Tv Guidance Counselor Podcast

Today Ken welcomes screenwriter, director and actor Guinevere Turner to the show. Ken and Guinevere discuss growing up in the Lyman Family, Ryan Walsh's Astral Weeks, Mel Lyman's Lords List of movies, not being allowed to watch TV, being obsessed with Dallas, The Twilight Zone, being the keeper of the commercial clicker, The Three Stooges, M*A*S*H, refusing to acknowledge Daylight Savings, getting TV Guide, Go Fish, making a movie for lesbians, falling in love with Kermit the Frog, Charles Manson, Bettie Paige, the 90s obsession with serial killer before it went mainstream, American Psycho, watching things wrong, watching E.T. every day, Hellzapoppin, how there's no context on Twitter, being scared of scary things, My Bloody Valentine, Dragnet, The Findlay's movie "Snuff", Killing Eve, Danse Macabre, On Writing, partying with Leo and ending up with his vacation photos, hating people touching you without permission on a set, sucking so much that people think you are sick, Dick Cheney's heart, finding the human

Today Ken welcomes actor, producer, director and all around talent Toy Newkirk to the show. Ken and Toy discuss the Hollywood Hills, growing up a tomboy, donut families, Fonzie's swimming hole, the 1970s, the golden age of porn valley, not being allowed to watch TV, growing up with the Zappas, from Maryland to California, being an engineer, being a kid on sets, curiosity, throwing dirt at a commercial director, riding horses, ice skating, going on vacation with Kim Fields, auditioning for everything, the Hollywood African american support circle, being a tech geek, learning all the jobs on a set, MeToo moments, being a P.A., working your way up through the business, standing up for yourself, building your reputation, being a supervising producer, working for MTV, Room Raiders, working on the Howard Stern show on E!, having to deal with Trump producing a beauty pageant, seeing Obama speak, dealing with siblings who have passed away, feeling obligated to be the keeper of somebody's legacy, Nightmare on Elm St 4

January 22-29, 1977 Today Ken welcomes comedian, podcaster and dork forest ranger Jackie Kashian to the show. Ken and Jackie discuss welcoming yourself to you, SCTV, Roots, having a liberal stepmother, bedtimes, Wonder Woman, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, decoding the Hallmark Christmas movies, Marvel Team-Up, Spider-Man, reading weird Australian biker books, Spenser for Hire, Wisconsin, Fonzie Statues, Happy Days, weird Milwaukee-isms, WI Gangsters, Laverne and Shirley, Starksy and Hutch< Carol Burnett, Mr. Rico, feeling uncomfortable with sketch comedy, roasts, Ellen, Barney Miller, civil rights, fear of Orson Wells, Jeffersons, variety shows, Bustin' Loose, Little House, The Waltons, the weird regional pre-sellout legend of Ed Gein, Pinky Tuscadero, M*A*S*H, the lost reveal of Hogan's Heroes, Dungeons and Dragons, Kojak, One Day at a Time, why it's not ok to just burst into single mother's apartments, debating if you could do a sincere Six Million Dollar Man today, Captain America, Nazi Gold, Baretta, Wel

January 7-13, 1989 After a long delay Ken finally welcomes comedian Mehran to the show. Ken and Mehran discuss Ken's aversion to coming into the city, murderous athletes, the Venn Diagram of Euro-trash and townies, the J. Fred Muggs Awards, Geraldo, White Supremecists, representation on television, Adam Walsh, Stranger Danger, Iran, being an anchor baby, butt tapes, HBO's America Undercover, having a big dump in your pants, waiting on Mike Tyson, Night Court, sleazy TV, Golden Girls, LA Law, Scarface, the infamous Monroe assault episode of Too Close for Comfort, Hairspray, John Waters, reclaiming JAG, Larry Sanders, Tracy Ullman, ALF, not Newharting, MeToo, Les Mooves - scumbag, recovering alcoholics, Roseanne, Moonlighting, Growing Pains, born again shills, The Cosby Show, Jasmine Guy, A Different World, feeling bad for Benny, Perfect Strangers, Full House, Andrea Martin, and cracking the code of Neptune King of the Sea.

