TV Guidance Counselor

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 97: Phoebe Angle Aug 19, 2015

Show notes

February 22-28, 1997

This week Ken welcomes comedian Phoebe Angle.

Ken and Phoebe discuss Chuck Norris, great birthday gifts, butts, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, white Indians, Albinos, Cops, Private Detectives as Moms, Highlander, Murder Houses, Avid Editing, SNICK, lack of cable, Maine, UPN, Moesha, Homeboys in Outerspace, Early Edition, Burning Zone, The Simpsons, Touched by an Angel, King of the Hill, working in the corpse of The Rat, X-Files, Monster of the Week, Cosby, Jenny Jones, ambush shows, LL Bean, Maine, Manic Panic hair dye, how lies can get you on Ricki Lake, hating Home Improvement, Valerie Bertonelli's Night Sins, Spin City, The Grammys, award shows, Babyface, The Stunt Man, Antiques Roadshow, Sister Sister, Murder She Wrote, short guy syndrome, Haley Joel Osmett: Boy with AIDS, Rescue 911, Must See TV, Rosie O'Donnell, AJ Langer, The Naked Truth, Tea Leoni, Mad Max, dubbing English for English, The 13th Annual Soap Opera Awards, TGIF, Sliders, Family Matters, altering your genes to get on Supermarket Sweep, Boy Meets World, Teen Pregnancies, Boarding School, Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary Party, MTV, Millennium, Night Court, and celebrating an ALL Cheer week.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 96: Janeane Garofalo Aug 12, 2015

Show notes

September 23 - 28, 1978

This week Ken welcomes actress, comedian, writer and all around comedy hero Janeane Garofalo to the show.

Ken and Janeane discuss their pitch for "Lost in Portland", nibs, birthday weeks, circling TV, testing HBO, Madison NJ, seeing Lipstick when you shouldn't have seen it, the popularity of rape movies in the 70s, the popularity of rape TV in the 10s, Jeff Goldblum in Death Wish, Chained Heat, Rape/Revenge, procedural shows ruining juries, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, Forest Whitaker, Matt Ryan, UK actors making the mistake of American Television, Mandy Patinkin, Mr. Show, Stand-Up, being totally absent from social media, the objective nature of comedy, the Simpsons, SNL, Michael Nesmith as Ken and Janeane's favorite person ever, Jay Leno, alienating people, wanting to be liked, Providence College in RI, Allston MA, open mics in Rhode Island, Midnight Movies as social mecca, only saying things to people you feel you can physically "take", Entertainers right to have political opinions, Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore, seeing your parents laugh, Laughs per day, camera mugging, the dinosaur networks, making quality television despite everything, James L. Brooks, art about art, The Famous Teddy Z, taking notes, business getting in the way of creativity, Bonnie Hunt, the internal struggle of telling someone who is doing awful work that they are doing awful work, rallying your co-workers, the misery of blind obedience, getting stuck as an actor, being aware of flukes, the 90s, being Hollywood poor, The Larry Sanders Show, The MTV Half Hour Comedy Hour, The Young Comedian Special, The Ben Stiller Show, hating the stand up you did at 19, falling into acting, being typecast as a human being based on roles, Q Ratings vs. Twitter followers, indie films, The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, "Difficult Men", Stone Pillow, Adam West, Lookwell, Heat Vision and Jack, The Professionals, UK TV, The Young Ones, "Bambi", US Remakes of UK shows, Steve Coogan, Janeane's work on "Ideal", Alan Partridge, Johnny Vegas, Saxondale, the sadness of unlikable characters, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, Graham Duff, turning 14, regimented television, passion for shows that surprise you, Grey's Anatomy, killing off beloved characters, the meaning of death on TV, Carvel, Cookie Puss, bullying, Gary Marshall's television empire vs his acting, the transition of Happy Days, The Waltons, Nuns Everywhere, Project UFO, Family, Family as an ahead of its time unhappy, realistic show, bonding with your mother with television, sensing your parent's sadness through television, the loss of a parent, Barnaby Jones, sneaking TV, The Twilight Zone, Johnny Carson, the power of a sleeping bag, SCTV, and Ken and Janeane's favorite SCTV sketches.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 95.5: Louise Post & Nina Gordon (Veruca Salt) Aug 07, 2015

Show notes

In this special bonus mini-episode of the show, Ken welcomes Louise Post and Nina Gordon of the band Veruca Salt to the show.

