TV Guidance Counselor

TV Guide CANADA June 3-9, 1978 Edmonton-N.Alberta Edition This week Ken welcomes actor and proud Canadian Samantha Ferris (Supernatural, The 4400). Ken and Samantha discuss who Ken has never been Canada, Vancouver's production community, Hollywood North, CBC, The Beachcombers, 21 Jump St., Wiseguy, X-Files, why Sci-Fi films in Canada, starting as a weather girl, Rainy Janey, being a talk radio host, rock jocks, Danny Bonaduce, how everyone thinks Sam is a guy, becoming an actor later in life, getting "tits in a suit" jobs, reporter roles, Along Came a Spider, Monica Potter, not getting the mom roles, embracing getting the strong women roles, laugh track sitcoms, loving Happy Days, Fish, Barney Miller, Three's Company, Good Times, The Jeffersons, The Partridge Family, M*A*S*H being your comfort food, MeTV, meeting Jaime Farr and Loretta Swit, meeting your heroes, not meeting your heroes, working Conventions, embarrassing moments, how great Cassandra Peterson is, not having access to celebrities, talk shows, seeing your heroes age, how bad it was when people didn't get royalties, Jimmy "JJ" Walker, Don Most, doing video game voices, Borderlands, motion cap, PONG, Supernatural superfans, looking voluptious on camera, not being able to watch yourself in things, Beggers and Choosers, sex scenes with Jim Belushi, Cindy Williams, Gabe Kaplan, Corbin Bernsen being very into himself, actors badly behaved, crapping on a dress literally, child actors, Curtis Armstrong being the greatest, Jim Beaver as the nicest man alive, showing up and knowing your lines, never piss off the people who are supposed to make you look good, directing advice, actors who are odd but might be assholes, only remembering the bad, and the absolute greatness of Chris Isaak.

January 23-29, 1999 This week Ken welcomes comedian and actor India Pearl. Ken and India discuss India's mom, Worcester Mass, The Paris of the 80s, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Central Park, selling things in the room, where the most ice cream in the world is consumed, being excluded from post Prom parties, being in the band, being a theater kid, The Spice Girls, Scary Spice, Ken playing six degrees, Velveeta, The 50 Funniest Moments on Television, Jack Johannsn, stand up specials, Jim Carey, Buffalo Bill, Phil Silvers, monkeys, a woman's potato chip collection on Johnny Carson being the funniest thing ever, The Count of Monte Cristo, Wishbone, $100 for a Biker Baby Doll, The Franklin Mint, refurbishing Barbie Dolls, Hocus Pocus, celebrity parties, busting Michael Rosenbaum's balls, Napoleon Dynamite, That 70s Show, going over your head, Selma Blair, Zoey Duncan Jack and Jane, being forbidden from watching Sliders, banning Buffy, cocaine fueled Mummies, Hyperion Bay, becoming a defacto only child, Angel, Beverly Hills 90210, Cop Rock, High School Musical, Glee, a double dose of Hyperion Bay, complicated family ties, Dirty Dancing, Kablam!, Brimstone, Millennium, The X-Files, Zoom, and lying as a kid, a lot.

