TV Guidance Counselor

July 7-13, 1973 EPISODE 600! By popular demand! He's BACK! This week Ken welcomes wrestler and fellow TV weirdo, RJ City. Ken and RJ discuss RJ being disappointed with Ken's year end review endorsement of his last appearance, neurosis, people giving RJ TV Guides, RJ getting the wrong date for the recording and being excited, pop culture dog whistles, Dick Cavett, Mason Reese, "The Beige Age", the Caldor Brown Rainbow, Orson Wells, made up stories, when SCTV gets mean, Spielberg, local TV Guide variation, Children's cigarettes, great moments in television, how weird it is to have a glass of anything beside your bed, where did dentures go?, Dom DeLuise, sheet music, singing your own favorite songs, the mystery of the Ginger Bread House, wasting food, why Jaqueline Suzanne can go f*ck herself, how Twitter is today's TV Guide, video editing, Sabrina the Teenage Witch the cartoon, Scooby Doo's weird guest stars, Don Knotts and concrete, Rich Little, serious actors who shouldn't be, the final iteration of the Frankenstone family, Norman Fell, Curse II: The Bite, Paul Reubens, David Arquette's wrestling trunks, The Bone Yard, Phillis Diller's wigs, You Don't Know Jack, having two friends with F You Money when you don't have that, the Rock N Wrestling Saturday Morning Preview Special, David Susskind show, Cyndi Lauper, being confused by women's measurements, Patty Duke, Hollywood Squares, Paul Lynde, how offensive mimes are as entertainment for the hard of hearing community, Deafula, Art Linkletter's cold shoulder, Del Moore, Hollywood Walk of Fame stars, repossessing fame, Maude, Hawaii Five-O, creepy writers, Bobby Darrin, the worst version of a Beatles song ever by Sammy Davis Jr, Watergate, Mac Davis, hating Richard Dreyfuss, Sanford and Son, The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao, when you can't recommend good stuff because it's offensive, Steve Harvey's flubs that aren't his fault, and a forgotten Robert Altman flick.

January 23-29, 1993 This week Ken welcomes original Real World reality TV star, true story teller and country music man Jon Brennan to the show. Ken and Jon discuss fancy studio equipment, The Real World LA, being 18, the origin of Road Rules, not going back and watching old video of yourself, calling Irene Mom, people in their 20s feeling like old people, the death of Andre the Giant, WWF, watching The Real World while you're ON the Real World, MTV removing your television, the origins of "true stor-ay", Jon's new single True Story, when WWF went R Rated, loving NWA wresting, Rick Flair, Sting, Dusty Roads, meeting celebrity fans of The Real World, Garth Brooks, The Miz, Will Smith, Amy Grant, when Christians go pop, men's jeans, Rescue 911, being on Celebrity Death Match, Beavis and Butthead, having your Celebrity Death Match puppet, The Hat Squad, mid season replacements, Parents Just Don't Understand, Chris Rock vs Will Smith, kids who don't know what life was like before smart phones, streaming, Napster, making it in a creative field, WCW, Austin City Limits, Michael Nesmith, Emmylou Harris, Eyewitness Video, the horror parents felt looking at Glam Metal bands, The Nashville Network, Nashville Now, Club Dance, The American Music Awards, Bobby Brown, Gloria Estefan, Wynonna Judd, Michael Bolton, trigger warnings, clothes that don't fit, XL vs XXL, skinny jeans, white people tailgating music, mandatory roller blades, college basketball, Unsolved Mysteries, Beverly Hills 90210, In The Heat of the Night, Hoosiers, Seinfeld, Stand by Me, small towns, Cheers, Ancient Aliens, Big Foot, Realty TV Sub genres, Family Matters, Shark Week, hating digital cable, wanting an old fashioned remote control experience, smart TVs, Junkyard Dog, Hulk Hogan Rock n Wrestling, Brutus the Barber Beefcake, Cocaine and Anthrax, tiny celebrities, Planet Hollywood, literally running into Shaq, Elvis, Pancake Pantry, hot chicken, Dateline NBC, Law & Order, fast forwarding Monday Night Raw, and knowing the correct way to get freebies.

