TV Guidance Counselor

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TV Guidance Counselor LIVE! with Billy West Jan 30, 2015

Show notes

In this special LIVE! Edition of the show recorded at the Smell in Downtown Los Angeles during the 2015 Riot LA Comedy Festival Ken welcomes voice over legend Billy West (Futurama, Ren & Stimpy, Doug).

Ken and Billy discuss their mutual experiences playing the Rat in Boston, Roslindale, cocaine, Greeks, the entertainer economy, Kardashians, the power of guitars, the tolerance of Boston, being shy, Roasts, the salvation of TV and Radio, early Elvis impersonations, the nature of stage clothing, Boston's reputation, Boston's North End, Beach Parties, Aerosmith, broken dreams, the nature of scenes, James Brown, the Record Garage, The Cars, The Ding Ho, the 80s Boston Comedy Scene, Barry Crimmins, the transition from music to comedy, playing with Brian Wilson, Howard Stern, playing sleazy lounges, Happy Days causing destruction, spandex, Touched by an Old Person, breaking the 10 Commandments, religion, The Three Stooges, Jimmy Stewart's racism, Larry Fine, Philly accents, minimizing your talents, shampoo, the dark days of Jell-o, feminism, Jay Leno, radio, almost dying, being a man, what women want, Big Dumb Radio Announcers, replacing your heroes, discovering the credits, depression, James Earl Jones' cookies, thinking you're better than everyone, Daws Butler's real voice, Billy's Real Voice, Fry, self compressing, being technical, Stephen Hawking, tracheotomies, pawning your body parts, Future voices, humor as healer, Ren & Stimpy, hearing your voice coming from toys, being recognized by voice, Cosby, Doug, Futurama, Zoidberg, and flying brains out.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 55: Ophira Eisenberg Jan 28, 2015

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July 7-13, 1990

This week Ken welcomes author, comedian and NPR Radio host extraordinaire Ophira Eisenberg (The Moth, Ask Me Another).

Ken and Ophira discuss warm television memories, Canada, Australia, small pop cultural differences, a youth without MTV, YTV, Buckshot, King of Kensington, Mr. Dress Up, Neighbours, Dogs in Space, INXS, Calgary, Facts of Life's Pippa, The Best and the Worst of 1989/1990, Twin Peaks, Laura Palmer's Diary, future generations lack of shared experience outside of tragedies, Moonlighting, Bones, why every single show doesn't need an arc, police procedures as pure science fiction, The US Health Care System, suspicion, accents being made up for comedic effect, Nickelodeon, foreigners confusion of US geography, Soap Opera Guides as a prehistoric internet, the basement as home of "the good TV", sibling TV rivalries, Star Trek, the love of action, Honey West, Curse of the Gold Monkey, keeping Bruce Campbell's secrets, 80s fears, Saturday Night Potentials, The Buddy Holly Story, Archeology, The Sudan, classic Discovery Channel, Jason Bourne: The TV Series, how we've solved the environmental issues of the 80s (by not solving them), Women in Politics, the pain of Monday Nights, school picture day horrors, MacGuyver, Murphy Brown and her effect on US Politics, WKRP in Cincinatti, Loni Anderson, Roseanne, Reading on TV, Poor Little Rich Girls, Nova, Wonderlands turning into wastelands, wanting to be the mice in Cinderella, couch cushion forts, secret passageways, found art, Prime Time Primates, prime time Cartoons, Charlie Brown, Night Court, the education of dating older guys, Cosby Show, JAWS, Canadian Tire, Cheers, Bebe Neuwirth, 80s Glam, mindless Family Feuds, Newhart, how animals are people too, Tales from the Crypt, censorship rules, sneaking sleepover softcore pornography, and letting the pilot fire burn itself off.

TV Guidance Counselor LIVE! w/ Paris Themmen (Mike TeeVee) Jan 23, 2015

Show notes

In this LIVE! Special edition of the show recorded at NorthEast ComicCon in Wilmington, MA on December 7, 2014 Ken welcomes Willy Wonka's Mike Teevee, Paris Themmen.