Ken chats with Louise and Nina on their tour bus before their Boston gig about the heaven of 70s TV, growing up on East Coast vs. The Mid-West, the dark ages of cable proliferation, Happy Days, M.A.S.H., depressing theme songs, The 1973 Made-for-TV movie "Sunshine", the dark content of 70s TV aimed at children, the mystery of Beverly Archer, Halloween is Grinch Night, Jonathan Winters' pumpkin head, Sha-Na-Na, the birth of Nostalgia, 20 year cycles, Terri Nunn: Teen Actress with a bad rep on James at 15, the importance of The Bionic Woman, questioning Lindsay Wagner's well read status, TV negotiations with siblings, Star Trek vs. The Brady Bunch, living in a Brady Bunch genius den, being bumped from SNL by Sting, the sexy factor of Lee Majors and Gordon Sumner, The Monkees, crushing on Davy Jones, Cybill Shepherd :stunner, TV theme songs as your first favorite song, The Carol Burnett Show, Mama's Family's fall from grace, Eight is Enough and the mystery of its theme song, seeing you father in the face of Bob Newhart, rules around TV watching for children, getting your children to watch black and white shows, I Love Lucy, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Daniel Tiger, how one obtains old TV movies, Dolly Parton's speaking voice, turning down your own variety show, wanting to make a Playboy After Dark for the 90s, Hoarders, boycotting TV in the 80s and 90s, offending Justine Bateman, Nina's confusion around The Sausage The Mouse Clever Elsie The Golden Goose and Tom Tit Tat, and finding comfort in All in the Family and Sanford and Son during the "Heinous Hiatus".

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 95: Andrea Henry Aug 05, 2015

Show notes

October 18-24, 1984

Today Ken welcomes writer and comedian Andrea Henry.

Ken and Andrea discuss Brocton's weather related fights, colds, Dallas, Family Ties, crushing on Skippy, Marc Price's full frontal nudity in Trick or Treat, writing in character as Alex P. Keaton, American Graffiti, The New Gidget, The New Leave it to Beaver, first run syndication, Dracula, Pyschophobia, Life with Lucy, Stone Pillow, The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile, Sunday Newspaper Comic Strips, Holiday Specials, Indiana Jones, being let down by your own youth, Poltergeist, Puttin' on the Kids, having never carved a pumpkin, Frat Brothers taking you in a sports car to see Halloween in theaters, no weakness allowed with Andrea's brother, FAME, Nia Pepples Party Machine, Mike Hammer, It's a Living, The Bonaventure Hotel, Ann Jillian, Mama's Family, wigs, Ken's hateful spite fueled life, Star Search, Hate Watching, Sons of Anarchy, Fight Back!, Kate & Allie, CBS Monday Nights, MacGuyver, My Sister Sam, stalking, kids parties, the original Parenthood TV series, An Officer and a Gentleman, Designing Women, Who's the Boss, Growing Pains, Kirk Cameron's film career, Jami Gertz, Norma Rae, Moonlighting, Perfect Strangers, Head of the Class, Community College Counselors, Women's Bodybuilding, "The River", Facts of Life, Good Times, Terror Train, The Demon Murder Case, 20/20, The Girl Most Likely To, Joan Rivers screenwriter, Webster, very special episodes, growing up Greek, Greektown, Detroit, Garfield Halloween Special, The Great Pumpkin, local weatherman Dick Albert's use of smarts against drugs and alcohol, Mr. Belvedere, loss of virginity, Punky Brewster, Sledge Hammer, Sidekicks, Ernie Reyes Jr., WKRP, The Mayflower Madam, James Bond, and the horrors of colorization.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 94: Kevin Allison Jul 29, 2015

Show notes

July 22 -27, 1978

This week Ken welcomes writer, comedian and master storyteller Kevin Allison to the show.

