TV Guidance Counselor

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 198: Gerald Casale and Josh 2.0 of DEVO Jan 05, 2017

Show notes

Recorded LIVE! at NorthEast Comic Con

Today Ken welcomes Gerald Casale and Josh 2.0 from the band Devo to the show. Ken, Jerry and Josh discuss forsaking being a Hippie at Kent State, the origins of the theory of Devolution, Mid-Century Low Culture, art movements, growing into a dystopian stupidity, pop sci-fi, Night Flight, The Complete Truth about De-Evolution, Duck and Cover, growing a Catholic Heretic, Fridays, Saturday Night Live, Andy Kaufman, pioneering music videos, wanting to put out a Video Disc a year, Ohio, Pioneer Laserdiscs, taking time to develop, Heavy Metal, Working in a Coal Mine, Satisfaction, becoming a pop act, Whip It, living in The Right Stuff, early days of MTV, directing videos for the Cars and Klymaxx, censorship, Jane Sibbery and her cow's udders, She-Bop, the French Fry and the Donut, Rage Against the Machine's Beautiful World, working with the Funk Investigators, modern remakes of Devo videos, why telling the truth makes you a target, what the "end game" is, the devaluation of cultural capital, appearing on Square Pegs, Neil Young's Human Highway, how Josh got into Devo, stage battle scars, the dangers of playing Uncontrollable Urge, Brian Eno, Oblique Strategies, waiting for David Bowie, Weird Al's Dare to be Stupid, and creating ideas for the universe.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 197: Matt Gourley Jan 03, 2017

Show notes

Today Ken welcomes actor, podcaster Matt Gourley to the show.

Ken and Matt discuss Matt's homey East Coast style West Coast home, the special nature of Fall Previews, birthday TV, personalized baseball racks, the TV Guide/Toaster vs. the TV Week/Toaster Oven split, It's a Living, The Bonaventure Hotel, Revolving Restaurants, Doin' Time on Planet Earth, Divorce tripling your TV Time, On TV, Cable Guides, deceptive movie artwork, growing up in LA, witnessing Masters of the Universe being filmed first hand, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, a world of Cannonball run bloopers, The Dom Delouise Show, High Ice, Shakespeare on TV, Henry VIII, empathy for Progeria, Family Plot, "pilot", Gilligan's Island, Bruce Vilanch's world, The Future, synesthesia, Three's Company, pretending to be your own twin, John Ritter in Real Men, Love Sydney, Tammy Faye Baker, Jim J Bollock, Too Close for Comfort, rape on TV, Very Special Episodes, Diff'rent Strokes, Danny Cooksey, stuttering M.A.S.K.s, clams, Ecdysiasts, Real People vs. That's Incredible!, Rusty Miller's Star Wars Book, TV Writer Jeremy Reems, cross dressing Mr. Drummond, actual Twins, SCTV, Best of the West, William Sanderson vs. Tracy Walters vs. William Sadler, Nova, public school sexual education, the original Pee Wee Herman Show, shipbuilders, Elizabeth Montgomery, "Someone I Touched", Benson, Saturday Morning Preview Specials, Blackstarr, Thundarr the Barbarian, The Incredible Hulk, It's a Living, First Run Syndication, Jennifer Slept Here, Mr. Merlin, and the magical wonder of Guich Koock.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 196.5: Steve Albini Dec 29, 2016

Show notes

For the final episode of 2016 Ken welcomes one of his personal heroes to the show, Steve Albini.

Ken and Steve define and deny latch key children, and discuss growing up in the Midwest, UHF vs VHF,seeing the Lawrence Welk show as your first experience with color TV, outdated technology and entertainment, telegraphs, The Little Rascals, the bizarre variety of television pre-Millennium, why every single thing ever made now may not be the greatest thing ever, The Sopranos, The Wire, cops and robbers, punk rock tape trading, fucked up videos, R. Budd Dwyer, the Canadian Metallica Drummer, the original South Park tape, Another State of Mind, Punk Rock Scare media, Donohue, The Decline of Western Civilization, why You Wern't There may be the greatest punk rock documentary, Our Band Could be Your Life, Devo, The Complete Truth about De-evolution, Speed Racer, Kimba the White Lion, and trying to discover the secret spy tech in your parents' new car.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 196: Dhaya Lakshminarayanan Dec 27, 2016

Show notes

May 17-23, 1980

Today Ken welcomes comedian Dhaya Lakshminarayanan to the show.

