TV Guidance Counselor

June 19 - 25, 1953 This week Ken welcomes professor, writer, producer and director Jack Solder (Nightmare on Elm St. 2, By Dawn's Early Light, The Hidden, 12:01, Alone in the Dark) to the show. Ken and Jack discuss growing up in Philly, growing up playing trumpet, being a classical musician, realizing you're good but not GREAT at something, becoming an editor, the rhythm of cuts, working at New Line Cinema, Caroline Biggerstaff, poses vs pauses, editing The Burning, learning by doing, creating suspense, revival art house cinema, the genius of Buster Keaton, exploitation films, Ed Sullivan, Uncle Milty, 1950s music shows, the cultural scene of the 1950s, Uncle Pete Boyle, Chief Halftown, kids shows, Life of Reilly, Magnavox, The DuMont Network, newspapermen, The Big Story, The Big Picture, the strangeness of modern day network TV, the personal nature of TV, working with Harvey Keitel, swapping India for Eastern Europe, the fake Indian word for "Roll 'em" Easta Sasusaway, never being Mr. Wizard, Big Top with Jack Sterling, Wrestling, boxing, You Asked for It, Fearless Ed, Variety Shows, New York Socialites and Intellectuals, Dinah Shore, representations of gay people on TV, Ernie Kovacs, Red necks, Farmers, how your car key fob is more powerful than the computer that sent men to the moon, the world after cell phones, Alan Funt, Candid Camera, Kids Say the Darndest Things, UHF stations, Dragnet, American Bandstand, 12:01, The Hidden, the gayest Nightmare on Elm St film, Robocop, working with Jake the Dog, and the strangeness of The Omen The Series pilot.

All the way from the UK, this week Ken welcomes writer, poet, and television producer Henry Normal to the show. Ken and Henry discuss his tea just arriving, what builders drink, Baby Cow, how being a poet was essentially the same as being a stand up in the UK, The UK's alt comedy revolution, Craig Charles, selling merch, punk rock, American stand up comedy, class based society, character comedy, Jack Benny, vaudeville, The Max Brothers, Mort Saul, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Working Men's Clubs, bad blue collar, racism, Dave Allen, Monty Python, Spike Milligan, not punching down, The Comedy Store, Manchester, nightmare gigs, The Black and White Minstrel Show, competing with slot machines, touring with Pulp, The Mock Turtles, Steve Coogan, The Young Ones, Nigel Planer, The Comic Strip, putting all your friends on TV, The North South Divide, being the reigning Daily Mail Young Comic of the Year, Packet of Three, Bamboozled, US v. UK TV, The Royle Family, US Remake of UK shows, Red Dwarf, working class people, The Rockford Files, Sgt. Bilko, Frank Skinner, the trauma that leads to comedy, deaths in the family, Caroline Ahern, Graham Duff, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, Marion and Geoff, Human Remains, Ideal, Julia Davis, Rob Brydon, Jonathan Ross, Alan Partridge, why you should always wear a suit, BBC3, Fat Boy Slim, Brain Candy, Alan Car, Robin Ince, Nighty Night, unlikable main characters, The Might Boosh, The Banana Splits, I Am Not An Animal, Peter Baynham, Canadian football fans, making ugly television, making good stuff, things that nobody will ever seen on television, Jessica Hynes, Lizzie and Sarah, Mr. Inbetween, hired killers, and how weird stand up comics are.

May 16-22, 1987 This week Ken welcomes actor, magician, host of the new show "Head of the Senior Class" and all around solid dude Dan Frischman to the show. Ken and Dan discuss growing up as magic nerds, Fred Kolb, being a magician at an early age, asking how the tricks are done, Ken's mastering of mediocrity, buying magic at Macy's in New York, magic on TV, Doug Henning, Mark Wilson, Harry Blackstone Jr., Ricky Jay, TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Head of the Class, pitching to Henry Winkler, fake biohazards, doing stand up in NYC, growing up in New Jersey, Sea Monkeys in the tub, Dennis Miller's prop comedy days, driving out to LA, living on Sunset Blvd, Jimmy Brogan, guest spots on Facts of Life, being a returning character on Its a Living, living with seven other comedians in the Crest Hill House behind the Comedy Store, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Wacko, being Carl "Pizzaface" Price, George Kennedy as a Chocolatier, Howard Hesseman's displeasure, Sledge Hammer, not wanting to play a nerd, when Head of the Class shifted from Mr. Moore to the kids, filming in Soviet Russia, Head of the Class's musicals, Little Shop of Horrors, getting the seal of approval from Rick Moranis, watching your own shows, being confused for the OTHER Dan Frischman who is a little person, getting beaten in tennis by Billy Jean King, Harry Anderson, Circus of the Stars, Warm Up Comics, Billy Connolly, performing as Steve Martin, performing FOR Steve Martin, reusing the hallway set from Head of the Class, the time Ken had to wear borrowed pants at The Magic Castle, Seinfeld, loving Madmen, the Sopranos, and I, Claudius, stealing Bob Newhart's newspaper, Kenan & Kel and the practical joke circle of life.

