TV Guidance Counselor

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 153: Brett Anderson Jun 01, 2016

Show notes

September 12-18, 1992 FALL PREVIEW ALERT!

Today Ken welcomes musician, and all around quality human beingBrett Anderson (The Donnas, The Stripminers) to the show.

Ken and Brett discuss The Heights, The Ben Stiller Show, TwinPeaks inside Beverly Hills 90210 outside, moving from Indiana toCalifornia, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, appearing on Charmed,Jawbreaker, Ken's first meeting with Brett in New Hampshire at theElvis Room circa 1998, not having your music advertise feminineproducts, Yaz, birth control, "We're Not Gonna Take It", exactlyhow you talk to an Angel, the Jamie Walters phenomenon, AaronSpelling blue balls, Herman's Head, studying psychology, Lita Ford,Samantha Fox, Ken's love of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, thereturn of Zubas and the Hi-Top Fade, Bill Cosby's worst trait, how"The Edge" predated Mr. Show, hate watching, loving a B-, TobeyMcGuire's sitcom roots, Whoops, Billy Bob Thorton's sitcom roots,Hangin' with Mr. Cooper's link to Growing Pains, set recycling,"Just You and I", wanting to be Donna, which New Kid on the Blockcan sing for Judas Priest, what happens when you go to sleep, classof '96. The Hat Squad, New Jack Swing, Holiday hostingconscription, obtaining a couch, Super Bowl rights, Paul Reiser, MyTwo Dads, prank phone calls, Delta Burke, the debut of Martin,"Snap Battles", Miton Bearle's Ratt, Gene Simmons' cold Cokeseduction, MTV, cable, The Last Unicorn vs. The Neverending Story,Fraggle Rock, being wrong about Daylight savings, Headbanger'sBall, SNL, Kids in the Hall, Idiocracy, sugaring up for all nightTV marathons, birth control candy, Fifteen, Depression &Anxiety, Scholastic books, Book bus and purple sweatsuits, BJ'sWholesale Club, haunted by Dunkaroos, Top of the Pops, miming onTV, TRL, Madonna as sketch comedian, the music of Double Dare, micface based payments, exercising with Bruce Dickinson, Andrew WK,David Coverdale's sexerly voice, what to do when it's "Too Hot toSleep", Rick Springfield's magical cartoon work, You Can't Do Thaton Television, writing lyrics to instrumentals, and writing a TVtheme song.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 152: Josie Davis May 27, 2016

Show notes

Today Ken welcomes actress Josie Davis (Charles in Charge, Lifetime, Beverly Hills 90210) to the show.

Ken and Josie discuss the wonders of Nespresso, if anyone actually knows who Josie is, Charles in Charge, Out of This World, the hard work that goes into not aging, coming from an acting family, Hollywood cosmetic surgery, how the stoic look best, acting in commercials at 3, being replaced by Sugar Bear, the power of Fruit Roll-Ups, selling Japanese Whiskey in Japan with Ernest Borgnine, imprinting on Scott Baio, Bugsy Malone, mafia aspirations, navigating the politics of the business, the power of extras, being a guest star, why there are no cats in Canada, Lifetime movies, working on a hidden David Fincher project, "First Family" the lost Caveman pilot, Beverly Hills 90210, The Young and the Restless, learning how to stand up for yourself, The Soaps, Titans, Victoria Principal, John Barrowman, Dead at 21, Two and a Half Men, Submissions for Emmys, studying acting, breaking the Sarah Powell reputation, Silk Stalkings, doing your character work, playing psychos, Dirty Teacher, how glamming it up can sometimes work against you, Bones, Burn Notice, not being a business person, needing a mentor, and how it's your duty to help people.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 151: Ben Edlund May 25, 2016

Show notes

March 8-12, 1980

Today Ken welcomes writer, Tick-creator and all around personal hero Ben Edlund to the show.

Ken and Ben discuss going through the looking glass from Massachusetts, desire to play by the rules, a multi-TV household, piloting the house from the kitchen, The Muppets, Henson's subversive PBS model, WGBH, Zoom, trying to live the California lifestyle in New England, CHiPs, Beefcake Baywatch, Baywatch Nights, punk rock scare episodes, C.B. Radio culture, men and ape, Fantasy Island, Hawaii 5-0, Love Boat, Herve Velechez, Mason Reese, Hunks, Mr. Magoo, the noble idiot, Harvey Comics meeting Heavy Metal, Epic Magazine, Alice, One Day at a Time, The Unshakable Mollie B, Freebie and the Bean, M*A*S*H milk, The Tick is the ticket, That's Incredible vs. Real People, The Gary Marshall universe, FoxKids, Pirates of Dark Water, Bobby's World, Sheriff Lobo, first run syndication, The Day After Tomorrow, Three's Company, SOAP, sad songs in Taxi, Hart to Hart, old movies, writing to Jacques Cousteau, Captain Bob, drawing, running a trading card supply syndicate, Buck Rogers, Quark, Benson, Ron Glass, Firefly, Barney Miller, Supernatural Hal Linden, Captain America the Musical, Quincy, the dark underbelly of NYC, the Incredible Hulk, The Benji problem, Pink Lady and Jeff, Creature Features, Lon Chaney Jr boozing it up, faking your own death, Breaking Bad, myth arch vs. monster of the week and the coming of the cyborg age.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 150: Cassandra Peterson May 17, 2016

Show notes

For his monumental 150th (!) episode Ken is honored to welcome the fantastic, fabulous, one and only Cassandra Peterson, also known as Elvira Mistress of the Dark.