July 7-13, 1979 This week Ken welcomes former adult actress, Howard Stern Show Hall of Famer, world's greatest Assistant movie theater manager and all around gem of a human Tabitha Stevens to the show. Ken and Tabitha discuss end of the world heat waves, Death Valley, Las Vegas, moving from Long Island NY to Las Vegas as a teenager, dressing up to go into New York for culture, Barney Miller, having a great disdain of cigarettes, tanning booths, skin cancer, bleach, frosted tips, heavy Long Island accents, being scared of New Yorkers, being bullied, Vegas Showgirls, The Brady Bunch, having your fan mail accidentally send to Erin "Tabitha from Bewitched" Murphy, Tabitha Soren, The Rainbow Room, the Sunset Strip, pagers, booking everything yourself, having a work ethic, why the adult business moves technology forward and will always be economy and technological innovation proof, having your bank account seized, Utah, owning and living in a historic hotel, bring art to the masses, art photography, the difficulty of owning a gallery, how expensive it is to live in Las Vegas, Judd Nelson, Lemmy, meeting new best friends, sometimes not being able to believe your own life, panic attacks, Xanex, being on the Howard Stern Show, using natural remedies, Sanitorium, making indie horror films, the state of prescription drugs, health care, how uncomfortably pervy The Love Boat is, horny Captain Stubing, Battlestar Gallactica, a dark reboot of the Brady Bunch, Charlie's Angels, looking like Farrah Fawcett, loving Wonder Woman, having action figures, Electra Woman and Dynagirl, Shazam and Isis, Ken's love of Tootie, The Facts of Life, Jacqueline Smith, The Boys, being contrarian, not watching things just because everyone else is, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Diff'rent Strokes, A Different World, Lisa Bonet, meeting Mike Tyson, working at movie theaters, being the world's greatest film splicer, sleeping in theaters and losing your finger nail in the popcorn.

April 3-9, 2006 This week Ken welcomes musician, comedian and brains behind the new Off-Broadway Show "The Writing on the Stall" (playing NOW in NYC, every weekend in September) Caitlin Cook to the show. Ken and Caitlin discuss Ken's rude dogs, surprising Ken, post 2000 media, Ken learning things, strict TV watching rules as a kid, being in love with what you can't have, being reference-less as a kid, being too old for Lizzie McGuire, growing up in Los Angeles, being the child of a choreographer, being acutely aware of pop culture in LA, going to the movies, pop music, tv themes, Caitlin's grandfather's invention of the Wah Pedal, Charmed, how some work is for the love and some is for the money, cute murder, SVU, Law and Order, pregnant Mariska Hargitey, Jeremy Piven's forgotten travel show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Punk'd, reality TV, America's Next Top Model, Tyra Banks' house, living in the UK, UK remakes of US shows, US remakes of UK shows, getting a degree in Aquatic Archeology, comedy songs, doing open mics on a dare, going to college in Ohio, moving to Chicago, going to Oxford, having NYC in your heart, Friends, Sex in the City, "Ivana Younger Man", gross reality TV families, the early days of streaming, Julian Sands, 24, South Park, writing for South Park, Ken's love of Wildfire, but not that show Wildfire, the other show, The Parent Trap, Lindsay Lohan, Claire Danes, Gilmore Girls, Supernatural, writing female characters, Scrubs, Colin Hay, models doing improv, Veronica Mars, programming the same TV show multiple nights in the same week, Dead Like Me, discovering shows on DVD, weird childhood snacks, being an extra, bizarre feminine hygiene products, almost getting a huge tampon ad, No Reservations, Minority Report, futurism, The Gods Must be Crazy, non-actors on Inside the Actors Studio, movie versions of TV shows that never happened, plus sized actors who aren't actually plus sized, Ray Wise, bad jokes, Pamela Anderson, when Tommy Lee sell out, and all of a sudden getting snobby about The Surreal Life.

November 16-22, 1985 This week Ken welcomes former NBC Page, game show royalty, and writer of the new memoir "My Peacock Tale", the great Shelley Herman. Ken and Shelley discuss North Hollywood, Allee Willis, growing up in Calabasas, ideal childhoods, The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson's son, going to tapings of The Midnight Special, working at Sears, seeing Elvis in Vegas as a teenager, the unique role NBC Pages played, being mistaken as Erik Estrada's girlfriend, forced police uniform wearing, drunken celebrities, SNL, watching the East Coast feed, Gilda, the NY and LA TV production differences, The Not Ready for Prime Time Players, The Dating Game, chaperones, serial killers, Susan Elliot, stand up comedy, Off the Wall, replacing people in a syndicated package, reunions of shows nobody watched, sketch comedy, Mac and Jamie, voice over, The Colbys, movie stars on TV, meeting Charlton Heston, tall people, NBC tours, Vincent Price, Richard Pryor's variety show, putting attractive people up front, dealing with the sponsors, Ringo Star's ex wife, Saturdays on NBC, Golden Girls, Ed McMahon, 227, the greatest story ever about Jackee' Harry, being on The Love Boat, Dick Ebersol, taking Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca to the Emmys, Sally Rogers, Dick Van Dyke, meeting Hitchcock, Photoplay magazine, owning Shirley Temple's trousers, The Bad Seed, the evolution of women panelists on game shows, the structure of game shows, Dumbo, DUMBO!, Phoebe Cates, one of the top 5 greatest Kevin Kline stories, TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Dick Clark's uniform, Eye Witness Video, We Are the World, Moonlighting, Heaven (High from) and Hell (town), Tello's Restaurant, Robert Blake, the mystery of Shadowchasers, Cheers, Regan's speech in the USSR, Made for TV movies, Bridge Across time starring David Hasselhoff and Stepfanie Kramer, taking a writing class from Rod Serling, and the secrets of Supermarket Sweep.

