TV Guidance Counselor

March 12-18, 1983 This week Ken welcomes comedian and man behind the new Blonde Medicine Comedy lp "Ice Cream vs. Everything", Paul Morrissey. Ken and Paul discuss Paul's excitement being on the show, why he picked 1983, the early 80s mix of famous people guest stars, The Love Boat, Smokey and the Bandit, Paul Williams, Milton Berle, cocaine, 70s Variety Shows, Solid Gold, Tim Thomerson, Top of the Pops, Steelers Wheel, miming, Richard Marx's Lionel Richie debut, cigarettes, David Bowie playing with Mott the Hoople, Robin Williams, Gen Xers vs. Boomers, buying awful products from TV Guide, horrifying children's decor, having to pay massive fines for ruining a VHS tape, Diff'rent Strokes, video games, Silver Spoons, Jason Bateman, Teen Wolf, how massive Bob Hope was, Jackie Gleason, never flying, Voyagers, the death of Jon Eric Hexum, on set accidents, getting bumped on Letterman so many times it becomes an inside joke, dry cleaning The Jeffersons, Newhart, Fritz Leiber, Jay Thomas, Square Pegs, production values, Little House of the Prairie, The A-Team, Happy Days, James Bond, Remington Steel, Pierce Brosnan, The Celtics vs. The Sixers, the Celtics 80s team, Facts of Life, baby death, Very Special Episodes, Fred Willard, Magnum PI, Vietnam, CHPs, Franken and Davis, Saturday Night Live, when everything was on Ice, Benson, Knight Rider, K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R., Stephen Tobolowsky, Morgan Fairchild, $20k TVs, the power of the mustache, roasts, Beverly Hills Cops, action comedies, and why Real Genius is the greatest comedy of all time.

October 2-8, 1999 This week Ken welcomes certified comedy superstar, and man behind the new comedy special "Slow and Steady", Joe Pera to the show. Ken and Joe discuss tiny computers, Wargames, Buffalo New York, wings, Anchor Bar, Zoomer goofs, preppers, toilet paper, Joe Pera Talks with You. Jo Firestone, Y2K, cover stories, going mobile, post-Nuke dads, 90s posture, Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa Ethridge's Glamor Shots, the "99 face", Verne Troyer, High School Senior Portraits, photographers, Margaret Cho, Tom Green, awful stand up comedian pilot concepts, oil, mailing post cards to your own depression, Hocky Night in Canada, getting Canadian TV, racist sports announcers, MTV, Red Green, watching movies that look awful, journalism, TV Guide's journalism pedigree, hot Mr. Spock, Charlie Chan, Cousin Skeeter, Couch Taylor from Friday Night Lights, Early Edition, stopping subway murder, Homicide, vigilante nudity, Jim Henson's creature shop, Animal Farm, Kelsey Grammar's pig love, Disney's flirtation with Satan, H.E. Double Hockey Sticks, Tweety Bird Collector's Plates, Oriental Trading Company, Sticky Hands, King of Queens, Home Improvement, The Simpsons, Air Force One, Fresh Prince, Harrison Ford's earring, Johnny Tsunami, smelling donuts a mile away, Smart House, Sci-Fi Channel, The Sentinel, Shasta McNasty, wondering if the blowfish has a sister, the worst joke construct of all time, everyone hating Bill O'Reily, Norm McDonald vs Pokemon, Buffalo movies, Rick James, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Buffalo Sabers, Snow Day, and soothing YouTube travel shows.

