TV Guidance Counselor

June 27-July 3, 1959 This week Ken welcomes producer, composer and all around great guy Fred Mollin to the show. Ken and Fred discuss Memphis, The Peabody Hotel, ducks, Toronto, SCTV, making records, improv, Godspell, Paul Schaffer, David Cronenberg, Fast Company, growing up on Long Island, being the baby, Perry Mason, Ed Sullivan, Wanted Dead or Alive, Western Detectives, wish fulfillment, fantasy, the rifleman, being fascinated by guns on TV as a kid, Jean Carrol, plate spinning, Lloyd Price, Frankie Avalon, Dick Clark, Ray Boulger, 77 Sunset Strip, Johnny Mathis, Ricky Nelson, Zacherly, Disney's music side, children's music, lullabies, Friday the 13th the movies and the series, Forever Night, synths, Faith Healer, televised Blood Drives, Life of Riley, Love that Bob, Bob Cummings, Wyatt Earp, Hugh O'Brian, John Carradine, Highway Patrol, Dragnet, growing up Jewish, comparing your family to television families, Donna Reed, Zorro, Burns and Allen, having access to everything, Newark vs Las Vegas, old school Wrestling, Nat Hiken, Car 54, Where Are You?, Phil Silvers, trivia ringers, and how being a television kid teaches you a life time of useful skills.

This week Ken welcomes real life married couple, improv royalty, and hosts of the Generation Gap podcast Rachel Rosenthal and Sam DeRoest. Ken, Rachel and Sam discuss icky years, age differences, American Idol, how artificial "reality" talent shows are, Ken seeing Kelly Clarkson have Lady GaGa open for her at a Grammy Party, Bel Biv Devoe, live shows, from Justin to Kelly, William Hung, Clay Aiken, Reuben Studdard, Crystal Lite, Oregon, Dale Earnhardt, Kenan Thompson, The Secret of My Success, Wall Street, Broadway, Nathan Lane, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, musicals, Carrie: The Musical, Jeff Goldblum, Curb Your Enthusiasm, grid confusion, The Wedding Planner, CB4, Shakespeare in the South, Patrick Stewart: Cowboy, The Bachelorette Alaska, seeing plays in London, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Brendan Fraiser, The Town, putting a whole town in your rearviews, getting the VIP Disney hook up from Chelsea Nobel's cousin, Everybody Loves Raymond, the horror of 24, why torture is ineffective, No Way Steve, how great America's Funniest Home Videos is, the time a bird suicided on Fabio's Face, Paula Dean being knocked out by a frozen turkey, 1990's Dick Tracey, Madonna shooting blanks, The Portland Timbers, Airplane, classic comedy, championship hockey, Survivor, The MTV Movies Awards, Elvis, Spongebob Squarepants, The Wire, Jessica Alba as Dark Angel, and being absolutely confused by Pokemon and Power Rangers.

This week Ken welcomes author, cartoonist, podcaster, artisanal pencil sharpener and co-creator of Dicktown, David Rees to the show. Ken and David discuss the Moon Landing, not growing up in Washington D.C., North Carolina, Journalistic Independence, Dead Dogs, sexy Mods, Bonanza, Wild Wild West, Mystery Shows, walking on the Moon, "that other thing", Miss Universe, Hogan's Heroes, VCR dupe machines, punk rock, The Minutemen, complaining about Spot's production, SST Records, Night Flight, The Residents, not knowing young people, Ted Turner's End of the World sign off video, Bounty Hunters, classic talk shows, Eva Gabor, the difficulties of hand laying out TV Guide issues, "Fem-Pain", Green Acres, Ian Oglevie, Vincent Price, The Saint, Pluto TV, Danny Peary's Cult Movies books, El Topo, Secret Agent Man, The Prisoner, The Coolidge Corner Theater, Charles Dickins, Mike Watt and the absolute world changing greatness of Preston Sturges.