This week Ken welcomes esteemed, accomplished director and author of the field guide/memoir "Adventures in the B-Movie Trade", Brian Trenchard-Smith to the show. Ken and Brian discuss the weather in Portland, Brian's travels around the world, his appreciation for everything he's gotten to do, visiting Soviet Russian in 1968, falling in love with cinema after seeing a Hitchcock film, how you should see a local movie in the native language in every country you visit, developing your taste in film, how the world is smaller, but not as substantive in many ways, forgetting your Italian accent, strange double features, taking acting classes with Barry Manilow, being only able to play a British Army Officer, knowing from age 13 you want to make movies, the closed show that was the British Film Industry, Australian television, editing Hammer Horror films, working for the ABC, editing sex and violence filled TV promos, sort of forging a recommendation letter, Raymond Burr, Ironsides, Number 96, Prisoner in Cell Block H, learning how cinema production worked, Beauty pageants for girls AND cars, Concourse Del Ellgance', stunts, making documentaries, Bruce Lee, Man from Hong King, Stunt Rock, why every young filmmaker needs a calling card, Hong Kong Cinema, cannibalizing your own films, World of Kung Fu (which no longer exists), Kung Fu Killers, editing news film and the pressure of it going down to the wire, news directors wanting to kill you, Japanese Cinema, Seven Samurai, Rashomon, being OBSESSED with trailers growing up, The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, visiting the set of Shatter, Roy Ward Baker, finding financing, hopping on a trend too late, the Bruce Lee clones, being bored by love scenes in films, parody, being subversive, hang gliders, Dead End Drive In, having to watch three hours of Once Upon a Time in the West so you can cut the trailer, Leprechaun in Space, enjoying the days when you physically handled film, enjoying your films with an audience, the 1988 Mission Impossible, Sahara with Jim Belushi, directing Flipper, being proud of different films for different reasons, Seconds to Spare, diehard on a train, replacing Dolph Lundgren with Antonio Sabato Jr, Happy Face Murders with Ann-Margaret, and the awe of making and watching Omega Code 2.

February 16-22, 1980 This week Ken welcomes musician, author and man behind the new lp "Ghosts of Vroom III", Mike Doughty. Ken and Mike discuss how 1980 was a good poignant television year in Mike's life, being a military kid, how a year of no Mork & Mindy leads to a year of no TV at all, The American Forces Network, the outro credit song on WKRP in Cincinnati, finding out what music you like from Sitcoms, Angel Witch, the consistency of television, moving a lot, how we'd all be better off as accountants, the exciting and elusive world of commercials, Zapping your Zinger, living in Germany, specific PSAs made for AFN by the original cast of SNL, how TV reporters made the world worse by trying to sign off impressively, The Superbowl, learning about American culture via Commercials, Norman Fell, six ways to cry, dramas spun off from comedies, Lou Grant, Cop Rock, Quincy M.E., Skag with Karl Malden, Last Resort, CHiPs, dripping in Orchestral disco, how analog synth lasers make everything better, theme songs that chart, Starsky and Hutch, Mr. Smith, the prevalence of Orangutans and apes in television and movies, CB Radios, BJ and the Bear, Citizen's Band, pretending to be a doctor, how comedy never works on live music shows, how music often DOES work on comedy shows, avoiding OJ Simpson's acting work, Alice, Linda Lavin, the 70s shows that went well into the 80s, the horror of the word "booger", being Dr. Johnny Fever, Barney Miller, seeing TV sitcom actors on Broadway, coded gay characters, The White Shadow, Goldie and Liza Together, Bob Newhart's sketch comedy special, Real People, how the death of disco lead to mud wrestling and wet t-shirt contents, being confused for a real people person when you're a Real People person, when political debates became roast battles, Dragnet, The Rockford Files, young Powers Booth, old fashioned typewriters, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, The Hulk Out List, doing Bill Moyers, dueling Merv Griffins, the made for-TV movie Detour to Terror, buses, photos of Lorenzo Lamas, and recommending Blacke's Magic.