Ken and Paris discuss what the hell a TV Guidance Counselor even is, the weight of secret society chairs, growing up in Manhattan, The Wire and gritty realism, how the golden age of television might bum you out, Deadwood, dissolving the lines between actors on a set, being on Broadway at age 8, being wise beyond your ears, It's a Wonderful Life, TV in 1967, The Monkees, Star Trek, Marine Boy, Jeopardy, having a disdain for canned laughter filled sitcoms, bubblegum pop, being a classicist, traveling to 61 countries, modern TV as karaoke, RiF, Pinocchio coming out of a Whale's Mouth, Will Wonka, the agelessness of being a child actor, kids vs. parental reaction to actors getting older, Francis Ford Coppola's parties, Jack Albertson, dislike of Barney Miller, being in the Rothchilds with Hal Linden, being on the Ed Sullivan show, being picky, judging, being a newlywed, waiting to marathon a show for your significant other, Survivor, Little Britain, living as the locals do, Anthony Bourdain's Travel shows, being a teen idol, the audition process, adapting your communication style, overlapping dialog, being very East Coast, the chameleon, capturing the real New York on film, Seinfeld, the grit of Barney Miller, niche marketing, obvious comedy, "second acting", TV rotting your brain, wanting to know your motivation as an 11 year old, feelin' 1970s, and planning ahead.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 54: Anthony Scibelli Jan 21, 2015

Show notes

May 10-16, 1986

This week Ken welcomes writer and comedian Anthony Scibelli.

Ken and Anthony discuss Ken's home, the secrets of Anthony's birth, John Lennon's Death, Cheers by Jack Davis, watching TV every night of the week, PBS, Will Eisner's Spirit, the 90s being the lowest point in comic book history, Ken's fights with children at a screening of the first Spider-Man, all night 3-D movie marathons, Gimme a Break, Charles Grodin, Miss Hollywood vs. Jules Feiffer, anthology shows, Amazing Stories, meeting Sid Caesar, Mr. Ed is eternal, how Wikipedia ruined Ken's social life, why Ken never does pop culture jokes in his stand up comedy, striking out in T-Ball leading to homophobic slur induced assault, Nick at Nite, Car 54 Where Are You?, Drinking with Donna Reed, rejecting the previous generations popular culture, Fighting Back with David Horowitz, Carl Reiner, NBC paying tribute to NBC, hating Milton Berle, female puppeteers, The Eflman clan, CBS Monday Night lineup gold, Nova, Tia Carrerre's relative age, Who's the Boss, Ken's weird Donna Dixon situation, Boi-oi-oing, Pizza is key to a 'Burbs/Neighbors Double Feature, Joe Piscapoe's little loved SNL characters, Ken's first movie review, never having seen Jaws, Growing Pains and the undead, Super Star Show and Bob Dylan, 3-D Pornography, old Jewish Comedians, cocaine, The Wall of Celebrity Biographies, Highway to Heaven, Anthony's laughter induced asthma, Blacke's Magic, Scott Valentine, Godzilla 1985, disfigured monsters, The Last Precinct, and being kind to the elderly.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 53: Tess Lynch Jan 14, 2015

Show notes

June 20-26, 1992

This week Ken welcomes writer/podcaster/blogger and occasional actress Tess Lynch.

Ken and Tess discuss the beauty of borrowed temporary housing on the dark side of the Hollywood sign, clam dunks from Boston, a 9-year-olds hate fueled rage towards their parents' bedtime rules, the Glory of 90210, The Flash, TV's Man of the Year Ross Perot, "Popcorn Chicken", making up parenting as you go along, Sinbad's reading classes, Rancid ruining your children's programming, Soaps, Passions, cloning TGIF, Who's the Boss, who cares?, horny old ladies, being serious when it comes to law enforcement, the anxiety of flipping, picture-in-picture, taking advantage of teenagers inherent love of eavesdropping to teach foreign languages, House of Style, Todd Oldham date night, On the Air, hateful In Living Color, Hi Honey! I'm Home, the seasonal inappropriateness of Edward Scissorhands, John Waters, Hairspray covered Pink Flamingos, John Stamos' Dreams, the inherent hilarity of mediocre actors re-enacting 9-1-1 calls, coming to Full House by following the leads pre-Full House careers, being fine with JTT but hating Home Improvement, Green Acres, maturing into Nick at Nite, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, New Englander's affinity for Stephen King, Wonder Years, not buying Doogie Howser, shows where everyone is a bad person, the terror of people just walking into your house, God Blessing your Neighbor's Underwear, Howie Mandel's long career, That's My Dog, Demi Moore's music career, Cheers, Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson's "The Michaels" years, America's Most Wanted, the end of Dinosaurs, Ken's hatred of post-Henson Muppets, seeing people who look like Gelflings, and loving Swamp Thing.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 52: Jim Beaver Jan 07, 2015

Show notes

In this episode Ken talks to actor, film historian, author, play write Jim Beaver.

Jim is probably best known from his roles on Supernatural, Deadwood and Justified but has appeared in many many roles over the years.