October 18-24, 1997 This week Ken welcomes author Mark Guyer. Mark and Ken discuss living in upstate/Central New York, how New York State isn't New York City, Halloween viewing, Nostalgiamares Series, Phantom Delivery, classic youth horror books, Fear Street, having your own TV, being a tween, not remembering your childhood Halloween costumes, how dressing as Darth Vader can help with bullying, Due South, Burgess Meredith, Nothing Sacred, Hot Priests, Gene Siskel so Horny, what Siskel did to Betsey Palmer, how awful Saturday Night Fever is, Guides to Halloween episodes, Blackula, Gregory Hines Show, The Night Stalker, Nosferatu, ABC Sitcoms, anti-Trick or Treating, how 21st Century Kids don't get to truly enjoy Halloween, how the world is NOT more dangerous for kids now, the purity of Halloween, how working in retail makes you hate Christmas, Team Knightrider, The Real World Boston, The Tonight Show, bringing Kenan and Kel together again, SNICK, failing the All That! challenge, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, why some 80s actors don't work much these days, Deadly Friend, Wes Craven, VHS rentals, when younger people are smarter and more insightful than you, how rare it is to have a young child as a protagonist, Stephen King, how Horror is inherently left wing, hopeful sadness, Hey Arnold!, Cybill, Alex Mac, how Tuesdays were all about Buffy and Angel, living Annie Potts and Tim Curry, Spin City, being replaced by Charlie Sheen, Baywatch, Meego vs. Boy Meets World, the end of TGIF, You Wish, Teen Angel, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Dee Snider, Millennium, dying standing up, Nash Bridges, and a Cheer in a very negative week.

October 16-22, 1999 This week we travel to Ireland to talk TV with The Try Channel's own Dermot Ward. Ken and Dermot discuss why Dermot is even on the show, bad ideas, Dermot talking people out of liking him, Big Trouble in Little China, being a Martial Arts nerd, Ireland's national martial art, awful Boston Irish stupidity, The Streets, the origins of Corned Beef and Cabbage, The 50 Greatest TV Characters Ever, being totally overwhelmed by TV Guide listings, Letterman, weird commercial breaks, prescription drugs, the English, Fifish Finkle, Picket Fences, Joan Collins, Hawk, PBS Mystery, Prime Suspect, Father Ted, AbFab, Roseanne, Cheer, High School, The Avengers, Emma Peele, Taxi, The Prisoner, swears on American TV, NYPD Blue, Comedy Central, Soap, Bob Newhart, Mary Tyler Moore, Man in the Moon, Andy Kaufman, The Simpsons, Friends, The Wonder Years, Full House, visiting weird American states, Ballykissangel, sexy priests, Win Ben Stein's Money, the late 90s gameshow boom, Baywatch, how prime time US shows are afternoon children's shows in Ireland, sleeping on Baywatch Nights, It's a Wrap, Everybody Loves Raymond, Veronica's Closet, the hell of TV tapings, Buffy, Angel, Shasta McNasty, The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeifer, Homeboys in Outer Space, loving crossover episodes, The Addams Family, Must See TV, and loving Ghostbusters.

November 3-9, 1973 This week Ken welcomes antiques expert, and fellow TV kid, The Antique Noman himself, George Higby to the show. Ken and George discuss George's YouTube Channel, referencing the stuff on sets, moving around a lot as a kid, living in Cleveland when this TV Guide came out, Washington State, Raytheon TVs, looking for the thing that's the same, being a car and sports guy, Philco, Cigarettes, concept cars, trying to reverse engineer a color TV for free, shared experience, Emergency!, how weird it was that shows not for kids were merchandised to kids, All in the Family, M*A*S*H, topical TV, sad TV shows, the odd cultural moment of the early 1970s, Norman Lear, how the 1970s may have been more progressive, niches, The Committee Against the Public Authority of Maine, antiquing in New England, Time Tunnel, corded TV remotes, Newport Jazz Fest, Lucy, Get Smart! in Spanish, variety shows, Antiques: Make the Most out of Your Hobby with NOT George Michael, the early days of Antique collecting, nostalgia, The Girl Most Likely To, Joan Rivers, Night Gallery, failed pilots, TV preservation, Benny Hill, local edits of TV, Standard Oil, big business, why Debbie Reynolds was NOT allowed in George's house, early Don Johnson, Sandford and Son, trying to get your antiques and collectibles back after you already sold them, The Odd Couple, hating Room 222, passing up The Brady Bunch, buying the Brady House, Sonny and Cher with Douglas Fairbanks, dogs playing poker, Vincent Price, purpose made collectibles, and how Major Nelson's house from I Dream of Genie is George's dream house.