January 3-9, 1987 This week Ken welcomes adult entertainers, entrepreneurs, and incredibly smart hosts of the fantastic must listen "Ill Repute" podcast, Sovereign Syre and Ela Darling. Ken, Sovereign and Ela discuss time zones, mountain, Central time, the weirdness of January TV, when VHS rentals first eclipsed theatrical ticket sales, how the Adult industry innovates all entertainment technology, the incredible strangeness of the streaming business model, the movie "The Girl on the Bridge", French films, corporate structure, not knowing what you own as a company, Ela's experience as a Librarian, why Libraries are punk rock, piracy, growing up poor, The ALA Library Bill of Rights, scammers, Merv Griffin, J.Z. Knight, sleazy talk shows, new age scams, Carson, named hosts, meeting Jerry Springer, being built your own tiny house, empowering women, getting drunk underage on a flight to France, Gates McFadden's life advice, Star Trek, the dark Jim Henson Universe, practical effects, Eastern Promises, David Cronenberg, mother's advice about what irons to buy, Ken's friends in 80s print ads, 20/20, a live exorcism on network TV, bad actors acting badly, post Vietnam hope, horses, being a sales person, the murder of Rebecca Shaffer, stalking, how sometimes nothing ever changes, same sex couples fostering healthy happy children, how PSAs could more damage than good, people being literally Institutionalized, PTSD, gangs, and the Ill Repute Podcast.

In this very special BONUS episode here is the complete audio of Ken's chat with Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald of The Kids in the Hall. This was recorded LIVE last month at North East Comic Con in Boxboro MA. If you were a patron you would have gotten a video of this as well! Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

As is (now at least) the tradition, Ken flies solo for a warts and all, behind the scenes, stream of consciousness, week by week, episode by episode review of 2023, and anything else that pops into his head.

November 17-23, 2001 This week Ken welcomes UK coomedian, actor and official member of the Doctor Whoverse, Sooz Kempner to the show. Ken and Sooz discuss being outside of the zones of London, Gatwick Airport, how nothing good is ever on TV on Sundays in the UK, Omnibuses, Eastenders, Gladiators, Wolf's gyms, This Morning with Richard Not Judy, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, Richard and Judy, getting away with stuff on kids shows, Pooh, Ken's Mr. Show bowling shirt, recording babies' dreams, Brexit, how homelessness is a bigger problem than fresh veggies, how UK and Canadian comics always want to make it in American despite being successful in their home countries, traveling to Maine to visit your German Grandfather, Stephen King, nice versions of Threads, Watership Down, David the Gnome, When The Wind Blows, visiting New York city with no money but seeing as many Broadway Shows as you can, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Sting's amazing Broadway musical, singing waiters, Ken's 1st and only Thanksgiving not in America, John Edwards Crossing Over and trying to communicate with the victims of 9/11, prank calling Abu Hamza, the boon of live concerts on TV post 9/11, Brittney Spears, being completely overwhelmed by TV Guide, Showgirls, Skinemax, The Simpsons, satellite TV, Sky Digital, Lenox's Pooh Pantry, sad teddy bears, sexy Lucy Lawless on The X-Files, the weird post 9/11 horniness, Comic Sans font, Seven of 9, Jeri Ryan, Down to You, She's All That, all the millennium pushing teen movies nobody cares about anymore, Soul Man, the nature of tangents, Giuliani, hating ferrets, porcelain eagles, all bears on deck, how hands replaced with bear is never a funny pun, Take That, Boy Bands, how violence is perfectly ok in TV, Coaches vs Cancer, NSYNC, and how It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an amazing cure for temporary depression.

This week Ken welcomes podcaster, writer, and world traveler Adrien Behn to the show. Ken and Adrien discuss New York City, growing up in Western MA/NY, people who have never left their hometown, pregnant hippies, life long friends, perusing a life in creative arts, being worldly, having more chickens than neighbors, Lake George, hating touristy spots, teenage identity crisis, doing study abroad programs, Czechs, Prague, Stalin, living in former Soviet Republics, interesting art and beauty, the first place you go to outside of your own country, the film industry in Prague, the "adult" industry in Prague, growing up without cable, Nickelodeon, MTV, binging in college, 9/11, when news takes over all channels, national disasters, negative shared experiences, naming your younger sibling Jessica after Mambo No. 5, all five Spice Girls at once, 30 Rock, Sex in the City, comfort TV, the shows that America exports, Exporting Raymond, the worldwide success of The Big Bang Theory, telenovelas, Croatian soaps, Turkish Soaps, enjoying being places that are not drenched in American culture, Japan, making bad and dangerous decisions while traveling, Albania, action flicks, how comedy doesn't travel, fleeing winter via Mexico City every year, Luchadores, Blue Demon, all soccer all the time, lack of passports in the US, America as a young patchwork culture, the strangeness of Patriotism, traveling to Canada for the first time, not speaking the language, watching Spanish TV so you can read and and hear it at the same time for educational purposes, Narcos, how you crave certain movies and shows, being in the mood to watch certain things, Anthony Bourdain, Obama's pho trip, Vietnam, and how we ALL need to travel more.