TV Guidance Counselor

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 89: Micah Sherman Jul 01, 2015

Show notes

September 12 - 18, 1998

In this episode Ken welcomes actor, improviser and comedian Micah Sherman.

Ken and Micah discuss e-cigarettes, the connection between fog machines and intestinal distress, outside vs. inside, blowin' it up, lack of cable, pillow case induced weekend TV watching, North Carolina Wolves, singing jocks, Jam Bands, Beard Fishin', the secret to loving High School, Squirrel Nut Zippers, interning at Mammoth Records, pulling your pork, low channels coming in more clear, the entertainment value of discussions of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, College Sports, Cops, National Lampoon's Golf Punks, America's Most Wanted, Alan Alda, Burlesque Youth, Video Store Educations, Stand Up on TV, The Simpsons, loving the Fly Girls, being in the pop culture closet, Ken's hatred of Goodfellas, That 70s Show, not being excited by premieres, The Higgins Boys, The Army Show, The KGB, The X-Files, The Emmys, Seth Green, Can't Hardly Wait, Cosby Show that's not the Cosby Show, Old Gay Softball, Mr. Bean, SNL Best Of Videos, WWF violence, Antiques Roadshow, WGBH: World's Greatest PBS station, Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Improvement, Costello, setting shows in Boston, Walker Texas Ranger, loving Hobie on Baywatch, Hasselhoff money, Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Ken's favorite Python sketch, OK Soda's Generation X conspiracy, Surge, Third Eye Blind, Election Coverage, Bryant Gumbel, Guinness Records, Whisper 2000, The Fat Twins, The Nanny, A&E's Biography, Hitler, Hank Williams, Country Music, Tailgate Rock, liberal North Carolina, Ken's hatred of Fraternities, rage induced accents, Meter Maids, Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Conan O'Brien's 5th Anniversary, Drew Carey Show, Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place, when Must See TV isn't on, Friends, Helen Baxendale, Frasier, TGIF, Alaska's Whales and Wildlife, Millenium, Homicide: Life on the Street, seeing someone hit by a train, and love of three camera sitcoms.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 88: Lisa Loeb and Beth Stelling Jun 26, 2015

Show notes

In a first for the show, Ken presents you with two "mini-sodes" recorded before the guests' shows in the green room.

First up Ken welcomes the amazing singer, songwriter, actress, reality TV star, author and voice over artist Lisa Loeb to the show. In this lighting fast pre-show chat Ken and Lisa discuss October 1974, 70s pop hits, the lack of choice, Dallas during "Dallas", false sense of mainstream culture avoidance, the resentment of TV portrayals of professions, The Monkees, Wings, Chico and the Man, Sesame Street, Robert Urich, Serial Killing for Dummies, $25,000 Pyramid, Donnie Osmond, The Newlywed Game, Whoopie, bed time, Variety Shows, Muppet Shows, Fernwood Tonight, Cher, Carol Burnett, all around talent, all singing all dancing all acting celebrities, Florence Henderson: Pretty Lady, humor going over your head, The Love Boat, watching TV when you're sick, sexual bikinis, Adam 12, TV Crushes, why Don Knotts is kind of handsome, the inexplicable popularity of Little House on the Prairie, Fantasy Island, Central Time, The Odd Couple, Welcome Back Kotter, being tempted to have a musical alter ego, the theme to M.A.S.H., One Day at a Time, Schneider, picking up the Bounty torch from Nancy Walker, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Nova, Lisa's impression of Alfred Hitchcock, meeting John Denver, Six Million Dollar Man's sound fx, and loving Paul Lynde.

Ken then welcomes comedian Beth Stelling to the show. Ken and Beth discuss Norse Hall, tween crushes, being the tallest kid in the class, growing pains, TV's Top 10 Stars in 1994, Tim Allen, loving JTT, the mystery of children having money, little girls love of containers, Dr. Fad, Children's inventions, mortifying Home Ec issues, Chicken Yakatory, peeing your pants, cocktail onions as vomit inducer, Caveman survival skills, throwing things at Tim, The Cloak Room, David Hasselhoff, Baywatch, "innies", Jane Seymour, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Touched by an Angel, childhood religion, Sisters, Sela Ward, Picket Fences, the progressive discussions on Beverly Hills 90210, Mark Curry, the "Loveability Index", Patrick Duffy, Boy Band Reunion tours, NKOTB, the number of times New Kids on the Block say "Girl" in "Step by Step", how there's nothing Joey Lawrence's love can't fix for your baby, Billy Zane's look, Kelly Martin, Heather Locklear, Tim Allen, Wilson as artistic muse, why Jay Leno is 98% Loveable, Why Angela Lansbury will always be #1, SNICK, Clarissa Explains it All, Empty Nest, Richard Mulligan's fantastic voice, The Forbidden Fruit of Cops, America's Most Wanted, Problem Child 2, Gladiators, Nitro's book, and the horrors of Japanese Game Shows.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 87: Karen Duffy Jun 24, 2015

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes writer, TV personality, former MTV VJ and all around great human being Karen "Duff" Duffy to the show.

