TV Guidance Counselor

Latest Episodes:

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 480: Brian Volk-Weiss Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes the producer/director/host and all around jack of all trades behind The Toys That Made Us, The Movies That Made Us and A Toy Store Near You, Brian Volk-Weiss.

Ken and Brian discuss Boston, Newbury Comics, Toy Stores, the intention behind A Toy Store Near You, COVID, being inspired, life being too short, nostalgia, growing up in Queens, making people happy, reaching 100% toys, people buying things in lock down, Magnolia Park in Burbank, Black Cat Collectibles, Toys That Never Should Have Been Made, KayBee Toys clearance bin, A-Team mini vans, TV Toys, the confidence behind releasing toys, having an unpopular lunchbox, always wanting the COBRA Hydrofoil, Mego's Star Trek Bridge, Automan, Quantum Leap toys, how all toys are for adults now, the pre-internet age, bootleg toys, Mr. Big's Toyland, how interviewing lawyers is the secret to getting the scoop, wanting people to feel happy, how stand up comedians are good people to hire behind the scenes for documentaries, Behind the Attraction on Disney +, the definitive documentary about Star Trek The Center Seat, and the future of toys.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 479: Peppermint Jul 19, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes singer, performer, all around personality and force of nature Peppermint to the show.

Ken and Peppermint discuss remote controls, the single most 1992 image ever, how the 80s didn't end in 1990, pop culture delays, the rise of cable TV, MTV, breaking the Summer barrier, getting ready for OJ Simpson, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, Universal remotes, Real World Homecoming, how Kevin was right, Rodney King, same accent, different place, MTV's House of Style, Nickelodeon, the invention of 'tweens, SNICK, Roundhouse, New York TV, Star Trek TNG, Highway to Heaven, I Was a Middle Aged Werewolf, Quantum Leap, how slow older shows can be, The X-Files, horror movies, Marcia Cross, Traci Lords, Heather Locklear, Siver, rock and pop, hip hop, ska, compilation soundtracks, MTV Spring Break, Salt N Peppa, En Vogue, Eternal: The En Vogue of the UK's song Stay, strange mixes of genres, being inspired by the Spice Girls 2 Become 1 to move to Manhattan, allies, Pedro Zimora, how amazing Norm is, Chocolate Bunny Paintings, collecting art, KayBee Toys clearance bin, The Real World New York, the evolving discussions of race, NEEDING a Real World LA reunion, Tammy, WHERE IS DAVID??, going straight to YouTube, desperately needing Becky back in the house, how cool Mohammad is, and renting the Real World houses on Air BnB.

Be sure not to miss Peppermint's new single Here for It which has a PERFECT vibe for a 1992 discussion

https://youtu.be/xcUvJ-STKM8

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 478: Michelle Bossy Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcome director Michelle Bossy to the show.

Ken and Michelle discuss bossy by name bossy by nature, Summer 1998, Frank Sinatra's death, graduating from High School, growing up in Las Vegas, the nature of fame, talk shows, growing up Mexican American, telenovellas, Golden Girls, The X-Files, The Wonder Years, voice over, sincerity, The Muppets, Awakenings, So I Married an Ax Murderer?, missing out, Museum of the Moving Image, Dinosaurs, Magical Realism, Ally McBeal, cynical TV, pop music soundtracks, Empire Records, The Big Chill, scoring movies with songs, Gen X, The Gin Blossoms, hunting down Eraserhead, the heat of Vegas, living in other people's hedonism, Austin Powers, Mike Meyers, parody from love, how poor everyone is in movies but are actually rich, Jeopardy, Barefoot in the Park, Musical Theater, falling in love with NYC, Mad About You, Seinfeld, the Seinfeld finale, Noises Off!, farce, non-sanitized but not gritty New York, Curb Your Enthusiasm, showrunners, the idea of working in a newsroom, and having ALMOST the same birthday.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 477: Sarah Sweeney Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

October 17-23, 1998

This week Ken welcomes writer, voice over royalty and fellow latch key New Englander Sarah Sweeney to the show.