October 3-9, 1992 This week welcomes Boston comedian and fellow former punk rock teen Tiny to the show. Ken and Tiny discuss Tiny's disbelief at being part of the TVGC guest list, The Newtons, Bob Newhart, The Bob Newhart Show vs Newhart vs Bob, Image Comics, the 90s Chromium age of comics, Jack Kirby, moving around the country, going to Berklee School of music, being taught how to be happy by Bobby McFarren, Alf Claussen, being raised in Church, being a drummer, My So-Called Life, being The Prince of Nebraska, Tiny's old band The Thickness, headlining O'Briens, the horrors of pay to play, Going to Extremes, Baby Boomer Brawl: Home Improvement vs Seinfeld, TV Guide's investigative journalism, Ghost Writer, Joan Rivers, In Living Color, COPS, Cop Rock, how the time wasn't right for musicals, Swamp Thing the series, Elizabeth Berkley's adult work, Gillian Anderson, the short lived Angel Street, Sorority Babes in the Slime Bowl-o-Rama, The Dead Milkmen, mail order record companies, Guys dressed as "ugly women" being a joke, Who's Line Is It Anyway?, deep dives on YouTube, failed pilots, Made for TV Movies, Giulani's hatred of ferrets, A Different World, dressing like Dwayne Wayne as a white kid in Arkansans, silk shirts, Desperate Choices to Save My Child, Joanna Kerns in a TV movie with Reese Whitherspoon, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Tom Waits album covers, Murphy Brown, Ken on PornHub, Quantum Leap, Body Double, The Wonder Years, Doogie Howser M.D., Ron Canada, sitcoms dealing with gun violence, The Kids in the Hall, Comedy Punks, Brain Candy, Cheers, character replacements, Wings, how Roy Biggins is the greatest awful character in the history of television, Flying Blind, the comedic talents of Tea Leoni, people's hatred of Golden Palace, 20/20's scare tactics, being murdered in a hotel room, Crossfire, Larry Sander, Tiny's overuse of "Hey now", and the greatness of Alan Havey.

TV Guidance Counselor celebrates its 9th Birthday Today, and in celebration and to start year ten off right please enjoy this BONUS! episode with the one and only Marc Summers! (Double Dare, Unwrapped) Marc has a great new podcast of his own called Marc Summers Unwraps (https://www.marcsummersunwraps.com/episodes/anthonyramos) that you can listen to anywhere fine podcasts are found, and you should! It's great. Ken and Marc discuss Graham Jr College in Boston, going to college with Paul Fusco (ALF) and Andy Kauffman, Fridays, being a warm up comic, Alice, Star Search, What's Happening Now?, Hour Magazine, Webster, starting as a professional magician, auditioning for Double Dare at age 33, how Gallagher encouraged Marc to abandon magic and go for stand up, how magic puts you out of pocket, realizing you are more of an MC, being at The Comedy Store in the Golden Age of the 70s, just getting on stage and being seen, Norm Crosby's Comedy Shop, when the Tonight Show won't even look at you, going from small parts on SOAP to warm up, getting gigs through reputation, the sneaky world of comedians stealing jobs, how great Ed McMahon was, Amazing Randy, how magicians and musicians spend a lot of time alone in a bedroom, Marc's infamous incident with Burt Reynolds on the Tonight Show in 1994, working on the AFI dinner for James Cagney, meeting the Beatles, Groucho Marx, Don Rickles and more, being a page on Sonny & Cher, Mary Tyler Moore and The Bob Newhart Show, becoming the face of Nickelodeon, touring 20k seat arenas with Double Dare, the long lasting appeal of Double Dare, reliving childhood, What Would You Do?, getting recognized by James Gandolfini on a plane, raising Bruno Mars, Lynn Manuel Miranda being a fan, being the eye of the storm in the chaos of many children's childhoods, never talking down to kids, setting the tone for Nick, Executive Producing Dinner Impossible and Restaurant Impossible, treating people with respect, getting input from people at all levels, Gerry Laybourne, hiring people smarter than you and letting them do their jobs, Unwrapped, tumblers, Pat Sajak, extruders, Food Network, shooting multiple shows in a day, taking 30 Double Dare Shows a week six months a year, watching your friends on Food Network, Marc's son's shows, House Hunters International, The Dick Van Dyke show being the best TV show ever, Fraiser, loving sitcoms, The Fugitive, SVU, Blue Bloods, how there are network shows now you've never heard of, Lorenzo Music telling you you wrote one of the worst things he ever read in his entire life, failing at writing a Webster, being tired of being told you suck, "A Martian Wouldn't Say That", practicing Double Dare physical challenges before they get to air, Marc's podcast Unwraps, what makes people keep moving forward, Mike O'Malley, Guy Fieri, Anthony Ramos, Nick Takes Over Your School, surly Mr. Wizard, Hulk Hogan trying to blend in, and looking forward to 90sCon.

