TV Guidance Counselor

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 254: Jo Firestone Sep 26, 2017

Show notes

May 15 - 21, 1993

Today Ken welcomes writer/comedian Jo Firestone to the show.

Sitting on a concrete staircase in Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA Ken and Jo discuss being very tired, nap stations, closing time at Cheers, when people get together how it ruins things, hope, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Dead Kennedys, step-singers, updating Wikipedia, seasons changing, Pappy's St. Louis BBQ, Pizza based improve, Matlock, Andy Griffith, escapism, horror of nature, Disney's Lemmings, COPS, renting SNICK, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Death Becomes Her, She-Devil, Roseanne, dumb parents on kids TV shows, The Simpsons, seeing people you know on TV, gameshows, amateur magicians, Punderdome, Square Dancing on TV, Murder She Wrote, hiding Klondike bars behind a false wall, The Kids in the Hall, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, replacing actors, Shelly Long, Troop Beverly Hills, Hello Again, Blossom, getting concreted out, Flight of the Navigator, the mind blowing revelation that ET is all of us, Rescue 911, getting "stuck" in a hot tub, women in stand up, Coach vs. Woody, when the dumb character can be way too dumb, the Simpsons, and Sharon Stone's bath problems.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 253: Sean McCarthy Sep 19, 2017

Show notes

October 22-28, 1983

Today Ken welcomes journalist, comedian and head honcho at The Comics Comic, Sean McCarthy.

Ken and Sean discuss Sean's jetsetting lifestyle, business cards, the tunnels under Northeastern University, Remington Steele, Mr. Smith, bad reporting on AIDS, growing up in CT, four Worcesters, sports Man Caves, Lynn, Defunct Sports teams, betting on horses, James Bond, classic Halloween costumes, Cabbage Night, Diff'rent Strokes, cable boxes, Bizarre, Silver Spoons, The Third Eye on Nickelodeon, being mistaken for Zach Galifinakis, the Elks, bonerless Love Boat, Fantasy Island, CBS, Alice, ignoring Knight Rider, being a child of the 70s during the 80s, Midnight Run vs Midnight Express, Goodnight Beantown, Gail King, Football, SNL, Loren Michaels New Show, dirty joke books, the return of Richie Cunningham to Happy Days, Cocoon vs. Slash, 80s old people, Oh! Madeline, Real People, the Sci-Fi Ball, Elvira, the P.A. based beginnings of Sean's broadcasting career, Guiness Book of World Records, Facts of Life, Dom Delouise as a vigilante, Joey Lawrence's Gimme a Break debut, Mama's Family, We Got it Maid, Hunter, Sliders, Remote Control, latch key kids, Celtics season opener, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Garfield on the Town, short person solidarity, and Ken's love of Jennifer Slept Here.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 252: Danny & Mike (Pete & Pete) and Billy West Sep 14, 2017

Show notes

In this episode recorded live at Gary Sohmer's South Coast Comic Con at a long closed JC Penny at the Hanover Mall Ken welcomes Pete & Pete, Danny Tamberelli and Michael C Marona.

Ken, Danny and Mike discuss Pete and Pete reunions, nostalgia, The Beach Boys, US Patents, All That, Figured it Out, Nickelodeon, Tool & Die, Halloweenie, Mr. Slurm, Hal Hartley, Bacon Neck, Steve Buscemi, the Tarantino crossover, Inspector 34, Janitors, how Hunter S. Thompson was NOT on The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Colombo, Home Alone, the lost Adventures of Pete & Pete Season 3 DVD set, setting fires, exploding honey bears, Slackers, Puppetry of the Penis, Suck/Jerk/Weed, Werewolf, the perils of Music Rights, Snow Dya and the wonders of Undressed.

Ken then welcomes Billy West to the stage to discuss Nick in the 90s along with Danny and Mike. They discuss Love and Rockets, the burping room, Toby Huss, MTV promos, the origins of Ren & Stimpy, Moxie, Malort, rejected scenes, censored scenes, sharing and office with the State, cosplaying, and getting into the voice over business.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 251: Lizz Winstead Sep 12, 2017

Show notes

November 19-24, 1978

Today Ken welcomes writer, comedian, and world changer Lizz Winstead (The Daily Show) to the show.