October 22 - November 2, 1979 Today Ken welcomes actress Cathy Podewell (Dallas, Growing Pains, Night of the Demons) to the show. Ken and Cathy discuss her pre-work, Studs Terkel, Riverdale, growing up in Chicago, the coolest artifact ever brought on the show, TV Forecast, Kukla, Fran & Ollie, golden age of live TV, legacy acting families, Lady Blue, why everyone should wait tables for two weeks, the importance of empathy, Halloween, Nightmares, The Beverly Center, Eight is Enough, Charlie's Angels, Saturday Night Live, CHiPs, Earth Angel, Erik Estrada, Made for-TV Movies, Love Boat, Cindy Williams, Mark Hamill, getting to work with amazing people, being surprised by your own experiences, Spenser for Hire, Dallas, Growing Pains, being famous for TV, doing stand up for Jennifer Garner, Justine Bateman, Nielson families, Ken's dream guests, being on Oprah, Paul Reubens, still having your wedding dress from marrying J.R., kissing Brad Pitt on tape, famous hunks who are bad kissers, Night of the Demons, share

September 5-11, 1987 Today Ken welcomes writer (Atomic Bebop Hulabaloo) and friend Adam Marsh to the show. Ken and Adam discuss Adam's dream come true of appearing on the show, Adam's complicated sibling history, pool hustlers, Tower Records, New Kids on the Block, arcades, the homeless, slug people, pools, Mountain time, Pool Trucks, Rumpus Rooms, Werewolf, Chuck Connors, Thicke of the Night, Chris Elliot, Jay Leno on Letterman, What's Your Beef?, Marlon Brando, The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, Empire Records, Second Chance, Married...with Children, NOW Comics, Ralph Snart, Matthew Perry, the collarless shirt future, SCTV, The Kids in the Hall, Win Lose or Draw, My Sister Sam, the sad loss of Rebecca Schaffer, P.I., going to TV tapings, being a featured extra in 90s teen shows, Who's the Boss, Larry Jr. vs. Larry Jr., bothering Diane Lane, Streets of Fire, AIDS, elderly street puppeteers, Highway to Heaven, Head of the Class, directing Orson Welles, Chris Elliot on the Equalizer, people named "Rags", Gilb

March 23-29, 1996 Today Ken welcomes actor Ayden Mayeri to the show. Ken and Ayden discuss the Bette Davis estate, seltzer, Polar, famous noses, the 90s and the 60s, Nick at Nite, SNL, separate beds, references in comedy, the 1996 Telecommunications Act, syndication, reality TV, the horrors of deregulation, local weird late night TV, preachers on TV, prank calling Church TV, growing up in wine country, Pastor Scott, calling people's parents by accident, growing up an only child, learning how families are supposed to be through television, Parenthood, Growing Pains, reusing the High School set from Head of the Class on Boy Meets World, Saved by the Bell, Saved by the Max, Ferguson on Clarissa Explains it All, child actors, famous people from your town, being a mermaid in a shampoo commercial, insomnia, enjoying the quiet late night hours, Insomniac, Undressed, being confounded by Furries, foot fetishes, the weird through nature of your fetishized body parts appearing on very specific web sites, going totally o

Today Ken welcomes writer/producer/podcaster/sports announcer Ken Levine to the show. Ken and Ken discuss Ken's Hollywood home, Hirshfelds, Emmys, the golden age of television of the early 70s, the horrors of working as a radio DJ, getting laid off before Christmas, forgetting a person's real name and calling them by their actor name, David White of Bewitched, Erin Murphy, being in the army reserves, moving into writing for TV, reverse engineering scripts via bookstore remainders and reel to reel audio recorders, writing for The Jeffersons, M*A*S*H, being in the audience for Mary Tyler Moore's "Chuckles Bites the Dust", how getting laid in 1973 would have ruined Ken's career, Rhoda, writing a spec Mary Tyler Moore, having your Rhoda spec rejected twice, Charlotte Brown being your neighbor, shows going more than four seasons getting weird, Newhart, cliche Holiday episodes, The Odd Couple, showrunning M*A*S*H, keeping 95% of your actual writers' draft, the lazy writing of current sitcom comedy, Cheers, Fraiser,

