TV Guidance Counselor

This week Ken welcomes actor Jeremy Licht (Valerie, Twilight Zone: The Movie) to the show. Ken and Jeremy discuss sweltering heat, art imitating life, riding a giant lobster in the snow in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, being a life long LA kid, disturbing your children by showing them TV movies where your character dies, being the kind of made for TV movies, Twilight Zone: The Movie, doing commercials, growing up in a solid Nuclear family, how being on a sitcom is as close to a 9 to 5 job as it gets as an actor, Valerie, The Hogan Family, 110 episodes over five and a half seasons, shooting at Lorimar, Family Matters, Miller Boyett, Our House, Full House, Chad Allan, getting pranked by Jason Bateman on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, having a surrogate family on set, going from being the oldest to the younger brother at work, Danny Ponce, staying in touch with the cast, the rhythm of jokes, set up and punch line, learning how to sitcom, Josh Taylor, getting a speeding ticket as a teen, dealing with the National Inquirer, fan magazines, fan contests, evil publicists, working with Joe Dante, auditioning for Spielberg, E.T., Billy Mumy, not watching the original "It's a Good Life", Kevin McCarthy, loving Third Rock from the Sun, knowing the technical aspects of shooting, having James Woods and Sally Struthers playing your parents, Hal Linden, John Ritter, Sally Field, William Hurt, the intimacy of acting, holding for laughs, having a day job, auditioning now vs in the 80s, All the Way Home, live TV, working on the short film "Seat 23B", working with your wife, directing "Here to There", making TV via Zoom, and being able to say no to things.

April 30 - May 6, 1988 This week Ken welcomes comedian, violinist and co-host of the live show and now podcast "Boss Bitches", Rachel Green. Ken and Rachel discuss the NYC/Boston rivalry, Rachel's realization she's a hardcore NYer by going to Boston for school, Landsdown St, Mama Kin, member's of the Celtics members, fights, Dr. Ruth, The Golden Girls, horny old ladies, Mae West in Sextets, Long Island, Goonies 2 The video game, Splash! Too, wet pillows, Hunter, cool/bad parents, shocking babysitters, the lost Facts of Life Eastland Academy series, Amen, childhood, 227, Murder She Wrote, Rachel's favorite Broadway role, Angela Lansbury, Shirly McClain, Puerto Rican Day Parade, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Cher straddling canons, local urban legends, living with Divorce, Beyond Thunderdome, Jack Tripper's balls, fashion tough guys, meathead NYC Comics, Dave Holmes, Beauty and the Beast, Loni Anderson in the Made For-TV Movie "Necessity", Louie Anderson, somewhat creepy photos, Jack and the Fatman, childhood snacks, divorcing your parents, hecklers, working late night shows, Knotts Landing, Max Headroom, Smoked fish fueled threesomes, dumb people, sexy comedians, The Land of Milk and Funny, Desperate Housewives, Dallas, V, The Highwaymen, Jocko as Jeddo, loving Mere Winningham, the Financial News Network, drama free Doctor shows for chicks and hating on clip shows.

July 18-25, 1992 This week Ken welcomes old comedy friend, writer, and comedian Benari Poulten to the show. Ken and Benari discuss ESPN Fantasy Football, pneumatic tubes, transcripts, Garbage Time, owning TV Guide, Todd McFarlane's Mary Jane being Cindy Crawford, TV's Top Turn Ons, The Rt 3 Cinema in Chelmsford MA, sneaking into movies, how hard research materials used to be to find, Batman trivia, naming all the Catwomen, William Shatner, Adam West, UK citizens being injured by televisions, Mad TV, George HW Bush not knowing how much things cost, Saturday Morning Cartoons, The Hanna Barbera Fantastic Four, Point Break, Miss America, Doctor Who bootlegs, Fox's Summer Seasons, spoiler scoops, Mad Men, MTV's 120 Minutes, the Fleischer Superman cartoons, Monkeys on the Edge, Moving Violations, The Flash, Voices That Care, School Ties, looping after your voice changes, perfect pilots, Home Improvement, Hess Gas Stations, how bizarre the Silent Night Deadly Night series gets, Public Enemy and the Eagles, broadcasting, Studs, STUDS!, Melrose Place, Wonder Years, Growing Pains, Seinfeld, Who's the Boss, Quantum Leap, Dream On, Tales from the Crypt, Different World, The Cosby Show, Jasmine Guy, Young Riders, You Guns 2, life long catch phrases, John Pinette, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Momlettes, Swamp Thing, Superboy, Universal Studios Florida, Sherman Howard, Lex Luthor, and how fantastic "Down the Shore" was.

