Tv Guidance Counselor Podcast

Today Ken welcomes writer, special make up FX master and pseudo-Mad Scientist Steve Johnson to the show. Ken and Steve discuss making the television Ken talks about, moving to CA from Texas at age 18, Merv, Steve's book Rubberhead, Rick Baker, An American Werewolf in London, John Landis, Stephen King, Hammer Horror, Universal Monsters, Tom Savini, the birth of Gore, holographic contact lenses, Innocent Blood, Joe Hill, Max Landis, Tom Atkins, The Stand, Stephen King on Television, The Shining TV mini-series, Steven Webber, Maximum Overdrive crew shirts, Friedkin's Bug, Danse Macabre, The Incredible Shrinking Man, old school studio employee make up fx guys, Dick Smith, matching the age spots on the Exorcist, Freaked, Screaming Mad George, covering A-List actors in character make up, Tales from the Darkside, Monsters, Organ Donor parts, German versions, Glim Glim, The Horror Hall of Fame, making frogs for Magnolia, Ernie Anderson, working on Ghostbusters, Slimer, ending the debate of the Zombie cab driver, CGI,

March 25 -31, 1978 Today Ken welcomes comedian Wendy Liebman to the show. Ken and Wendy discuss L.A. rain, growing up in Long Island, low tolerance for New England snow, inventions, Walk-Muffs, Shark Tank, inventions, Steven Wright, appearing on Late Night TV, Ding Ho, Boston Comedy, seeing "Match Game '74" taped live, seeing Madonna at the Danceteria, The Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack, Maytag vs. Friends, Bob Newhart, Stitches, following the rules of stand up, "Ass Blank", To Tell the Truth, Let's Make a Deal, Plinko, Hollywood Squares, Tom Bergeron, Celebrity Feuds, Dick Van Dyke Show, Carl Reiner, Phyllis Diller, Kojak, Love Boat, Bud Friedman, The Improv, Bluefish, Mary Tyler Moore, Robert Blake's murderous intent, Banachek, Burn Notice, Milton Berle, Opening for Bob Hope, Dr. Theater, Marlo Thomas in That Girl, St. Jude, The Monkees, Mickey Dolenz, Austin City Limits, Norman Lear, Dick Cavett, CBS, All in the Family, opening for Jerry Seinfeld, Carol Burnett, the wonders of live to tape and horror s

Today Ken welcomes TV Coach, Actress, singer, and former MTV VJ, Idalis Deleon. Ken and Idalis discuss being nerdy TV Guide Collecting Kids, growing up in the Bronx while it burned, movin on up to Brooklyn, Seduction, how it feels to have Madonna rip your pants off,New Media, the birth of Hip Hop, living The Get Down, having three top ten singles, Marky Mark, Papi with Hector Alejandro, wanting to be Aaron Spelling, Charlie's Angels, bartending, when MTV came around to Hip Hop, industrial revolutions, Ted Demme, NYC, Martha Wash, Milli Vanilli, appearing on Soul Train, Vanilla Ice, Showtime at the Apollo, Heartbeat, Mariah Carey, Brenda K. Starr, Living Single, Queen Latifa, Michael Bay, Dante Ross, training people to host TV, Entertainment Tonight, QVC, E!, ethics in media, Boston Swagger, Regional accents, New Kids in the Block, Marky Mark, MTV Beach House, sportscasting, cutting the cord, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Friends, Six Feet Under and not re-watching things.

January 22-28, 1994 Today Ken welcomes actor and comedian Petey Gibson to the show. Ken and Petey discuss the nature of excitement, anxiety, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Winter Previews, Mid-Season replacements, Ed Bagley Jr, Borne in Born, Cape Cod, Friendly's, flaming dice, hating Guy Fieri, hating change and surprises, Nanas, rituals, the darkness of the 90s, Saved By The Bell: The College Years, Empty Nest, Nurses, VO5 Hot Oil Treatments, Ben Vereen, Eve Plumb, Masterpiece Theater, falling in love with a murder suspect, Married...with Children, The George Carlin Show, Labyrinth, Henson Studios, strict parents banishing sexual content, growing up Catholic, Donovan Scott, being nicknames Mantis, Donna Mills, Danny Bonaduce, Full House, COPS, Rescue 911, Unsolved Mysteries, how sexy Angela Lansbury is in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Spring Break, This Old House, Home Improvement, why JTT is a safe lesbian crush, transcription services, Ken's touch typing super powers, Willie Nelson coming out of the ice, Seinfeld,