August 5-11, 1978 This week Ken welcomes The Horror Timelines guy himself, author, YouTuber and fellow horror fan Josh Spiegel. Ken and Josh discuss LA heat, cats, dogs afraid of flies, growing up in Pittsburgh, working at The Monroeville Mall, George Romero, Horror Conventions, Dawn of the Dead, being born in the 1930s, being older than you look, The Jeffersons, the weird English neighbor, cable, non-24 hour HBO, movie rentals, Full Moon Features, TV Violence, when computers take over, cigarettes, cufflinks, The Bionic Woman, The Eighties Project, The Archie Situation Comedy Musical Variety Show, Moose, drugs that totally are not weight loss drugs that are weight loss drugs, Diff'rent Strokes, M*A*S*H, how the Korean War stood in for the Vietnam War, Vietnam vets on TV, why 9/11 doesn't show up in fiction, Charlotte's Web, Jack Albertson, Poor Devil, Sammy Davis Jr. Christopher Lee, needing something light hearted and dumb, Three's Company, Super Hero Disco, proto-Firestar, comic books, Santa Monica's "Little Boston", the math behind Let's Make a Deal, The Price is Right, why John Cusack hates Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer, Lucha Libre, The Crying Woman, Dean Martin, Sinatra, Welcome Back Kotter, Pittsburgh Symphony, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, made for TV movies and why The Midnight Hour is not only great, but trivia gold.

March 24-30, 1979 This week Ken welcomes writer, podcaster, and lover of all things Mego, the man behind Plaid Stallions, Brian Heiler to the show. Ken and Brian discuss Canada, how long Ken has been following Brian's work, memorizing TV Guide as a kid, being the TV Oracle, late night horror and monster movies, Crestwood books, V, tourist traps, Hollywood Museum, Slim Goodbody, Mr. Rourke as devil or angel, Fantasy Island, toothless Animal House TV rip offs, fountain pens, how small pop culture used to be, being a smoker, Canada vs US buying cigarettes, loving cigarette machines even though you don't smoke, The Frozen Dead, The Last Man on Earth, Dracula '79, Cliff Hangers, Track and Field for women by Colgate, disco, Forever Night, Silk Stalkings, Steve Guttenberg, Merv Griffin, movie parodies, George Kennedy toys, Computer Dating, Rack Toys, Bruce Villanch's song writing career, Herve Valechez, Wendy Schaal, Susan Tyrell, Pyschotronic Films, Charlton Heston, marketing cases, Aydes weight loss product, made for TV Movies, SCTV, how Buddy Cole grew out of Johnny LaRue, Scott Thompson, The King of Kensington, Guy Big, Seeing Things, Canadian sitcoms, Friday the 13th the Series, Percy Rodriguez, The Starlost, Happy Days, Star Wars rip offs, Buck Rogers, Jason of Star Command, The Dark Secrets of Harvest Home, Rene Aborgenious, jiggle TV, Charlie's Angels, Vegas, monkeys on TV, Baby I'm Back, Delta House, Carter Country, pirate satellites, lessons in irony, Barnaby Jones, why Jack Kirby IS the King, 3-D comics, Barney Miller, Brian's cop dad who isn't a cop, Times Square, pen paling with James Gregory, Turnabout, body switching, Hello Larry, being forced to watch Dallas, and Mego.

November 9-15, 1985 This week Ken welcomes comedian, and haver of a new album called "Gettin' By", Liz Barrett to the show. Liz and Ken discuss the backroom of comedy clubs, CT, the invention of the hamburger, growing up in a Military Family, German Military Bases, having a much younger sibling, 13 year olds, Lady Di, iconic sweaters, loveless royal marriages, Boy George, Ken's sister (RIP)'s Make a Wish, ferrets, fancy TV Guides, the greatness of Peter Scolari, 1985 SNL, NBC Saturdays, sensitive human portrayals of people with AIDS, Martin Sheen, creepy dolls, We Are the World, North and South, 227, Fred Dryer, noticing the intentional humor in things later in life, Touch of Class, sophistication, full page ads for Soap Operas, Lifetime, Dwarves, Dance of the Dwarves, Diane Cannon in a face based WWII drama Jenny's War, crushing on Hal Holbrook, Defiance with Jan Michael Vincent, vagueness, Kenny Rogers' acting career, when you "need the money", freeloaders in Boston, The Insiders, Hell Town, St. Elsewhere, Diff'rent Strokes, people Ken has had on the show, Astronauts, things that "keep you guessing", Haley's Comet, Donald Sutherland, hating loud noises, action movies, Cheers, Benson, Mr. Belvedere, Misfits of Science, evil Hovercrafts, not believing a dolphin about finding cocaine, USA Network's low budget, the perfection of Golden Girls, how people get their information, and finding out if its cake or not.

