICK, Clarissa Explains it All, Roundhouse, Ren & Stimpy, Dunkaroos, Malcolm X, The Fresh Air Program, Dick Sweat, the power of truck liners, Dollar Bill's, The Mommies, tub time, Judge Shows, The Movie Loft, TV38, pre-ordering Honey I Shrunk the Kids on VHS using identity fraud, teenie weenies, MTV Unplugged, Living Single, Grace Under Fire, Mario Van Peebles, Lifetime comedy specials Dana Gould appeared on but doesn't remember, Blaxploitation, Pam Grier, Ed McMahon is EVERYWHERE, The Fresh Prince, ken getting fired from Newbury Comics, modern country, getting outside your comfort bubble, solving problems, gun violence, simulcasts, Zach Galifinakis on late night TV, Bever

November 12-18, 1983 This week Ken welcomes writer/editor Michael Grasso (We Are the Mutants/Hold My Order podcast) to the show. Ken and Michael discuss Mr. Big's Toyland, Waltham, MA, The Outer Limits, large Italian families, Hi/Low Brow, decades starting on the 3s, The Beige Age, Candlepin Bowling, commercial jingles, syndication laws, Reagan, MTM, issue sitcoms, The 1996 Telecommunications Act, distribution, gate keepers, how easy it is to find TV Guides, We Got It Maid, first run syndication, Punky Brewster, Too Close for Comfort, Three's Company, MTV, Choose or Lose, Ed Hunt, Roswell, In Search Of..., DB Cooper, The British Ministry of Precognition, Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, Fawlty Towers, TV38, The Deer Hunter, The Movie Loft, Solid Gold, broken spines, Vietnam, Fantasy Island, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Dancin' to the Hits, WKRP, Chiefs, movie events, Throb, TV68, V66, Rollerball, dystopian futures, when Bill O'Reily worked in Boston, Tom Bergeron, People are Talking, Hav

June 12-18, 1978 This week Ken welcomes artist, podcaster, and all around cool dude Rich Wentworth to the show. Ken and Rich discuss voice over, Boston family acts, obnoxious brothers, pupcorn, hut dogs, what hugs, UFOs, Project UFO, Malden MA, The Abandoned Ruderman's Furniture Flea Market, Supah Rahre, Lament Configuration, lighters & video games, thrifting, hot plastic comic book bags, gluing on applications, old man Rob Reiner, obscure live action Disney films, Bionic Woman, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Circus of the Stars, Little Seen Canadian Teen Girlfriends, Lou Rawls on Ice, Thanksgiving episodes, Little House on the Prairie, servitude, The Brady Bunch, Leaves + Crayons + Wax Paper = Art, Cheerwine, Salem's Lot, David Soul, Return to Salem's Lot, Sam Fueller, Laserblast, Deadly Weapon, Lemora, Hunt's Photo & Video, Tobe Hooper's Fun House, Budman, parents smoking pot, Three's Company, Buck Rogers, Barney Miller, Oral Roberts, Grease Day, Drake's Cakes vs. Little Debbie vs. Hostess, Street Trash

April 11-17, 1987 This week Ken welcomes Dr. Janet Painter to the show. Ken and Dr. Janet discuss the North Shore/South Shore rift, bad drivers, Carol Burnett meeting Alton Brown, Mr. Wizard, Science, Sci-Fi, having your brother advocate for you to watch Little House, living in the 18th Century, pre-electricity, ancient recording devices, patents, ghosts, theremins, science trial and error, old car phones, building your own Telervisor, Hiding Out, The Big Dig, 21 Jump St vs. Silver Spoons, Sesame St., getting historical fiction wrong, teen crushes, The Muppets, Ricky Shroeder, child actors, being Bewitched three times a day, Watcher in the Woods, collecting for your paper route, recording your own voice, My First Sony, Brewster's Millions, Ann of Green Gables, The Peanut Butter Solution, The Last Starfighter, Rags to Riches, Baby Jessica, Dawn French, Ab Fab, black and white, Night of the Living Dead, KidCo., Scotty Schwartz, the Summer of Courtney Thorne-Smith, Cybill Sheperd Moonlight and Seducing you at th