March 4-11, 1995 This week Ken welcomes Twitch Streamer, Auction curator, and one of the world's greatest cosplayers Taffeta Darling. Ken and Taffeta discuss Texas, Dallas, the burbs, Austin, Robocop, I Like to Singa, TV Theme Songs, tattoos, video games that look like actual cartoons, Cuphead, Kids TV, violence on TV, how superheroes are good for kids, Gargoyles, Claire Danes turning down Schindler's List, My So-Called dialog, whatevers, X-Men the Animated Series, Batman, The Tick, Slim Goodbody, Body Worlds, being easily traumatized, obsession with the macabre, local kids shows, Wishbone, Cowboys of Moo Mesa, comics art, Heritage Auctions, getting used to Frazetta, The Wizard, Kurt Russell, Abe Lincoln's blood, the entire set of Cheers, The Last Starfighter, channel surfing, Beverly Hills 90210, reunion shows, SNL, The Critic and Simpsons crossover, groin hits, People's Choice Awards, country music, Garth Brooks, If Tomorrow Never Comes, Mummies, creepy doll collectibles, Franklin Mint garbage, Fresh Prince, Blossom, Monty Python, James Cameron, BMG Music, Weird Science TV vs Weird Science the movie, Made for TV movies, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare, Boyz N the Hood edited for network TV, terrible Red Hot Chilli Peppers lyrics, seeing Joey Lawrence at a shopping Mall, Markey Mark, Living Single, Mad About You, Hope & Gloria, TGIF, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, Family Matters, good Tom Hanks movies, Lori Singer, the 5th level of virtual reality, VR.5, being scared of toilets and french kissing from Ghoulies, Marvel's Bronze Age Legion of Monsters, Ghost Rider, nudity on TV, profit from obits, wrestling, 900 numbers, Dan Rather's Comedy Club, and loving and recommending Clarence.

This week Ken welcomes writer, director and co-creator of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, among other things, Will McRobb to the show. Ken and Will discuss growing up in Ithaca NY, suburbia, Nickelodeon's "kids point of view" era, doing corporate videos for Goldman Sachs, working in the promo department at Nick at Nite, MTV Networks, Rin Tin Tin, Mr. Ed, Donna Reed, The magic four ingredients: Funny, Sad, Strange and Beautiful, Green Acres, Patty Duke's double, MTV's Remote Control, Lassie, My Three Sons, Bub vs. Uncle Charlie, The Monkees, live action cartoons, the reason you'd go live action instead of a cartoon, Snow Day, added farts, working for the man, the shift on TV Land and Nick at Nite to newer "quality" shows, punk rock, Savage Steve Holland, The War Next Door, Hal Hartley, Damian Young, Michael Stipe, Iggy Pop, The Police, Joe Jackson, the unlocking of coolness with Elvis Costello's This Year's Model, The Embarrassment, the origin of Wellsville, Season 3 of Pete and Pete, Saturday, the rush to be an adult, saying goodbye to Artie, Adam West, the original 60 second Pete and Pete promos, Katherine Dieckmann, wasted years of cute Little Pete, Inside Out Boy, voice over, why perspective matters, John Hughes, "when you grow old, your heart dies", Inspector 34, Johnny Earwax, getting away with stuff, the controversy of The Orange Lazarus, Endless Mike, Frank Gifford cameos, Arnold Palmer golf clubs, how nobody likes Chevy Chase, SNL, Weekend Update, NY theater actors, William Hickey, One Crazy Summer, J.K. Simmons, and how Batman will always need The Joker.