Ken and Dhaya discuss Dedham, MA, yards of beer, poutine, local flavor, Friendly's, the origins of Sundaes, San Francisco, MIT, schools on the Red Line, The Jeffersons, Birmingham Alabama, growing up the child of immigrants, racial slurs, why George Jefferson may be the quintessential American, Marla Gibbs, Sanford & Son, poverty, The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, Krush Groove, latchkey syndication, Mary Tyler Moore, single women, secretly normalizing gay culture, Three's Company, Star Trek, The Love Boat, The Twilight Zone, Herve Villechaize, Mr. Belvedere, Fantasy Island, Warwick Davis, 227, spin off shows, Marilyn Monroe, Edward Gorey, Dione Warwick, Cheryl Ladd, That's Incredible, Real People, Nova, why Carl Sagan is the perfect man, Murder Can Hurt You, The McNeal Learer News Hour, Buck Rogers, Fridays!, Red Foxx, teaching Tom Willis how to speak Jive, and Gary Shandling's understanding of sitcom formats.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 195: Donovan Scott Dec 22, 2016

Show notes

Today Ken welcomes actor Donovan Scott (Police Academy, Popeye, Sheena) to the show.

Ken and Donovan discuss California weather, Robin Hood, San Francisco, playing as a kid, why Saturday was the best day, cartoons, Popeye, The Little Rascals, Laurel and Hardy, Lassie, Fury, The Wonderful World of Disney, a life in the theater, variety shows, Zen Boogie, Red Skelton, physical comedy, Martha Ray, drinking with Martha Ray in Vietnam, the Navy, Jimmy Stewart, Mary Tyler Moore, Lynda Carter's two big specials, Faerie Tail Theater, Lily Tomlin, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, being an early VHS adopter, Better Midler, 1941 with Steven Spielberg, X-Files, Alakazam the Great, Frankie Avalon, a love of Christmas specials, playing Santa, Mr. MaGoo, The Bishop's Wife, the TV vs Movie actor divide, Shelley Duvall, Robert Altman's Popeye, Robin Williams, South American Top Cat, playing the moon, Lou Costello, Tatum O'Neal, Zorro The Gay Blade, Police Academy, Sheena, Marc Singer in V, children's cartoons based on R rated movies, Savannah Smiles, Mark Miller, Life with Lucy, Lucille Ball, Maui, directing movies in Soviet Russia, fighting a woman over a toilet seat, being dubbed in a foreign language, Night of the Meek, being a modern day Art Carney, Miracle on 34th St, Santa Claus the Movie, a love of Sci-Fi, Stranger Things, Fringe, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Homeboys in Outer Space, Buster Keaton, and working with animals.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 194: Mike Lawrence Dec 21, 2016

Show notes

April 26th - May 2, 1997

Today Ken welcomes comedian and Roast Battle Champion Mike Lawrence to the show.

Ken and Mike discuss teenage years, the 13th floor, being stuck in a Fraternity Conference, The McGinley Curse, Married...with Children, watching TV with Dad, television's role with divorced parents, the horrors of seeing movies with your own money, Counting Crows' August and Everything After, Soul Asylum's Grave Dancer's Union, Star Wars The Phantom Menace, Sweeps Week, Tom Hanks, Cindy Crawford, The WB, UPN, the golden age of Fox Television's Sunday Night Lineup, 1990's The Flash, Captain Cold, comic books on TV, "The Hulk Out List", Pirates of Darkwater, pre-8am Saturday Morning Cartoons, Marvel Action Universe, Fantastic Four as cartoons, Batman the Animated Series, ComicCon, Justice League, Daffy Duck as the best character, Animaniacs, why The New Doug is like cutting, Superman, The Mask vs Ace Ventura, Goosebumps, Waynehead, Life with Louie, The Tick, budget restraints, CBS Storybreak, Cleopatra 2025, Hercules, Xena, Thunder in Paradise, Rob Reiner, The Simpsons, Mr. Sparkle, Unhappily Ever After, Steve Harvey, King of the Hill, Bullethead, being into big fat black guys, CGI Gimmicks, Robert Englund as the Devil, Ink, Alex Desert, Nickelodeon, Homeboys in Outer Space, The Drew Carey Show as the Blue Collar Seinfeld, Smart Guy, Thelma Frye, Sherman Helmsley, Amen, The Wayans Brothers, series finale stunts, Rock N Roll Gymnastics, Seinfeld, Unsolved Mysteries, cyber stalkers, Step by Step, Forever Night and being terrified of Millennium before the Millennium.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 193: Holidays with Myq Kaplan Dec 15, 2016

Show notes

In this very special Holiday Episode Ken welcomes returning guest Myq Kaplan to the show to discuss the Jewish television experience around the Holidays.