Ken and Lizz discuss hotel based Pink Floyd listening sessions, hating the Doors, being non-parented in a chaotic household, growing up in Minneapolis, Husker Du, Prince, being roommates with Soul Asylum, life on the road for comics and bands, Boston's fantastic indie radio scene, when WMBR became WTBS, moving to San Francisco, Dana Gould, Kevin Meaney, Bobcat's on stage garage sale, Tales of the City, being babysat by the TV because you are the responsible kid, late night horror movies, Elvira, SCTV, Women of the Night hosted by Andrea Martin, The Holy City Zoo, how a rant about a terrible one night leads to career success, Robin Williams, Louie Anderson, setting up Roseanne and Tom, when Roseanne and Tom steal your car for three days, growing up with a parent who is a bookie, being tattoo-less, Foreign Lobbyists on TV, The Bible on TV, David Brinkley, JFK, why does TV Guide exist now?, Eleanor Roosevelt's articles in TV Guide, Crossword Puzzles, TV Bib, all the great white male heroes of the Bible, Pink Lady and Jeff, Cloris Leachman's Pilgrim show, the horror of Small Wonder, It's About Time, being terrified of space, Croissant talk, That Girl, loving the news as a kid, woman hating teaching advice, finding other girls who have your interests, the death of sideshows, why taking your country back is silly, taking vs sharing, good vs evil, It's a Wonderful Life, not being able to not be reflective, Fringe, appointment television, a tattoo of tattoo, gold tattoos, The Wizard of Oz, The Lady Parts Justice League, Variety Shows, The Monkees, The Beatles Cartoon, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and loving Prince.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 250: Larry Murphy Sep 05, 2017

Show notes

October 3-9, 1981

Today Ken welcomes actor, comedian, voice man Larry Murphy (Delocated, Assy McGee, Bob's Burgers) to the show.

Ken and Larry discuss Ken's strange house, growing up with 6 kids in the family, Jiffy Pop, microwave popcorn cancer, saying "weird" too much, Fall Preview, Manimal, lunchbox decisions, Sleestacks, Land of the Lost, Esperanto, second guessing the decision to show your kids Harry Potter, Uncle Granpa, being scared of production company idents, Embassy Pictures, MTM, Newhart, Valerie Bertinelli, Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Walt Disney, Herbie the Love Bug, In Search of. The Amnityville Horror House, The Mandrell Sisters, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Tattoo replacement, racist and insensitive candy, video store hustle, dirty video stores, Eddie Murphy on SNL, talking animal chairs, ChPs, the golden age of stunts, wrestling snakes, Alice, Gambling problems, why cartoons can still be Blue Collar, King of the Hill, Bob's Burgers, Natures wrath as Xmas Ornaments, Mt. St. Helen's, Tiger Woods on That's Incredible at 5 years old, Helen Hunt as Kathy Miller, Monkey bartenders, Them Duke Boys, Three's Company, The Beverly Hillbillies Return, Real People, WKRP in Cincinnati, Two Parters, Alex Rocco, Facts of Life, Friends of Eddie Coyle, loving Robert Mitchum, Mork & Mindy get married, Bosom Buddies, and the Incredible Hulk Out List.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 249: Kenice Mobley Aug 29, 2017

Show notes

June 19 - 25, 1999

Today Ken welcomes podcaster and comedian Kenice Mobley to the show.

Kenice and Ken discuss Oak Grove's Eastern Block aesthetic, the beige age, Charlotte North Carolina, Sleep Walk peeing, Secret restaurants, going into production, "Bougie", Ken's incredible whiteness, Dawson's Creek, racism, racism, dead dogs, 1999 vs. 2004, being an identical twin, Sister Sister, hunting Nazis, Brazilian twin villages, family meals, Rugrats, SNICK, All That!, Marshall Law staring Sammo Hung, teaching Arsenio Hall Kung Fu, Hurricanes, waiving a sportspass, Mya vs. Aayliah, Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Stories, TNT's Priates of Silicon Valley, how hoodies can equal death, aglets, X-Files, That 80s Show, punk rock, High School Jock Culture, Columbine, Ally McBeal, mud wrestling, Yelp! Reviews of Adult Businesses, Third Rock from the Sun, Eliza Dushku, Newsradio, Spin City, Heather Locklear, blondes vs brunettes, X-Games, dicks, strong thighs, gymnasts, Sportsnight, My Father the Hero, Dawson's Creek, Annette Funicello, David Cassidy, meeting Matthew Perry, the wonders of studio lots, TRL, Will & Grace, The PJs, the wonders of children's weirdness, KABLAAM!, Unsolved Mysteries, and why looking at everything as a dark comedy is the right approach.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 248: Mercedes McNabb and James Marsters Aug 25, 2017

Show notes

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 247: Joe List Aug 22, 2017

Show notes

March 27 - April 2, 1993

Today Ken welcomes old friend, comedian Joe List to the show.

Ken and Joe discuss Joe's fancy hotel room, Joe's gay family, shirts vs. skins, black hair, chocolate chips, used cars, flaming roller coasters, The Oscars, Billy Crystal, Boston punching, getting pro Trump abuse on Twitter, being an undercover thief for Sears, Beavis and Butthead, Cops, Brittany Murphy, Empty Nest, Point Break, Near Dark, Ken's love of Kathryn Bigelow, The Hitcher, Mad About You, Seinfeld, In Living Color, having more than one family at a time, crying at movies, Schindler's List, Sunday nights vs Saturday nights, Steven Segal movies, boobies on VHS, Houdini's mistakes, Ricky Jay, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, The Wonder Years, Coach, being a sports guy, being invaded by pornography shops, cuban cigars, Step by Step, Shelley Long, and bookending your week with Silence of the Lambs.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 246: Steve Bannos Aug 15, 2017

Show notes

Today Ken welcomes writer, actor Steve Bannos (Freaks & Geeks) to the show.

Ken and Steve discuss their mutual collecting bug, Flea Markets, Brimfield, Boston in the 80s, stand up comedy, Chicago, Mark of the Devil Barf Bags, The Combat Zone, TV Wheel, Judd Apatow, Night After Night with Alan Havey, The Higgins Boys and Gruber, Greek fry cooks, Gyros, Paul Feig, "The Ranch", Freaks & Geeks, the missing Missing Bus script, 7 Minutes in Heaven, rigging spin the bottle, Meet the Applegates, working in the art department, Zapped II, Linda Blair, carrying the cross on Madonna's Like a Prayer, Mary Lambert, 80s coke sets, Dana Gould, horror hosts, Svenghouli, Channel 32, growing up a make up geek, Planet of the Apes, when Mr. Rogers hulked out, Rebecca Staab, Doomed! The Roger Corman Fantastic Four movie, regrettable roles, keeping your shirt on, Ghostbusters, Garfield Goose, Wacky Races, Fraiser Thomas, Looney Toons, a TV education, Night Flight, Marvel Monsters, Tremors, being haunted by the Exorcist without having seen it, writing tag lines for movies, Percy Rodriguez, making the poster, a 70s set Ghost Rider movie, structured family TV time, watching TV during dinner, stealing from Vaudeville, reality TV writers, how it's painful sometimes to watch comedies, and loving James Franco.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 245: Micky Dolenz (The Monkees) Aug 10, 2017

Show notes

In this episode recorded live at Gary Sohmer's Southcoast Comic Con at the Hanover Mall, Ken welcomes The Monkees Micky Dolenz to the show.

Ken and Micky discuss the innovation of the Monkees TV show, the Marx Brothers, the influence on MTV, directing television, Metal Mickey, Circus Boy, working behind the scenes in England, the 1997 Monkees reunion movie, "Head", Mickey's Rock N Roll tastes, Little Richard, Hellzapoppin', the divide between TV and movie actors, Michael Nesmith's Different Drum, pop music, Randy Scouse Git, Til Death Us Do Part, the surprise of the 80s Monkees revival, the 1986 reunion tour that was scheduled for 12 weeks and lasted three years, working with Disney, Boy Meets World, Jack Nicholson, how the Monkees lead to Easy Rider which lead to a Hollywood revolution, "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls", being at the crossroads of old and new Hollywood, the iron fist of the network censors, the Devil, playing the part of a drummer, The Beatles, Headquarters, The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, Circus Boy, having parents who keep you grounded, and Dolez and Daughters Wood Working Business.

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