Ken and Cassandra discuss who the hell she is, drag disguises, the trappings of celebrity, the great flood, Colorado, the 70s conservative Christian invaders, being a show girl in Las Vegas, living on a farm without a TV, "The Silver Ace", forced singing, Gunsmoke & Wrestling, coming from a costume Dynasty, Tina Louise, Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Genie, Destiny as the queen of Halloween, loving comedy, The Three Stooges, the golden age of Las Vegas, Addams Family vs. The Munsters, Bewitched vs. I Dream of Genie, Twilight Zone, The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, the creation of "the teenager", Beatniks, Hulabaloo Go Go girl contests, Shin Dig, Dragnet, Nick at Nite, being blind to The Brady Bunch, moving to Europe, Elvis, acting, The Groundlings, taking classes with Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl, SNL, Phil Hartman, Paul Reubens, Laraine Newman, Fantasy Island, dancing on Tony Orlando and Dawn, the birth of Elvira, The Paragon of Comedy, 3-D movies, Vincent Price, Holly Knight, Fred Schneider, Kabuki, David Bowie, Joey Arias, Klaus Nomi, the 1st TV Generation, Oingo Boingo, The Whisky, KROQ, Punk Rock, forgetting the 70s, managing the Go-Gos (almost), Rodney on the ROQ, syndication, CHiPs, The Fall Guy, Bloopers and Practical Jokes, The Tonight Show, The Monster Club, Elvira Mistress of the Dark on Blu Ray, Coors Beer, the death and resurrection of the horror host, Tim Burton, NBC Productions, The Nick, Brandon Tartikoff, being the beacon of hope for outsiders, gay kids, and goths, conventions, the Elvira pilot, and befriending Vincent Price in search of his cookbook.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 149.5: Mary Jo Pehl May 13, 2016

Show notes

Today Ken welcomes author, comedian Mary Jo Pehl (Mystery Science Theater 3000) to the show.

Ken and Mary Jo discuss being a TV Guide crossword puzzle answer, Jeopardy, Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Twin Cities, Minnesota, obsessions with Roddy McDowell, How Green was My Valley, planning your week around movies on TV, falling in love with men of questionable sexuality, Scott Baio, Happy Days, Lord Love a Duck, Laserblast, MST3K, panty hose freezing to your legs, coming from a big family, being a middle child, becoming an oracle of useless information in the pre-internet age, finally impressing your parents, the golden age of talk shows, loving guest stars, true broadcasting, Love Boat, The Twilight Zone, starting stand up in the boom, Mid-Western Comedy, A&E's Comedy on the Road, VH1 Stand Up, the life and death of Prince, not having a TV while you are on TV, understanding VCRs, the expense of consumer electronics, living in LA, staging the Bad Seed, the cruelty of the internet, not revisiting your past, Clonus: The Parts Horror, watching Better Call Saul, The Good Wife and Kickstarting RenFest.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 149: Brian Gordon May 11, 2016

Show notes

September 9-15, 1978 FALL PREVIEW ALERT!

Today Ken welcomes artist and former comedian Brian Gordon to the show.

Ken and Brian discuss how long its been since they've seen each other, pneumatic tubes, temp jobs, ADHD, Brockton, Baseball, how crowd work skills can help communicate with people with autism, Ted Williams' frozen head, Ed Gein, The Cutting Edge, collecting artifacts, Maura Kelly replacing Lara Flynn Boyle, Twin Peaks, forgetting your superhero name, it's ok to mean well if things don't go well, Mork & Mindy, the death of Robin Williams, Three's Company, horny Don Knotts, Makin' It, parenting mistakes, athletic competitions among the world's biggest stars, Lavarr Burton: Non-American, Saugus, CHiPs, Barney Miller's theme song, "a black", Roots, Boston racism, Test Tube Babies, a Mad Magazine education, The Jeffersons, M*A*S*H, Dragnet, One Day at a Time, teenage crushes, Marvel Comics on TV in the 1970s, Spider-Man, running scams at school, comic book collections, surf music, The K-9 Hall of Fame, the premier of Taxi, fascination with conjoined twins, Disco Popeye, why Thursday is the most important night of the week, and an emotional surprise from Brian.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 148: Jordan Handren-Seavey May 04, 2016

Show notes

August 26 - September 1, 1995

Today Ken welcomes comedian Jordan Handren-Seavey.