December 26, 1992 This week Ken welcomes old friend, now NYC based comedian Greg Johnson. Ken and Greg discuss 20 years ago, Comedy Doyles, Kenny Z, Ken's first time doing stand up in Massachusetts, Eugene Mirman, Tim McIntire's Thursday Night Fights at The Comedy Studio, growing up in Wellesley, white suburban towns, being a notable alum from your town's High School, Greg's album Greg Johnson 1, how Mass and NY really aren't all that different, listening to episodes from ten years ago, Danny Tamberelli, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, getting to meet your heroes, Cheers, how Ken books guests, TV stars who should have been movie stars, Angela Lansbury, Madonna: Just a Peeler, clean and dirty covers, The Real World, Barney the Dinosaur, 1992, how football is a stupid fun waste of time, how the love of True Crime isn't new, Amy Fischer the Long Island Lolita, Ryder Strong, favorite VJs, the mystery of John Norris, SNICK, Roundhouse, In Living Color, The Simpsons, Sexy Dana Carvey, Chris Rock, live TV fights, insane Oscar moments, streaking, Father Dowling Mysteries, growing up Catholic, The "dead kid" in Three Men and a Baby, the "dead munchin" in The Wizard of Oz, being in the theater for only one day, 1990s re-releases, Can't Hardly Wait, Jerry O'Connell, the reason we have home taping today, when Greg was actually on TV, THIS VERY WEEK as a kid, Phylicia Rashad hosting a Kids Guide to Parenting, the lost show, Nik Carter, WFXN, Rap Around!, Ready to Go, Tom Bergeron, Home Improvement, We the Jury, Ken's love of Massachusetts businesses, Ken and Greg's plans to visit dead malls, The Square One Mall, Waylu's, Ken finding a nearly dead woman at B. Dalton Books in the Meadow Glen Mall, smoking joksters, local weathermen, The Wonder Years, Sully Erna, New Year's Eve, Evening at the Improv, WSKB's big Stooges New Year, Dana Hersey, House of Blues, Chiz Rider, and the major of trumpet based ministries.

This week Ken welcomes the incredible actor, singer and all around impressive human being (despite famously playing an alien) Jane Badler (follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/janebadlerworld/) Ken and Jane discuss Australia, always being a New Yorker despite living in Australia for over 30 years, the changing nature of accents, botanical gardens, the ever traveling American, moving from Long Island to New Hampshire at 15, Mission Impossible, the 1988 writer's strike, working with classic actors, working with Kim Novak, Falcon Crest, working on Soaps, Angela Lansbury, Murder She Wrote, the divide between TV and movie actors, The Doctors with Alec Baldwin, Neighbors, Margot Robbie, doing comedy, V: The Series, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Ken Johnson, fascism, playing it straight, allegory, The Twilight Zone, Argentina, having more of an impact than you can anticipate, V toys, Barbie, going into the city, being shy growing up in Great Neck Long Island, coming out of your shell in New Hampshire, being a lawyer, One Life to Live, doing commercials, talking about never talking about The Highwayman, Chad Darnell's film The Birthday Cake, being the victim in a TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes joke, playing Diana again in the new V, Diana's death scene, Arid Extra Dry, the authority and sweetness. bra commercials, watching UK TV, loving Miss Maisel, Anxious People, Stephen King's The Outsider, Ben Mendelsohn, being done with being in horror, playing awful people, acting with Mary Tyler Moore, being "the American", having to know the lines, Shakspearian things, and Ken's interview skills.