MATT-A-THON CONCLUDES May 9-15, 1992 This week Ken welcomes the host of the We Watch Wrestling Podcast, fellow New Englander, comedian Matt McCarthy to the show. Ken and Matt discuss Matt's rabbit holes, GWF, Killer Kowalski, Freddie Prinz Jr, Cable Access, New England, Tony Rumble, Bob Mould, self abuse based public crimes, laserdiscs, classical music, yuppies, dead formats, VHS, Justin Case, VHS Cases, WSBK TV38, Marvin's collection, taped off TV with original commercials content, Monty Python, Dana Hersey, We Don't Knock, Silver Bullet, Dana Gould, Ask the Manager, Providence, Dialing for Dollars, Richard Simmons greatest photo ever, Meredith Viera, PM Magazine, Evening Magazine, The Golden Girls series finale, obsession with the Johnny Carson era of The Tonight Show, lost media, WCVB 5 not airing perfect strangers, taped with an antenna, SNL, Saturday Night's Main Event, The Bundys in London, The Goons, Evening at the Improv, rape revenge genres, The General's Daughter, exploitation, Ravishing Rick Rude, Brutus The Barber Beefcake's T station cocaine scare, One Crazy Summer, Savage Steve Holland, how Dads love Frank Burns week, Chuck Norris, the fuzz, static, I Come in Peace, Dolph Lundgren, competitive eating, movie tag lines, Dirty Harry movies, A Different World, when characters are too dumb, Family Matters, Rosie and Buddy, failed pilots, wearing a wire, Duckman, getting renewed for two seasons, sore losers, and taking digs at FOX.

June 20-26, 1987 THE TV GUIDANCE COUNSELOR MATT-A-THON CONTINUES! This week's Matt is fellow North Shore kid, the man behind over 25k songs, filmmaker, podcaster, it's Motern Media's Matt Farley. Ken and Matt discuss New England eccentric driven artists, the motivational power of spite, the power of novelty, putting in the work, using non-actors, making money as an artist, being a consumer, Strawberries, regional Mass record stores, Coconuts, how Lechmere curated your musical tastes, The Liberty Tree Mall, meeting Scott Baio, the power of mico-niche, Markie Post, Sledgehammer, bad sports, The Red Sox, badnwagons, K-Mart Swimwear, Jello, cigarette ads, Dana Hersey's Movie Loft, Spenser for Hire, Karl's Sausage Kitchen, Golden Girls, celebrity kids, Scott Bakula as Batman, investments, renting movies, loving 80s horror flicks, Friday the 13th, Prom Night, horror comedy, Winterbeast, Neon Maniacs, athletes as actors, Brian Bosworth, Alf, rigging the Nielson Ratings, My Sister Sam, Newhart, Kate & Allie, the weird pseudo documentary format, multi cam sitcoms, roller skating, rug burn, Who's the Boss, Mannys, Sarah Douglas, having no shame, how TV Guide wrote show synopsis, movie reviews, Perfect Strangers, I Love Lucy, that frigging chocolate scenes, not finding the funniest TV moments of all time funny, Johnny Carson, Facts of Life, Stacey Q, shark jumping, hunting things down, testing board games, where the Maine Children are, Back to School, starting in the middle of a movie, The Hitcher, writing fan fiction about strangers in public, art reflecting the crimes, hindsight, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Ellen, Billy Vera, Cheers, influence of Woody's The Kelly Song, Mr. Belvedere, laugh tracks, David Rasche, the faceless nature of the nameless '00s, Police Squad, Rambo, Beef Battles, and being proud of where you come from.

August 24-30, 1996 This week Ken welcomes singer/songwriter and frontman of his name sake band "Jatk", Matt Matkola, and the director of Jatk's "Don't Come Knocking", JP DiSciscio. Ken, Matt and JP discuss central Mass, rural internet, body swapping movies, rediscovering (or discovering for the first time) the 60s and 70s talk show era, Ed Sullivan, vintage technology, video cameras, building things to last, cable access, local news stations, R&B, VHS, Arlington Mass, how sometimes you cannot recreate the magic of a piece of analog technology, ghosted images, being on mushrooms, why talk shows are irrelevant now, The Doors, middle school, Summer birthdays, the prime years of Summer TV watching, Star Trek, Tek Wars, 90s Comic collecting, uniformed professions on TV, MTV's Singled Out, Hallmark Christmas Ornaments, five easy payments of $39, adjusting for inflation, My So-Called Life, SNICK, growing up without cable, Showgirls, Rambo, Columbo, Shelly Duval's Tall Tales, Swayze Crazy, WWF vs WCW, George Hamilton, The Simpsons, Mind Ripper, Ghost Hunting, Sightings, Unsolved Mysteries, Alien Autopsy, Dropdead Fred, T2, casting days, Rescue 911, Home Improvement, Drew Carey Show, The Bob Barker Years of Price is Right, Supermarket Sweep, celebrating your Sweet 16 with Apocalypse Now, The Bradford Exchange, Elvis Beer Steins, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy block, Carnosaur, Bringing Up Baby, horny Party of Five, watching Karate Kid over and over again, Italian American love of Goodfellas, Kobra Kai, WGN, Superstations, heist movies, Congo, Boy Meets World, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Disclosure, Summer School, Rob Morrow, the Bewitched that never was, Cheers within Cheers, and David Letterman's Olympic Level Disrespect.