Ken and Jordan discuss how to properly pronounce Jordan's last names, Maine, Saturday Night Life, doing impressions, adult humor, French, Potatoes, your first encounter with an African American, not having cable, MTV fishing, bootlegs, 100 episode strip shows, serialization, HBO, the golden age of TV bowling, being homeschooled, dyslexia, the new season, Dr. Quinn, The Olson Twins, Full House, Sabado Gigante, being beholden to the antenna, turning on the X-Men, bad comic adaptations, David Copperfield, radio on TV, The Beach Boys, Freddy Kruger, Windows 95, Alien Autopsy, Fraiser, John Larroquette Show, personally knowing Dave Barry, the phantom Must See TV Show, TV Nation, Picket Fences, and Geraldo's OJ addiction.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 147: Matt Donaher Apr 27, 2016

Show notes

FALL PREVIEW ALERT! September 18-24, 1993

Today Ken welcomes comedian Matt Donaher to the show.

Ken and Matt discuss how long it's been since he moved out of Boston, living in New Hampshire, Fall Previews, "The Blossom Question", George Foreman, The Mommies, Lois and Clark, Ripley's Believe it or Not, Stephanie Beacham, adopting nuns, Living Single, Boku', Juice Boxes, backpack slammin', The Bahama Beach Club, 16 and over dance venues, Nashua, NH, Ken's underage punk rock teenage years, The Palace, Male Encounter, Chippendale's vs. Chip & Dale, finding the male Hooters, strip clubs, bachelor parties, the lies men tell, bikini girls, stealing, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Who's the Boss, 1993: Year of Transition, The John Larroquette Show, The Trouble with Larry, SNICK, Clarissa Explains It All, working at Walmart as a teenager, Miss America, Many Moore, V, Cops, hateful In Living Color, All That, collecting things, Martin, The Emmys, It Had to Be You, Robert Urich, the depression of Nick News, Sunday night anxiety, RKO Studios vs. WRKO, the horrors of Howie Carr, Married...with Children, military families, German Desserts and the Fresh Prince, alter-egos, from sitcoms to movies, Murphy Brown, Evening Shade, Dave's World, The Chevy Chase Show, MTV, committing mail fraud with Columbia House, blankity blanking, Full House, Mr. Rhodes, documentaries about teachers, Roseanne, Castrati's, Soul Asylum, Unsolved Mysteries, Shame on You!, stealing change at carwashes, Amanda Donohoe as the Substitute, Home Improvement, Grace Under Fire, Mad About You, Sinbad vs. Wings, Seinfeld's Puffy shirt, James Carey as "Snow", Herman's Head, The Single Guy, made-for-TV Blossom movies, Boy Meets World, and why Ken will NEVER be "a Cody".

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 146: Teresa Ganzel Apr 20, 2016

Show notes

Today Ken welcomes actress Teresa Ganzel (The Toy, The Tonight Show, The Duck Factory) to the show.

Ken and Teresa discuss Air BnB, The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson, Teachers Only, Jean Smart, TV dating etiquette, a Mid-West Youth, calling your shots, Filthy Rich, being roommates with Delta Burke, The Toy, Jackie Gleason, Richard Pryor, Aliens among us, working with Milton Berle, The Duck Factory, Jay Ward, Jim Carey, the TV vs. Film divide, Roxy, Andrea Martin, Kate & Allie, Godspell, SCTV, Mark Ganzel, Barry Kemp, The Popcorn Kid, Fresno, The Monkees vs. Gidget, falling in love with California, taking classes from Lucille Ball, Taylor Negron, game shows, $10,000 Pyramid, when Dick Cavett is too smart to win, Press Your Luck, being the "dice girl" on TV Yatzee, the backstage dirt on The Dating Game chaperons, The $1.98 Beauty Pageant, John Ritter, Three's Company, Bob Newhart, not watching yourself, Richard Mulligan, Empty Nest, the voice over world, the power of face to face communication, Viagra Falls, The Hollywood Christmas Parade, The Grinder, wishing for Seinfeld and celebrating a new golden age of weirdness.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 145: Tommy Rico Apr 13, 2016

Show notes

October 31st - November 6, 1987

Today Ken welcomes long time Boston comedy friend and fellow comedian Tommy Rico to the show.

Ken and Tommy discuss Stoneham, Mario Cantone, Nancy Kerrigan, Killer Kowalski, SNL, childhood chaos, anti-ethnic racism in the Boston area, insomnia, horror movies, marital compromise, bring up Chuck, Latinos, local sports, Boston Stand Up, media knowledge, fandom, Burn Notice, young people's lack of historical knowledge, Halloween, TV38 vs. WLVI TV 56, The Legend of Dana Hersey, Force Five, Starblazers, Japanese shows, "Japanamation", living in all three time zones, living with a murderer, The Midnight Hour, Women in Prison, Amen, Joe Piscapo, Dabney Coleman hosting SNL with the Cars and Elvira, The Exorcist, Werewolf, Spenser for Hire, Family Ties, Married...with Children, hormonal viewing choices, classic movie theaters, Hiding Out with John Cryer, 'Night Mother, Raptors, Made for TV Movies, the evils of big Oil, primetime Alyssa Milano, Video Gallery, Petey's hatred of Tommy, Moonlighting, Telemarketers, Hooperman vs. Slap Maxwell, Magnum PI, Sledge Hammer, Cheers, Beverly Hills Buntz, James Bond, WWF, and the magic of I Married Dora.

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