TV Guidance Counselor

Latest Episodes:

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 499: Erik Childress Nov 29, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes writer and film critic Erik Childress to the show.

Ken and Erik discuss Chicago, basically growing up in Shermer, Crime Story, John Hughes, Harry Caray, the curse of the Cubs, Dawson's Creek, the loudest voices today who are right wing careerless jerks, The Clinton Era and disgraced politicians, Kevin Williamson, Patrick Stewart in Old West King Lear "King of Texas", Scotland PA, the early 00s late 90s obsession with modern takes on Shakespeare, Wish Men, Ken being totally stumped by a show Erik remembers, Lethal Weapon 2, Popeye, anthologies, "from the producers of...", The Screen Actors' Guild Awards, UPN trying to be irreverent, Everybody Loves Raymond, laughing through The Great Depression, avoiding Mario Cuomo, My So-Called Life on MTV, the tragic Dawson's Creek finale, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Quick and the Dead, Vampires, Horror Directors' non-horror work, Spin City, Michael J Fox, Newsradio, Ryan Reynolds, Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place, Friends, falling asleep to Bound, Sarah Brightman, The Real World Boston, bowling night, Seinfeld, ER, Sterling K Brown, Christopher Darden: Actor, Heavy Tobin Bell, March Madness, Patton, sleeping to Hardcore, Millennium, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, tiny actors, being a film critic, Siskel & Ebert, and the very odd star rating system of TV Guide.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 498: Luke Geddes Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes artist, novelist and listener Luke Geddes.

Ken and Luke discuss central time, growing up in Wisconsin, Mountain Time, High Altitude baking instructions, Appleton, Caroline in the City, The Canada of America, the first Halloween after 911, the post VCR pre-web video era of lost media, how movies on the cover of TV Guide is cheating, Harry Potter, when Ken attended the premiere of Harry Potter in London, Nuns on the Run, nudity in PG-13 movies, Phil Donahue, how Bill O'Reiley has always been a dickhead, Static Shock, Justice League, Jeri Ryan in Boston Public, the legal class action suit against Blockbuster Video, being a video store outlaw, napping through the Jacobites, surely Susan Stewart, Nova, James Cromwell, Touched by an Angel, Saturday night Jesus, Halloween movies after Halloween, THE BRANIACS DOT COM, serialized movies, the downside of streaming, The Blair Witch Project, Freaks, dusting off old spec scripts as new content, how Ken ruined Crossing Jordan, Christopher Lloyd in TV movies, Freaks and Geeks on Fox Family, the fascinating mystery of Christopher Lowell, iOffer, bootlegs, unsold pilots on YouTube, Fraiser, Malcolm in the Middle, wacky sound FX instead of laugh tracks, holiday episodes being ABOUT the Holiday vs taking place during the Holiday, Scrubs, Ed, why Luke's wife's birthday is the worst day of the year for him, Nightmare on Elm St, According to Jim, Fright Night, The USA Network Daytime Line up GOLD, Boston Common, Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place, the long slow fall of NBC's Thursday Night, Inside Schwartz, Dark Angel, Dana Delaney, Wild Palms, Pasadena, Bob Saget, Mark Valley, pre-2000s "Prestige" TV, loving Sela Ward, Twin Peaks: The Return, being careful what you wish for, the horrors of Jay Leno, not having the Emmys after 911, Hollywood narcissism, and JJ Abrams hiring a REAL felon hacker for Alias.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 497: Shaina Feinberg Nov 15, 2021

Show notes

October 3-9, 1992

This week Ken welcomes filmmaker, and all around talent, Shaina Feinberg to the show.