November 13-19, 1993 This week Ken welcomes author of the new short story collection "Black Light", the amazing Kimberly King Parsons. Ken and Kimberly discuss Cambridge Air BnBs, early bed times, the dick in the Fly, when your parents want to be alone, Skinemax, Real Sex, HBO, Taxi Cab Confessions, MTV's Sex in the 90s, Dream On, Llamas vs. Boobs, Playboy vs. Playgirl, psychedelics, when Hillary Clinton met Big Bird, Judy Bloom, Ecco The Dolphin, Mariah Carey, SNICK, babysitters, the wonder of watching TV in your parents' room, being a snoop, Debbie Does Dallas, breaking things, bodies, David Cronenberg, dread, shocks, horror, when plot doesn't matter, character, Columbo, Murder She Wrote, The X-Files, America's Most Wanted, Unsolved Mysteries, Punky Brewster's Very Special Episodes, Mr. Bicycle Man, Alan: World's Biggest Jerk, Glomer, Mork and Mindy, MTV's Week in Rock, Kurt Loder, 120 Minutes, Nine Inch Nails, My So-Called Life, the pressure of being an only child, Full House, Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, T

John Hodgman is back for a third time! This week on TV Guidance Counselor Ken welcomes back noted mustache creep and author of the new book "Medallion Status", Mr. John Hodgman. Ken and John discuss the insanity of Marriott Hotel naming conventions, hotel security, The Boston/TD Garden, The Leonard Zakim Bridge vs. The Bunker Hill Bridge, racism, The Doughboys Podcast, Pizzeria Regina vs. Regina Pizzeria, horny parsley, accents, adding "r" to words without them, gorging as a job, throwing tennis balls, Medallion Status, the nature of fame, televised team sports, bowling, ruining the day of people in like, just really liking rice balls, busting rice balls, trying meatballs, Downeast Dickerers, fucking blueberry pies, Ken's lack of understanding of liquor stores, Tony Bennett, reality TV, The Property Brothers, Restored, Brett Waterman, White Privilege, gripe culture, working class complaints, resentment, fleshy balloons, Frequent Flyer Miles, status, First Class, bathroom reading, pick pockets, hiding money in

June 9-15, 1973 This week Ken welcomes professor and author of the book The Drama of Celebrity Sharon Marcus. Ken and Sharon discuss how TV Guides can summon up memories of hot New York Summers, Queens, staying up late and watching old movies, classic movie theaters in New York, seeing old movies at your local library, sparking an interest in research and academia, The Hollywood system, Bette Davis, the creation of celebrity, how not smiling is fascinating, Liz Taylor, the thrill of the hunt, stumble on culture, Sarah Bernhardt, the 19th Century in theater, being social through live performances, Ina Claire, the transition into talkies, Lillian Gish, Bela Lugosi, traveling shows, New York as the Center of the Universe, Astoria, Wonderama, the craze of theater scrapbooks, the mass press, cheap photographic reproduction, the negative connotation of celebrity, how now isn't worse, the loss of common references, fads, overalls, Maude, All in the Family, shared experience, pop culture and social class, TV Guide's

October 10-16, 1987 This week Ken welcomes Boston comedian and co-host of the new podcast "Two Boys in a Balcony" Mr. Bill McMorrow to the show. Ken and Bill discuss Weymouth, MA, malls, 80s hair metal, Ken's junk, Building 19, giant underpants, the Harborlights Mall, Minor Threat, Prince, David Lee Roth's ALL Spanish album, destroying cars, drinking, Hit Parader, Circus Magazine, Carnival Mirrors, MTV, V66, Australian Toots, Judas Priest, Billy Squire, Nicole Eggert, notes on stage, Craig T. Nelson, E.T., Get a Life, Cabin Boy, Married...with Children, Fox, Martin Mull's History of White People in America, Kraft recopies, South Shore vs. North Shore, Morton Downey Jr, The Dead Zone, Crime Story, Dressed to Kill, how Parent Teacher night can ruin nudity, Soul Man, movies shot in and/or about New England, Cheers, deaths on television series, Night Court, Max Headroom, Charles Rocket, Spies Like Us, how great Vanessa Angel is, Private Eye, The Vietnam War, complaining about the cost of VHS tapes, Beatles reunio

October 24-30, 1987 This week Ken welcomes actor, comedian and all around entertainer Mike Dorval to the show. Ken and Mike discuss unnatural heat waves, Flirting with Disaster, Alan Alda, Albert Brooks vs. Woody Allen, age appropriate leading ladies, Moon Zapa's father's facial hair, defending Louie's shows, the mechanics of separating the art from the artist, ASMR, StarCase, cable, Rhode Island, a cableless existence, vacation viewing, Hardbodies, Loose Screws, 80s T&A Comedies, Revenge of the Nerds, the darkness of The Last American Virgin, Cannon Films, Lemon Popsicle, Amazon Prime, Force Five, Mr. Big's Toyland, Frankenstein Jr., Moonlighting, Laverne and Shirley's California season, Facts of Life, Over Our Heads, "Funusual", backdoor pilots, re-casting Punchline, Spenser for Hire, Celtic Pride, CHUD money, The Hollywood blacklist, how new media is basically re-building cable, 227, the lie of apartments above garages, Our House, Family Ties, cocaine, Werewolf, Ken's love of Traci Lind, Married...with

February 14-20, 1981 This week Ken welcomes comedian and find Southern Gentleman Billy Wayne Davis to the show. Ken and Billy Wayne discuss Ken's great stories, donuts, smoking pot, being born late, waterbed sex, Nashville vs. Memphis, poor people, Mystery Train, letting go on the ridiculous pop culture opinions of your youth, being a Dad, being an early reader, having the spark, being the child of teachers, learning vs memorization, putting together a late night set, bikers, patronizing liberalism, racism, trying to take it all with you, skipping the weekend, Valentine's Day with the Mandrell Sisters, black boxes, Dad porn, Real People vs. That's Incredible!, the birth of clinically extreme close ups, and early love of quality comedy, Diff'rent Strokes, Very Special Episodes, Stranger Danger, being fueled by spite, manipulating statistics, coke fueled hedonism, D.A.R.E. officers, John Candy's food repairman sketch on Lorne Michaels The New Show, Laverne and Shirley, The Truth Game, Burt Reynolds hosting SNL,

March 18-24, 1978 This week Ken welcomes old friend and Boston Comedy institution DJ Hazard to the show. Ken and DJ discuss making DJs bucket list obsolete, The Weekly Week, time travel, TV Guide Boys, The Boston Phoenix vs The Real Paper, Heavy Metal magazine, Gun Molls, Omni, Analog, Petticoat Junction, Hooterville, subversion, Green Acres, ASMR brainwashing, Conspiracy Theorists, Spanish, puking, how it's all one tube, Ken's awful early stand up bits, a self guided education through magazines, short stories, Jack Kirby, string theory, allegory, V, Star Trek, Fringe, confusing Lindsay Wagner with Peggy Lipton, PBS, Alex Rocco, Biograph Studios, growing up in The Bronx, Car 54, Where Are You?, Lawrence Welk, Termites, Orson Wells, descriptive tracks for the blind, God's Smuggler, the people that gave you "Head", meeting the Pope, who you are in the dark, Project UFO, Easter, celebrity suicides, dramas spun off from comedy, Lou Grant, Zacherly, Frank Hennoletter's Brain Damage, Jerry Lewis, SCTV, The Babys, J

June 2-8, 1990 This week Ken talks with writer, comedian and musician Ariane Sherine on his recent trip to London. Ken and Ariane discuss England vs. America, writing for UK sitcoms in the US writer's room style, not being allowed to watch TV as a kid and sneaking, MacGuyver, Baywatch, The Cosby Show, writing on a sugar rush, hating the competition of jokes, Fraiser, UK vs US comedy, Connie Booth's psychotherapy, Fawlty Towers, Friends, The Good Wife, courtroom dramas, being banned on the BBC, atheism, how religious people often wish you death, god shows, death threats, being too old to be President, Ken's dislike of Bernie Sanders, Jeremy Corbin, trash TV, serial killers, outing nerdo-nazis, arguing all women are gay or bisexual, arousica, Baywatch, educational TV, how fame can make you lose your mind, USA's Saturday Nightmares, Tom Selleck, Season vs. Series, when US prime time action shows become UK kid's shows, the weirdness of Mormons, Stalin, The Wonder Years, music rights, getting expelled from school,