October 25-31, 1980 Today Ken welcomes comedian Greg Fitzsimmons to the show. Ken and Greg discuss Ken's puberty voice, slow dancing, the horrors of teenage girls, Boston University, the gentrification of Boston, John Waters, The Combat Zone, Patti Smith, how far away Boston is, Ken's nerdiness, McMob movies, Cheers, how social media ruins womanizing celebrities game, classic Boston lies, fighting Marky Mark, phone calls from Greg's wife, Boston Stand Up Comics cameoing in movies, Deli Haus, The Rat, having to get through a parental gatekeeper to talk to someone of the opposite sex, having only one TV in the house, a nice stabbing, Barney Miller, The Love Boat/Fantasy Island power two hours, being in jail, Tom Hanks, Bosom Buddies, D&D panic, the golden age of Guest Stars, one hour dramas with two cast members, Jacques Cousteau, watching TV on the floor, 60 Minutes, Kojak, golfing with OJ Simpson, "If I Did It", Clint Eastwood's stunt man, living a life before working in television, comedians who are secr

May 11 - 17, 1985 Today Ken welcomes comedian, producer Michelle Barbera (Women in Comedy Festival) to the show. Ken and Michelle discuss Worcester, seasonal colds, dirty pictures at work, working in the mall, being the TV fan in an academic household, dirty wallpaper, drinking tobacco spit, Papa Gino's, Steven Wright, being a comedy nerd, Monty Python, Love Boat, Network, Computer Dating, Made for TV Movies, being a flipper, love triangles, Letting Go of the romance between John Ritter and Sharon Gless, Moscow on the Hudson, Gimme A Break!, Jonathan Silverman as Jonathan, Hallmark pictures mob inspired marketing Vomit Bags for Mark of the Devil, Elvira, V66, The Cure, WFNX, drinking games, George Michael's Sports Machine, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dallas, political cartoons, The Far Side, outdated dating, The Great Santini, Merchant Ivory, UMASS Amherst's awful music taste, Miss America vs. Miss USA, Charlie Brown, sweeps week, Florida: Mystique or Mistake?, Satanic Panic, The Rats of Nym, Don Bleuth's

Today Ken welcomes writer/producer Anne Beatts (SNL, Square Pegs, A Different World) Ken and Anne discuss the sadness of rain soaked inaugurations, golden showers, writing TV ads in London, Canada, National Lampoon, Freddy the Pig, The New Yorker, being suspended from the McGill Daily, Queen for a Day, Quiz Shows, aluminium extrusions, Michael O'Donohue, Mad Men, how cigarettes funded National Lampoon, Saturday Night Live, "no flies around the head..", Walter Crankcase, The Californians, when Lorne Michaels left SNL, SCTV, Martin Short, Nathan Thurme, Dobie Gillis, Square Pegs, The Waitresses, dealing with network notes, Tracy Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Devo, getting killed by Little House on the Prairie, beverage signals, Trojan Horses, Mainway Industries Unsafe Christmas Toys, Ken's favorite SNL sketch, A Different World, creating Dwayne Wayne and Whitley, Peter Bonerz, The Elvira Show, Julie Brown, appreciating tween media, Bill Murray, Al Franken, why people on TV can't smoke pot, The Keith Moon deposi