Ken and Shaina discuss newly borns, how 1992 is a good year for Ken, Joan Rivers, The Real World, MTV, growing up in Manhattan, how big a difference a few years seems when you are younger, how people with a different style than you can seem way older, Bob Newhart, pitching a show for a 95 year old, home shopping network, the many phases of a creative career, directing a play, finding your direction in life later in life, having a ton of different jobs, favorite female directors, being a woman in a industry seen as a man's industry, Penelope Spheeris, shooting things in a pandemic, getting into directing via acting, Amy Heckerling, Martha Coolidge, My So-Called Life, Kate & Allie, Fringe, This Way Up, UK Shows, showing your kids positive role models, showcasing women, making Cheers now, doing staged readings of sitcom scripts, travel shows, food shows, Somebody Feed Phil, Anthony Bordain, Nailed It!, making documentaries about Shaina's mom, how people end up in Manhattan, how stand up comedy is like being a chef, wanting your kids to have a better life than you did, having a love of making stuff, having a lot of pans in the fire, wanting to write for Work in Progress, blue sky shows, not making shows with incredibly unlikable characters and introducing the youngest guest in the history of TV Guidance Counselor.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 496: Blaine Capatch Nov 08, 2021

Show notes

August 24-30, 1974

Another long time coming guest, this week Ken welcomes comedian Blaine Capatch to the show.

Ken and Blaine discuss throwing to a clip, classic cars, 1974, growing up in PA, weird square back cars, music instruction schools, Godsmack, Stryper, bad metal bands, working in music stores, guitars, speculation without Googleation, Susie Blakley, 70s pantsuits, neighbors having cable, Blaine's Dad's barber shop, calling Sandy Frank, Battle of the Planets, Starblazers, MST3k, werewolves, monkey phases, Christopher Lee, Jimmy Walker, Funky Phantom, Inch High Private Eye, Mission Magic, Archie Bunker, figuring out which shows get long descriptions, sending away for out of business comic book ads, The Bob Newhart Show, Lorenzo Music, Julie Newmar, It Takes a Theif, Tonight from Harvard Square, the music of Hee Haw, insane Marlon Brando, starting comedy in Baltimore, John Waters, the slog of The Clash's Sandinista, Dom Delouise, The End, above ground pools, Marcus Welby, Roller Derby, Rock N Rollergames, Rod Hull and Emu, Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionics Action Club, jackets, Patton Oswalt, LQ Jones, Harlan Ellison, A Boy and His Dog, fresh made stories, Hollywood Squares, meeting Paul Williams, @midnight, The Brady Bunch house, Beat the Geeks, Dana Gould, Bobcat Goldthwait, Steve Martin, how Billy Crystal is nobody's favorite stand up comedian, SCTV, Martin Short, all blues shows, rock n roll revivals, and lemon flavored cigarettes.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 495: Jaye McBride Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes comedian and 2021 Montreal Comedy Festival New Face Jaye McBride to the show.

Ken and Jaye discuss Brooklyn, Ken's Halloween looks and lifestyle, food based nicknames as dual purpose insult/compliment, growing up in rural upstate NY, The "Good" Mall, Maine, Vermont, Friday the 13th Park VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, going to Canada pre-911, kids hating technology, The House of Frankenstein Wax Museum, The Boston Strangler, Alex Karras's Wimps and Real Men, how actors are their character, hating Cagney and Lacey, TV Trivia and Easter Eggs, The Great St. Elsewhere delusion, cigarettes, Airwolf, Mama's Family, Sharon Stone, back door pilots, looking up to Benson, Isaac's bum deal, The Love Boat, Superman, classic Ned Beatty, Herve Vilichaize on Hee Haw, Liberace, Kate and Allie, Newhart, A-Team, Riptide, evil developers, Brooke Shields, Jaime Farr, Circus of the Stars, Alex Trebeck Human Bomb, I Had Three Wives, Sledge Hammer, Cheers, Night Court, Cosby, how everyone needs to have their own John Oates, Stacey Keach, stealing Lincoln's woman, Blue and the Grey, loving Civil War stuff, killing drug dealers, National Geographic, Free solo climbers, and Mark Harmon's incredibly unconvincing love of Coors beer.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 494: Jeff Lieberman Oct 25, 2021