December 4-12, 1982 This week Ken welcomes kindred spirt and man behind TheSodaJerk.net, Aaron Manahan. Ken and Aaron discuss "howdy" and y'all, bragging about installing phones on the set of movies, reviewing sodas, Dr. Pepper, Dublin Soda Works, Texas, Galcos Old World Market, Green Sour Cherry, hating Stevia, the Women of Robotech, Natasha Leone, Ultraman, Voltron, Go Lion!, How Hollywood Sharks prey on Child Actors, Cigarettes, how expensive electronics used to be, Sears Wishbook, Ace Hardware, Sears Pac-man, 1973 Nova, timing guns, terrifying models, the cartoon Meatballs & Spaghetti, red check marks next to your picks, Fast Forward, Les Paul, Gimme a Break!, Love Boat, Month in the Country, Ian McShayne, strong rye, Circus of the Stars, The Jerk Too, Doctor Who, bowling, wrestling, Fairie Tale Theater, M*A*S*H, not having cable, staying up late, Three's Company, 9 to 5, Family Ties tacking gun control, Our Town, Growing Pains, Amish widows, Demonic Toys, Meet the Feebles, Livewire, Fred Newman, Pac-Man Fever, Tom Savini, Altered States, Don't Go To Sleep, Made For-TV movies, weird video games about dictators, how children love fiscal years, Frogger, Spider-Man for Atari, True Value hardware store last minute gifts, go to family vacations and the pros and cons of a Ripley's Believe it or Not!? Museum.

August 28 - September 3, 1982 This week Ken welcomes author of the new memoir "All Signs Point to Paris", Natasha Sizlo to the show. Ken and Natasha discuss how this is her very first podcast, having no idea what you're doing in life, the wisdom of children, Natasha's Scottish mother's love of old Hollywood, class and accents, loving Laverne and Shirly, the importance of theme songs, Astrology, moving to Paris, watching television with your family, historical houses, Family Ties, Growing Pains, cigarettes, Rx drugs, Finders of Lost Loves, magicians, mentalism, The Magic Castle, life changing moments, Ouija boards, getting kicked out of boarding school, missing a few essential pop culture years of television, Sabrina, Philadelphia Story, TCM, Rom Coms, meet cutes, loving knowing how the sausage is made, cinematic stories, Bringing Up Baby, Madonna's film career, shared experience, The Facts of Life go to Paris, revisiting Twin Peaks for the first time, how Friends is the new Brady Bunch, and realizing how important television was to you becoming the person you are now.

February 7-13, 1976 This week Ken speaks with author of the new book "Barney Miller and the Files of the Ol' One-Two", Otto Bruno. Ken and Otto discuss growing up in Buffalo, bonding with your dad over Barney Miller, second choices, working in radio, Ken and Otto's very different musical tastes, Danny Arnold, new characters, actors playing different characters on the same show, Jack Davis' drawing of the Barney Miller cast, press photos, Jack Soo's Motown lp, talking to Hal Linden, pinpointing when the audience disappeared, lasting five seasons, not cracking the top 30, TV taping tickets, being interested in neither the Olympics nor Rich Man Poor Man, Royal Dano, Lawrence Welk, looking at your own personal copy of TV Guide, the TV week free from the paper, Mary Tyler Moore, SCTV, Bob Hope, Sonny and Cher's solo shows, William Conrad, Orson Wells, freezers filled with frozen Howard Johnson Fried Clams and Friendlys Ice Cream, M*A*S*H, Dinah Shore Show, David Brenner, Robert Klein, Steve Martin, Albert Brooks, dumb humor vs smart humor, Chuck Jones' The Boy Who Was Raised by Wolves, Robert Loggia as Johnny Beer, Theater in America, Smarmy classic Burt Reynolds, Brad Dourif, why Frank Luger is Ken's favorite character, avoiding social issues, humanity, enamel pins, Badges, The Hollywood Museum, James Garner, Joe Dante, being left out of being a Monster Kid, film noir, and the weirdness of POV media in a pre video game world.

March 12-18, 1988 This week Ken welcomes musician, fellow punk kid, and front man of Michael Kane and the Morning Afters (who's new record Broke But Not Broken is great), Mike Kane. Ken and Mike discuss growing up in Worcester, divorce, Kevin Can Go F*@k Himself, how great Wayne is, working in an arcade, Judith Light, MediaPlay, gang fights, seeing people beaten with bats, living in a used record store, tapes, not being able to just leave things in the wild, Elvis Costello, the first comic Ken ever bought, TableTalk Pies, Mary Tonnacocaine, Dennis the Menace, The New Mr. Wilson, cartoon guest stars, Nick at Nite, President style names, is TV getting worse?, feeling old, Generic Price and Bold Flavor, cigarettes, Skor Bars, gummy candies, David Copperfield, Peter Gabriel and magicians, Punk Brewster and "The Gift", Women in Prison, Alan/Miles, Saturday Night's Main Event, Worcester Centrum, Brutus The Barber Beefcake, being slightly less dirtbag than your average kid, Brian Bosnell and the Ataris, The People's Choice Awards, Ken's hatred of Led Zeppelin, The Terminator, Eddie and the Cruisers, Ken's vow to never forgive Baby Jessica, dating Adult Jessica, Jessie Camp, MTV contests, why Perfect Strangers is the best theme song to belt out, covering TV Themes, Ken's dislike of Cocksparrer, arguing with Alf, Christopher Lloyd in The Dictator, WKRP in Cincinnati, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Eddie Deezen, Growing Pains, Head of the Class, Just the Ten of Us, Grease, defending the Cosby Show without defending Cosby, Richard Moll: Dungeonmaster, how unusual bald people on TV was, Lionel Richie's Dancing on the Ceiling, Kenny Rogers, Dad tapes, Eddie Murphy, Bronson Pinchot, the origins of the "horny older lady", how it's ok to be a nurse, Mr. Belvedere, the audience participation episode of Matlock, complaining about the loss of Chuck Connors on Werewolf, and Alf (pictured right).