Ken and Sarah discuss NYC, soul sucking, Providence, 24 hours emotional support food, Halloween, the 1998 Clinton Scandal, pre-cogs, horoscopes, Warped Tour, Suffolk Downs, betting on horses, Ken's annoying red phone, trying to get deals on cable, chained to bundles, getting a ton of v/o work, notable stuff you can't talk about, having never seen a Farrley Brothers movie, Brotherhood, where does Ally McBeal take place, Boston Public, Boston Legal, The Amazing Randi, Co-Star, weird tangents, smoking while voting, Scream, My So-Called Life, how great Senta Moses is, Angela Chase, Breaking Away, spending the Summer watching the movies you should have seen, Sammo Hung, America's Night of Heroes, Walker Texas Ranger, Chuck is his character, being extremely hot, XTREME sports, SOF: Special Ops Force with Dennis Rodman, Sister Sister, A Will of their Own, Victorian Times, Dharma and Greg, Joanna Kerns, Hallmark movies, working at Sci-Fi, Mad About You, Ken's Fraiser issues, being a smart mean kid, being better than this, the dehumanization of the 21st Century, the dissolution of decorum, the invention of 'tweens, marketing, ratings, Anne with an E, The Nanny, Conventions, scarred by ER, The Pee Wee Herman Show, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Great American Drama, and the future of Limited Run Series.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 476: Fred Mollin Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

June 27-July 3, 1959

This week Ken welcomes producer, composer and all around great guy Fred Mollin to the show.

Ken and Fred discuss Memphis, The Peabody Hotel, ducks, Toronto, SCTV, making records, improv, Godspell, Paul Schaffer, David Cronenberg, Fast Company, growing up on Long Island, being the baby, Perry Mason, Ed Sullivan, Wanted Dead or Alive, Western Detectives, wish fulfillment, fantasy, the rifleman, being fascinated by guns on TV as a kid, Jean Carrol, plate spinning, Lloyd Price, Frankie Avalon, Dick Clark, Ray Boulger, 77 Sunset Strip, Johnny Mathis, Ricky Nelson, Zacherly, Disney's music side, children's music, lullabies, Friday the 13th the movies and the series, Forever Night, synths, Faith Healer, televised Blood Drives, Life of Riley, Love that Bob, Bob Cummings, Wyatt Earp, Hugh O'Brian, John Carradine, Highway Patrol, Dragnet, growing up Jewish, comparing your family to television families, Donna Reed, Zorro, Burns and Allen, having access to everything, Newark vs Las Vegas, old school Wrestling, Nat Hiken, Car 54, Where Are You?, Phil Silvers, trivia ringers, and how being a television kid teaches you a life time of useful skills.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 475: Rachel Rosenthal and Sam DeRoest Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes real life married couple, improv royalty, and hosts of the Generation Gap podcast Rachel Rosenthal and Sam DeRoest.

Ken, Rachel and Sam discuss icky years, age differences, American Idol, how artificial "reality" talent shows are, Ken seeing Kelly Clarkson have Lady GaGa open for her at a Grammy Party, Bel Biv Devoe, live shows, from Justin to Kelly, William Hung, Clay Aiken, Reuben Studdard, Crystal Lite, Oregon, Dale Earnhardt, Kenan Thompson, The Secret of My Success, Wall Street, Broadway, Nathan Lane, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, musicals, Carrie: The Musical, Jeff Goldblum, Curb Your Enthusiasm, grid confusion, The Wedding Planner, CB4, Shakespeare in the South, Patrick Stewart: Cowboy, The Bachelorette Alaska, seeing plays in London, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Brendan Fraiser, The Town, putting a whole town in your rearviews, getting the VIP Disney hook up from Chelsea Nobel's cousin, Everybody Loves Raymond, the horror of 24, why torture is ineffective, No Way Steve, how great America's Funniest Home Videos is, the time a bird suicided on Fabio's Face, Paula Dean being knocked out by a frozen turkey, 1990's Dick Tracey, Madonna shooting blanks, The Portland Timbers, Airplane, classic comedy, championship hockey, Survivor, The MTV Movies Awards, Elvis, Spongebob Squarepants, The Wire, Jessica Alba as Dark Angel, and being absolutely confused by Pokemon and Power Rangers.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 474: David Rees Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes author, cartoonist, podcaster, artisanal pencil sharpener and co-creator of Dicktown, David Rees to the show.

Ken and David discuss the Moon Landing, not growing up in Washington D.C., North Carolina, Journalistic Independence, Dead Dogs, sexy Mods, Bonanza, Wild Wild West, Mystery Shows, walking on the Moon, "that other thing", Miss Universe, Hogan's Heroes, VCR dupe machines, punk rock, The Minutemen, complaining about Spot's production, SST Records, Night Flight, The Residents, not knowing young people, Ted Turner's End of the World sign off video, Bounty Hunters, classic talk shows, Eva Gabor, the difficulties of hand laying out TV Guide issues, "Fem-Pain", Green Acres, Ian Oglevie, Vincent Price, The Saint, Pluto TV, Danny Peary's Cult Movies books, El Topo, Secret Agent Man, The Prisoner, The Coolidge Corner Theater, Charles Dickins, Mike Watt and the absolute world changing greatness of Preston Sturges.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 473: Pam Ribon Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes the amazing writer, performer, podcaster and Sister from Another Mr, Pam Ribon to the show.