Show notes

Happy Halloween! This week Ken welcomes writer, producer, director and author of the new autobiography "Day of the Living Me" Jeff Lieberman! jeffliebermandirector.com

Ken and Jeff discuss floods, the end of the world, car boats, tapping into the Zeitgeist, Squirm, Remote Control, labels, 70s horror, race in horror, talent, being an advocate for the dead, having a unique body of work (but hating that term), Keith Richards, having a voice, Phil Silvers, New York, overacting, being an editor, Janus Films, Westerns, Gayle Storm, being funny, Jeff's short film The Ringer, Who Killed Mary Westling, Red Buttons, advertising, loving 50s sci-fi, being a talented artist, drawing, cartoons, being efficient at dating girls, living in Mad Men, Streets of San Francisco, Have Gun Will Travel, Don Knotts, Steve Allen, noticing everything, being a TV kid, Popular Mechanics, meeting Pinky Lee, Jane Mansfield and her friends, Pall Mall, cigarettes, chocolate trainer cigarettes, The Danny Thomas Show, Wells Fargo, Route 66, Bus Stop, the cold reality of life, the amazing work and influence of Jean Shepard, Donald Fagan, John Lennon, Bob Newhart, loving stand up, But...Seriously, King Kong, George Burns, the incredible footage of Richard Pryor singing, Zorro, and wearing Antonio Banderas' clothes with Tippi Hedren's permission.

TV Guidance Counselor Halloween 2021 Special Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

After a one year Apocalypses induced hiatus, TV Guidance Counselor's annual Halloween special is back!

This year we welcome back, because YOU demanded it, TVGC All-Star Lamont Price (of the Lamont Price XPerience) and Walter Sickert (of the daily Bunker Buds streaming show)!

Ken, Lamont and Walter discuss their favorite Halloween episodes and some underseen or under loved specials and viewing choices for Halloween 2021. These include Martin, Father Ted, Starsky and Hutch, Hunter, Clueless, Dawson's Creek, Ewoks & Droids, Benson, Growing Pains, The Simpsons and an over all love of Freddy Krueger.

To hear the conversation continue check out Part 2 on Bunker Buds:

and Part 3 on The Lamont Price Xperience

TV Guidance Counselor 493: TJ Connelly Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

Today Ken welcomes shadow Ken, for Red Sox Fenway park DJ, and current all other sports DJ TJ Connelly to the show.

Ken and TJ discuss neighbors trying to break in and steal your home, Miss America, Brooke Shields, Wolf Blitzer, TV news and Israel, the anti-Playboy, Virginia Slims, tar, how Nirvana killed Miami Vice, Brian Dennehy: Cult Leader, TJ's understanding of Ken's TV Guide obsession, the "& Son" craze of Cartoon reboots, CBS Saturday Morning, Muppet Babies, Pee Wee's Playhouse, Once a Hero, Pee Wee Herman on 227, The Last Starfighter, Jake and the Fatman, Mamma's Boy, the studio system, TV networks all star specials, shooting She's the Sherriff, The New Monkees, The New Gidget, Our House, George Michael's songs about Wilfred Brimley, earthquakes, Duck Tales, the almost death of Disney animation, The Emmys, removing the ridged time limit on acceptance speeches, playing the Hogan's Heroes theme, the difficultly of obtaining starting line up information, kids watching TV filmed live, Spenser for Hire, The Highwaymen, Jocko, TVT Records TV theme song compilations, ending the night with The Golden Girls theme, ALF wish fulfillment, how Sandy Duncan made ALF sexy, If It's Tuesday It STILL Must be Belgium (no relation to If It's Tuesday it Must Be Belgium), party lines, Knight Rider, water rights, the premiere of Full House, Out of Control, I Married Dora, Crime Story, Las Vegas, Cinemax, Back to School, ripping out your heart with Foster Dogs, Gary Shandling, Head of the Class, Tom Atkins in The Equalizer, the premier of A Different World, Tour of Duty, Night Court, Max Headroom, Ken being forbidden to watch 20/20, stealing talent from the playwrite world, and the mystery of how Ken and TJ never have physically crossed paths.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 492: Pete Holmes Oct 11, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes, writer, director, producer, comedian and actor Pete Holmes to the show.

