TV Guidance Counselor Podcast
Ken Reid and his guests explore the tough television watching decisions of our past.
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BONUS! TV Guidance Counselor: Kevin Chapman LIVE! at North East Comic Con March 2024
04/24/2024
BONUS! TV Guidance Counselor: Kevin Chapman LIVE! at North East Comic Con March 2024
In this episode previously a Patreon Exclusive (patreon.com/tvguidancecounselor) Ken chats with actor Kevin Chapman live at last month's North East Comic Con.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 632: Rolfe Kanefsky
04/22/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 632: Rolfe Kanefsky
This week Ken welcomes writer, director, producer Rolfe Kanefsky (There's Nothing Out There, Nightmare Man, Pool Boy Nightmare) to the show. Ken and Rolfe discuss Fangoria, Gorezone, the Catch 22 of trying to get a distributer without press and press without distribution, Brett Piper, going to film school, Hampshire College, watching horror on TV, Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, making a Russian movie into an American movie, My Family Treasure, Dee Wallace, moving to LA and staring over, directing soft core films, parodies, Playboy's Inside Out, USA Network, The Hitchhiker, Playboy TV, Tomorrow by Midnight, the lost film, Clerks, Mad TV, Seizure, starting in B movies, making movies for Life Time, the shower scene joke, Friday the 13th Part 8 Jason Takes Manhattan, Rolfe's father's editing career, Times Square, 42nd St, Troma, Troma's War, Full Moon, Roger Corman, trying to beat Spielberg, student films, Emmanuelle, The Killer Eye, Dave DeCouteau, meeting Tiffany Sheepis at The American FIlm Market, The Hazing, director proof scripts, 11 day shoots, the strange structure of Life Time movies, The Blackroom, Bus Party to Hell, getting credit or not, shooting in Bulgaria, pitching, liking thrillers, Satan's Cheerleaders, Mephisto Waltz, Race with the Devil, Night Gallery, earning your R rating, following the formula, family films, making a musica, socks vs patches, rehearsing sex scenes, intimacy contracts, streaming sites, There's Nothing Out There, Goonies, One and the Gun, Art of the Dead, Nightmare Demon, and working with big name actors.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 631: A.L. Katz and Gil Adler
04/15/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 631: A.L. Katz and Gil Adler
This week Ken welcomes the incredible co-hosts of the amazing How NOT to Make a Movie podcast, writer-producers A.L. Katz and Gil Adler. Ken, Alan and Gil discuss good rooms, Bordello of Blood, when Alan and Gil first met, moving from New York to LA, 1985, Rhonda Shear, The Groundlings, Basic Training, how a good producer sacrifices to get nudity on screen, Freddy's Nightmares, Rubik's Cubes of writing problems, anthology horror TV, non-Union shows, Ken's love of Steven King's Dance Macabre, the connection of comedy and horror, it's not TV it's HBO, Tales from the Crypt, why season 3 was supposed to be the end of Tales from the Crypt, Tobe Hooper, problem solving, worms, working with Brian DePalma, Dylan Dog, cutting on 35mm film, EC Comics, making the Cryptkeeper an actual character, the nightmare of Bordello of Blood, being forced to cast people you didn't want, shooting in Canada, Demon Knight, Dennis Miller, improv, Rafe Guttman, shooting TFTC in London, Perversions of Science, tax rates, being confused for the OTHER Alan Katz who did Big Man on Campus, rekindling a friendship, how podcasts save lives, having a third act, being excited for the future, Superman Returns, overworking yourself, keeping a false eye from Valkyrie, mementos, raising money for vets, trying to make the world a better place, how timing sometimes works out, and finishing unfinished business.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 630: Evan Dorkin
04/08/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 630: Evan Dorkin
This week Ken welcomes artist, writer and comic book legend Evan Dorkin to the show. Ken and Evan discuss living the dream, low bars, being disgusted by your own personal failings, Spring Break, hating Florida, how nobody actually grows up in Staten Island, being an artist, 80s punk, never leaving your home, being Jewish in an Italian neighborhood, Ska, Bim Skala Bim, accents, being too hung over to see your name in the credits of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, kids getting their shoes stolen at punk gigs, Kevin Shields ordering food, The Cars, Suicide, Milk and Cheese, Space Ghost, music on TV, pre-MTV days, Rockworld, the legend of Steranko, meeting girls, the introduction of surrealism to America, big egos, John Romita, Jack Kirby, Superman the Animated Series, how great Paul Dini is, Batman The Animated Series, Dwayne McDuffie, Freakazoid, Supergirl, why nobody but Kal-El can be from Krypton, how TV writing is all puzzle solving, continuity, Tik Tok's second life of Eltingville, Bibo, collecting comics, the Marvelization of DC, going to comic cons in the 1970s, dark and gritty, Comic Book Fascists, Beasts of Burden, Dario Argento, Giallo, wanting subtitles over dubbing, how anyone can make a movie, loving horror films, Trick R Treat, character design, Bouncing Boy, minutia, the internet, fan fiction, Alex Toth, wearing your influences on your sleeve, lost dark episodes of Superman The Animated Series, audiences and love of Halloween, screenplays, storytelling, Metal Men, being freaked out by failure and being neurotic, self sabotage, failed pilots, letting people down, Patreon, dealing with health issues, and the struggle of being a creative person trying to make a living.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 629: Growing Pains Cast Reunion LIVE! at NorthEast Comic Con
04/03/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 629: Growing Pains Cast Reunion LIVE! at NorthEast Comic Con
Last month (March 9, 2024) Ken moderated a chat with Growing Pains cast members Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller and Julie McCullough at the spring North East Comic Con in Boxboro Mass. Enjoy!