Ken and Duff discuss the heat of NYC, the road to MTV via nursing homes, New Jersey, Modeling, selling Skippy Peanut Butter, Saturday Night Live, Frank Sinatra, studying up, dressing for success, the multi-disciplined approach of classic TV presenters, broadcasting vs. narrowcasting, Firehouse vs. Firehose, the end of the hair bands, researching, photogenic memories, Whit Crane of Ugly Kid Joe, the fun of dating someone with a drinking problem, staying tight with the crew, Tabitha Soren, taking over for Martha Quinn, Rods & Cones, V66, The Basement Tapes, bands on railroad tracks, Ted Demme, Fade to Black, Fab 5 Freddy, Jermaine Jackson's Jermagesty, soul music, Herb Alpert, performers figuring out the business, George Clooney, Bill Murray and Duff's Wedding Present of the gift of performance, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Bill Murray's musical prowess, buying horns off Ebay, Michael O'Donohue, owning a baseball team with your friends, Brockton, MA, sports, free vasectomy, The Rat, when sporting events became high priced bars, Rock and Jock, The Real World, Anna Nicole Smith, House of Style, Cindy Crawford, burkinis, Who Do You Think You Are?, the loser table, drinking tequila for the betterment of Africa, small Irish Catholic Families, ABC's Wide World of Sports, ABC After School Specials, The House Without a Christmas Tree, Jason Robards, becoming a wiseass to counteract the weakness of emotion, 42nd St, being starstruck, Colin Quinn, 24 Hours in America, not taking credit for videos you didn't make, making Mariah Carey angry, Paul Abdul's opposite, Karen's early life as a Video Vixen in Special K, NKOTB, Keith Sweat and Heavy D Videos, Dwight Yoakam, Karen's wooden acting style, being in a terrible movie, Dumb and Dumber, Chris Farley, TV Nation, going back to MTV 20 years later, Jim Carrey's Gallstones, Lauren Holly: Slutty Sexy Nurse, Karen's dream of owning a museum of celebrity used parts, The National Endowment for the Arts, Michael Moore, TV Nation Day: August 18th, Viaticals, Devout Catholicism, being a devout trained hospice chaplain, writing tough questions on a cake, love night for hate groups, winning an Emmy the day before you get canceled, The Awful Truth, Bravo TV, Jon Stewart, loyalty, the difficulties of being George Clooney's sister, seeing good people get rewarded, why talking about the charity you do doesn't count, Stoic Philosophy, the immodesty of social media, growing up with James Gandolfini, Sarcoidosis saving the world from awful Disney Movies, Blank Check, Revlon, old people smell, Kurt Loder, doing red carpet for MTV, going to a really ugly high school, living within 10 miles of where you grew up despite your best efforts, The Real Housewives of New York, America Family, avoiding quality TV, Debi Mazar, living for the New York Rangers, introducing your son to The Little Rascals, undercover make up artists, Museum of Broadcasting traditions, Zoom, The Funny Face rival of Kool Aid, racist snacks, and when your children show no interest in your fame.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 86: Bill Janovitz Jun 17, 2015

Show notes

July 4 -10, 1974

This week Ken welcomes Buffalo Tom frontman Bill Janovitz to the show.

Ken and Bill discuss TV Theme Songs, Bill's writing of the Mike O'Malley theme, Yes Dear, This Old House, growing up in New York, 80s NYC vs 90s NYC, how the gay part of town is always where the interesting stuff is going on, Beverly Hills and it's Welcome Sign, why LA is great, Fabio, Tim Reid (no relation), All in the Family, staying up late in the Summer, three camera sitcoms, how the faux-documentary style is played out, Blackish, the shared experience of television as a kid, Seinfeld, the generation gap, Maureen Stapleton vs. Jean Stapleton, Those Were the Days, Melancholy TV music, TV with multi-generational appeal, Norman Lear, the occasional brutality of 70s family television, VCR culture, quoting movies, gold fish memories, The Jeffersons, the mystery of the Good Times theme song, The Midnight Special, the seeds of wanting to be a rock star, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, SNL, Fear's Halloween Saturday Night Live set, Rock Fantasy Camp with Graham parker, Kate Pierson, Soul Train, My So-Called Life, Why Catwalk, Devo on Square Pegs, why MTV is not the maffia, No Alternative, The Monkees, The Jackson 5, music cartoons, KISS, Tony Orlando and Dawn, 8 Tracks, The Golden age of variety shows, Pink Lady and Jeff, The Brady Kids Variety Hour, Telma Hopkins, The Osmonds, the creepy nature of Little Jimmy Osmond, Linda Carter, Ann Margaret, Wild Kingdom, The Wonderful World of Disney, Adventures in Satan's Canyon, 70s obsession with canyons, Battle of the Network Stars, Suzanne Somers running around, Dan Hagerty's pecs, ESPN's World's Strongest Man competitions, Kojak, 70s TV noir, adding homicide to arson, Alex Rocco, why Facts of Life is Ken's Kevin Bacon, Candid Camera, Bloopers, watching football bloopers on 8mm at the library, Maude, Rhoda, Norman Lear, Bill's textbook deadpan, the sexless-ness of Maude, Happy Days vs. Good Times, bongos, Dynamite Magazine, Barnaby Jones, Hawaii Five-O, Welcome Back Kotter, Taxi, James at 15, TVT Recrods TV Theme Song LPs, the right age for nostalgia, covering money with the Rembrandts, hanging out with Rick James watching the Cheers finale, David Lynch, The Robb Brothers, Hank Shocklee, The loss of shared family experience, The Waltons, the mechanics of a joke, SNL's 40th, being part of the comedy generation, SCTV, Harry Shearer, Jon Stewart, Streets of San Francisco, The Simpsons, being surprised by embarrassing commercials watching television with your kids, Sanford and Son, Truck Stop Comedy Tapes in the tour bus, Quincy Jones, The Saint, The Rockford Files, Police Woman, Dads loving Angie Dickinson, Get Christine Love, and watching The Honeymooners after 10pm.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 85: Zach Sherwin Jun 10, 2015

Show notes

June 25 - July 1, 1988

This week Ken welcomes comedian, rapper, old friend and man about town Zach Sherwin to the show.

Ken and Zach discuss exactly when they first met, how the world grew into hip hop, Ken's lack of Dubstep knowledge, when Ken checked out of music, early Hip Hop as evolution of punk rock, W. Kamau Bell, The Ghetto Boys, the Bad Brains inspired origins of the Beastie Boys name, sound collage, Boston's An*l C*nt (*AC*), Snakes, getting high and watching nature documentaries, Ayahuasca, Ken's anti-drug mythology stance, the veil of reality, a life of suppression and control, "In Search Of...", Leonard Nimoy, the Hip Hop/Sci-Fi Connection, personal context of pop culture references, MF Doom, JJ Fadd Supersonic, Nicki Minaj, sometimes things are all about big butts, getting diagnosed with a "you've got six months to live", Ken's inherent skeptical wiring, Flatliners, Movie Novelizations, the novelization of "Bram Stoker's Dracula", Robocop, The Facts of Life, Ken's love of Sherrie Krenn/Austin aka Pippa on The Facts of Life, Booch, Ken's tea based microwave burns, Eye of the Tiger, Police Squad!, James at 15, Skateboarding, Swimsuit 87, George Foreman, It's Gary Shandling, The 40th Anniversary of Atlantic Records, Hunk, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Taylor Negron, Tales of the Gold Monkey, growing up without a TV in the house, never owning a TV, Naughy By Nature's OPP, MTV, the Rosetta Stone nature of album liner notes, AIDS and Designing Women, Annie Potts, Morton Downey Jr, The Color of Money, why Eric Clapton's soulless nature has kept him from being sampled, the Maurice Sendak hour, Who's the Boss, Living Dolls, Perfect Strangers, TV Guide's anti-Cuba Stance, Moonlighting, Richard Lewis, Degrassi, Young Drake, Growing Pains, Rodeo Finals, Head of the Class, Madonna in "Who's That Girl?", Batman, Hooperman, the mystery of TV Guide writers, dumb answers to dumb questions, birthdays, Top Secret!, Not Necessarily the News, Val Kilmer, Sledge Hammer, The Charmings, Lingering at the Synagogue, TVs Bloopers and Practical Jokes, "in the butt", Stephen King, Pro Karate, Ken and Zach's respective black belts in martial arts, and ending up on the Cobra the Snake God channel for your birthday.

TV Guidance Counselor 84: Val Kappa Jun 03, 2015

Show notes

November 26 - December 2, 1994

This week Ken welcomes artist and comedian Val Kappa to the show.

Ken and Val discuss Ellen's inexplicable success, living in a cableless society, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson impersonators, Country music, Ken's encounter with Cyndi Lauper, Paula Abdul, My Girl, bee fears, Ken's Star Wars vomit, killer Yogurt in The Stuff, Before they were Stars, Father of the Bride, Hombre Mayor, seeing Basic Instinct with your parents, Splatter: The Architects of Fear, Fresh Prince, Susan Powter, Ken's encounters with Tony Little, Scott Baio and Tom Oldham at malls, Blossom, My Two Dads, having your own TV in your room, teenagers talking on the phone for hours talking about nothing, The Simpsons, calling radio stations, the myth of the radio request line, KISS 108, 101.7 WFNX (RIP), Ted Turner, Emerson College, the fate of the second Kenneth W. Reid, Ken's alter ego "Dave", Phyllis Diller, being stuck in an elevator with a pregnant woman, placenta buckets, holding a baby, kitten birth ruining a perfectly good Pee Wee Herman sleeping bag, Murphy Brown, loving the Silly character, London Underground, Make Me Laugh on Comedy Central, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Madonna's lost innocence, Wendy Malik, The Bionic Woman, Frosty, Christmas traditions, the tears induced by "Up", genocide in the Transformers movie, Models Inc, My So-Called Life, exotic red heads, the pain of having your favorite show canceled, hating ABC, Juliana Hatfield, The Higgins Boys and Gruber, Family Matters, The X-Files and the short lived acting career of Geraldo Rivera.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 83: Tom Rhodes May 27, 2015

Show notes

This week Ken welcomes Tom Rhodes to the show.

Ken and Tom discuss Ken's TV Guide archives, the family dynamic of the Archie Bunker Chair, neighborhood talk of cable, butter knife soft core pornography, Emmanuel, modern kids lack of mechanical skills, MTV, General Hospital, Rick Springfield, moot points, the social justice power of soap operas, Steve McQueen in French, Jerry Lewis' foreign tongue, Barney Miller, family dance parties, highlighting the TV Guide for late night stand up, Carson, Letterman, Rich Hall, Mike Wilmot's murderous ways, Viva Vietnam, being the face of Comedy Central, being the subject of an NBC/HBO/Fox bidding war, Must See TV, taking the crown from the Fresh Prince, how to go from public defender to private school English Teacher in one easy step, Mark Brazil, learning to act on National TV, Ron Glass, Hal Linden, how the kids take over, the funny teacher sub-genre, being one in a four pack, Dabney Coleman's Buffalo Bill, Alan Partridge, the UK influence over likable US characters, being slammed by Entertainment Weekly, being fed up with Hair Jokes, Native Americans, Mr. Rhodes, why being the side character is better than being the lead, Minnesota, the charm of giant trucks, the death knell of Holiday Episodes, loving Lucy, live audiences, the arsenal of supporting cast, Jensen Ackles, Lindsay Sloane, Sean Weiss, Alexandra Holden, Jessica Stone, Stephen Tobolowsky, watching the news as a kid, genetic love of stand up comedy, Holland, The NBC Artist's Grant, London Comedy, Greg Proops, The Kevin Masters Show, travel shows, MTV's Half Hour Comedy Hour and the memorable moments live gifts us with gold carts and the Back to the Future town square.

TV Guidance Counselor After School Special with Sean Sullivan May 25, 2015

Show notes

In this very special after school special edition of the show Ken welcomes Sean Sullivan back to the show.

Sean and Ken discuss the popularity of Sean as a guest, school with siblings, 1990, Jr High vs. Middle School, the darkest thing Ken has ever said on the show, Sex Ed, the death of After school Specials, the Wave, cartoons, walking to school, horrific childhood games, Hard Copy, Canadian Co-Productions, Don't Just Sit There, dinner plans, Boy Scouts, Orange Soda, cancer popcorn, 1993, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, secretly enjoying baby shows, 3.2.1 Contact, Beyond 2000, Tailspin, Disney Afternoon, Fifteen, Barney and Friends, Tiny Toon Adventures, Carmen Sandieago, Rockapella into Mmmbop, Dinosaucers, Plucky Duck, Goofy hatred, Shop Til You Drop, Sunday Mornings, Denver the Last Dinosaur, 1995, talk shows, Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters, Ghost Writer, Beetlejuice, Quack Attack, Exosquad, Extreme Toxic Waste, Tazmania, Ricki Lake, I'm Telling, buying your childhood heart's desire game show prizes as an adult, Animaniacs, Billy Nye the Science Guy vs. Beakman's World, 1998, Wishbone, The New Adventures of Batman and Superman, VR Troopers, The Mystics Knights of Trunanog, Big Bad Beetleborgs, and the long strange history of Power Rangers.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 82: Sam Jay May 20, 2015

Show notes

September 24-30, 1994

This week Ken welcomes fellow Boston Comedian Sam Jay to the show.

Ken and Sam discuss the difficulty in finding Ken's home, Catholic School, cloak rooms, embarrassing incidents, demonic possession, Beverly Hills 90210, being a gay teen, being on a watch list from the Boston Archdiocese and having that lead to moving to a suburban public school, strip clubs, Atlanta, Black Williamsburg, going to college in a shopping mall, family tragedies, stand up comedy, knowing what you want to be, having cable in your room, SNICK, classic Nickelodeon, COPS, They Live, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, escapism vs. identification, Fox as the "black thing", Hating "Hey Dude", when things aren't a race thing but a taste thing, America's Most Wanted as family viewing, Stark Trek, Sisters, Lusty Sela Ward, The Simpsons, Black Bart, Flea Market bootleg clothing, Downtown Boston's Corner Mall, The Real World, Puck, AIDS, letting kids drink wine, Hardball, Married...with Children, classic MTV, how Melrose Place makes Monday night the best night in Sam's week, made for TV movies, Murphy Brown, when a monkey guest stars, Wrestling and the Ultimate Warrior, ComicView, stand up on TV, Full House, The House Party series, Baby Faced White Boys, Home Improvement, Kids in the Hall, Grace Under Fire, John Larroquette, Tori Spelling's virginity, Ken's love of modeling, the conundrum of Beavis and Butthead, Martin, being a "hater", how Janet Jackson is the best Jackson, how Ken is mad about Mad About You, My So-Called Life, Dawsome's Creek, James at 15, gay TV, Living Single, the horror of "Soul Plane", the golden age of BET, The Friday film series, New York Undercover, Seinfeld, Family Matters, TGIF, Boy Meets World, The X-Files, and believing you've been abducted by aliens.

TV Guidance Counselor LIVE! with Brendon Small May 15, 2015

Show notes

Recorded LIVE! at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland Oregon, on this special Bridgetown Comedy Festival edition of the show welcomes Brendon Small to the show.

Ken and Brendon discuss VooDoo Donuts, drug testing, working at a movie theater, Berklee College of Music, going to film school, Harold and Maude, Springfield, Emancipation, Garbage Plates vs. Chop Suey Sandwiches, Chez Henri, conscripting a retired chef, Paul O'Connell, guitar, Little Stevie's Pizza, being insulted by Bobby McFarren, acapella TV theme songs, It's Gary Shandling Show and its theme song, NBC's comedy revolution, the early days of Fox TV, writers' constant state of strike, Shout! Factory, how nothing new is actually new, Burns and Allen, Ernie Kovaks, Jack Benny, when things are Shakespeare, stealing from dead people, cable making you who you are, Night Flight, loving horror films, wanted to have nightmares, Salem's Lot, the Poltergeist remake, JoBeth Williams, great scores, puking up a worm, why amputees make the world's best monsters, novelizations as the original deleted scenes, Tobe Hooper, The Funhouse, Spider Plant kids, being a special FX make up artist, Basket Case, Frankenhooker, James Lorinz, Leprechaun, movies about balls, Jake Busey, 80s TV Horror anthology revolution, Get a Life, Fox's Werewolf, The Young Ones, Chris Elliot, UPN Network, from boats to TV, Bob and Ray, Chris Elliot as FDR, One Man Shows, Ben Franklin's White Shadow, Captain Moustache, 80s Boston comics, retarded JD Salingers, shitting on what you love, Metalocalypse, Desmind Pfeifer, Homeboys in Outerspace, Shasta McNasty, Home Movies, "the cartoon boom of 99", Dr. Katz, Jonathan Katz, Bob Newhart, Albert Brooks, smart subtle word comedy, Mr. Show, being roommates with Eugene Mirman, The Bob Newhart Show, The Marx Bros, Groucho, ignorance bred innovation, Sid Caesar, Your Show of Shows, onions, Jealousy as the greatest form of comedic admiration, Seinfeld, Mike Bent, hearing results based on practice, DJ Hazzard's red headed shadow, Metallica vs. Anthrax, developing your life long identity, when your job is to be inspired, Headbanger's Ball, losing MTV, Lost in America, Gary Marshall, Mr. Bill, Christopher Guest, Martin Short, Martin Short, SCTV vs. SNL, Billy Crystal as Sammy Davis Jr, Martin Short as Jackie Rogers' Jr, Jiminy Glick, Jerry Lewis, and Cheers + Jeers.

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