It's BONUS! episode time. Here are two chats Ken had on Day 3 of Denver Pop Culture Con 2019. First up is Michelle Gomez (Doctor Who, Sabrina). Ken and Michelle discuss The Book Group, being surprised that you're funny, working in the trenches of acting, Green Wing, pretending to work in a hospital while you are in a real hospital, how public service jobs can drive you mad, playing Scottish, conjuring an American accent, moral ambiguity, Doctor Who, being The Master, ADR, playing the roles you're cast, Satanic elements, dealing with the Supernatural, being in The Tardis, Scottish snacks, the freedom of horror, Pride Month, Big Finish books, and embracing your well earned success. Next up Ken chats to former guest of the show Jim Beaver (Deadwood, Supernatural). Ken and Jim discuss idjits, have an unending series of goodbye death scenes, Deadwood, Supernatural, ditch digging pranks, taking some time for yourself, writing, The George Reeves Book, why Life is Better When You're Alive, Dr. Pepper, the evolution o

BONUS EPISODE TIME! It's Day 1 of Denver Pop Culture Con 2019. First up Ken talks with voice acting dynamo and all around amazing human being Tara Strong. Ken and Tara discuss relating to Ponies, Teen Titans, Fairly Odd Parents, collaborative jobs, your kids watching your stuff, the voices that are the most difficult on your voice, Melody from The Little Mermaid 2, aside from your personal favorite what your personal favorite is, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Powerpuff Girls, breaking hearts over the phone, Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy, Ben 10, Raven, Rick & Morty, the emotion of getting your wings, Drawn Together, making out with Cree Summer, Rugrats, and the sadness of when things end. Next up it is a Back to the Future panel with Christopher Lloyd and Tom Wilson. Ken, Tom and Christopher discuss Back to the Future, Taxi, being an icon on The Facts of Life, being iconic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, dealing with the massive success of Back to the Future, Things to do in Denver When You're Dead, playing an unl

FALL PREVIEW ALERT! September 12-18, 1998 This week Ken welcomes Philly Comedian Jake Mattera to the show. Ken and Jake discuss the longest they've driven for a gig, growing up in Philly, Rohobeth Beach, Rhode Island, comedy festivals, weird regional foods, Coffee Milk, buying weapons in Chinatown, old Jade, swords, Ghostbusters, WWF, USA Network, being assaulted by your sister, TGIF stitches, Karate's Beast from the East, Dawson's Creek, Fantasy Island reboots, Jacinda Barrett, Wind on Water, Martial Law, Kelly Hu, Ken confusing Sammo Hung with Chow Yun Fat, Cupid, The Army Show, The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, John Diresta in Not King of Queens, when E.R. meets Deep Space Nine, Charmed, being a big Irish Catholic year, when everything was set in Boston, Buddy Farrow, The Net: The Series, COPS, The Brady House, visiting filming locations, Blobfest, ranting about M. Night Shamalan, Neon Maniacs, Midnight Caller, A League of their Own, Le Femme Nikita, Wrestling, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Happy Days, Hog

July 24-30, 1999 This week Ken welcomes comedian, entrepreneur and Woodstock '99 redeemer Jeff MacKinnon to the show. Ken and Jeff discuss Ken's gift shop, trading card Ken Reid, Bradley Cooper's plastic surgery, eyebrows, Ken's fortress, never leaving your house, New Bedford, hippies, CBD oil, The Illuminati at Dallas International Airport, being a sugar kid, addiction, cherry pie, overeating, giving people wedgies as an adult, "shouties", TV Urban Legends, Paul Pfeiffer is not Marilyn Manson, The Newlywed Game "in the butt" incident, Catholic Guilt, naked comedy, The All That Festival, Amanda Bynes, Greg Proops, mental illness, how 1999 was a garbage year for music, Woodstock '94, Kid Rock, MTV, Sha-na-na, The Omega Man, the invention and cycles of nostalgia, The Golden Girls, George Clooney's doodles, teenagers, the invention of rock n roll, evolution, DIY Punk rock culture, The Real World Hawaii, ICP, not getting the joke, why Pulp Comics was Comedy Central's best ever stand up show, The View, how live mu