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 628: Erin and Jason Brant
04/01/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 628: Erin and Jason Brant
May 25-31, 1991 This week Ken welcomes author Jason Brant and his wife and co-host of the EXCELLENT YouTube show, "So Bad It's Good", Erin Brant to the show. Ken, Jason and Erin discuss the risk of Erin and Jason wrecking the show forever, loving bad movies, how horrible a person Steven Segal is, vanity project, Neil Breen, how 1991 was the hangover of the 1980s, being barred from watching South Park, growing up in rural Western PA, Hershey, Pittsburgh, cigarettes, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Kevin Costner, Waterworld, T2, Transformers, childhood movie trauma, Space Camp, National Geographic, Boston mobsters, vomit bags, how amazing Steven Webber is, Wings, the wonder of Roy Biggins, America's Funniest People, Kidney Magazine, Prog Rock, Goblin, surgery on TV, Blossom, Joey Lawrence's music career, MacGyver, Murphy Brown, how great Hunter is, Collector's Plates, renting movies, Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, Skullets, Hooker's Girls, The Hulkster, field trips, Cheers, bad investments, American Ninja, Totem Poles, traveling to Boston, Silence of the Lambs, The Mothman Prophecies, George Romero, understanding a minute, Wes Craven's Made for TV Movies, Babes, TGIF, The Naked Gun, Alexander Graham Bell, Babygirl Scott, the horrors of Testament, the cancelation of Hunter, and complaining about Manhunter.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 627: Michael Pressman
03/25/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 627: Michael Pressman
This week Ken welcomes director Michael Pressman (The Great Texas Dynamite Chase, Some Kind of Hero, Doctor Detroit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II The Secret of the Ooze) to the show. Ken and Michael discus COVID binging, The Bear, Slow Horses, The Crown, Call My Agent, having a comedy background but gravitating towards drama, having difficulty knowing when TV Comedy is working, Bad News Bears, working for Roger Corman, Picket Fences, how executives don't understand funny, indie cinema, directing Vanilla Ice, special FX, non-Union shoots, Golden Harvest, Michael's father being blacklisted, David Pressman's directing career, The Actor's Studio, visiting Hollywood sets after the blacklist was lifted in the 60s, the early days of live TV, Cosmopolitan Theater, New York vs L.A., westerns, Car 54, Where Are You?, Phil Silvers, Bonanza, directing theater, how much ratings have changed, the strange nature of streaming, soap operas, Law and Order SVU, Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Hope, Dick Wolf, Richard Boone, loving Hitchcock, being a 70s film snob, art house cinema, French New Wave, cults to flops, studio interference, made for TV movies, Ingmar Berman, the studio system, how in person viewing returns, when tech companies want to be the movie business, shared experiences, midnight movies, Netflix, the gimmick of going live, the origins of TV Guide, Ken's collection, ten years of the podcast, the lost age of shows and hunting down Michael's father's work.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 626: Irene Bremis
03/20/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 626: Irene Bremis
February 12-18, 1977 This week Ken welcomes comedian, co-host of the Woo Woo Podcast, and woman behind the new stand up comedy special, "Sweetie", Irene Bremis. Ken and Irene discuss growing up in Boston, racism, being Greek, living in New York, having a braided perm, getting picked on at school, trying to pass a Puerto Rican, Kojak, strong family ties, not smoking, good parking spaces, lollipops, how handsome Ken is, when everyone smoked, Kraft Singles, kissing grits, ventriloquism, meeting Carol Burnett, Ken big upping Irene, being a Trekkie, Leather Tuscadero, Happy Days, strong women leads in television shows in the 1970s, Valerie Harper, being fired from your own show, cruel producers, loving horror movies, Don't Go to Sleep, Carrie, The Exorcist, growing up religious (culturally or otherwise), Wonder Woman, Golden Girls, loving Bea Arthur, pros and cons of boob jobs, Bruce Campbell, Burt Offerings, One Day at a Time, Van Halen, Wrestling, girl crushes, celebrity murderers, Bionic People, Barney Miller, Fish, how the 70s could be more progressive than today, Soap, gay characters on television, Tony Randall, when Johnny Carson screwed over Joan Rivers, Red Fox, Cher, and the ballad of the Guidette.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 625: Jordan Morris II
03/18/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 625: Jordan Morris II
July 16-22, 1994 He was one of the very last in person guests pre-COVID, and this time he's back via satellite, please welcome writer of his second graphic novel, Youth Group (out 7/16/24 from First Second Books! Available for pre-order NOW!) , comic, and podcaster Jordan Morris back to the show. Ken and Jordan discuss NASA, Dave Thomas (Wendy's), Popeyes, KFC, In and Out Burger, when all cartoons became babies, Yo Yogi!, Jellystone, the most obscure Hanna Barbara characters, Ken's love of Frankenstein Jr., the impossible Impossibles, Sex with Cindy Crawford, the moon landing, Summer Shows, Sex in the 90s, House of Style, Steven Banks Show, paddy whacks, what Alec Baldwin watches, PBS Sitcoms, Yank Yucks, the "YouTube Thumbnail face", Pat Riley, TV Nation, the glory of the early teen years Summers, learning pop culture references, Hot Shots, The Mad Magazine phenom, Ren & Stimpy, the sweet Nicktoons, Rocko's Modern Life, Dream On, boobs on cable, Weekend at Bernie's II, MTV, Dead at 21, Good Morning Mr. Hitler, Vanessa Angel on Time Trax, unethical Anti-Gravity Belts, Chained Heat II, erotic Thrillers, Pam Anderson in Snapdragon, massive Tom Beringer fans, Blossom, Joey Lawrence's music career, music video drops, Michael Jackson Black or White, Ashton Drake's weird dolls, mold breaking, heist movies, Game Gear, Three Ninjas, Running Man, Tales from the Crypt, Arnold Schwarzenegger's directorial debut, William Hickey, Body Double, The Critic, Grace Under Fire, Seinfeld, In Living Color, Fraiser, Christmas in July, Pieces : It's Exactly What You Think It Is, AIDS calendars, Flashdance, Boogaloo Shrimp on Family Matters, Cliff Hanger, Terry O'Quinn, Samurais, and loving Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 624: Katya Apekina
03/11/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 624: Katya Apekina
February 1-7, 1997 This week Ken welcomes author of the excellent new novel Mother Doll (signed copies can be purchased here: https://www.skylightbooks.com/pre-order-signed-copies-mother-doll-katya-apekina), Katya Apekina. Ken and Katya discuss living in LA, raining in LA, snow in New England, the nature of our stories, how technology can make us more isolated, displacement, Russia, speaking your native tongue, raising your kids bi-lingual, translating literature, having a strong Moscow accent, only knowing 70s slang, Cheburashka, accordion playing crocodiles, not being allowed to watch TV, Party of Five, reading War and Peace as a kid, WBCN, cool music, being cool by middle school, only watching one show a week, dating shows, Elimidate, Viy, going to Russian video stores in Allston, not wanting things up your nose, Singled Out, Jenny McCarthy, the death of the Maytag Repairman, Star Trek Voyager, Basketball Wizard Dennis Rodman, The Magic Castle, The Amazing Randi, Groundhog Day, North by Northwest, photography, making your own 8mm films, The Coolidge Corner Cinema, Early Edition, 3rd Rock from the Sun, being a comedy snob, The Simpsons, Mad About You, reboots, hate watching Melrose Place and 7th Heaven, Mystery, Into the Arms of Danger, Roseanne, watching the Presidential Debates for School, Burning Zone, burying your wife alive, the greatness of Ally Sheedy, The Nanny, Covid driven Nanny, office work, Drew Carrey, comforting murder, Murder She Wrote, Sister Sister, always wanting to be a twin, fooling people, TGIF, magical shows, psychics, Unsolved Mysteries, the death of Kurt Cobain, how strange it is to the young that over the air TV exists, the horrors of Disney kids sitcoms, offending religions to sell Snickers, cleavage cams, risqué tones, and learning the truth about Santa Claus from Jamie Lee Curtis.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 623: Allan Arkush
03/04/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 623: Allan Arkush
December 7-13, 1985 This week Ken welcomes writer, producer, professor, director and all around good guy Allan Arkush to the show. Ken and Allan discuss Allan's cool office, Allan's record collection, Roger Corman, Emmy Nominations, directing or directing and producing over 400 episodes of TV, the path from 70s exploitation to 80s mainstream TV, having a high batting average of sold TV pilots. Fame, Summer pilot, Rock N Roll High School, telling stories through music, how popular Fame was in Israel, residuals, 80s NYC, directing videos for Elvis Costello, Bette Midler and Fleetwood Mac, the ones you turn down, why 1985 was a huge TV year for Allan, St. Elsewhere, Moonlighting, being able to be a style chameleon, being a cinema fan, having Scorsese teach you film, growing up in NJ, making whatever movie you want as long as it's the movie Roger wants, how hard it is to make good TV, coverage and lighting, how execs are not funny or creative, how bad studio notes are, King Kong, Micky Mouse Club, serialized stories, loving the theme songs from Westerns, Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Loan Ranger, Circus Boy, Abby Singer, The Twilight Zone, Soupy Sales, using rock music in movies, Get Crazy, Zacherly introducing the Grateful Dead at the Filmore East, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners bump, being a nerd, how some things don't hold up, The Dick Van Dyke Show, working with Ron Howard, Doris Day movies, Family Affair, Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, the importance of empathy, the transitional time of the 70s and 80s, East Side West Side, The Bronx Zoo, Hill St. Blues, the importance of casting, working for Bruce Paltrow, Crossing Jordan, ER, police procedurals, the time Ken ruined a shot in the pilot of Crossing Jordan, having to rush home and watch Saturday Night Live, SCTV, Catherine O'Hara's total character commitment, film noir, the zeitgeist of relationships between men and women, the dancing baby on Ally McBeal, Heroes, Duck Soup, The Shining, Lemony Snicket, showing The TAMI Show to young people, and how the future is female.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 622: Mike Watt
02/26/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 622: Mike Watt
June 13-19, 1970 This week Ken welcomes legendary bass-man, and all around punk rock royalty, Mr. Mike Watt to the show. Ken and Mike discuss San Pedro, first meeting D. Boon, moving to San Pedro in 1967 from Navy Housing, living in the projects, saying no to Alameda, George being from Brocton, strong accents, how all the Minutemen were transplants to San Pedro, D. Boon's mom, how trippy the Summer of 1970 was, Blue Oyster Cult, UHF stations, Wild Wild West, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, not having a color TV, how The Prisoner is Mike's favorite show, M*A*S*H, All in the Family, D. Boon's love of Johnny Carson because his dad was from Nebraska, WWII movies, T. Rex, local horror hosts, the origin of "D." in D. Boom, Steve McQueen, The Sand Pebbles, B-Movies, Svenghouli, Elvira, The Stooges, Vampira, local kid shows, LA's Seymour, Fright Night, opening for The Butthole Surfers, how Gibby Haynes' father was a children's TV Show host called Mr. Peppermint, the JFK assassination, Gumby, Alan Watts, Alex Cox's book about The Prisoner, Ice Station Zebra, Patrick McGoohan, The Honeymooners, Green Acres, stupid characters, My Favorite Martian, Non coms, The Phil Silvers Show, F Troop, punk rock, Ed Sullivan, Robert Mitchem, The Space Race, Mad Magazine, Star Trek The Motion Picture, subscriptions to Scientific America, the importance of learning, serious topics, drunks, Johnny Cash, variety shows, Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Two Weeks in Another Town, Carol Kaye's Wild Wild West bass line, Mission Impossible, Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Director's control, Kubrick, watching YouTube, The Outer Limits, Soldier, Demon with a Glass Hand, and loving Offbeat Cinema.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 621: Esther Ku
02/19/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 621: Esther Ku
March 17-23, 1990 This week Ken welcomes old friend, comedian Esther Ku. Ken and Ku discuss how long it has been since they've talked to each other, starting comedy in Boston, moving to NYC, how we all have a different path, working in marketing, growing up in Chicago, Last Comic Standing, how dues are different, hosting the AVN Porn Awards, working blue, dirty jokes, not taking advice, how what you talk about on stage is way racier than how you live your life, playing piano, growing up in an evangelical home, Sharpie, The Simpsons, Simpsons stuffed animals, St. Patrick's Day, The Franklin Mint, bootleg Jesus, manipulation, Foxy Boxing, Readers Digest and Time magazine, Loveline, The Real World, The Jamie Foxx Show, Once Bitten, being an extra, not talking to Jim Carrey, improv lessons, Micah Sherman, interviewing writers from the Simpsons, loving Lisa Simpson's feminism, pitching an animated show, writing dirty songs on your ukulele, Religious outrage of big budget movies, Titanic, Love & Lies, Ken's tape trading year, Rock Em Sock Em Robots, Hungry Hungry Hippos, The Rock a Fire Explosion, Roller Blades vs Quads, Ken's time on Sex Life, Real Sex, America's Funniest Home Videos, 90 Day Fiancé', and way too much about K-Y Jelly.
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TV Guidance Counselor 10th Anniversary Special
02/07/2024
TV Guidance Counselor 10th Anniversary Special
Somehow it's been ten years! Ken goes solo on this one and does a year in review, for 2014. How has it been ten years??
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 619: Jack Sholder
02/05/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 619: Jack Sholder
June 19 - 25, 1953 This week Ken welcomes professor, writer, producer and director Jack Solder (Nightmare on Elm St. 2, By Dawn's Early Light, The Hidden, 12:01, Alone in the Dark) to the show. Ken and Jack discuss growing up in Philly, growing up playing trumpet, being a classical musician, realizing you're good but not GREAT at something, becoming an editor, the rhythm of cuts, working at New Line Cinema, Caroline Biggerstaff, poses vs pauses, editing The Burning, learning by doing, creating suspense, revival art house cinema, the genius of Buster Keaton, exploitation films, Ed Sullivan, Uncle Milty, 1950s music shows, the cultural scene of the 1950s, Uncle Pete Boyle, Chief Halftown, kids shows, Life of Reilly, Magnavox, The DuMont Network, newspapermen, The Big Story, The Big Picture, the strangeness of modern day network TV, the personal nature of TV, working with Harvey Keitel, swapping India for Eastern Europe, the fake Indian word for "Roll 'em" Easta Sasusaway, never being Mr. Wizard, Big Top with Jack Sterling, Wrestling, boxing, You Asked for It, Fearless Ed, Variety Shows, New York Socialites and Intellectuals, Dinah Shore, representations of gay people on TV, Ernie Kovacs, Red necks, Farmers, how your car key fob is more powerful than the computer that sent men to the moon, the world after cell phones, Alan Funt, Candid Camera, Kids Say the Darndest Things, UHF stations, Dragnet, American Bandstand, 12:01, The Hidden, the gayest Nightmare on Elm St film, Robocop, working with Jake the Dog, and the strangeness of The Omen The Series pilot.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 618: Henry Normal
01/29/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 618: Henry Normal
All the way from the UK, this week Ken welcomes writer, poet, and television producer Henry Normal to the show. Ken and Henry discuss his tea just arriving, what builders drink, Baby Cow, how being a poet was essentially the same as being a stand up in the UK, The UK's alt comedy revolution, Craig Charles, selling merch, punk rock, American stand up comedy, class based society, character comedy, Jack Benny, vaudeville, The Max Brothers, Mort Saul, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Working Men's Clubs, bad blue collar, racism, Dave Allen, Monty Python, Spike Milligan, not punching down, The Comedy Store, Manchester, nightmare gigs, The Black and White Minstrel Show, competing with slot machines, touring with Pulp, The Mock Turtles, Steve Coogan, The Young Ones, Nigel Planer, The Comic Strip, putting all your friends on TV, The North South Divide, being the reigning Daily Mail Young Comic of the Year, Packet of Three, Bamboozled, US v. UK TV, The Royle Family, US Remake of UK shows, Red Dwarf, working class people, The Rockford Files, Sgt. Bilko, Frank Skinner, the trauma that leads to comedy, deaths in the family, Caroline Ahern, Graham Duff, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, Marion and Geoff, Human Remains, Ideal, Julia Davis, Rob Brydon, Jonathan Ross, Alan Partridge, why you should always wear a suit, BBC3, Fat Boy Slim, Brain Candy, Alan Car, Robin Ince, Nighty Night, unlikable main characters, The Might Boosh, The Banana Splits, I Am Not An Animal, Peter Baynham, Canadian football fans, making ugly television, making good stuff, things that nobody will ever seen on television, Jessica Hynes, Lizzie and Sarah, Mr. Inbetween, hired killers, and how weird stand up comics are.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 617: Dan Frischman
01/22/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 617: Dan Frischman
May 16-22, 1987 This week Ken welcomes actor, magician, host of the new show "Head of the Senior Class" and all around solid dude Dan Frischman to the show. Ken and Dan discuss growing up as magic nerds, Fred Kolb, being a magician at an early age, asking how the tricks are done, Ken's mastering of mediocrity, buying magic at Macy's in New York, magic on TV, Doug Henning, Mark Wilson, Harry Blackstone Jr., Ricky Jay, TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Head of the Class, pitching to Henry Winkler, fake biohazards, doing stand up in NYC, growing up in New Jersey, Sea Monkeys in the tub, Dennis Miller's prop comedy days, driving out to LA, living on Sunset Blvd, Jimmy Brogan, guest spots on Facts of Life, being a returning character on Its a Living, living with seven other comedians in the Crest Hill House behind the Comedy Store, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Wacko, being Carl "Pizzaface" Price, George Kennedy as a Chocolatier, Howard Hesseman's displeasure, Sledge Hammer, not wanting to play a nerd, when Head of the Class shifted from Mr. Moore to the kids, filming in Soviet Russia, Head of the Class's musicals, Little Shop of Horrors, getting the seal of approval from Rick Moranis, watching your own shows, being confused for the OTHER Dan Frischman who is a little person, getting beaten in tennis by Billy Jean King, Harry Anderson, Circus of the Stars, Warm Up Comics, Billy Connolly, performing as Steve Martin, performing FOR Steve Martin, reusing the hallway set from Head of the Class, the time Ken had to wear borrowed pants at The Magic Castle, Seinfeld, loving Madmen, the Sopranos, and I, Claudius, stealing Bob Newhart's newspaper, Kenan & Kel and the practical joke circle of life.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 616: Brian Trenchard-Smith
01/15/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 616: Brian Trenchard-Smith
This week Ken welcomes esteemed, accomplished director and author of the field guide/memoir "Adventures in the B-Movie Trade", Brian Trenchard-Smith to the show. Ken and Brian discuss the weather in Portland, Brian's travels around the world, his appreciation for everything he's gotten to do, visiting Soviet Russian in 1968, falling in love with cinema after seeing a Hitchcock film, how you should see a local movie in the native language in every country you visit, developing your taste in film, how the world is smaller, but not as substantive in many ways, forgetting your Italian accent, strange double features, taking acting classes with Barry Manilow, being only able to play a British Army Officer, knowing from age 13 you want to make movies, the closed show that was the British Film Industry, Australian television, editing Hammer Horror films, working for the ABC, editing sex and violence filled TV promos, sort of forging a recommendation letter, Raymond Burr, Ironsides, Number 96, Prisoner in Cell Block H, learning how cinema production worked, Beauty pageants for girls AND cars, Concourse Del Ellgance', stunts, making documentaries, Bruce Lee, Man from Hong King, Stunt Rock, why every young filmmaker needs a calling card, Hong Kong Cinema, cannibalizing your own films, World of Kung Fu (which no longer exists), Kung Fu Killers, editing news film and the pressure of it going down to the wire, news directors wanting to kill you, Japanese Cinema, Seven Samurai, Rashomon, being OBSESSED with trailers growing up, The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, visiting the set of Shatter, Roy Ward Baker, finding financing, hopping on a trend too late, the Bruce Lee clones, being bored by love scenes in films, parody, being subversive, hang gliders, Dead End Drive In, having to watch three hours of Once Upon a Time in the West so you can cut the trailer, Leprechaun in Space, enjoying the days when you physically handled film, enjoying your films with an audience, the 1988 Mission Impossible, Sahara with Jim Belushi, directing Flipper, being proud of different films for different reasons, Seconds to Spare, diehard on a train, replacing Dolph Lundgren with Antonio Sabato Jr, Happy Face Murders with Ann-Margaret, and the awe of making and watching Omega Code 2.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 615: Mike Doughty
01/08/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 615: Mike Doughty
February 16-22, 1980 This week Ken welcomes musician, author and man behind the new lp "Ghosts of Vroom III", Mike Doughty. Ken and Mike discuss how 1980 was a good poignant television year in Mike's life, being a military kid, how a year of no Mork & Mindy leads to a year of no TV at all, The American Forces Network, the outro credit song on WKRP in Cincinnati, finding out what music you like from Sitcoms, Angel Witch, the consistency of television, moving a lot, how we'd all be better off as accountants, the exciting and elusive world of commercials, Zapping your Zinger, living in Germany, specific PSAs made for AFN by the original cast of SNL, how TV reporters made the world worse by trying to sign off impressively, The Superbowl, learning about American culture via Commercials, Norman Fell, six ways to cry, dramas spun off from comedies, Lou Grant, Cop Rock, Quincy M.E., Skag with Karl Malden, Last Resort, CHiPs, dripping in Orchestral disco, how analog synth lasers make everything better, theme songs that chart, Starsky and Hutch, Mr. Smith, the prevalence of Orangutans and apes in television and movies, CB Radios, BJ and the Bear, Citizen's Band, pretending to be a doctor, how