September 3-9 , 1988 Today Ken welcomes comedian and host of TruTV's "Hack My Life" Brooke Van Poppelen to the show. Ken and Brooke discuss Ken's L.A. Air Bnb, being stuck in Brooklyn, PTSD, being terrified of open spaces, panic attacks, Bablo Island, Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan, field trips, The Topsfield Fair, Stony Creek, board games, butter allergies, bulletproof coffee, the Olympics, a childhood as a gymnast, Miss America, The Peanuts, shared experiences, Freaks & Geeks, being a Lindsay Weir, The Wonder Years, the after school slot, Nickelodeon's Turkey TV, Canadian Television, the "before and after school room", Degrassi High, Los Angeles' infestation of mutant mosquitoes, being raised by weird Mid-Western couples who are not your parents, Roseanne, hillbillies, private school, bags old shoes, double fisting popcorn, free Potato Salad, Bag O'Burgers, Leave it to Beaver, working for the school newspaper, meeting Jerry Mathers, magical beings in your house shows, being a free range kid, childhood de

December 16 -22, 1989 Today Ken welcome returning guest and TV Guidance Counselor All-Star Lamont Price back to the show. Ken and Lamont discuss the questionable racism of old media, skywriters, screwballs, Looney Toons cloud fights, animated sketch shows, black people's cultural Stockholm syndrome, cultural norms, Blackula, Bernie Casey, John Hughes fear of black people, White White Christmases, Motown Christmas, Bernie Mac Show, Christmas Lights, Good Times, getting thrown a bone, The Jeffersons, LeVar Burton, Mr. Rogers, seeing Eddie Vedder at a bar, Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis, Cape Codder, Amen, Booker, Richard Grieco, the birth of The Simpsons, Married...with Children, MacGuyver, magical Christmas statues, Lucy, Scrooge, Wee Willy Winky Pajamas, defending A Christmas Story, generational hatred of It's a Wonderful Life, Rescue 911, Scotty Pippin vs. HIV, Ken's weak grasp of Basketball, Chuck Connors, The Rifleman, corporal punishment as a kid, Wrestling moves, terrifying home decor, Unsolved Mysteries

FALL PREVIEW ALERT September 18-24, 1994 Today Ken welcomes writer Jilly Gagnon. Ken and Jilly discuss eldercare, annual news reports, not realizing how much TV you consumed as a kid, growing up sans cable, The Legend of Zelda, side quests, Goonies 2, NES, Tri-Force tattoos, Gannons, Friday the 13th, news paper TV week, breaking the toaster oven style, Minneapolis, the Dr. Quinn and Walker Texas Ranger Date Night, Central Time, French Fries and Frosties, Toby McGuire, Eddie Furlong, banning the Simpsons, forbidden Married...with Children, shielding your children from shows about poor people, Superman, open fridge policies, Fluffernutters, Lois & Clark, 5th of Five, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, a 50/50 Heathers to Martha Dumptruck quotient, America's Love affair with truckers, Beyond Belief, The Nanny, non-perms, half siblings, Somerville, Bio-dome, ER, Chicago, Rescue 911, Home Improvement, puppeteering Wilson, Touching Touched by an Angel, not being famous enough for The Grove, Hate Farters, My So-Called

November 7-13, 1981 Today Ken welcomes actor, writer, director, artist, musician and all around dynamo Cady McClain to the show. Ken and Cady discuss how a Guinness Book Record for dancing can lead to a showbiz career, growing up in L.A., commercials, meeting the Kool-Aid man, Ann-Margaret, My Favorite Year, Pennies from Heaven, MGM's Musicals, having a grounding in reality, the business of make believe, being an object, not getting a job based on your looks, sacrificing for your art, the Boston Trinity plus, Spenser for Hire, St. Elsewhere, Cheers, Robert Kennedy Mini-Series, the family atmosphere of an isolated set, the gritty made-for-TV movies of the 80s and 90s, moving to New York to do plays, a second life in Soap Operas, Michael McKean, when pilots turn into TV movies, Simple Justice, Caesar Romero, PBS, loving English Shows, Nicholas Nickleby, confusing "The Two of Us" for the Avengers, Who Will Love My Children, giving away ten children one at a time, loving the Twilight Zone, Something Wicked This W