Ken and Kevin discuss crazy things in your home leading to murderous theories, living in Pee Wee's Playhouse, Jesuit High School leading to a lack of television watching, falling asleep with Citizen Kane, pyromania, watching classics on TV, Night of the Living Dead, Leonard Maltin's books, Understanding Movies, Cincinnati, OH, The Boys in the Band, Catholicism, William Friedkin into gay stuff, stumbling onto life changing media, Marilu Henner, Dukes of Hazard, hatred of sports, going to the Opera, being introduced to television and culture by your father, being terrified of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, PBS and Monty Python, scary music, The Muppet Show, The Electric Company, MTV, Liquid Television, watching TV at school, New Zoo Review, Catholic TV, ABC Sunday Night Movie, Roots, The Thorne Birds, Pulp Novels, The Exorcist, 70s obsession with the supernatural, Satanism, hypnotism, The Bionic Man, buying a Betamax VCR in 1980, Playboy on TV, Three's Company, "The Jiggle Factor", banning Love American Style, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, The Love Boat, early fan fiction, grindhouse movies, Basket Case, Dawn of the Dead, Choir camp in NYC, Paul Lynde, Soap, The Jeffersons, jewel thieves, Bigfoot, brain washing, 70s obsession with the 50s, House of Style, 90s MTV, Ken Marino, The Brady Bunch, Bobby Brady teaching you you are gay, The State, Love Sydney, You Wrote It You Watch It, Who Bob Dylan is, Taco Man, Squirt TV, The Gong Show, Dick Cavet, Amy Schumer, outrage culture, when great art falls through the cracks, and the horror of the Sleestacks.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 93: Greg Wymer Jul 22, 2015

Show notes

January 21-27, 1984

This week Ken welcomes DJ, improver and former co-worker Greg Wymer to the show.

Ken and Greg discuss Greg's excitement, the disappointment of laser light shows, game show hosts, evening editions of day time game shows, Diff'rent Strokes, twins, Dixie Carter, unsold pilots, Ken's wife's hatred of Claire Grogan, Love Boat, Harlem Globetrotters, Bill Cullen: Favorite Game Show Host, Dolph Lundgren's MIT lie, Mama's Family, Sneak Previews, Dack Rambo, WFNX, Ken as Brian Benben, Superbowl Sunday, Gary Coleman's 200 IQ, gambling, Life Styles of the Rich and Famous, the early days of VCRs, James Bond, playing your own son, Airwolf, Iron Eagle, The Meatballs series, Mazes & Monsters, Washington D.C., MTV's Remote Control, Susan Stafford, PBS's Think Twice, a taste of real fame, Greg's Pee Wee's Big Adventure related mortifying moment, That's Incredible, Danny Cooksey, Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Made for TV Movies, Burt Renoylds' dark period, Spaghetti Westerns, The A-Team, Kim Richards, Three's Company, Remington Steele, Madeline Khan's short lived sitcom, Real People, WKRP, SCTV's final season, The State of the Union, Reagan's ruining of television, Automan, Gimme a Break, giving away your kids upon your death, Tom Hanks as Uncle Ned the drunk, Family Ties, hosting karaoke at the real Cheers, laserdisc, sciolists, Mike Hammer, Buffalo Bill, Dabney Coleman, the Beast Within, Benson, Ken's undying love for Barbara Stock, Legmen, Dukes of Hazard, and the long strange history of the Master.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 92: Andrew Mayer Jul 15, 2015

Show notes

June 9-15, 1990

This week Ken welcomes Boston comedian and bear enthusiast Andrew Mayer to the show.

Ken and Andrew discuss mermaids, The New Mission Impossible, writing strikes, re-using old scripts, Andrew's insane father, living in a valley in the middle of nowhere with no cable, civil salt peter, USA Saturday Nightmares, Zombie Nightmare, not fearing the reaper enough, Janet Jackson, just going with the titles, Beauty and the Beast, America's Funniest Most Wanted, model planes, Nick at Nite but never Bewitched, weird mid-Atlantic accents, the Tin Man's classic Boston accent, Championship Ballroom Dancing, MacGuyver, Locker Posters, burning off pilots, the problems or murder, liking strange sports, foam, roller skating, the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, Star Trek, home-made Halloween costumes, Rescue 911, Ken's obsession with the accordion, cheating at Skip-It, corny laugh track sitcoms, Spin City, Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place, Nickelodeon's Fifteen, thinking the Wonder Years is boring, NBA Finals, Beyond 2000, The NBA, 80s lady stand up comedians, Jake and the Fatman, Growing Pains, What a Dummy!, Circus of the Stars, Cosby Show, Eagle and the Bear, The Mystery of choosing Mystery! over Cheers, Perfect Strangers, Just the Ten of Us, and having never seen "The Bear".

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 91: Cris Kirkwood (The Meat Puppets) Jul 10, 2015

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes musician, artist and fellow podcaster Cris Kirkwood of the legendary Meat Puppets to the show.

Ken and Cris discuss Portlandia, TV Guides place in the home, watching the debut of Sesame Street, leaders vs. followers, the "Torment of the Older Sibling", bed wetting, growing up in Phoenix Arizona, the legacy of Omahanians, the horses, Alice, The Wallace and Ladmo Show, Pat McMahon, Steven Spielberg, the cultural make up of Arizona, Spanish Language TV, Sabado Gigante, local TV scenes as local punk rock scenes, how Mr. Peppermint begat the Butthole Surfers, Nirvana Unplugged, home made music videos, stealing people's souls, The Big Boys, Flipper, MTV, touching ex-girlfriends via the cathode ray tube, Steve Jones, Bill Cody, the Haden Triplets, Fred Armisen, stand up vs. music, The Harlem Globetrotters, the golden age of TV contortionists, punk rock trips to LA, Night Flight, New Wave Theater, the importance of flyers, hippies vs. punks, jazz fusion, how seeing Deliverance leads to a desire to be a musician, cool Moms, owning a monkey, the sad death of Abner, mutual Taegu adoration, the salvation of Wallace and Ladlow on a daily basis, 70s Variety Shows, The Johnny Cash Show, The yearly airing of the Wizard of Oz, The Wonderful World of Disney, The Andy Griffith show as perfection, pre-stroke Floyd the Barber vs. post-stroke Floyd the Barber, SCTV, SNL, Robin Williams, Belushi, Andy Kaufman, Acid Head Comedy, Doc Martin, the magic of the Smart Phone, cartoons, 60s Comix, Robert Crumb, Midnight Movies, El Topo, The Grateful Dead, Zappa, The Beatles, The Monkees, Too High to Die, No Commercial Potential, and shutting down Lollapalooza.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 90: Heather McDonald Jul 08, 2015

Show notes

March 3-9, 1979.

This week Ken welcomes comedian and author Heather McDonald to the show.

Ken and Heather discuss worrying about the elderly being easily influenced by television, cigarette ads, Andy Griffith's 70s BDSM, after school specials, why the youngest of five has no rules, Victoria Principal, High Class Hookers, Eve Plumb in Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, living "the Valley", Lace, All Girls Catholic High Schools, Heidi Fleiss, The Mayflower Madam, SportsClub LA, creepy solo fixers, Valley Girl, Patty Hearst, parents taking you to inappropriate movies, knowing when you were straight, forced make out sessions up against a wall, Traci Lords, how a criminal act can add meaning to your life, The Osmonds Circus, Mary Tyler Moore Hour, "Singles" apartment buildings, the one time per lifetime women have to try and make it on their own, Stockard Channing: The Star of Grease, being terrified of New York, Good Times, sharing a room with your siblings, Love Boat vs. Fantasy Island, Julie's eternal Maid of Honor status, Billy Crystal: Kissing Bandit, learning legal arguments about international waters via Love Boat, Cruises, drunken teenage boat debauchery, puking while watching "Overboard", dealing with Sammy Hagar in Cabo, buffet culture, Trilogy of Terror, Twilight Zone, Wishing someone into the cornfield, why Kick the Can is the worst, fear of alien abduction, Celebrity Ghost Stories, personal encounters with ghosts, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Suicides among Family Feud Hosts, Gary Coleman, Facts of Life, after school special putting the fear of god in children, "Someone I Touched", being wise beyond your years leading to not being invited to things, Reality TV, training your son with "The Bachelor", calling your kid a dick, Dancing with the Stars, asking your husband to die to help your own career, ignoring the industry, impressions, going to tapings of Growing Pains, playing ball with Shamu's Baby before Shamu ate it, Farrah Fawcett, drama, Sorority Life, college worship of Ronald Reagan, dreaming of being a famous actress/movie star/tv star/author, staying grounded, trying to stay in touch with former co-workers, The Groundlings, Chelsea Lately, and the future of stardom.