October 17-23, 1987 Today Ken welcomes comedian Jon Fisch to the show. Ken and Jon discuss the rivalries of Newton, MA, Dolly Parton's sexy western Mrs Claus outfit, when Christmas isn't Christmas, exposes on undercover TV news programs, dirty bookstores, $14.22 slacks, The World Series, the 1986 Red Sox loss to the Mets, getting peed on at Fenway Park, Fever Pitch, The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, Golden Girls, Star Search, Duet, Family Ties, At This Moment by Billy Vera and the Beaters, My Two Dads, Eight is Enough, WLVI TV56, watching your parents laugh. Late Night with David Letterman, Murphy Brown, Barney Miller, insulting Boston cops, Kate & Allie, Newhart, Made for-TV movies, Nancy McKeon, The Day My Kid Went Punk. Streets of Fire, hatred of Southern shows, Crime Story, growing up in the wrong family, growing up Jewish, Highway to Heaven, Growing Pains, It's Gary Shandling's Show, Ferris Buhler's Day Off, editing, The Cosby Show, A Different World, Cheers, Night Court, Sinbad, being enraged by p

March 10 - 16, 1979 Today Ken welcomes singer/songwriter Juliana Hatfield to the show. Ken and Juliana discuss suburban potholes, garbage collection, the TV room, Six Million Dollar Cliff Hangers, James at 15, market research, Lance Kerwin, After School Specials, Dukes of Hazard, "Southern" TV, Love Boat, Mary Tyler Moore, The Comforting ritual of television, the revelation of the sexy librarian, Vietnam, Law and Order, Iraq War vets, loving Donny & Marie, Coma, The Rockford Files, Father/Son relationships, different actors playing the same character, soap opera understudies, Dirk Benedict, Battlestar Gallactica, dreamy Richard Hatch, In Search Of, Starsky & Hutch, goofy pimps, why the Six Million Dollar man is infinitely boring, The Bionic Woman's superiority, revisiting your childhood, McMillan and Wife, Rock Hudson, real couples on camera, the Night Stalker, why TV is better when pretty people aren't on it, Miami Vice, store brand generic music on TV, Bugsy Malone, Foxes, Over the Edge, Happy Days,

Today Ken welcomes model, actress, author and ex-wife of Rock N Roll Bobbie Brown to the show. Ken and Bobbie discuss always thinking it's Friday, drug problem induced lateness, Miss Teen USA, Miss Louisiana, always wearing the sash, The Jeffersons, modeling, High School popularity, Saturday Night Live, Three's Company, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Yuck Mouth Public Service Announcements, Soul Train, Kids Inc, Night Flight, Dance Party USA, Star Search, falling into acting, Married...with Children, self sabotage, In Living Color, seeing Jim Carrey Live on the Sunset Strip, Physical Comedy, people doing stand up but not calling it stand up, Henry Rollins, why comedians are depressed, Baywatch Nights, Mike Hammer, meeting Bo Derek in one of the most unnatural ways possible, Kevin McDonald, The Kids in the Hall, Dom Delouise, Kel, Newsradio, Warrant's Cherry Pie video, Fraggle Rock, Motley Crue, having posters on your wall as a teen of people you would later be engaged to, being bad with money, how the internet em

Today Ken welcomes former MTV News Anchor, journalist and current photographer Tabitha Soren to the show. Ken and Tabitha discuss growing up in a Military family, living in Germany, reading American Children's books from the Philippines, living in an Olivia Newton John world, the culture shock of the Florida panhandle, learning the social rules of America, musical folders through the mail, Bewitched, Charlie's Angels, The Brady Bunch, being obsessed with Farrah Fawcett, Gary Marshall, modern children's aversion to the olden days, hating Land of the Lost, the horrors of HR Puffnstuff, Donny & Marie in Las Vegas, NYU, Saturday Night Fever, working in radio, the Beastie Boys' Fight For Your Right to Party video, working at CNN, the CNN "End of the World" video, Diane Sawyer, developing an emotional callus as a reporter, being a news anchor in Vermont, New England directions, the Today Show, Dateline, Kurt Loder, Tupac, starting "Choose or Lose", the '92 Presidential Election, MTV News, Stevie Nicks, The Joe

November 14-20, 1998 Today in an episode recorded in the basement of ImprovBoston Ken welcomes comedian Liz Miele to the show. Ken and Liz discuss beer and trophies, stand ups on TV, Titus, mental illness, Robin Williams, Friends, The Simpsons, Kazaam, Shaq's career, loving cartoons, ProStars,Cops, True Crime, growing up with Veterinarian parents, banned TV, being one of five children, Cartoon Network, Dexter's Lab, Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, growing up in New Jersey, Aargh! Real Monsters, Invader Zim!, being Goth, Angry Beavers, Dinosaurs, Alex Trebek on Baywatch, Mad About You, Emergency Vets, All Cat Clinics, ring worm, Chinchilla's leg amputations, Twister, Pizza & Movies, being banned from Pizza Hut, the horrors of comedy clubs, Ally McBeal, Mariah Carey Videos, Bill Cosby is a monster, Yo! MTV Raps, R&B, hating Boy Bands, TLC, Creepin Karaoke, RUN DMC, 1977 The Coolest Year in Hell, Janet Jackson's janet., Kegels, David Spade, hating offices, Stephen King's Different Seasons, Courage the Cow

February 24 - March 2, 1990 Today Ken welcomes Actor/Writer Brice Beckham to the show. Ken and Brice discuss Ken annoying Brice, The Challenger disaster, TV Movies, "Too soon", Rob Stone, hosting Saturday Morning Preview Specials, The Gummy Bears, Disney TV, Pound Puppies, starting as a radio ad man, Daws Butler, Dave Coulier as Richard Pryor, guesting starring on Alice, how small a TV studio seems when you first see it in person, Mr. Belvedere, growing up in Long Beach, staying out of the "teen actor" cliche game, mid-season replacements, S.O.S. (Save Our Shows), The "Manny" subgenre, Barney Miller, Bob Ueker, tone shifts, "Very Special Episodes", AIDS, The Hogan Family, the cruel Valerie producers, "Wesley's Friend", gallows humor, Network Upfronts, learning the ins and outs of the odd Network Affiliate system, ABC-TV, the Camp Counselor episode, Family Matters, Just the Ten of Us, having a crush on the Lubbock Babes, Growing Pains, 20th Century Fox, Sunset Gower Studios, It's Gary Shandling Show, Sister Ka

In the first (and maybe only) mini-episode of TV Guidance Counselor Investigates, Ken explores the strange case of Mr. Rogers vs. The KKK

Today Ken welcomes Don Stratley and Phil Hopkins of The Film Detective to the show. Ken, Don and Phil discuss the wonders of stumbling on things, regional television, The Combat Zone, the case for curation, Horror Hosts, Simon's Sanctorum, Dana Hersey, The Movie Loft, TV38, Ask the Manager, shared experience, Cult Classics, Three Stooges, Creature Double Features, taking photos off your TV set, archiving long lost television, the future of media, Something Weird Video, Punk rock and grindhouse, Collector Culture, saving Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp, Carnival Magic, Mr. Big's Toyland, Ultraman, It's a Wonderful Life, The Twilight Zone, Dan Curtis, Made for TV Movies, The Cabot Theater, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Midnight Movies, Poor Devil, movie buff, Ed Wood Jr., Dana Gould, the wonders of context, the importance of sincerity, Mystery Science Theater 3000, the life and death of Irony, Rondo Hatton, streaming services, fetishistic Beta, The Giant Spider Invasion and a typical Saturday.

In this episode recorded live at North East ComicCon on March 5, 2017 Ken sat on stage in an abandoned JC Penny and chatted with Nicholas Brendon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Mark Goddard (Lost in Space). First up Ken chatted with Brendon about Psycho Beach Party, Three's Company, being a PA on Dave's World, growing up in LA, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, what he watches now, The Buffy Comic Book series, why Buffy and Xander never got together, the great dialog of Joss Whedon, Criminal Minds, hugging, dancing, and how Spike and Xander should star in a remake of "The Ropers". Next up Ken chats with Mark Goddard about how he got to Hollywood, why you should never say you can ride a horse when you can't, The Rifleman, Lost in Space, how to talk your way onto a movie lot, what to do when robots catch fire, and being recognized without being recognized.

Today Ken welcomes author, actress, historian and all around great person Illeana Douglas to the show. Ken and Illeana discuss L.A. seasons, Roger Corman, growing up in CT with only one channel - CBS, All in the Family, finding an early love of movies, Jason Robards in 1,000 Clowns, Illeana's mother having a TV Guide subscription, Soul Train, The Ghost of Frederick Douglass, Melvyn Douglas, being there for Being There, developing a love of classic Hollywood, Sam Fuller, Claude Raines in Phantom of the Opera, the revelation of color TV, Al Pacino filming Dog Day Afternoon, seeing location scenes being shot with Lucille Ball in Stone Pillow, Stir of Echoes, Richard Matheson, The Twilight Zone, why Saturday Night Live is a boys' thing, Chevy Chase movies, how VCRs changed everything, having cable in college, obsessing over the Museum of Broadcasting, King of Comedy, laserdiscs, elementary school sexual education films, living a life of being star struck, Dick Cavett, Lee Marvin, meeting Sid Caesar, George Segal,

May 27 - June 2, 1995 Today Ken welcomes recently defected former Boston Comedian Gary Petersen to the show. Ken and Gary discuss giant Moons, peeping in people's windows, Manhunter, Gary's age, Pamela Anderson, Baywatch, Traci Bingham, COPS, Facebook stalking, Boston Tanya's, the dump that is Quincy, boats, the horrors of 21st Century dating, Bringing Up Jack, SNICK, Ren & Stimpy, people who still say "NOT!", South Shore lingo,"Suck It", The Simpsons, Amy Fisher, 1995 Tabloid TV, Lois and Clarke - The New Adventures of Superman, Teri Hatcher, Brainsmasher: A Love Story, The Critic, Married...with Children, Stormy Weathers, My Wildest Dreams, the stand up comedians having sitcoms boom, Corvette K225, Deep Space 9, Melrose Place, the golden age of Video Rental Stores, a combination Hardware Store/Liquor Store, why violence is only ok in Action movies, WWF, how a teenage stand up comedian can fight inner city gangs in an After School Special, Casey Fraiser, CBS SchoolBreak, Rescue 9-1-1, Home Improvement, d

August 13-19, 1988 Today Ken welcomes model, art curator, casting director and kindred spirit Lenora Claire to the show. Ken and Lenora discuss being a Reading Rainbow kid, appearing on Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, growing up in the Valley, The Sherman Oaks Galleria, The Brady Bunch House, Star 80, suave ALF, furries, a love of movies, growing up the daughter of a Dr, The Comish, being a Police Surgeon, Bachelor Party, Adrian Zmed, Revenge of the Nerds, Oingo Boingo, The Cramps, Tom Selleck as PT Barnum, Lonnie Anderson as Jane Mansfield, Lynda Carter as Rita Hayworth, Chopping Mall, Nightmares, earthquakes, the proper way to display samurai swords, Ninja III: The Domination, Farrah Fawcett, Extremities, The Burning Bed, Haunted Honeymoon vs. High Spirits, Howard the Duck, Messiah of Evil, condoms, Near Dark vs The Lost Boys, Joshua Miller, Malibu Bikini Shop, USA Up All Night, the rapey-ness of Revenge of the Nerds, Mel Brooks, Spaceballs, an insomnia fueled pop culture education, Night Flight, A

Today Ken welcomes writer, producer, director, actor Rose McGowan to the show. Ken and Rose discuss "The Californians", the upcoming Apocalypse, growing up in the Adams Family, Italian Culture vs. American "culture", big families, vomit stories, the footwear of backwoods Oregon, being discovered while looking at butts, revival houses, Lawrence of Arabia, classic Hollywood cinema, having an Uncle who owns a video store, C.H.U.D., The Parent Trap, Hollywood child actors, never getting to be yourself, desensitization from horror, Conan the Barbarian, the relationship between comedy and horror, thinking about the effect your work has on the world, the stupidity of men in Hollywood, awful Bro-Frat Boys running things, hack lite, Hollywood not knowing what to do with you, fighting to be creative in a business, sincerity in art, Lonesome Dove, event Television, media based on books, Tiger attacks on Circus of the Stars, Idiocracy, Made for TV movies, turning things down, Charmed, "V", the long gone days of actual Li