Ken and Pam discuss Blue Ribon Panels, regional name variations, mayonnaise, Doctor Misses Doctor Mister Doctor Misses, tangents, secretly dating John Travolta, why you never share secrets with your parents, younger sisters, Today's Special, Punky Brewster, St. Elsewere, visiting shooting locations, Valerie Bertinelli in HELL, Billy Graham IN HELL, discovering new artists, Jody Foster, Peter O'Toole, creepy dudes, Wizards and Warriors, Julia Duffy, Soaps, crashing a plane to impress a woman, John "Not C" Riley, Love Boat, avoiding grown ups, forbidden Diff'rent Strokes, humorless parents, hating truth, getting into Stephen King too young, being dared to read Salem's Lot, Ken's embarrassing love of Beautiful Girls, how Natalie Portman was done wrong, Drew Barrymore, SNL, Hank Williams Jr. : The Movie, The Legend of Fred Asparagus, Bikers, Invitation to Hell, the magic of club soda, The Demon Murder Case, Kevin Bacon, the wonder of Small and Fry, Ed Solomon, Laverne and Shirley, Three's Company, Not Necessarily The News, BRAIN GAMES! BRAIN! GAMES!, Family Ties, S.C.U.B.A., game shows, Beat the Geek, Swackhammer, Swayze Crazy, The Renegades, reviewing Family Ties, Miss Chievious, Cheeahs, FAME, Jeers dressed as Cheers, AND somehow not ever Sassy Magazine. Not once.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 472: Chuck Hogan May 31, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes author of Prince of Thieves (which became the film The Town), co-author of The Strain series and a ton of other amazing stuff, and fellow Massachusetts citizen Chuck Hogan.

Ken and Chuck discuss space travel while sitting in your house, time shifting, streaming, the church like experience of experiencing something day and date, Spenser for Hire, James at 15, shooting things in Boston, The Brinx Job, Vincent Price and Milk, Stephen King, Square Pegs, drug scares, the bitchy anonymity of TV Guide, exposes, the nature of fame, Saturday Night Live, doing your best to stay up late, Mr. Bill, TJ Hooker, Claude Akin, The Love Boat, Didi Conn, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, NY Hot Trax, Solid Gold, Night Flight, MTV, the world changing event of getting cable, Facts of Life, Gimme a Break, musicians gust starring on sitcoms, Bloopers, Angel Dusted, Jerry Lewis' replacement show for Thicke of the Night, Gloria Loring, The A-Team, Missy Gold: Licensed Therapist, how Hart to Hart is like Batman but without everything that makes Batman good, talking your way into rebooting the Six Million Dollar Man, The Duck Factory, early Jim Carey, SCTV's final season on Cinemax/Superchannel, going down rabbit holes, House by the Cemetery, Lucio Fulci, Fangoria, horror movies shot in Massachusetts, Gates of Hell, City of the Living Dead, Pieces, Boston Mobster making movies, the Benson cliffhanger, and the horrors of Assaulted Nuts.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 471: Vinnie Fiorello May 24, 2021

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes Less than Jake drummer, lyricist and author of the new book "6/19" Vinnie Fiorello.

Ken and Vinnie discuss full tilt Summer in Gainesville Florida, growing up in New Jersey, City Gardens, Jon Stewart, secret jocks in the punk rock scene, The Ramones on the Uncle Floyd Show, buying Asian weapons in Chinatown, The Master with Lee Van Cleef, The A-Team, moving from punk to Thrash Metal, no bed time, The Love Boat, It's Your Move, Mama's Family, Unlikable character on TV, Buffalo Bill, fist fighting for what you want to watch on TV, The World at War, Bloopers, POWs, M*A*S*H, KISS Alive II, Three's Company, ruining shows you paid to go see for some weird reason, Bad Brains, Rollins, how there were no deaths on 1980s action shows, Golden Girls, loving Mona on Who's the Boss?, crushing on Allyssa Milano, Commando, Blue vans and moving to CT, loving TV Jingles, Less Thank Jake's TVEP, Taxi, Runaway, Lee Ving, Webster, The Golden Child, Friday Night Videos and how Night Flight changed lives.

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