TV Guidance Counselor TV Guidance Counselor Episode 705: Josh Fadem
Sep 8, 2025
In this episode, comedian and film buff Josh Fadem dives deep into 1950s television and film noir. He shares his obsession with the genre, detailing his pandemic binge of classic noirs and the influence of this era on TV shows like 'Dragnet.' They explore the competitive relationship between film and television during that time and chuckle over quirky vintage ads from the period. Fadem also examines how live performances shaped entertainment, with memorable references to renowned acts like Ernie Kovacs and Ed Sullivan.
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Lost Live TV And Kinescope Gaps
- Ken shares that much early live TV was produced in New York through the 1950s, and many kinescopes were destroyed or lost.
- He recounts guests whose fathers directed live teleplays and later got blacklisted, highlighting lost TV history.
Fix And Preserve Lost TV Records
- Preserve and digitize old kinescopes and TV listings to keep early television history accessible.
- If you find misattributed credits, update databases like IMDb to correct the historical record.
Noir's Visual Shift Tied To TV Tech
- Josh Fadem observed film noir's visual style shifted in the mid-1950s from high-contrast German Expressionism to flatter monochrome due to TV reproduction limits.
- Eddie Muller explained studios changed lighting because deep chiaroscuro looked like blobs on early televisions, pushing noir toward different aesthetics.