October 31 - November 6, 1992 Today Ken welcomes rapper and comedian Rob Tanchum to the show. Ken and Rob discuss satellites, Fax Ma'zines, TTY Prank phone calls, Westchester New York, teenage Improv teams, TV as coping mechanism, Sabrina, Fleabag, Crashing, The Young Ones, Toast of London, Saturday Night Halloween, hating teenagers, pranks, stealing Bubble Tape, Home Movies, animation, Yo! MTV Raps, babysitter hip hop, SNICK, SNL, Nick at Nite, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, glorifying stand-up, Cheers, Fraiser, re-watching Chuck, insulting your significant other's favorite show, Coach vs. Woody, Larry King, Garlique, My Two-Cents, Twin Peaks, Eerie Indiana, Northern Exposure, It's Gary Shandling Show!, Larry Sanders, Soapdish, flattering angles, Seinfeld, Mad About You, Newsradio, Oprah, being on Oprah, Wings, hating Gary's Old Time Tavern, Dinosaurs, Star Trek, and pulling sounds from pop culture's past to sample for Rob's hip hop album.

September 26 - October 2, 1992 Today Ken welcomes comedian Selena Coppock. Ken and Selena discuss the weird numbering system of Ken's street, lawless New Hampshire, Weston MA, Polar Seltzer, Jan from Toyota, being related to Batman, a family history of performance, 80s Times Square, Sting on Broadway, Guns and Roses, Vince Neil, country music, Garth Brooks, 38 Special, Revenge of the Nerds, Wayne's World, teen gross out comedy, transgender "Sisters", In Living Color, The L.A. Riots, why everyone hates Chevy Chase, late night middle of the road TV, stand up philosophy, Blossom, Joey, skiing, being super old in your 30s, Full House, Mr. Cooper, Roseanne, Coach, 9/11 trauma, Mr. Rogers, the Hail Bop Comet people, The Wonder Years, disliking Neil Patrick Harris, Brooks & Dunn, country dances, loving Ellen Cleghorne, Delta Burke, The Heights, how you talk to an angel, shoplifting, Letterman's hatred of cats.

Today Ken welcomes the director of the new documentary "United We Fan" Michael Sparaga, as well as the star of the doc, Dorothy Swanson. Ken Michael and Dorothy talk about grass roots movements, the importance of television, saving "Crime Story", Cagney and Lacey, hunting down TV contacts, watching things together alone, Niagara Falls Canada, The Story of Viewers For Quality Television, being a professional fan activist, Frank's Place, the importance of representation, DVRing Law and Order and Blue Bloods, Designing Women, The Q Awards, Person of Interest, Chuck fans, Star Trek, The Famous Teddy Z, Hugh Wilson, forgetting about your monthly subscriptions, TV Guide, educating yourself on ratings, learning the business of the business, having too much access, Rob Thomas, turning yourself off from access, fans not knowing what is best for them, Linda Ellerbee, saving shows that don't get saved, the changing world of niche audience, Netflix, losing the cast and crew if you wait too long, the lack of a true "TV Se

October 23-29, 1993 Today Ken welcomes comedian and man about town Kevin Harrington to the show. Ken and Kevin discuss bouncers, consequences, Kevin's grandkids, lying about having nieces and nephews, Ken's superman fortress of solitude, Dean Koontz, Tobe Hooper's Funhouse, St. Louis, central time, O'Boisie's, potatoes, regional candybars, Norwegian heritage, Ren & Stimpy, Aeon Flux, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Ray Bradbury, Liquid Television, Married...with Children, Knight Rider, Murphy Brown, Newhart, strong man competitions, lumberjacks, edited Dream On, Dave Holmes, Kevin Kline, Herman's Head, The John Larroquette Show, Melrose Place, Martin, Amanda Donohoe, Fraiser, The Wild Wild West, Alan Ruck date raped by a woman, and Mortal Kombat.