comedy never works on live music shows, how music often DOES work on comedy shows, avoiding OJ Simpson's acting work, Alice, Linda Lavin, the 70s shows that went well into the 80s, the horror of the word "booger", being Dr. Johnny Fever, Barney Miller, seeing TV sitcom actors on Broadway, coded gay characters, The White Shadow, Goldie and Liza Together, Bob Newhart's sketch comedy special, Real People, how the death of disco lead to mud wrestling and wet t-shirt contents, being confused for a real people person when you're a Real People person, when political debates became roast battles, Dragnet, The Rockford Files, young Powers Booth, old fashioned typewriters, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, The Hulk Out List, doing Bill Moyers, dueling Merv Griffins, the made for-TV movie Detour to Terror, buses, photos of Lorenzo Lamas, and recommending Blacke's Magic.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 614: Sovereign Syre and Ela Darling
01/01/2024
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 614: Sovereign Syre and Ela Darling
January 3-9, 1987 This week Ken welcomes adult entertainers, entrepreneurs, and incredibly smart hosts of the fantastic must listen "Ill Repute" podcast, Sovereign Syre and Ela Darling. Ken, Sovereign and Ela discuss time zones, mountain, Central time, the weirdness of January TV, when VHS rentals first eclipsed theatrical ticket sales, how the Adult industry innovates all entertainment technology, the incredible strangeness of the streaming business model, the movie "The Girl on the Bridge", French films, corporate structure, not knowing what you own as a company, Ela's experience as a Librarian, why Libraries are punk rock, piracy, growing up poor, The ALA Library Bill of Rights, scammers, Merv Griffin, J.Z. Knight, sleazy talk shows, new age scams, Carson, named hosts, meeting Jerry Springer, being built your own tiny house, empowering women, getting drunk underage on a flight to France, Gates McFadden's life advice, Star Trek, the dark Jim Henson Universe, practical effects, Eastern Promises, David Cronenberg, mother's advice about what irons to buy, Ken's friends in 80s print ads, 20/20, a live exorcism on network TV, bad actors acting badly, post Vietnam hope, horses, being a sales person, the murder of Rebecca Shaffer, stalking, how sometimes nothing ever changes, same sex couples fostering healthy happy children, how PSAs could more damage than good, people being literally Institutionalized, PTSD, gangs, and the Ill Repute Podcast.
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BONUS! TV Guidance Counselor: Kevin McDonald and Dave Foley LIVE! at NorthEast ComicCon
12/28/2023
BONUS! TV Guidance Counselor: Kevin McDonald and Dave Foley LIVE! at NorthEast ComicCon
In this very special BONUS episode here is the complete audio of Ken's chat with Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald of The Kids in the Hall. This was recorded LIVE last month at North East Comic Con in Boxboro MA. If you were a patron you would have gotten a video of this as well! Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 613: 2023 Year In Review
12/20/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 613: 2023 Year In Review
As is (now at least) the tradition, Ken flies solo for a warts and all, behind the scenes, stream of consciousness, week by week, episode by episode review of 2023, and anything else that pops into his head.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 612: Sooz Kempner
12/18/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 612: Sooz Kempner
November 17-23, 2001 This week Ken welcomes UK coomedian, actor and official member of the Doctor Whoverse, Sooz Kempner to the show. Ken and Sooz discuss being outside of the zones of London, Gatwick Airport, how nothing good is ever on TV on Sundays in the UK, Omnibuses, Eastenders, Gladiators, Wolf's gyms, This Morning with Richard Not Judy, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, Richard and Judy, getting away with stuff on kids shows, Pooh, Ken's Mr. Show bowling shirt, recording babies' dreams, Brexit, how homelessness is a bigger problem than fresh veggies, how UK and Canadian comics always want to make it in American despite being successful in their home countries, traveling to Maine to visit your German Grandfather, Stephen King, nice versions of Threads, Watership Down, David the Gnome, When The Wind Blows, visiting New York city with no money but seeing as many Broadway Shows as you can, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Sting's amazing Broadway musical, singing waiters, Ken's 1st and only Thanksgiving not in America, John Edwards Crossing Over and trying to communicate with the victims of 9/11, prank calling Abu Hamza, the boon of live concerts on TV post 9/11, Brittney Spears, being completely overwhelmed by TV Guide, Showgirls, Skinemax, The Simpsons, satellite TV, Sky Digital, Lenox's Pooh Pantry, sad teddy bears, sexy Lucy Lawless on The X-Files, the weird post 9/11 horniness, Comic Sans font, Seven of 9, Jeri Ryan, Down to You, She's All That, all the millennium pushing teen movies nobody cares about anymore, Soul Man, the nature of tangents, Giuliani, hating ferrets, porcelain eagles, all bears on deck, how hands replaced with bear is never a funny pun, Take That, Boy Bands, how violence is perfectly ok in TV, Coaches vs Cancer, NSYNC, and how It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an amazing cure for temporary depression.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 611: Adrien Behn
12/11/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 611: Adrien Behn
This week Ken welcomes podcaster, writer, and world traveler Adrien Behn to the show. Ken and Adrien discuss New York City, growing up in Western MA/NY, people who have never left their hometown, pregnant hippies, life long friends, perusing a life in creative arts, being worldly, having more chickens than neighbors, Lake George, hating touristy spots, teenage identity crisis, doing study abroad programs, Czechs, Prague, Stalin, living in former Soviet Republics, interesting art and beauty, the first place you go to outside of your own country, the film industry in Prague, the "adult" industry in Prague, growing up without cable, Nickelodeon, MTV, binging in college, 9/11, when news takes over all channels, national disasters, negative shared experiences, naming your younger sibling Jessica after Mambo No. 5, all five Spice Girls at once, 30 Rock, Sex in the City, comfort TV, the shows that America exports, Exporting Raymond, the worldwide success of The Big Bang Theory, telenovelas, Croatian soaps, Turkish Soaps, enjoying being places that are not drenched in American culture, Japan, making bad and dangerous decisions while traveling, Albania, action flicks, how comedy doesn't travel, fleeing winter via Mexico City every year, Luchadores, Blue Demon, all soccer all the time, lack of passports in the US, America as a young patchwork culture, the strangeness of Patriotism, traveling to Canada for the first time, not speaking the language, watching Spanish TV so you can read and and hear it at the same time for educational purposes, Narcos, how you crave certain movies and shows, being in the mood to watch certain things, Anthony Bourdain, Obama's pho trip, Vietnam, and how we ALL need to travel more.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 610: Paul Morrissey
12/04/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 610: Paul Morrissey
March 12-18, 1983 This week Ken welcomes comedian and man behind the new Blonde Medicine Comedy lp "Ice Cream vs. Everything", Paul Morrissey. Ken and Paul discuss Paul's excitement being on the show, why he picked 1983, the early 80s mix of famous people guest stars, The Love Boat, Smokey and the Bandit, Paul Williams, Milton Berle, cocaine, 70s Variety Shows, Solid Gold, Tim Thomerson, Top of the Pops, Steelers Wheel, miming, Richard Marx's Lionel Richie debut, cigarettes, David Bowie playing with Mott the Hoople, Robin Williams, Gen Xers vs. Boomers, buying awful products from TV Guide, horrifying children's decor, having to pay massive fines for ruining a VHS tape, Diff'rent Strokes, video games, Silver Spoons, Jason Bateman, Teen Wolf, how massive Bob Hope was, Jackie Gleason, never flying, Voyagers, the death of Jon Eric Hexum, on set accidents, getting bumped on Letterman so many times it becomes an inside joke, dry cleaning The Jeffersons, Newhart, Fritz Leiber, Jay Thomas, Square Pegs, production values, Little House of the Prairie, The A-Team, Happy Days, James Bond, Remington Steel, Pierce Brosnan, The Celtics vs. The Sixers, the Celtics 80s team, Facts of Life, baby death, Very Special Episodes, Fred Willard, Magnum PI, Vietnam, CHPs, Franken and Davis, Saturday Night Live, when everything was on Ice, Benson, Knight Rider, K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R., Stephen Tobolowsky, Morgan Fairchild, $20k TVs, the power of the mustache, roasts, Beverly Hills Cops, action comedies, and why Real Genius is the greatest comedy of all time.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 609: Joe Pera
11/27/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 609: Joe Pera
October 2-8, 1999 This week Ken welcomes certified comedy superstar, and man behind the new comedy special "Slow and Steady", Joe Pera to the show. Ken and Joe discuss tiny computers, Wargames, Buffalo New York, wings, Anchor Bar, Zoomer goofs, preppers, toilet paper, Joe Pera Talks with You. Jo Firestone, Y2K, cover stories, going mobile, post-Nuke dads, 90s posture, Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa Ethridge's Glamor Shots, the "99 face", Verne Troyer, High School Senior Portraits, photographers, Margaret Cho, Tom Green, awful stand up comedian pilot concepts, oil, mailing post cards to your own depression, Hocky Night in Canada, getting Canadian TV, racist sports announcers, MTV, Red Green, watching movies that look awful, journalism, TV Guide's journalism pedigree, hot Mr. Spock, Charlie Chan, Cousin Skeeter, Couch Taylor from Friday Night Lights, Early Edition, stopping subway murder, Homicide, vigilante nudity, Jim Henson's creature shop, Animal Farm, Kelsey Grammar's pig love, Disney's flirtation with Satan, H.E. Double Hockey Sticks, Tweety Bird Collector's Plates, Oriental Trading Company, Sticky Hands, King of Queens, Home Improvement, The Simpsons, Air Force One, Fresh Prince, Harrison Ford's earring, Johnny Tsunami, smelling donuts a mile away, Smart House, Sci-Fi Channel, The Sentinel, Shasta McNasty, wondering if the blowfish has a sister, the worst joke construct of all time, everyone hating Bill O'Reily, Norm McDonald vs Pokemon, Buffalo movies, Rick James, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Buffalo Sabers, Snow Day, and soothing YouTube travel shows.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 608: Mark Guyer
11/20/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 608: Mark Guyer
October 18-24, 1997 This week Ken welcomes author Mark Guyer. Mark and Ken discuss living in upstate/Central New York, how New York State isn't New York City, Halloween viewing, Nostalgiamares Series, Phantom Delivery, classic youth horror books, Fear Street, having your own TV, being a tween, not remembering your childhood Halloween costumes, how dressing as Darth Vader can help with bullying, Due South, Burgess Meredith, Nothing Sacred, Hot Priests, Gene Siskel so Horny, what Siskel did to Betsey Palmer, how awful Saturday Night Fever is, Guides to Halloween episodes, Blackula, Gregory Hines Show, The Night Stalker, Nosferatu, ABC Sitcoms, anti-Trick or Treating, how 21st Century Kids don't get to truly enjoy Halloween, how the world is NOT more dangerous for kids now, the purity of Halloween, how working in retail makes you hate Christmas, Team Knightrider, The Real World Boston, The Tonight Show, bringing Kenan and Kel together again, SNICK, failing the All That! challenge, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, why some 80s actors don't work much these days, Deadly Friend, Wes Craven, VHS rentals, when younger people are smarter and more insightful than you, how rare it is to have a young child as a protagonist, Stephen King, how Horror is inherently left wing, hopeful sadness, Hey Arnold!, Cybill, Alex Mac, how Tuesdays were all about Buffy and Angel, living Annie Potts and Tim Curry, Spin City, being replaced by Charlie Sheen, Baywatch, Meego vs. Boy Meets World, the end of TGIF, You Wish, Teen Angel, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Dee Snider, Millennium, dying standing up, Nash Bridges, and a Cheer in a very negative week.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 607: Dermot Ward
11/13/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 607: Dermot Ward
October 16-22, 1999 This week we travel to Ireland to talk TV with The Try Channel's own Dermot Ward. Ken and Dermot discuss why Dermot is even on the show, bad ideas, Dermot talking people out of liking him, Big Trouble in Little China, being a Martial Arts nerd, Ireland's national martial art, awful Boston Irish stupidity, The Streets, the origins of Corned Beef and Cabbage, The 50 Greatest TV Characters Ever, being totally overwhelmed by TV Guide listings, Letterman, weird commercial breaks, prescription drugs, the English, Fifish Finkle, Picket Fences, Joan Collins, Hawk, PBS Mystery, Prime Suspect, Father Ted, AbFab, Roseanne, Cheer, High School, The Avengers, Emma Peele, Taxi, The Prisoner, swears on American TV, NYPD Blue, Comedy Central, Soap, Bob Newhart, Mary Tyler Moore, Man in the Moon, Andy Kaufman, The Simpsons, Friends, The Wonder Years, Full House, visiting weird American states, Ballykissangel, sexy priests, Win Ben Stein's Money, the late 90s gameshow boom, Baywatch, how prime time US shows are afternoon children's shows in Ireland, sleeping on Baywatch Nights, It's a Wrap, Everybody Loves Raymond, Veronica's Closet, the hell of TV tapings, Buffy, Angel, Shasta McNasty, The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeifer, Homeboys in Outer Space, loving crossover episodes, The Addams Family, Must See TV, and loving Ghostbusters.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 606: George Higby The Antique Nomad
11/06/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 606: George Higby The Antique Nomad
November 3-9, 1973 This week Ken welcomes antiques expert, and fellow TV kid, The Antique Noman himself, George Higby to the show. Ken and George discuss George's YouTube Channel, referencing the stuff on sets, moving around a lot as a kid, living in Cleveland when this TV Guide came out, Washington State, Raytheon TVs, looking for the thing that's the same, being a car and sports guy, Philco, Cigarettes, concept cars, trying to reverse engineer a color TV for free, shared experience, Emergency!, how weird it was that shows not for kids were merchandised to kids, All in the Family, M*A*S*H, topical TV, sad TV shows, the odd cultural moment of the early 1970s, Norman Lear, how the 1970s may have been more progressive, niches, The Committee Against the Public Authority of Maine, antiquing in New England, Time Tunnel, corded TV remotes, Newport Jazz Fest, Lucy, Get Smart! in Spanish, variety shows, Antiques: Make the Most out of Your Hobby with NOT George Michael, the early days of Antique collecting, nostalgia, The Girl Most Likely To, Joan Rivers, Night Gallery, failed pilots, TV preservation, Benny Hill, local edits of TV, Standard Oil, big business, why Debbie Reynolds was NOT allowed in George's house, early Don Johnson, Sandford and Son, trying to get your antiques and collectibles back after you already sold them, The Odd Couple, hating Room 222, passing up The Brady Bunch, buying the Brady House, Sonny and Cher with Douglas Fairbanks, dogs playing poker, Vincent Price, purpose made collectibles, and how Major Nelson's house from I Dream of Genie is George's dream house.
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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 605: Josh Spiegel
10/30/2023
TV Guidance Counselor Episode 605: Josh Spiegel
August 5-11, 1978 This week Ken welcomes The Horror Timelines guy himself, author, YouTuber and fellow horror fan Josh Spiegel. Ken and Josh discuss LA heat, cats, dogs afraid of flies, growing up in Pittsburgh, working at The Monroeville Mall, George Romero, Horror Conventions, Dawn of the Dead, being born in the 1930s, being older than you look, The Jeffersons, the weird English neighbor, cable, non-24 hour HBO, movie rentals, Full Moon Features, TV Violence, when computers take over, cigarettes, cufflinks, The Bionic Woman, The Eighties Project, The Archie Situation Comedy Musical Variety Show, Moose, drugs that totally are not weight loss drugs that are weight loss drugs, Diff'rent Strokes, M*A*S*H, how the Korean War stood in for the Vietnam War, Vietnam vets on TV, why 9/11 doesn't show up in fiction, Charlotte's Web, Jack Albertson, Poor Devil, Sammy Davis Jr. Christopher Lee, needing something light hearted and dumb, Three's Company, Super Hero Disco, proto-Firestar, comic books, Santa Monica's "Little Boston", the math behind Let's Make a Deal, The Price is Right, why John Cusack hates Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer, Lucha Libre, The Crying Woman, Dean Martin, Sinatra, Welcome Back Kotter, Pittsburgh Symphony, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, made for TV movies and why The Midnight Hour is not only great, but trivia gold.
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