TV Guidance Counselor LIVE!: Jeff Kline and Julie McCullough at NECC Jul 03, 2015

Show notes

In this episode recorded LIVE! at the NorthEast Comic Con and Pop Culture Expo on Saturday June 20, 2015 Ken welcomes writer/producer Jeff Kline and actor/comedian Julie McCullough to the show.

First up Ken welcomes Jeff Kline. Jeff looks at a TV Guide from the week March 18-24, 1978. Ken and Jeff discuss producing cartoons, Jumanji, finding out you got a job in the papers, the life and death of Saturday Morning Cartoons, UPN, That was Then, being 30 and getting to be 16 again twice, The Starland Vocal Band, generational record business, The Monkees, The Banana Splits, Sid & Marty Kroft, Johnny Carson, KTLA, The Legend of Cougar Canyon, Lawrence Welk, Lechmere, Andy Williams, Wayland Flowers & Madam, the pasts' refusal to admit gayness, dialing is a commitment, Ken's aluminium foil based conspiracy theory, Saturday Night family TV, Wonder Woman, replacing Cathy Lee Crosby with Linda Carter, Eletra Woman and Dynagirl, spending 10 minutes in a hot tub with Pink Lady & Jeff, the Sid and Marty Kroft Amusement park, suing McDonald's, Land of the Lost, Hanna-Barbera formal wear, being starstruck, telling The Rock to sound more dead, exactly what an "executive" does, Party of Five, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Frank Lupo, Werewolf, Matt Helm, re-inventing your youth, GI Joe, Transformers, The 7 Stages of Fandom, Twilight Zone, Star Trek, The Jackie Chan Animated Series, R-Rated movies becoming G-Rated Toys, CG Cartoons, Eddie Albert, Love American Style, The Cowsills, the disgusting nature of Afternoon Delight, Summer Replacement Series, The Kids from C.A.P.E.R., The New Monkees, Don Kirshner, Szysznyk, Mr. President, Kolchak, Richard Matheson, The Outer Limits, Art Carney: World's Most Prolific TV Santa, Paul Shaffer and Greg Evigan's deal with Satan, local kids' shows, the golden age of the variety show, Dolly, Hey Vern! It's Ernest, Ernest Saves Christmas, Prime Time Saturday Morning Preview Specials, favorite Christmas Specials, Police Woman, Battle of the Network Stars, Gabe Kaplan's fury, Busting Loose, and the strange TV career of Don Rickles.

Ken then welcomes actress/comedian Julie McCullough. Ken and Julie discuss Game of Thrones, Grizzly Adams, the wonders of color TV, moving around as a Military kid, touring the South, Dark Shadows, ghosts, love of the Munsters leading to a role on The Munsters Today, The Flying Nun, Sally Field, Sid & Marty Kroft, Star Trek, locking into all your interests by age 10, Max Headroom, kissing Superboy, Relic Hunter, playing an Evil Magician, being a Magician's assistant, living with Tia Carerre, Dick Clark, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Hee Haw, Carol Burnett, Drive-Ins, Big Bad Mama, a scoop on Big Bad Mama III, Angie Dickinson, when stunts go wrong, Circus of the Stars, Karen Black: Elephant Trainer, Julie's Carnival roots, Monkey Mazes, Carnival based Reality TV Series, the social implications of Freak Shows, "The Scat", Sleepy Hollow, We Are the Millers, shooting in North Carolina, Growing Pains connection to Abbot and Costello, and loving dying on screen.

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