This week Ken welcomes actor Yancy Butler (Witchblade, Hard Target, Dropzone, Brooklyn South) to the show. Ken and Yancy discuss Air BnBs, the land of the beautiful and rich, Sarah Lawrence College, Spring Break in Boston, growing up in Manhattan, navigating crazy people, Al Lewis, palming $100 bills, expensive real estate, Dick Wolf, peaking at 21, Mann and Machine, being up against Murder She Wrote, The Lovin' Spoonful, futuristic dystopia, moving from NYC to LA, being car blind, Ken's parking Karma mutant ability, not knowing what you want to be when you grow up, getting into acting to pay your student loans, police procedurals, reality TV, Honey Boo Boo Naked and Afraid, Hard Target, John Woo, Nailed It, growing up on Broadway, facing cancellation, having never made a pilot, South Beach, Universal Tattoos, James Coburn, Drop Zone, Gary Busey, John Badham, replacing Mel Gibson while still kissing Wesley Snipes, theater acting vs. movie acting, being (non) musical, voice over, Ad Rock setting you on a path

October 5 -11, 1985 Today Ken welcome promoter and man about town Clay Fernald to the show. Ken and Clay discuss Ken's trash pile, being three years in the making, Sullivan Square Somerville, older siblings, Benson, not being allowed to watch Soap, Eddie Murphy's stand up, comedy tapes, mis labeling shows, PBS shows, boxing nuns, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Ken's grandfather killing The Exorcist, having the most friends on Myspace in Boston, The Boston Phoenix, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Dust Witch, SNL, Saturday Night's Main Event, horror anthology shows into ongoing series, Duck Decoys, comic books, Ray Bradbury, Bloopers and Practical Jokes, buying bootlegs, bag ladies, Jennifer Grey, how kids are the world's biggest liars, Wrestlers, Spitting Image, Genesis' Land of Confusion, D.C. Follies, Martin Mull, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, dating Adam Ant, local WGBH news, being fascinated with Boston, Bon Jovi, Tower Records, Columbo, Webster, Aliens, Clay vs. Clayton, Mr. Belvedere, Spenser for Hire

Today Ken welcomes singer, actor, director Don Most (Happy Days, Dungeons & Dragons) to the show. Ken and Don discuss growing up in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, Million Dollar Movie, Channel 9, a start in singing, commercials, seeing The Jazz Singer, when things feel right historically, The Summer of '42, The Wanderers, American Graffiti, Love American Style, auditioning for your own part, Room 222, Emergency, Dramatic Roles, having a funnybone, Happy Days, recognizing Jumping the Shark, forgetting the 50s, Gary Marshall, The Bronx, the weird New York feel of Happy Days, Dungeons & Dragons, Teen Wolf, indie movies, multi-cam vs. single cam, swing music, American Standards, crashing the set of Chinatown, Jack Nicholson, The Twilight Zone and playing paddle tennis with Rod Serling.

Today Ken welcomes actor, singer, and author of the memoir "Growing Up Fisher", Joely Fisher to the show. Ken and Joely discuss her enormous group of children, TV wallpaper, the news, the way kids watch TV, how difficult it is the tell stories on social media, growing up with Connie Stevens, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, "Does TV Go Too Far?", Made for TV movies, "Someone I Touched", AIDS on TV, After School Special, why Ellen will never get rebooted, the wonders of multi-cam television, directing, Til Death, the loss of opening titles and end credits, Station 19, bothering people in public, Ken's interactions with Norman Lear, getting lost in the story, the new content hungry avenues of streaming media, rebooting Amazing Stories, the lost pilots, getting married on stage, Love American Style, Variety Shows, Reality TV, The Battle of the Network Stars, showing side boob, breaking preconceptions, Desperate Housewives, the failure of Ellen's last season, Last Man Standing, the 90s stand up comedian based sitco