Janury 16-22, 2006 This week Ken welcomes actor and comedian Gianmarco Soresi. Ken and Gianmarco discuss the smells of NYC, heat, the Fung Wah bus, bus drivers doing bits, "it was a GUY!", Ellios vs Upper East Side Ellio's, going to NYC with your Dad, growing up in the DC area, how The Producers is pretty dirty for 8th Grade, being a child of divorce, South Park, party Dads, woods porn, wondering who is secretly a monster, sitcom set for life money, OJ Simpson's If I Did It, Lost, watching things weekly vs binging, Inside Dr. McDreamy's Trailer, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The 700 Club vs. S Club 7, bad wifi in the bathroom, True Blood, 24 and the justification of torture, Homeland, lazy writing posing as progressiveness, Dave Chapelle's return at Aspen in 2006, Scrubs, Supernatural, Fear Factor, class action suits, 3M paying $40M, Will and Grace, gay sex, Glee, Jane Lynch, owning the corny, Rent, Spike TV Fresh Baked Video Games, Austin Powers, Benny Hill marathons, Inside the Actors Studio, Damon Waynes, Dorothy Hamel, LAPD fighting vampires, The Shield, and not rolling out old people who are too ill to be performing.

September 28 - October 6, 1985 This week Ken welcomes writer, director, martial artist and all around real life super hero Lexi Alexander to the show. Ken and Lexi discuss the long road to this episode happening, being on the right side of things, the great hope of the internet, piracy, how the users can ruin a new technology, the conflict of finance and creativity, growing up in Germany and Jordan, moving to the U.S., being World Champion, being sponsored by Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and Chuck Norris, missing the pop culture of the country you grew up in, Air force bases, not understanding America until you actually live there, kickboxing, hate groups, people being different privately than in public, how white Boston is, Black Boston, where Reggae in America got it's start, nostalgia, Stranger Things, the toxicity of Hollywood, pitching things, getting fired from Batman, the dangers of contact lenses, whip chains, treating people right, Punisher: War Zone, avoiding conflict, when stunts go wrong, how so much content is bad for people, being outspoken, Shaw Brothers Theaters, Cynthia Rothrock, the weirdness of 1985, wig down, paint down, martial arts styles, why flying backfists are for assholes, Germans being stuck in the 80s, David Hasselhoff, only moving a little bit past the mullet, Misfits of Science, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Hart to Hart, the love hate relationships with your home countries, children's programming, Christmas Specials, Doctor Who, bowling on TV, the rise of team sports on TV, fixing 80s toys, The Wedding Singer, novelty pens with floating elements, the bliss of childhood ignorance, Atomic Blonde, how difficult it is to look glam while fighting, The Fall Guy, Gen Xers, The A-Team, Beverly Hills 90210, The Cosby Show, Baywatch, how difficult it is to dub comedies in foreign languages, how episodes of shows can be movies in theaters, Lexi's unmade reboot of Baywatch, the downfall of post-apocalyptical wish fulfillment culture, why people in 2022 aren't down for environmental horrors, The Trigger Effect, government propaganda, how Vietnam effect media differently than the Gulf War(s), the Red Dawn remake, avoiding trauma in media, fixing watches and the mystery of TikTok.

July 16-22, 1994 This week Ken welcomes old friend and current host of the new PBS series "America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston", Baratunde Thurston. Ken and Baratunde discuss satellites, fiber optics, being the thousand points of light, how professional Baratunde is, Baratunde's first (self) published book autographed to Ken, 2004, the greatness of the show title, lack of aging, assigned homework, the wonder of 1994, Cindy Crawford, the weirdness of 89 cents, working fax lines, The Ground Round "pay what you weigh", Bill O'Reiley's lucrative PR fueled hobby, creating our own monsters, cigarettes, The Moon Landing, riding OUTSIDE the plane, deciding if we'd go into space or not, VR, A Man Called Hawk, AIDS awareness 18 month calendar, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, COPS, 227, Washington DC, Living Single, Baratunde's theme song concert, ROC, Good Morning Mr. Hitler, Discovery Channel, "The Hitler Network", The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, reboots, The Oxbow Incident, The Running Man, Robocop, Unsolved Mysteries, The Air and Space Museum, Astronaut Ice Cream, The American Ninja Series, The Heights, wanting to experience the awkward teen years, Cliffhanger, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, Jeff Jarvis, The Franklin Mint, collector plates, guilding everything, and the outdoors.