Jim and Ken discuss living for the TV Guide's release every week, growing up in Texas, Gorgon vs. Icky Twerp, discovering classic cinema via television, The Lone Ranger, Superman, physically assaulting people on behalf of loving that Bob, being outvoted by your sisters, second hand movies, Get Smart, George Reeves, a love of old movies leading to making new movies, actors with lives, taking a lifetime to write about someone else's lifetime, type casting, technically advising Hollywoodland, editing a life, Superman, Television as fountain of eternal youth, calling actor's by their character name, fan conventions, being removed from Hollywood, who exactly Indiana Jones is, Roy Rogers, making the transition from fan to object of fandom, demonic colds, theater, Tim Lucas' Mario Bava Book, New York City in 1979, revival houses, when 6 month research trips last over 30 years, writing a play and how that leads to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the anthology series revival, Vietnam, writing characters that are not your own, cramming a play's worth of story into a TV schedule, the death of the freelance market, stumbling into a career, being able to know how they made something while still enjoying the story, when your passion becomes your job, reading actor's biographies to learn lessons on what not to do, immediate feedback vs. the long game, Thunder Alley, working with Ed Asner and Haley Joel Osment, being damned by success, Broadway, falling into stand up, party records, the stand up comedy boom, the unpleasant nature of stand up comedians, second hand Carson, loving having written but not liking writing, Character actors, Deadwood, Supernatural, making it up as you go along, the art of show running, flipping the script, the lack of appeal of the new, your parents understanding your art, being in the right place at the right time, the value of even stupid stuff, having something to look forward to, Combat, poor viewing choices before joining the Marines and finding the daisies where you find them.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 51: Christian Finnegan Dec 31, 2014

Show notes

September 17-23, 1983

This week Ken welcomes actor/comedian Christian Finnegan.

Ken and Christian discuss 80s Boston comedians, Steve Sweeney being more famous than Louie CK, The Revolutionary War area of Massachusetts, laser light shows, Ken's TV Week/Toaster Oven theory is tested yet again, dead siblings, Battlestar Galactica vs. Buck Rogers, the love of the glowing box, local Boston news casters, Mission of Burma, divorced Dad horny, the offensive nature of the spelling of Diff'rent Strokes, Orson Welles' study of upside down African trees, Love Boot, Fall Preview specials, the big reveal of the new shows, actors finding excuses to sing, Silver Spoons, Jason Bateman, Corky Pigeon, being directed by Alfonso Ribeiro, Are We There Yet?, doing the Carlton when nobody wants to see it, Cindy Williams being your mother, pretending to have sex with Jackee', incredible racists, kissing Paulina Porizkova, being threatened by Rick Ocasek, how acting is the opposite of stand up comedy, The Road Warrior, the more depressing Day After, learning about Leatherman culture, plausible gay deniability, shoved in lyrics in cinematic title songs, the golden age of Bloopers, being a good parent on paper, 80s inappropriate, Kenny Rogers, cruel childhood insults, Lionel Richie's Vanity, Poltergeist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, TV as dangerous home invader, Kevin Dillon's finest work, The Best of Everything, Hot Air Balloons over the Special Olympics. That's Incredible, Leonard Nimoy's one ear, Dirk Benedict, made for TV movies, the original three Network's deep pockets, the rise of FOX, how one shoe makes it murder, Real People, Facts of Life season premiers, Gimme a Break, Telma Hopkins, Automatically learning that a man was a woman, Mama's Family, SNL weekly sitcoms, struggling with TV Guide vocabulary, We Got it Made, literally talking people off a ledge, Cheers, being ashamed of Boston, the laziness of interchangeable writing, the two Bostons, The Duke Boys, being your own radio DJ, Ziggy Marley, Blazing Saddles, and asking TV Guide.

TV Guidance Counselor New Year's Eve Special Dec 27, 2014

Show notes

In this first ever New Year's Eve special Ken goes solo recapping his year and proving some suggestions for things you may want to watch this New Year's Eve.

He starts with a heartfelt, and a bit silly frankly, list of thank yous to listeners and friends, guests and supporters of the show. He also gets into the secret origins and background of the show, discusses a bit of his stand up comedy career, the horrible New Years past at his grandparent's house, New Year's fights, punk rock New Year's, Millenium New Year, Man or Astroman?, Adult Swim Marathons, the Reid family New Year's tradition of Rock N Roll Nightmare, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Barney Miller, Designing Women, Kate & Allie, Kids Inc, My So-Called Life, Night Court and the Wonder Years.

Happy New Year and here's to an even bigger and better 2015.

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 50: Marly Halpern-Graser Dec 25, 2014

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 49: Niki Luparelli Dec 24, 2014

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