TV Guidance Counselor

Latest Episodes:

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 536: Otto Bruno Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

February 7-13, 1976

This week Ken speaks with author of the new book "Barney Miller and the Files of the Ol' One-Two", Otto Bruno.

Ken and Otto discuss growing up in Buffalo, bonding with your dad over Barney Miller, second choices, working in radio, Ken and Otto's very different musical tastes, Danny Arnold, new characters, actors playing different characters on the same show, Jack Davis' drawing of the Barney Miller cast, press photos, Jack Soo's Motown lp, talking to Hal Linden, pinpointing when the audience disappeared, lasting five seasons, not cracking the top 30, TV taping tickets, being interested in neither the Olympics nor Rich Man Poor Man, Royal Dano, Lawrence Welk, looking at your own personal copy of TV Guide, the TV week free from the paper, Mary Tyler Moore, SCTV, Bob Hope, Sonny and Cher's solo shows, William Conrad, Orson Wells, freezers filled with frozen Howard Johnson Fried Clams and Friendlys Ice Cream, M*A*S*H, Dinah Shore Show, David Brenner, Robert Klein, Steve Martin, Albert Brooks, dumb humor vs smart humor, Chuck Jones' The Boy Who Was Raised by Wolves, Robert Loggia as Johnny Beer, Theater in America, Smarmy classic Burt Reynolds, Brad Dourif, why Frank Luger is Ken's favorite character, avoiding social issues, humanity, enamel pins, Badges, The Hollywood Museum, James Garner, Joe Dante, being left out of being a Monster Kid, film noir, and the weirdness of POV media in a pre video game world.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 535: Mike Kane Jul 31, 2022

Show notes

March 12-18, 1988

This week Ken welcomes musician, fellow punk kid, and front man of Michael Kane and the Morning Afters (who's new record Broke But Not Broken is great), Mike Kane.

Ken and Mike discuss growing up in Worcester, divorce, Kevin Can Go F*@k Himself, how great Wayne is, working in an arcade, Judith Light, MediaPlay, gang fights, seeing people beaten with bats, living in a used record store, tapes, not being able to just leave things in the wild, Elvis Costello, the first comic Ken ever bought, TableTalk Pies, Mary Tonnacocaine, Dennis the Menace, The New Mr. Wilson, cartoon guest stars, Nick at Nite, President style names, is TV getting worse?, feeling old, Generic Price and Bold Flavor, cigarettes, Skor Bars, gummy candies, David Copperfield, Peter Gabriel and magicians, Punk Brewster and "The Gift", Women in Prison, Alan/Miles, Saturday Night's Main Event, Worcester Centrum, Brutus The Barber Beefcake, being slightly less dirtbag than your average kid, Brian Bosnell and the Ataris, The People's Choice Awards, Ken's hatred of Led Zeppelin, The Terminator, Eddie and the Cruisers, Ken's vow to never forgive Baby Jessica, dating Adult Jessica, Jessie Camp, MTV contests, why Perfect Strangers is the best theme song to belt out, covering TV Themes, Ken's dislike of Cocksparrer, arguing with Alf, Christopher Lloyd in The Dictator, WKRP in Cincinnati, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Eddie Deezen, Growing Pains, Head of the Class, Just the Ten of Us, Grease, defending the Cosby Show without defending Cosby, Richard Moll: Dungeonmaster, how unusual bald people on TV was, Lionel Richie's Dancing on the Ceiling, Kenny Rogers, Dad tapes, Eddie Murphy, Bronson Pinchot, the origins of the "horny older lady", how it's ok to be a nurse, Mr. Belvedere, the audience participation episode of Matlock, complaining about the loss of Chuck Connors on Werewolf, and Alf (pictured right).

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 534: Gianmarco Soresi Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

Janury 16-22, 2006

This week Ken welcomes actor and comedian Gianmarco Soresi.

Ken and Gianmarco discuss the smells of NYC, heat, the Fung Wah bus, bus drivers doing bits, "it was a GUY!", Ellios vs Upper East Side Ellio's, going to NYC with your Dad, growing up in the DC area, how The Producers is pretty dirty for 8th Grade, being a child of divorce, South Park, party Dads, woods porn, wondering who is secretly a monster, sitcom set for life money, OJ Simpson's If I Did It, Lost, watching things weekly vs binging, Inside Dr. McDreamy's Trailer, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The 700 Club vs. S Club 7, bad wifi in the bathroom, True Blood, 24 and the justification of torture, Homeland, lazy writing posing as progressiveness, Dave Chapelle's return at Aspen in 2006, Scrubs, Supernatural, Fear Factor, class action suits, 3M paying $40M, Will and Grace, gay sex, Glee, Jane Lynch, owning the corny, Rent, Spike TV Fresh Baked Video Games, Austin Powers, Benny Hill marathons, Inside the Actors Studio, Damon Waynes, Dorothy Hamel, LAPD fighting vampires, The Shield, and not rolling out old people who are too ill to be performing.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 533: Lexi Alexander Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

September 28 - October 6, 1985

This week Ken welcomes writer, director, martial artist and all around real life super hero Lexi Alexander to the show.

Ken and Lexi discuss the long road to this episode happening, being on the right side of things, the great hope of the internet, piracy, how the users can ruin a new technology, the conflict of finance and creativity, growing up in Germany and Jordan, moving to the U.S., being World Champion, being sponsored by Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and Chuck Norris, missing the pop culture of the country you grew up in, Air force bases, not understanding America until you actually live there, kickboxing, hate groups, people being different privately than in public, how white Boston is, Black Boston, where Reggae in America got it's start, nostalgia, Stranger Things, the toxicity of Hollywood, pitching things, getting fired from Batman, the dangers of contact lenses, whip chains, treating people right, Punisher: War Zone, avoiding conflict, when stunts go wrong, how so much content is bad for people, being outspoken, Shaw Brothers Theaters, Cynthia Rothrock, the weirdness of 1985, wig down, paint down, martial arts styles, why flying backfists are for assholes, Germans being stuck in the 80s, David Hasselhoff, only moving a little bit past the mullet, Misfits of Science, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Hart to Hart, the love hate relationships with your home countries, children's programming, Christmas Specials, Doctor Who, bowling on TV, the rise of team sports on TV, fixing 80s toys, The Wedding Singer, novelty pens with floating elements, the bliss of childhood ignorance, Atomic Blonde, how difficult it is to look glam while fighting, The Fall Guy, Gen Xers, The A-Team, Beverly Hills 90210, The Cosby Show, Baywatch, how difficult it is to dub comedies in foreign languages, how episodes of shows can be movies in theaters, Lexi's unmade reboot of Baywatch, the downfall of post-apocalyptical wish fulfillment culture, why people in 2022 aren't down for environmental horrors, The Trigger Effect, government propaganda, how Vietnam effect media differently than the Gulf War(s), the Red Dawn remake, avoiding trauma in media, fixing watches and the mystery of TikTok.

TV Guide Episode 532: Baratunde Thurston Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

July 16-22, 1994

This week Ken welcomes old friend and current host of the new PBS series "America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston", Baratunde Thurston.

Ken and Baratunde discuss satellites, fiber optics, being the thousand points of light, how professional Baratunde is, Baratunde's first (self) published book autographed to Ken, 2004, the greatness of the show title, lack of aging, assigned homework, the wonder of 1994, Cindy Crawford, the weirdness of 89 cents, working fax lines, The Ground Round "pay what you weigh", Bill O'Reiley's lucrative PR fueled hobby, creating our own monsters, cigarettes, The Moon Landing, riding OUTSIDE the plane, deciding if we'd go into space or not, VR, A Man Called Hawk, AIDS awareness 18 month calendar, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, COPS, 227, Washington DC, Living Single, Baratunde's theme song concert, ROC, Good Morning Mr. Hitler, Discovery Channel, "The Hitler Network", The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, reboots, The Oxbow Incident, The Running Man, Robocop, Unsolved Mysteries, The Air and Space Museum, Astronaut Ice Cream, The American Ninja Series, The Heights, wanting to experience the awkward teen years, Cliffhanger, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, Jeff Jarvis, The Franklin Mint, collector plates, guilding everything, and the outdoors.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 531. Brittany Luse & Eric Eddings Jul 04, 2022

Show notes

February 2-8, 2002

This week Ken welcomes longtime friends and co-hosts of the "For Colored Nerds" podcast, Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings.

Ken, Brittany and Eric discuss living in L.A. and NYC but still doing a podcast together, being a vibes person, getting married, Bernie Mac, Mac & Cheese, growing up in Memphis and the Detroit area, living in NYC, The Original Kings of Comedy, Larry Wilmore, driving around and looking at Christmas lights, why middle of the road is popular, Ken's Jimmy Fallon hate, Ken's James Corden Hate, sitcoms based on stand up acts, how 9/11 lead to a rise in reality TV and violent shows, Sex in the City, seeing Cynthia Nixon on the subway, 227, African American Actors' Roundtable, Marla Gibbs, Touched by an Angel, My Girl 1 and 2, forgetting Billy Blanks, Everclear vs Everlast, the 2002 New England Patriots Super Bowl, Sabrina, Inside the Actors Studio, Greg Kinear, the Golden Age of Celebrity Sex Tapes, Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, The Real World New Orleans, SVU, the Steven Segal trilogy, Witchblade, Black female stand up comics in the 80s, Whoopie Goldberg, Tami Roman, Will & Grace, Gilmore Girls, how creepy "My Father the Hero" is, Shelby Woo, which Dawson's Creek cast member we think we are, That 80s Show, Charmed, Just Shoot Me, David Spade, taking the blame, Ernest Dickerson, how Tales from the Crypt Demon Knight is Jada Pinkett's best role, Porn on PBS, loving Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Mortal Kombat, Double Dragon, Space Jam, loving the (Summer) Olympics, knowing nothing about basketball, World Cup, Survivor, never taking credit for Cheers and Jeers, Brenda Strong on The Weakest Link, and Kevin Nealon's Conspiracy Zone on TNN.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 530: Anne-Marie Johnson Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes actor, producer, director and form VP of the Screen Actors Guild, Anne-Marie Johnson to the show.

Ken and Anne-Marie discuss L.A. rain, droughts, growing up in L.A., being a second generation Angelino, landlines, covenants, helping others, how things are better now, Boston's weird racism and unfriendlyness, Spenser for Hire, Roots, teamster shake downs, A Man Called Hawk, In the Heat of the Night, having supportive parents, Carol Burnett, I Love Lucy, musical theater, sitcoms, Diff'rent Strokes, Double Trouble, first encounters with Scientology, High School USA, movie actors vs TV actors, social media, Robert Townsend, Hollywood Shuffle, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, What's Happening Now?, The Decline of the American Empire, representation, NBC, the era of true broadcasting, cross over stars, The Fresh Prince of Bell Air, the horror of "paint down", diversity, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Room 222, the magic of multi-cam sitcoms in front of live audiences, dating a comic, seeing yourself on TCM, watching them film Knight Rider, lying so you can interview Carol Burnett in high school, going to John Marshall High School the high school from EVERYTHING, the difficulty of being a background actor, stand ins, Dream Date, the other side of the Potsie/Paul Shore incident, being called by your character name, enjoying the anonymity of wearing masks, The Comedy Act Theater, Shriley Hemphill's advice, standing up for yourself, being a Sparkle Girl, getting fired as a tour guide at Universal Studios, Tommy Davidson, In Living Color, loving working with Jim Carrey, the brutality of the SNL model, not supporting meanness, how the problems of America are not new, access to information, being particularly proud of T.E.A.R.S: The Event Against Racism and Stereotyping, exploring the relationship between the African American Community and the LAPD as the daughter of an LAPD officer, the quality of network TV and the pathetic amounts on residual checks.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 529: Damon Blake Jun 20, 2022

Show notes

January 15-21, 1994

This week Ken welcomes Try Channel All-Star and all around fine Irish humor machine Damon Blake to the show.