This week Ken welcomes the amazing writer, performer, podcaster and Sister from Another Mr, Pam Ribon to the show. Ken and Pam discuss Blue Ribon Panels, regional name variations, mayonnaise, Doctor Misses Doctor Mister Doctor Misses, tangents, secretly dating John Travolta, why you never share secrets with your parents, younger sisters, Today's Special, Punky Brewster, St. Elsewere, visiting shooting locations, Valerie Bertinelli in HELL, Billy Graham IN HELL, discovering new artists, Jody Foster, Peter O'Toole, creepy dudes, Wizards and Warriors, Julia Duffy, Soaps, crashing a plane to impress a woman, John "Not C" Riley, Love Boat, avoiding grown ups, forbidden Diff'rent Strokes, humorless parents, hating truth, getting into Stephen King too young, being dared to read Salem's Lot, Ken's embarrassing love of Beautiful Girls, how Natalie Portman was done wrong, Drew Barrymore, SNL, Hank Williams Jr. : The Movie, The Legend of Fred Asparagus, Bikers, Invitation to Hell, the magic of club soda, The Demon Murder Case, Kevin Bacon, the wonder of Small and Fry, Ed Solomon, Laverne and Shirley, Three's Company, Not Necessarily The News, BRAIN GAMES! BRAIN! GAMES!, Family Ties, S.C.U.B.A., game shows, Beat the Geek, Swackhammer, Swayze Crazy, The Renegades, reviewing Family Ties, Miss Chievious, Cheeahs, FAME, Jeers dressed as Cheers, AND somehow not ever Sassy Magazine. Not once.

This week Ken welcomes author of Prince of Thieves (which became the film The Town), co-author of The Strain series and a ton of other amazing stuff, and fellow Massachusetts citizen Chuck Hogan. Ken and Chuck discuss space travel while sitting in your house, time shifting, streaming, the church like experience of experiencing something day and date, Spenser for Hire, James at 15, shooting things in Boston, The Brinx Job, Vincent Price and Milk, Stephen King, Square Pegs, drug scares, the bitchy anonymity of TV Guide, exposes, the nature of fame, Saturday Night Live, doing your best to stay up late, Mr. Bill, TJ Hooker, Claude Akin, The Love Boat, Didi Conn, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, NY Hot Trax, Solid Gold, Night Flight, MTV, the world changing event of getting cable, Facts of Life, Gimme a Break, musicians gust starring on sitcoms, Bloopers, Angel Dusted, Jerry Lewis' replacement show for Thicke of the Night, Gloria Loring, The A-Team, Missy Gold: Licensed Therapist, how Hart to Hart is like Batman but without everything that makes Batman good, talking your way into rebooting the Six Million Dollar Man, The Duck Factory, early Jim Carey, SCTV's final season on Cinemax/Superchannel, going down rabbit holes, House by the Cemetery, Lucio Fulci, Fangoria, horror movies shot in Massachusetts, Gates of Hell, City of the Living Dead, Pieces, Boston Mobster making movies, the Benson cliffhanger, and the horrors of Assaulted Nuts.

This week Ken welcomes Less than Jake drummer, lyricist and author of the new book "6/19" Vinnie Fiorello. Ken and Vinnie discuss full tilt Summer in Gainesville Florida, growing up in New Jersey, City Gardens, Jon Stewart, secret jocks in the punk rock scene, The Ramones on the Uncle Floyd Show, buying Asian weapons in Chinatown, The Master with Lee Van Cleef, The A-Team, moving from punk to Thrash Metal, no bed time, The Love Boat, It's Your Move, Mama's Family, Unlikable character on TV, Buffalo Bill, fist fighting for what you want to watch on TV, The World at War, Bloopers, POWs, M*A*S*H, KISS Alive II, Three's Company, ruining shows you paid to go see for some weird reason, Bad Brains, Rollins, how there were no deaths on 1980s action shows, Golden Girls, loving Mona on Who's the Boss?, crushing on Allyssa Milano, Commando, Blue vans and moving to CT, loving TV Jingles, Less Thank Jake's TVEP, Taxi, Runaway, Lee Ving, Webster, The Golden Child, Friday Night Videos and how Night Flight changed lives.

This week author Scott Ryan returns for a THIRD time to discuss his new book A Moonlighting Oral History. Scott and Ken discuss The Wonder Years, ABC in the 80s, Reagan's deregulation, ABC Circle Films, shows produced by networks, endless budgets, hour long dramadies, Cybill Sheppard, Bruce Willis, ratings, movie stars, Die Hard, the insane production schedule of Moonlighting, breaking the fourth wall, murder mysteries, innovation through mistakes, Remington Steele, Detective shows, breaking ground, I Married Dora, series finales, being sad that your own show was picked up, Alan Arkish, Curtis Armstrong, Will They Won't They?, backstage stuff, Clean and Sober, song rights, subsidizing corporations, streaming mysteries, Spenser for Hire, IMDB TV, SCTV, asking for anything, messing up the DVDs, not promoting Orson Wells, and the ongoing trauma of the people who worked on Moonlighting.

This week Ken welcomes actor Anne Dudek (Mad Men, House, Friends) to the show. Ken and Anne discuss The Book Group, being a theater actor, multi cam sitcoms, Friends, bloopers, Head of the Class, Robin Givens, being miserable under contract, the changing nature of celebrity, how late night shows are irrelevant, Patch on Days of our Lives, casually wearing a boa constrictor, Soaps, And Now the Screaming Starts, Too Scared to Scream, Golden Girls, Murder She Wrote, Anne's Murder She Wrote Fan Fiction, 227, being isolated via media, Family Ties, Rags to Riches, Baby Jessica, the greatness of Angela Lansbury, "Mom" names, retro shows, The Wonder Years, Happy Days, what kids watch today, political divisions, could Family Ties be made today?, blaming Newt Gingrich, The Company of Wolves, guest starring, having two careers, being a movie actor or a TV actor, Magnum P.I., DRUGS, Just say No, being terrified of drugs, urban legends, school yard scare stories, The Long Hot Summer, Hardhat and Legs, Ruth Gordon, Bobby Short playing himself, the harshness of TV Guide, local MTV rip offs, This Old House, computer aided hose repair, being an architects, The Imposter, talking your way into a High School Principal position, Anthony Geary, and staging your childhood murder mysteries as an adult.

January 2-8, 1971 This week Ken welcomes comedy writer and co-host of The Amazing Collosal Podcast with Gilbert Gottfried, Frank Santopadre to the show. Ken and Frank discuss Jello Biafra, Fred Schneider, Ken's impressive bookings, interviewing Ken, the idea for where TV Guidance Counselor came from, Ken's days in bands, reviewing the Partridge Family, USA Network's 90s originals, Duckman, working with Paul Fusco, Lost on Earth, Claude's Crib, Ralph Mazza, recognizing character actors, loving "that guys", the fun part of living in L.A., Bruce Kirby, all the New York character actors, deep dives, musicians, variety shows, vaudeville, impressionists, Petula Clark, owned and operated TV stations, Ed Sullivan, The Monster that Challenged the World, New York in the 1970s, All in the Family, MTM Productions, Adam West, Lost in Space, Old Man rivalries, Paul Lynde, Bob and Ray, Mad Magazine, Lucy and Bob Hope dressing like hippies, terrifying Lucy, hippies, Stone Pillow, Amos and Andy, Mods, Wilt Chamberlain, Alias Smith and Jones, Channel 5 NY, WPIX, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Milton Berle, The New Andy Griffith Show, Make Room for Granddaddy, Gaylord Carter's Pipe Organ, Jim Neighbors, game shows, The Avengers, The Dean Martin Show, desperately trying to get people to use Zip Codes, The Love God, That Girl, Adam Strange, Frosty the Snowman, Strange Report, Night Gallery, Tales of the Unexpected, horror anthology shows, Love American Style, and attending the Barbizon Modeling School.

October 8-14, 1994 As promised Jim Aquino author of the new book If You Haven't Seen It, It's New to You: The Movies and TV Shows Some of Us Regretted Not Catching Until Later returns for The Young Guns II of this week's episodes. Ken and Jim discuss Goonies II NES, Star Trek vs Star Wars, Ken's love of Just the Ten of Us, The Juggernaut, Terror on the Britannic, Weird Science, The Smolletts, On Our Own, bad animation, The Simpsons, Dr. Demento, The Adventures of Lois and Clark, Bruce Campbell, Season 2 of Seaquest DSV, MTV Unplugged, spoken word, LL Cool J's deodorant caked armpits, In Living Color, Roger Corman's love of free popcorn, Steve Park, Breakfast Time, Tom Bergeron, the early days of FX, Animaniacs, Batman the Animated Series, Casey Kasam's Transformers boycot, Donnie Simpson, Lavert, the last days of Soul Train, The Jon Stewart Show, Northern Exposure, Tom Arnold, Tom Noonan, Robocop, Roc, murderers on TV, All American Girl, Models Inc., Walt Disney World Inside Out, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Kids in the Hall, Conan, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, My So-Called Life, New York Undercover, The Librarians, The Elongated Man, Comic View, Homicide Life on the Street, writing fan letters, and connecting with socially conscious teens.