October 31 - November 6, 1987 This week Ken welcomes new old friend, award-winning and critically acclaimed author of the young adult novels Here to Stay, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, and the Lambda Literary award winning If You Could Be Mine, which was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Best YA Books of All Time, Dead Flip and My Buddy Killer Croc Sara Farizan. Ken and Sara discuss matchmaker Meredith Goldstein, how Ken and Sara are essentially the same person, growing up in the Boston suburbs, Christine Else, Karen Duffy, Janeane Garofalo, Christine Lakin, Ken's weird skillset, breaking down barriers, mentioning something that taps into a deep emotional memory bank, 1987, 1992, the love of sci-fi/horror comedy, Gremlins, Monster Squad, Eerie Indiana, the fun of doing research to make historical fiction, writing and making art for your younger self, all the fears and issues young people today have that we didn't, how easy it is to watch listen to or read anything ever made, non heroic characters doing heroic things, a dislike of dark anti-heroes, representation, navigating adults as a kid, child stars sacrificing their childhood so we can have happy ones, Box Brown's book, Halloween, television and the 1992 elections, appreciating Courtney Cox, Misfits of Science, Cagney and Lacey, not being a cop show person, being bad at being a lesbian (media wise), liking character over procedure, Loving Care for Kittens and Cats, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Saturday Morning cartoons, advertising to kids, the wonders of Winterbeast, The Outer Limits in Waltham, The Midnight Hour, Dance Til Dawn, My Sister Sam, Women in Prison, Echoes in Darkness, Family Ties, having a crush on Stacey Keenan, Our House, Patrick Duffy's week, Mercedes McCambridge, family epics, Giant from 1956, Growing Pains, when Sandy died, very special episodes, generating dialog among families, After School Specials, ABC Tuesdays, Crime Story, The Iron Sheik, Perfect Strangers, Iranian immigrants loving WWF Wrestling, the early days of TGIF, Head of the Class, Donna Reed, working at Newbury Comics, Ken being fired from Newbury Comics because nobody liked him, being terrified of a Chucky Doll, Twilight, the wonder of being able to thank people face to face, Killer Croc, complicated fond memories of The Cosby Show, nice comedy and how difficult it is to do, Sledge Hammer, Hulk Hogan's Rock n Wrestling, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Lipstick and Dynamite, Carrie, Rags to Riches, I Married Dora, Jackie Gleason's lack of Emmys, and being fine with butts, even if you're not specifically looking for them.

March 17-23, 1990 This week Ken welcomes co-host, co-creator, editor, and producer of the podcasts Book Vs. Movie, Dorking Out, Not Fade Away, and What a Creep, the Brooklyn Fit Chick and author of the new book "Filmed in Brooklyn" Margo Donohue. Ken and Margo discuss doing it the best you can, how 1990 is Ken's favorite year, going to college in the Bay Area, banning Captain Underpants, two Margos, parents being very upset about Bart Simpson's sass, life in a Pre-Simpsons world, being conscripted into working at the Mall in Cali, NY vs CA pizza, Margo's book on Brooklyn, moving to Park Slope, shows shot in NYC, Brooklyn Bridge, heist movies, The Hot Rock, Criterion Channel, making sure you have your favorite movies on Physical media, the Providence/Boston/NY Maffia, buying Jesus Statues, thirtysomething, replacing cigarette ads with prescription rx ads, Midnight Caller, the greatness of Greg Proops, MTV's Remote Control, The Real World, how Kevin Powell was right all along, Mere Winningham, Martin Short Goes Hollywood, Miracle Mile, Anthony Edwards, Valerie Harper vs. The Hogan Family, Frankenhooker, Who's the Boss?, Murphy Brown, doing the homework, Unsolved Mysteries, Night Court, the greatness of China Beach, Ken's love of Grand, LA Law, Craig Bierko, Valerie Bertonelli, missing John Candy, after school specials with an REM soundtrack, developing actual film, John Waters on 21 Jump St., Julia Duffy, Seein' Double, being inappropriately angry at Robert Mitchum, The Wizard of Oz, and how much people hate starring in a movie with Judy Garland as the star.

This week Ken welcomes to incredible actor, singer, author and all around impressive human Traci Lords to the show. Ken and Traci discuss the long road to making this episode happen, Ken's Twitter banter, how Ken amuses Traci, if social media is bad or good, the toxic nature of society, love/hate relationships, how sometimes things are stupid and suck, insults, knowing how to take a selfie, how filters change the world, how life is a show, being a good person, being an introverted extrovert, how the access to celebrity has changed Hollywood, reality TV, how having a name can give you opportunities but also can hinder your growth as an artist, being a musician, having the freedom to fail, Radioactive Records, Perry Farrell, Moby, After Hours at Lollapalooza, the wisdom of age, self promotion, public pressure, stand up, Bob Saget, swimming as fast as you can, the importance of a hair toss, how Traci has been in TV Guide at least 21 times, The Tommyknockers, Crybaby, Married...with Children, the freedom of the 90s, inappropriate sitcoms, Roseanne, ensemble casts, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sandra Bernhardt, being shocked how high your voice was in your 20s, getting thrown in the deep end of being in front of a live audience, layers of panic, being so happy when you first book gigs, being more calm about it now, how acting is a blue collar profession, never Googling yourself, Hollywood poor, how amazing John Waters is, playing Tim Blake Nelson's wife, getting to play a Karen, finding that comedy works for you, trying to take the best roles offered to you, playing a fortune teller on MacGyver, Wiseguy, having your lines from gigs 30 years ago burned into your brain, the secret to learning lines, studying at The Actor's Studio, Joanna Cassidy, being on an airplane with Farrah Fawcett, Charlie's Angels, the paparazzi, all the contraptions you have to have when you have a newborn, why you should always say yes to working with John Waters, Patty Hearst, how John Waters' sets are like a family, First Wave, Francis Ford Coppola, working on Black Mask II in Thailand for Tsui Hark, being in a movie and having no idea what is going on, Excision, Nicole, Her Ex & the Killer, Providence, how weird working during and semi-post pandemic has been, loving actors who disappear in parts, figuring out what you want to do and what you want to spend your time doing, realizing life is short, Scooby Doo, doing voice over, cartoon characters, having a home studio, watching Game of Thrones twice while eating hot wings and pizza every night, how Scooby Doo goes so well with ice cream, Love Boat, being on a cruise with Charro and Tony Danza, and never wanting to go on a cruise again even though it's just eating and sex.

Just 23-29, 2008 This week Ken welcomes television producer, author and speaker whose credits include stints on popular shows like The Surreal Life, Dancing With the Stars, Basketball Wives, and Hollywood Game Night and author of the books Reality TV: An Insider's Guide to TV's Hottest Market (MWP) and And Another Thing: A Beginner's Guide to the TV Notes Process, Troy DeVolld. Ken and Troy discuss 2008, modern TV, Ken's Birthday, Troy's regretful choice, having your own show get savaged in Cheers and Jeers, spending 20+ years in reality TV, growing up in Florida, having an accidental career, loving sitcoms, MTV's Fear, being afraid of orangutan, why you should always read the credits on reality TV, how stories come together in editing, Mr. Smith, being in the Lancelot Link black hole, Tampa, Flipper, Miami Vice, Seventh Heaven, why it's not hard to be sexier than Tampa, Hollywood East, Donna Reed, Get Smart, home sick TV, fighting for respect, the mean spirited reality TV boom, The Surreal Life, Top Gear, Larry Tate, The Dana Carvey Show, Wizards of Waverly Place, awards shows, The Grammys, Saturday Morning Shoot Out with Peter Gruber, Larry King, Charlie Rose, hotel chain moguls, the story of Vamp, Dancing with the Stars, creating packages, the greatness of Tom Bergeron, getting to see your work with an audience, So You Think You Can Dance?, Lizard Lick Towing, when Bobby Dies, Starsky and Hutch, Roots, The State, Thomas Lennon, How to Make Movies for Profit, Weeds, Eddie Peppitone, Emerson, Kevin Bright, American Dad, Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs, The Bachelor, owning Marlon Brando's vest, collecting remote controls, The Philco Mystery Box, Richard Pryor's Moving, recognizing Jimmy Kimmel, Denise Richards Kaju, Larry Storch, asking your mom to stop sending you clippings, begrudgingly being the go to interview to discuss reality TV horror stories, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Sledge Hammer, the magic of Chuck McCann, paying it forward, running into the cast of Barney Miller throughout your life and identifying the Zenith Space Commander Six Hundred as being the remote control on Cheers.

April 29 - May 5, 1967 This week Ken welcomes director, producer and writer (Evil, Farscape, The New Twilight Zone, V, Seaquest DSV) Rockne S. O'Bannon to the show. Ken and Rockne discuss Ken's long time love of Rockne's work and how often it comes up on the show, 1967, the amazing nature of not aging since 1967, the boom of sci-fi TV in 1966, Film reboots of classic TV shows, quantum entanglement, growing up in LA, Rockne's mother being a Busby Barkley dancer, Rockne's father being a gaffer at Warner Brothers, writing your first pilot script at age 10 for The Boy from U.N.C.L.E., realizing people make television at an early age, Isaac Asimov's essay on how sexy Mr. Spock is, Lawrence Welk swimsuit issue, innovation in animal training, Raven with a Gun, writing for streaming shows and dealing with not needing the convention ad break structure, Sci-Fi Channel movie templates, Laugh-In, Hollywood Teletype, commissioned art, the rise of hippy culture in the mainstream, TV Guide's incredibly detailed listings for everything including reruns and sports, Frankenstein Jr, Space Angel, Clutch Cargo, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke shows status as the greatest TV sitcom ever, Pistols & Petticoats, Gunsmoke, Tom Skerrit's week, The Avengers, Johnny Carson reruns, Saturday Night Live, TV shows about television, It's About Time, Ed Sullivan, the pre-muppet Muppets, Roger Miller's variety show, FBI, Rockne's Dad taking home TV scripts for him to study, the horror of pay tv, white guys as Native Americans, westerns, Steve Allen's invention of everything, Mr. Terrific, Captain Nice, Buck Henry, Get Smart!, The New Twilight Zone, "Wordplay", "The Shadow Man", Darkroom with James Coburn, Joey Bishop, Don Herbert is Mr. Wizard, TV Close Ups, The National Science Test, The Saint, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Red Skelton, The Invaders, pinkies, playing it cool around celebrities, Albert Brooks, Night of the Meek, The Afterhours, Fame is the Name of the Game, Lost in Space, Batman '66, Fringe, Evil, time travel, Time Tunnel, being the new Irwin Allen by mistake, gadgets, I Spy, Wild Wild West, Honey West, Green Hornet, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, F Troop, Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker's chemistry, not wanting to talk to Milton Berle, short lived shows that had an outsized impact on pop culture, the power of villains, vigilantes, Bob & Ray, Tim Conway, "you're very pleased to meet me", Patrick McNee's secrets to life, nudists, Mod Tampons, TV Teletype, and Chuck Connors, as a Cowboy in Africa.

FALL PREVIEW ALERT! September 10-16, 1966 This week Ken welcomes author of the new book, Primetime 1966-1967: The Full Spectrum of Television's First All-Color Season, Thom Shubilla. Ken and Thom discuss Ken's slaughter of Thom's last name, Batman '66, knowing the Fall Preview well, the year TV was born, shaking off radio, Westerns, the first TV season everything was in color, classy Miller High Life ads making Ken and Thom want to drink, commissioned art, murals, Joe E. Ross, It's About Time, how The Moon Landing both ruined and improved sci-fi, Sherwood Schwartz, The Monkees, The Jackie Gleason Show, "The Lost" Honeymooners, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Get Smart!, Mission Impossible, Secret Agent Man, Patrick McGoohan, Hollywood Palace, Ed Sullivan, Ken's love of Robert Loggia, T.H.E. Cat, a show of all wacky neighbors, Lost in Space, being a Ginger or a Maryann, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, the long terrifying decline of Lucy, that one episode of Route 66, Big Eye paintings, The Green Hornet, Occasional Wife, That Girl, poorly translated JFK triangles, Green Acres, the truth about nerve deafness, F Troop, loving Larry Storch, heists, Irwin Alan, Time Tunnel, hating Milton Berle, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Burt Reynolds as Hawk and not as Marlon Brando, Larry Cohen's Coronet Blue, needing satisfaction on a show, The Fugitive, and how absolutely awful the Tammy Grimes show was.