Ken and Pete get RIGHT into it and discuss The Want Ads, the nature of AV Nerds, wanting to be the go to expert to fight monsters among your peer group, managing bands, wanting to be in the limelight but being shy, playing the bass, being a punk rock kid, how creepy dudes like comedy, Weird Al, letting Ken host his own show, loving activities that give you time away from your family, Townies, Boston trash, Cha Cha, the joke that got Pete on Conan, how pride shifts from your work to your children, the pay bump you get with a Golden Globe, being funny for free, making your talent a career, The Devil, the pain you have to go through to gain skills, how Prince was a nerd, practice, radioactive spiders, obsessiveness, hating Boston, the horror of a Red Sox hat, the Hard F Word, suffering, feeling out of place, The Unseen, needing to cleanse your brain with angry punk rock after seeing your parents, not liking The Showcase Showdown, Doc Hopper, writing letters, energy not derived from cocaine, Rancid at Avalon, remembering Waterdog, fights, being the tall guy, enjoying the scary parts of life, Harvard Square, Green Day Riot, Bad Brains, fights, front men, how jocks ruin everything, white hats, Ken stealing crowd surfers shoes, playing a song you wrote with Tim Armstrong, Pete's band Nude, the way we made friends, self help, knowing you are in control of your life, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Newbury Comics, Tower Records, making game show based prank phone calls, trick questions based on The Wizard of Oz, being ridiculed by hooligans and riff raff at the Burlington movie theater and having your brother betray you.

THEN Ken gets Tripp Underwood of The Unseen on the phone to discuss Pete's love of the band, his letter writing, and to make an offer to answer all of Pete's unanswered Unseen questions.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 491: Cat Baab-Muguira Oct 04, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes writer, and author of the new book Poe for your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History's Least Likely Self-Help Guru, Catherine Baab-Muguira.

Ken and Cat discuss Richmond, VA, Avail, the psychic prison of High School, Edgar Allan Poe, laying claim to Poe, the Mid-Atlantic, HP Lovecraft, how Poe set the structure for horror, mystery and detective stories, why it's always an orangutan, Halloween 1996, not seeing Flashdance until you were 32, growing up in a conservative Catholic household, very strict parents, RL Stein, Christopher Pike, the loophole of novelizations, the best kids shows for 1996, Superman The Animated Series, your older sister having cool taste, going to rock shows with your Catholic priest brother, Firefighting vampires, Backdraft, MTV's Baywatch Beach House, My Bloody Valentine, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, the weirdness of Rhode Island, pizza strips, how the songs of Sting can turn the tide on an uncomfortable made for TV movie, living in LA, Melrose Place, not visiting DC, Ken's "environmental camp" experience, skunk cabbage, the adult acting choices of The B.A.G., sleeping with teachers, ripped from the headlines, the bad season of Roseanne, AbFab, evil nannies, sexy women who are actually a tree, how children are terrifying, A Return to Salem's Lot, Sam Fuller, Townies, Molly Ringwald, explaining Gumby, taking railway journeys, full sized bars on Halloween, riding the rails with Buck Henry, Dracula Prince of Darkness, Hammer films, the Halloween ER, how "Maniac" inspired the song Maniac from Flashdance, offensive Halloween costumes due to lack of funds, GI Joes and Barbies in cars, disjointed high camp vanity productions, Johnny Carson's quiet acts of kindness, how Star Wars is over, re-watching the Office, and singing the praises of Zootopia.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected