TV Guidance Counselor

Ken Reid
undefined
May 15, 2023 • 1h 27min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 580: Gabe Mollica

February 15-21, 2003 This week Ken welcomes comedian and man behind the solo show "Solo: A Show about Friendship", Gabe Mollica. Ken and Gabe discuss what they would be talking about anyway, not being comedians talking about comedy, how Edinburgh ruined Gabe's life but he has to go back, long form stand up, growing up on Long Island, ridding yourself of your regional accent, Ken's all time favorite stand up special Johnny Vegas; Who's Ready for Ice Cream, John Cleese, performing for nobody, celebrating a 100th/200th/300th episode, The Simpsons, syndication, home town people never leaving, Long Beach NY, bad UK pizza, missing cannolis, corner Sicilians, what you'd watch as a kid vs what you'd watch now, Nickelodeon All That, The World's Strongest Man, Baseketball, Touched by an Angel, Seinfeld, The Music Man, when everyone is in Bye Bye Birdie, The Sopranos, reality TV marriages, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ken starting working at the Cartoon Network UK, Johnny Bravo, Italian dubbing, fascist horror, no longer going to movies when they premier on Thursday night at midnight, seeing shows before bed, when MAD TV replaced SNL, Tough Crowd, the craze of panel shows on TV, The Best Damn Sports Show Ever, Off Broadway show, The West Wing, Birds of Pray TV series, the Ben Affleck Daredevil movie, Friends, Scrubs, South Park, how comedians need to pivot to movies and some drama, The Surreal Life, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, the Box office game, The Klumps, and the insanity of all things Superbowl.
undefined
May 8, 2023 • 2h

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 579: Anna Rubanova and Adam Bozarth Part II

November 14-20, 1992 This week Ken welcomes Left Handed Radio's Adam Bozarth and Anna Rubanova BACK to the show to finally (a year and a half later) do Part II of what they started. Ken, Anna and Adam discuss how tired Adam and Anna are, mosquitos, tubes in ears, having your tonsils removed, having bad gas send you to the hospital, Ken's kidney stone, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, placentas as extra credit, The Phillip LeBlanc Show, early morning WNYC, Marketplace, Halloween III, moving from Hard News, Fresh Scare, UPDATES on things Ken said to watch last time, including The Monster Club, That Guy Dick Miller, Charles Bronson, going on a Vincent Price kick, the modern Vincent Price, art collections, Voyager, playing poker, Steve Albini, carnival games, natural gas explosions, green room, Columbo, murder, Blade Runner, Hollywood not absolving real life people of crimes so they can exploit serial killers, Jean Smart, Aileen Wuornos, how lack of eyebrows makes you evil, Richard Bey, cleaning school buses, finding sunflower seed shells with a long stick, how gross the UCB Theater was, wearing gloves, Chuck Norris, Forced Vengeance, Titanic, George Washington, hating Tartikoff, TV Guide Letters to the Editor, The Jacksons, how a divorce lead to President Obama, Warp Drive, Seinfeld's The Contest, Night Court, reboots, Flowers for Algernon, Mr. Plow, The Simpsons, Homer's brain damage, Hard Times, Matilda the kangaroo movie, sexy kangaroos, jacked animals, Speed Weed, Jason Robards, 2001, Dr. Strangelove, Tuvok plus Nelix, copywriting characters, the twin loophole, Janeway's hatred, transporter accidents, Sightings, dead stunt people, Drag Queen Drag Races, barns, Belzer on Broadway, James Bond Jr, Fantastic Max, Darkwing Duck, Hollywood Squares, Fraggle Rock, Living in Iowa, adding muscles to things, how the 90s didn't allow open horniness, having a boner for abuse, why it is ok to kink shame, airport furries, Kennedy flipping out, sexy Superman and his marriage of convenience, Net Guide, and cocks with fat asses.
undefined
May 1, 2023 • 1h 11min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 578: Holly Knight

March 22-28, 1986 This week Ken welcomes legendary songwriter (she's in the Songwriter's Hall of Fame), author (her memoir I Am the Warrior: My Crazy Life Writing the Hits and Rocking the MTV Eighties, is a MUST read/listen), and all around incredibly cool human being Holly Knight to the show. Ken and Holly discuss her book, growing up a big TV watcher, streaming services, the reliability of TV, having things to look forward to, Dark Shadows, The Adams Family, a love of horror, Chiller Theater, Elvira, how great Cassandra Peterson is, The Munsters, Vic Mizzy, weird instruments, Green Acres, Tina Turner, Heart, Pat Benetar, Patty Smythe the Warrior, moving to LA in the early 80s from New York, forever being a New Yorker, running away to Boston, squatting, working at the Boston Phoenix taking personal ads, The Ritz, The Filmore East, Bowie, being at the tail end of punk, the origins of Pop music, Billy Idol, music producers, Love Boat, KISS, Eva Gabor, the sexless days of television, Lucy, how your children rebel, Family Ties, The Outer Limits, Ennio Morricone, Peter Gun, James Bond, Have Gun will Travel, The Twilight Zone, trading cards, Bonanza, The Monkees, Vincent Price, Elvis, Jackie Gleason, belief in Aliens, working for an awful boss, walking on eggshells, teenagers, Miami Vice, Suspiria, Ultra HD, MTV, "MTV Cops", the style of the 1980s, pastels, Rob Zombie's Munsters, licensing music, cover songs, Cocaine Bear, using songs in Commercials, WWF Saturday Night's Main Event, using The Best in the Biden Campaign, Schitt's Creek, the influence on art on life and life on art, Obession, Nip/Tuck, Superbowl ads, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, wanting to work with Trent Reznor, and how a great song is a great song.
undefined
Apr 24, 2023 • 2h 1min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 577: Laura Wimbels

December 26 1992 - January 1, 1993 This week Ken welcomes creator of Lenora's Midnight Rental and his new best friend forever Laura Wimbels to the show. Ken and Laura discuss how Laura is a Ken Reid fan, Ken's story on the podcast Risk!, Fred Willard Super Dad, loving horror, the wonderful terrible movie Rollerblade, opening sealed VHS tapes, Splatter The Architects of Fear, The Exchange, how contrary to his Mother's insistence Ken's favorite movie as a kid was NOT Mother's Day, Revenge of the Nerds, telling on yourself for seeing an R Rated movie, divorces, what the fuck a frush is, Cleveland and douche bags, 1992-1993, the formative time of being 10, growing up without cable, organized hoarders exposing you to TV Guides, Murder She Wrote, Angela Lansbury, being trapped despite being at the height of your power, just admitting you haven't seen something, Troll/Scholastic Book Clubs, The Good Son, reading the novelization of R Rated movies, Dick Clark watching TV in the bathroom, iPads as TVs, watching TV at work, being too old for Barney, USA Up! All Night, Silk Stalkings, sexy slow-mo, USA Made for TV Movies, John Ritter, The Colony, surrogate TV Dads, Michael Gross, Cheers, Dan Conner, Ken's emotional breakdown with Valerie Harper, Hearts Afire, Ghostwriter, wearing a pen around your neck, Suncoast Video, not being able to speak Spanish despite being Puerto Rican, not being French, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Royal Discount Books, The Stephen King Encyclopedia, The Plant, printing out web sites, TV Land, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Wonder Years, Ken getting Garden State emo, My So-Called Life, marriage as the opposite of Titanic, boats leading to break ups, The Simpons arguments, The Twilight Zone, the poor man's TV Guide, commissioned artwork of shirtless Dana Carvey, realizing you love two star movies, curation, the future of streaming, Tubi, Roku, the insanity of all the rival Amy Fischer movies, Tales from the Crypt, In The Heat of the Night, Urban Pain, Baby Snatchers, Nancy McKeon, in the wake of Hand that Rocks the Cradle, the insanity of Mikey, how sad it is that Warlock has been glossed over, when CBS gets all PBS, New Years Eve viewing, Three Stooges Marathons, Slaughter, Bick Dick Toilet Fraud, crybaby Matt Whittaker, why you should never default to Google Image Search searches, kid friendly, the Drew Carey Show, Price is Right, Scooperbowl, hating football, animated opening titles, Columbia House, VHS tapes, Laserdiscs, and the glory of Shopping Malls in Pittsburgh PA.
undefined
Apr 17, 2023 • 1h 53min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 576: Xanthe Pajarillo

April 12-18, 2003 This week Ken welcomes director-writer, podcaster and Air Force veteran Xanthe Pajarillo. Ken and Xanthe discuss Ken's TV Guide collection, living in Germany on a military base, AFN (Armed Forces Network), catching US shows on German channels, TV via word of mouth in school, Comedy Central, being obsessed with SNL, getting shows a week late, Blade, Scooby Doo, being an only child, watching horror movies with your parents, Xanthe's podcast Kindergeist, It!, how strange brains are, the nonstop 9/11 support the troops barrage of 2001, being obsessed with the micro, hoping SNL doesn't get preempted, how Millennials really like rules, Reality TV, the terror of chaos, pranks, Xanthe's Scream influenced prank phone calls, the wisdom of Mr. Rogers, the great anti-war horror stories, Deathdream, PTSD, Dog Soldiers, Ken living in London in 2003, the Iraq War, Zoolander, cult films, Billy Madison, Adam Sandler movies, not seeing Dirty Work on a date, Virginia, taking Stephen King for granted in New England, Filipino horror, Legally Blond, Hopping Vampires, Manananggal, twist endings, movies on TV, being obsessed with South Park, Ken's inability to remember the name of the 2001 movie The Forsaken, early 2000s horror and CGI, Making the Video, pop punk, Green Day, being in punk rock bands, playing guitar, the post slasher pre-Scream era of horror, Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead screenings, naps, American Idol, William Hung, The US vs. UK, Doctor Who, College Radio Industrial music shows, Great Women on Comedy, I Love the 80s, Julia Louie Dreyfuss' shows between Seindfeld and Veep, "women aren't funny", Jamie Kennedy, Ken's love of Jennifer Love Hewitt, how Cadet Kelly isn't what basic training was really like, basing your life choices on Hilary Duff movies, Jeering war, hating Matt Lauer, March Madness, human selfishness, not lionizing serial killers, poor Jeff Fahey's Body Parts, the best worst video game movies, Double Dragon, House of the Dead, Splatter Royale mode in Evil Dead the game, being insulted by tweens when playing video games, Interview with the Vampire, Tagalog, The Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, directing the awards show remotely, and making long lists of horror movies we need to see.
undefined
Apr 10, 2023 • 1h 31min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 575: Emma Fraser

October 22-28, 1994 This week Ken welcomes esteemed writer on all things TV, Emma Fraser to the show. Ken and Emma discuss Fraser vs. "Fraiser", the glory of UK insults, being English, people not believing where you are from, how London is now the UK, Norwich being Alan Partridge central, 1994 being the youth sweet spot, ER, The X-Files, My So-Called Life, ghosts at Christmas time, Supernatural episodes of otherwise non-supernatural TV series, how Ken often accidentally dresses like Nicky Driscoll, the filthy cover of this issue, the UK having more magazines for fewer channels, The Christmas Radio Times, Ken's love of Time Out London, loving Halloween, The Far Side animated series, Ken's dislike of Friends, TV Guide's bad review of Friends, Ant & Dec, Noah Wiley, Ghostwatch, Sightings, how quickly trends blew up in the 90s, Fox Encounters The Hidden Truth, Without Warning, The Americans, Ken's 90s substitute Teacher becoming an actor and being murdered on The Americans, middle of the road talk shows, Dick Cavett, Mark Lamarr, The Word, drunken people on TV, Ken's love of Shooting Stars, Ken being constantly called Mark Lamarr when he lived in the UK, Oliver Reed, the UK's strange subversive children's style shows that weren't for children, Car 54, Where Are You?, MTV's Rock n Jock, Red Shoe Diaries, things not being even good bad, SNL, how Witches werewolves and vampires being real, how Marilyn Monroe was killed due to her knowledge of UFOs, when Jackie Gleason saw dead aliens for real, gentle murder, Murder She Wrote, animal shelters Halloween Specials, The Hidden, The George Carlin Show, Fresh Prince, Murphy Brown, Evening Shade, Carol Burnett, Cynthia Gibb, Fact based TV movies, how marrying somebody is the worst thing you can do to them, John Stamos, the business genius of Jason Priestly, The Sandwich Police, visiting the My So-Called Life shooting locations, Ken not thinking Seinfeld holds up, crying and being shocked over and over again due to watching ER, a spoilers free world, Family Matters, the repetition of Dwayne Barry, Step by Step, women at war, Saturday Night Dead, and extending M.A.N.T.I.S noted drama.
undefined
Apr 3, 2023 • 1h 26min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 574: Lisa Curry

June 26 - July 2, 1993 This week Ken welcomes writer/comedian Lisa Curry. Ken and Lisa discuss canceling in person plans, afternoon gigs, being heckled by 6 year olds, Supermodels, loving Cindy Crawford, Malibu, Amy Klobechar's comb utensil, working in DC, Veep, growing up in central time, not watching TV in the Summer being and outdoor kid, Carol Burnett's love of soaps, never saying "funny lady" or "skit", loving fashion photography, MTV's House of Style, Anna Nicole Smith's film career, a very depressing Bill Bixby story, National Enquirer, "anti-coughing machines", stupid conspiracy theorists, thinking people with actual brain damage know what's "really going on", leaps in logic, Ren & Stimpy, rubber nipples, watching TV that feels like you are getting away with something, being suspicious of people who have no problem performing, loving the 90s, creepy dolls, haunted dolls, "Mommy I'm Sorry", having no toys, working in a factory at 17, making fun of family sitcoms, Married...with Children, bothering Bud Bundy, pissing off Judd Nelson, MTV Unplugged, LL Cool J's deodorant cakes, hating football, father's making viewing choices for you, Zorro, hating Westerns, shows built around women not just trying to catch a man, Mary Tyler Moore, loving basketball, Ken's clearance bin Michael Jordan sleeping bag, gifting that sleeping bag to Lisa, Tales from the Crypt, Don Rickles, Ken being a total jerk as a teen, Wonder Years, music replacements, weight loss ads, Ace Ventura, Once Bitten, In Living Color, the glory of Cheers, Ted Danson playing Sam Malone as Sam Alone, prank calling adults to tell them their baseball team sucks, Dennis Eckersley telling Ken he was a "little dick", Tonys, the saturation of ads, news crawls, breaking news, TV Bugs, Jay Leno's stand up early days, loving Reading Rainbow, loving Axl Rose, crushes on naked Eric Andre and Righteous Gemstones.
undefined
Mar 27, 2023 • 2h 13min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 573: Judd Winick

June 19-25, 1982 This week Ken welcomes author (buy his new Hilo book!), Real Worlder, and kindred spirit Judd Winick to the show. Ken and Judd discuss Judd's fantastically cluttered office, their children's world, St. Elsewhere, death on TV, Brendon Tartikoff, how the A-Team could spin off from Hill Street Blues, Misfits of Science, comic books, the dessert of comic book properties in TV and movies when we were growing up, growing up as a New Yorker, Long Island, getting mugged, weird red eyes, shirtless TV, kids who smoke, big Tabacco, Judd's wife Pam, mobsters, The Mile High collection, Filmmation, Isis, Space Academy, Kids Super Power Hour, Mission Magic, One of the Boys, Mickey Rooney, Bill, Fantasy Island, Red Buttons: Super Hero, living in Boston, Robert Urich, Archie Bunker's Place, Stacey Keach in Wait Until Dark, odd Cruisin' inspired acting choices, Long Dry Season, George Peppard's directing career, Trapper John MD, Hilo, Encyclopedia sets, Continental Divide, Blair Brown, Altered States, Bob Balaban, WKRP, forgetting Gordon Jump's character's name, M*A*S*H, being team BJ, loving Alan Alda, anti-war media, Twin Peaks, Quincy ME, the magic of visiting Henson Productions, Bad Robot's Typewriter store, Happy Days, Three's Company, Welcome Back Kotter, Andy Griffith, John Ritter's Balls, Real People, That's Incredible!, haunted Toys R Us, asian characters on TV, how modern procedurals are sci-fi, how MASSIVE Fame was in Israel, Gimme a Break, how amazing Lara Jill Miller is, the incredible talent of voice over actors, the failure of Giant Salmon pictures, Beverly Hills Buntz, screwing on TV, Sweeney Todd's coffee shop, haunted security systems, rock star architects, Blade Runner, Benson, Pokerface, Saturday the 14th, performing Blow Out as a one man show, old ice, Phil Lamar's Mr. T stories and Pinky in Body Double.
undefined
Mar 20, 2023 • 1h 10min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 572: Ashley Ray

November 24-30, 1990 This week Ken welcomes the hilarious, smart and fantastic writer, comedian and host of "TV, I Say with Ashley Ray", Ashley Ray. Ken and Ashley discuss being in Columbia, lack of Spanish language skills, watching foreign TV vs keeping up with American shows, Good Day LA, CTV, Canadians getting shows before the US, Ashley's birthday, growing up in Central Time, being born in Dallas, Rockford IL, revisiting stuff from the 1990s, TVLand, Nick at Nite, Designing Women, Golden Girls, Network family sitcoms, The Goldbergs, Abbot Elementary, single cam vs multi cam sitcoms, Wonder Years, Growing Pains, non-people who have had TV credits before Ken, Malibu cigarettes, Linda Evans, Dynasty, made for TV movies, Tricks of the Trade, Your Mother Wears Army Boots, the legacy of The Cosby Show, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Lisa Bonet's eternal ultra fame, A Different World, Kindergarten Cop, Chic Jeans, K-Mart ads, back to school shopping, the debut of Law and Order, Carol and Company, comedy anthologies, Kroll Show, The Wonder Years neighborhood in Burbank, In Living Color, seeing only the highs and now the lows of a sketch comedy show, the greatness of Nora Dunn, The Motown 30 What's Going On special, when Damon Wayans got himself fired from SNL, Ken's excited tangents, Ashley's favorite sketch show of all time, The Tracy Ullman Show, Rags to Riches, Big Brother Jake, Descending Angel, Jean Smart, George Carlin, The Ben Stiller Show, Charles and Diana, 52 Pick-Up, the teen suicide episode of Growing Pains, A My Name is Alex, the sad evolution of Ricky Schroeder, stand up specials, Def Comedy Jam, Pulp Comics, Shop Til You Drop, Premium Blend, Six Ladies Laughing, Andrea Martin, Lifetime Television for Women, TV trivia hosted by Alan Thicke, Arsenio Hall replacing Mud Wrestling, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, watching TV shows with your friends in them, Babes, making fun of your stars in the title of your show, thirtysomething, not revisiting shows you hated, Quantum Leap, Jack Kerouac, historical figures from your own lifetime being depicted by actors on fictional TV shows, "Obama" on Legends of Tomorrow, how beatniks are just hippies, Family Matters, watching all of Sex in the City for the first time during the pandemic, making sure you do the reading so you know all the cultural references and having heavy reality TV as your comfort shows.
undefined
Mar 13, 2023 • 1h 36min

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 571: Rob Hill

February 15-21, 1986 This week Ken travels across the Atlantic as he welcomes author and YouTube ninja, the man behind The Bad Movie Bible, Rob Hill. Ken and Rob discuss Ken's fandom, Rob's YouTube channel, lockdown driven creativity, Murder She Wrote, Rob's thinking around his issue, embracing nostalgia, context and intent, South Park, Michael McIntyre, loving American Culture, traveling to America once as a kid, Punky Brewster, how adult US action shows were children's show in the UK, The TV Times, BBC, M*A*S*H, Dallas, UK soaps vs US Nighttime soaps, how the TV Times had no cigarette ads, TV News revealing too many government secrets, taking digs at your star, Cheers, shows about alcoholics, Mr. T vs George Peppard, 2 Live Crew's Me So Horny, being the king of the UK, Ken always looking on the bright side, Benson, Soap's popularity in the UK, David Rappaport's week, Dave DeCoteau's filmography, TV guest stars, sexing up Buck Rogers, Battlestar Gallactica, US TV movies being theatrical movies in the UK and Europe, really trying to mine the concept of a dead porn star ghost despite it failing again and again, Amazing Stories, Joe Dante, The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James, Robert Guillaume in Phantom of the Opera, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, your wife playing your mother, Operation Kid Brother, Robin Hood, George C. Scott talking about abortion on ABC, Kirk Cameron, Listen to Me, Knight Rider, shows where people are reincarnated as machines or animals, Metal Micky, Airwolf, M.A.N.T.I.S., satellite TV, watching six hours of Dallas a day, After the Fall of New York, Italian B movies, Ceefax, Highway to Heaven, Benny Hill, Blacke's Magic, The Captain American musical, Danger Mouse, All Creatures Great and Small, Chuck Norris, Matt Helm, Way of the Dragon, The Misfits of Science, Baywatch and the incredible, unbelievable nature of David Hassellhoff's autobiography.

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app