Ken and Myq discuss their friendship, returning, vegan squeaky toys, turkey trots, contraception vs conceptual, Howie Mandel's rubber glove incident, neglecting the Jews, hannukkah, cultural Christmas, Atheism, Pump N Pray, brain radios, The Big Bang, String Theory, New Jersey, private school, Christmas Pageants, 8 Crazy Nights, The OC, Chinese Food and Movies, Consumerism, helping the less fortunate, hating labels, KISS's Love Gun, Non-PC "Merry Christmas", not being "into" happiness, doing it "for the children", Brooklyn Bridge, how Boston Jews begat Boston Irish, looking Jewish, virgin births, Picket Fences, Lois and Clark - The New Adventures of Superman meeting The Jeffersons, redemption of villainy, The War on Christmas, Gary Gulman, Jewish Carols, Christmas Songs, Chinese Restaurants, Love Actually, why Myq and Unaccompanied Minor reminds Ken of Christmas, Die Hard, universal messages, Christmas Death Squad, irredeemables, A Hobo Christmas, homelessness, A Buffy The Vampire Slayer Spike Christmas message, Friends' Thanksgiving Episodes, Nathan Lane's Racist Vaudeville SNL sketch, society's lack of context and intent, Objectivism, Ayn Rand as ruiner of society, Steve Ditko's Mr. A, and why he can do it but you can't.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 192: Kelli Maroney Dec 13, 2016

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes actress Kelli Maroney (Chopping Mall, Night of the Comet) to the show.

Ken and Kelli discuss Boston accents, losing your native accent through paying old women to fall asleep, Minnesota, Shakespeare, Ryan's Hope, Manhattan, Soap Opera snobbishness, 50s New York vs. 80s New York, Night of the Comet, being the inspiration for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jim Wynorski, being Kimberly, improving with F. Murray Abraham and William H. Macy, impostor syndrome, Family Feud, being a master of quiet suppression, Maria Bamford, Prince, Star Trek, The Brady Bunch, watching old black and white movies with your mom, Hollywood Glamour, Bette Davis, Mary Woronov, Chopping Mall, Barbara Crampton, keeping your personal life personal, Law and Order, marathoning television when you're sick, innovation in low budget movies, ripped from the headlines, cannon fodder, the original Dawn of the Dead's superiority to the remake, After School Specials, Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic, Scott Baio is Stoned, the convention circuit, YouTube stars, the importance of Unions, being branded as an "80s actress", and the 21st Century's aversion to story development.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 191: Britta Phillips Dec 08, 2016

Show notes

December 21 -27, 1974

Today Ken welcomes musician and sometimes actress Britta Phillips to the show.

Ken and Britta discuss subscribing to TV Guide, being limited to two hours a day of television, constantly moving, growing up in Eastern Pennsylvania, being a shy kid, childhood fist fights, pro-hippies, having a huge Christmas Celebration, favorite Christmas Carols, Sleigh Bells, variety shows, All In the Family, Norman Lear, poverty on TV, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, I Dream of Jeanie vs. Bewitched, The Mod Squad, loving Claire Danes, Peggy Lipton, Herbie Hancock, Manhattan, being really into farms and science, wanting to marry a horse, Flicka, man and beast, The Odd Couple, Family Affair, sophisticated game shows, Gore Vidal, intellectuals on television, David Susskind, Dick Cavett, JEM, singing for a cartoon, Satisfaction, Justine Bateman, Julia Roberts, Dennis Farina, Crime Story, old Las Vegas, Aaron Spelling's Nightingales, Bell Tower, living in the UK, MTV's glory days of music, Scrooge, rewatching Christmas specials over and over again, Rankin Bass Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Albert Finney, good taste in hip hop, working in a heavy metal bar, Anthrax, waiting on Gene Simmons, loving Disco, M.A.S.H., "Suicide is Painless", The Midnight Special, The Cars, being scared of Star Trek, a grandparents' Christmas, The Doctor Who theme, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Land of the Lost, obsession with the Amish, a desire to time travel, The Jetsons, Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, never having been on a cruise ship, 70s cop shows, and the 50 something Golden Girls effect.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 190: Mark Gallagher Dec 06, 2016

Show notes

March 7-13, 1998

Today Ken welcomes comedian Mark Gallagher to the show.

Ken and Mark discuss Ken's collections, the thrill of obtaining things, TV on DVD, depression based purchases, horror video games, Custard's Last Stand, dirty Atari, St. Patrick's Horror, Haverhill, being Burn Notice babysat, John Malkovich, Dawson's Creek, Flash Dad, Michael J. Pollard, Superman, The Funspot, Hercules, Bloopers, Aaron Spelling, Cop Rock, SNICK, lack of bedtime, The Real World Boston, Batman cartoons, Freakazoid, South Park, movie tie-in songs, being raised by Stolen Cable, Sega games, anad Swamp Thing.

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