Ken and Damon discuss Ken and Damon's terrorization by Ed Sheeran, moving around a lot, whatever the Hell the deal is with Boston, living in Texas, how nobody in Ireland actually wears crosses, how social media is like homework, not watching your friends Social Media, how Ken is a fraud, being the Mind Hunter of Heterosexuality, FTD playing Dr with a Cock mug, Avery Brooks, Star Trek, being sponsored by Vaseline, Ken's punk rock days, getting in fights with neo-Nazis, Japanese shows, Documental, the kung fu of comedy, Bruce Campbell, Briscoe County Jr, Jack of All Trades, having a stack of things to watch, TekWar, the nature of fame today, sex cults, misdirection, Patrick Stewart's Days of Future Past PRE-X-MEN, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Tom Arnold, the Tom vs Roseanne public battles, The "Who's Jackie?" story, Joss Whedon, Comic Relief (USA), the aversion to violence young people have, how right wingers are not funny, awful audiences, Baywatch, The George Carlin Show, being in debt to mobsters, VR Ken Reid, Sam Raimi, staying up all night, Late Night talk shows, Spock, Irish TV, The John Laroquette Show, Dan Harmon, State Run TV, Irish people doing impressions of other Irish people, Bonecrushers, Voyager, Ken's New England Patriots connection to Putin, how all shows should end either in a time loop or a snow globe, Dellamorte Dellamore (aka Cemetery Man), Rescue 911, severe burns, the Fraiser 9-11 conspiracy, Rolling Thunder, Tommy Lee Jones, Grace Under Fire, Sex Killers using Sex as a Weapon, The X-Files, Irish guilt, Rawhead Rex, use of the word "suck" on TV, Ken's mother's favorite swear, sending the podcast into space, Shatz PA, and getting a dick cut off.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 528: Mary Kate Wiles Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

April 13-19, 2009

This week Ken welcomes actor (The Fairly Odd Parents: Fairly Odder on Paramount+, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries), Shipwrecked Comedy member, producer, writer and natural blonde Mary Kate Wiles to the show.

Ken and Mary Kate discuss growing up in Arkansas, being in the closet, living in Los Angeles, second choices, being engaged to somebody from Marblehead, how 2009 feels like yesterday, Amy Poehler, Parks and Rec, living in the sticks, when cool stuff comes to your hometown after you leave, culture shock, how small the world is now, watching stuff with your Mom growing up, being a PBS only kid by edict, missing Nicktoons, Sex and the City, Bones, faking it with novelizations, from blonde to redhead to blonde, all the weddings on TV, Scrubs, things Ken has never seen, The Office, American Idol, TV Guide's Sexiest Stars Party, celebrity weight loss, Surviving Suburbia with Bob Saget, Model Behavior, cooking shows, America's Next Top Model, weird reality show challenges, Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsey, Will and Grace, Lost, Ken's constant and annoying recommendations of Fringe, The Middle, how Lord of the Rings inspired Mary Kate to act, having your body scanned to be in Grand Theft Auto V, Halloweentown, super weird creepy Prayer Crosses, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Just the Ten of Us, Ken's thoughts on Wandavision, the MCU, Toy Biz, Forgotten Silver, not recommending Meet the Feebles to a LOTR Peter Jackson Fan, pageants, and how bizarre TV Land's "The Cougar" was.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 527: Drew McWeeny Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

August 28 - September 3, 1993

This week Ken welcomes film critic, screen writer and all around movie oracle Drew McWeeny to the show.

Ken and Drew discuss Ken's shock that people listen to the show, 1993, the Late Night Wars, moving to LA, going to an Arsenio taping, loving Letterman, the beauty of late night TV, Tom Snyder, being terrified by the Son of Sam, watching TV late at night, SVHS, getting a snapshot of a time and place, being heavily into laserdiscs, Ken Crane, what The Grimace's Second Wife watches, 227, spin offs, the beauty of YouTube, Dick Cavett, Ken's dislike of Leno, Mike Nesmith's Television Parts, It's Gary Shandling's Show, the shock of Letterman not getting The Tonight Show, Leno screwing over Conan, the magic of panels, closed captioning, how bad they still are, the writer's strike, The "New" Mission Impossible, developing an MST3k Habit, rent-a-friend, Dream On, Tales from the Crypt, Body Bags, John Carpenter, Mick Garris, Ken's love of The Real World, SNL, loving late night pay cable in the 80s and 90s, USA Up All Night, The Creature Feature Movie Guide, TV Guide 2 star movies, the debut of Nickelodeon's SNICK, why animators were the best kinds of nerds, Ren & Stimpy, Bruce Campbell, Briscoe County Jr., 120 Minutes, The MTV Music Video Awards, The MTV Movie Awards, getting fired from being a tour guide at Universal Studios, MTV Week in Rock, Roseanne, the sad decline of Tobe Hooper, Invaders from Mars, Stephen King's Sleepwalkers, The Larry Sanders Show, Tall Hopes, The John Larroquette Show, loving The X-Files even though it's not on yet, Bonnie Hunt's The Building, Bob, Eye Witness Video, how important music videos were, knowing the directors, and how much the world has changed.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected