TV Guidance Counselor

October 11-17, 1975 This week Ken welcomes writer, drummer, actor and all around great guy Frank Whaley to the show. Ken and Frank discuss Ken's mispronunciation, upstate New York, being "Evicted Boy" in Spenser for Hire, being 24 and pretending you are 16, being dirt poor, getting commercials, The Freshman, getting to act with the best actors, Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster, Field of Dreams, After School Specials, James Earl Jones, how Little Monsters put Born on the 4th of July in jeopardy, gambling on baseball, bookies, bowling, Cornhole on TV, being a punk kid, making rednecks angry, garbage bags full of drums, sleeping on an ottoman in a sublet, the dangers of New York, trying to self sabotage, luck, The Jimmy Show, stand up comedy, doing improv in Career Opportunities, John Candy, having Burt Reynolds rub your inner thigh, making out with Ann-Margaret, loving disco, Soul Train, The Midnight Special, planning private time, loving Cher, The Bay City Roller, variety shows, loving all the women of Mary Tyler Moore, The Last Picture Show, not being Frank Gorshin, Good Times, having a crush on Mr. Kotter's wife, lifetime achievement awards, not being able to watch yourself any more. Luke Cage, Ironsides, Columbo, defective detectives, great theme songs, Barretta, Mannix, throwing your slipper at a TV, being shocked by Kojack on an ill advised family vacation, Chico and the Man, Andy Kaufman breaking character, Ray Donovan and how Jon Voight is the world's biggest asshole.

June 20-26, 1998 This week Ken welcomes producer, writer, showrunner and creator of the new NBC Medical Drama Transplant, Joseph Kay. Ken and Joseph discuss being in Toronto, being stuck behind a border, Transplant, a show set in Canada being an NBC co-production, The X-Files, Chris Carter, learning how to run a show working on a show, serialization in television, the ongoing story in Transplant, the difficulty of telling stories without a definitive end, Medical Dramas, E.R., immigration stories, George Clooney: Movie Star, how medical dramas are the new detective/mystery shows, re-inventing cop shows, Spielberg, secret identities, super hero origins, broken people, how 1998 is a transitional year, the end of Larry Sanders, Sex in the City, when HBO became an original programming contender, Seinfeld, Mr. Show, The Kids in the Hall, New York City, SCTV, Johnny LeRue, Toronto, the current state of TV criticism, Ted Lasso, Major League, anti-heroes, stand up on TV, Still Standing, Mike Birbiglia, Crashing, Stephen King, when things get too heavy, the importance of heart, Watchmen, why we need rules, keeping a writing staff, telling a story in the season, breaking everything and putting it back together again, being a lawyer, legal drama, This is Wonderland, Night Court, the specific, representation on TV, diversity, Maple Syrup Urine Disease, becoming a hypochondriac, Cheers, trying to "program" your kids' taste, The Simpsons, watching your parents watch shows, Star Trek, writing or not writing COVID into tv shows, being scared by crowds on TV these days, the whiteness of TV Guide, and why Veep/The Thick of It is the greatest place to work out aggression through insults.

July 19-25, 1969 This week Ken welcomes film fan, Rifftrax-er, and voice of Tom Servo, the great Kevin Murphy to the show. Ken and Kevin discuss fishing, Elvis, the Apollo 11, Boy Scout Camp, the space race, the political unrest of 1968, Vietnam, Iowa, Nebraska, jock itch, hemorrhoids, corn, being too old for diaper rash, smoking, Jackie Gleason, Hardcore Corn-ography, the greatest music on television, The T.A.M.I. Show, WHA PBS, Kevin's history in television production, Mason Williams, the FCC, befriending the tape librarian, The Outer Limits "The Invisible Enemy", The Day the Earth Froze, Miss Universe, Mission Impossible, The Shock Theater package, WGN's movie library, seeing Hammer Films on TV, Creature Features, being a cool 60s cat, Tarus Bolba, "blood and thunder", Gogolos, Ken Barry, Mayberry R.F.D., profiling Paul Lynde, when Arnold directed William Hickey, The Johnny Cash Show, Green Acres, the skillsets lost in time, The Munsters, The Prisoner, The Finale Programme, Dean Martin's Golddiggers, going "full on bachelor", The Avengers, the sci-fi convention circuit, the art of panel moderation, the other Rashoman, 90 minute time slots, how amazing Bob and Ray are, Don Rickles, George Jessel, planning a TV schedule, and having outdoor movie nights.

April 24 - May 3, 2004 This week Ken welcomes actor, musician Kaitlin Huwe to the show. Ken and Kaitlin discuss the misery of a New England climate, The Bay Area, the California Vibe, Pandemic niceness, having a great Drama teacher in High School, moving to L.A. at 17, NYC, UCLA, being completely baffled by TV Guide, PBS's Arthur, Hollywood's seedy underbelly, faking it til you....fake it, Fake film festivals, music videos, doing the training, women of SNL, TV on flip phones circa 2004, buying three throw blankets as a comfort reaction, redesigning your own bedroom, 7th Heaven, That's So Raven, why S Club 7 is too provocative, wrapping over theme songs, having a very specific set of skills, the good and bad of stand up, Ken's dislike of Stand Up specials, knowing why you don't like a thing, Two and a Half Men vs. Half and Half, Comedy Central's Bar Mitzvah, why acting is the opposite of improv...in theory, learning lines, working with Anthony Hopkins, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, getting a day boyfriend from The Young and the Restless, making out at work, sitcoms, theater, Poison Ivy, child stars re-inventing themselves as sex pots, and having never seen Showgirls.

January 13-19, 1968 This week Ken welcomes the incredible English writer, comedian and all around amazing human Jo Brand to the show. Ken and Jo discuss the good that has come out of a Global pandemic, how incredibly shocking 1968 seems looking at it from 2020, USSR representations of the USA, Ken's deprogramming, Housewife Dracula, how to say "take the piss" in America, Female stand up comedians, the UK Alt-Comedy scene, man-hating, what makes it to the US from the UK and vice versa, remaking British Comedies for the United States, Getting On, the U.S. obsession with looks, being in the thing you create, earning your place, getting insults thrown at you, Billy Connolly, Ken having to pretend to be Canadian, Up the Creek, The New Cross Tavern, Vic Reeves, Harry Enfield, Big Night Out, Shooting Stars, heckles, bits that don't work, coughing blood, snarky sarcasm, panels shows, The Newlywed Game, Mr. and Mrs., our modern fairy tales, My Three Sons, court ordered tea parties, Morecambe and Wise. The Young Ones, Hogan's Heroes, WWII, Ken's weird hair, Dick Van Dyke, Cheers, working in a pub, Bing Crosby, Hollywood Palace, the evils of Milton Berle, The Smothers Brothers, dogs, Davey and Goliath, Sunday Church TV, The Milton Berle of Vicars, the horrors of Northern Club Comics, women on TV, Lucille Ball, Morwenna Banks, Payton Place, half an hour of boring, Man from U.N.C.L.E., beautiful heckles, learning about weather, PBS, Haley Mills, Lost in Space, The Avengers, The Flying Nun, Bob Hope, warzones, the bouncing bomb and ending with 633 Squadron, a good old fashioned feel good British War film.

August 2-8, 1975 This week Ken welcomes actor, writer, director and all around good dude D.B. Sweeney to the show. Ken and D.B. discuss enjoying the depth of TV Guide listings, growing up as townies in Long Island, when Spenser for Hire is your first day in show business, befriending Robert Urich, Lonesome Dove, being a Red Sox fan in Long Island, Billy's Triple Crown, Mary Tyler Moore vs. Emergency, Randolph Mantooth, Dead Martin and Jerry Lewis, being a comedy guy, playing real people, 8 Men Out, Gardens of Stone, Two and a Half Men, being a hocky dad, the greatness of Jon Cryer, Art Carney: Santa Claus, aliens, Rat Patrol, S.W.A.T., missing out on meeting John Houston, Peter Falk, Ireland, being mistaken for an IRA money runner, Roommates, how Hollywood changes the source material, how difficult Romantic Comedy is, The Cutting Edge, Chiller Theater, Thriller, The Saint, taking a swing at M*A*S*H via Family Guy, Good Times, old time song and dance men, variety shows, offending Tony Orlando, procedurals, Strange Luck, Harsh Realm, Karl Malden, defective detectives, good hair, Mannex, George C. Scott, making other actors better, Sean Astin, Two Dum Micks, Fire in the Sky, Almost Anything Goes, stunts, Sanford and Son, Dolemite, the greatness of James Garner, Ed Harris, Two Tickets to Paradise, being gracious to fans, and Paul Newman buying you a Coke.

October 19-25, 1996 This week Ken welcomes journalist, writer and fellow former New England punk teen Gabrielle Moss. Ken and Gaby discuss good microphones, how people no longer care about quality, Connecticut, War Pigs, where bands play, 1996, BYOTVG, Gargoyles, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Brooke Shields, Sexy Babies, Townies, Halloween costumes, depression fueled nostalgia, TV novelizations, Alex Mac, Claire Danes, The Wrong Devon, My So-Called Life Goes On, Pasadena shooting locations, avoiding Prime Time, syndicated anthology horror, The New Twilight Zone, X-Men, Bobby's World, the less popular Stephen King movies, WPIX, Tales from the Darkside, Glim Glim, Monsters, New Kids on the Block, Baywatch Nights, Dark Skies, Weird Science, a life of The Simpsons, Blue Rodeo, Unsolved Mysteries, The Warrens, haunted bunk beds, being born to write for Beach Patrol, MTV's House of Style, Home Improvement, Homeboys in Outer Space, Wings, Third Rock from the Sun, Boston Common, Townies accent issues, how Friends is the new Brady Bunch, a generation without a mass extinction event, an aging Seinfeld, Winnie the Pooh Halloween, Halloween goblins, tall people walking in ditches, hating corporate synergy, and local TV racism.

FALL PREVIEW ALERT! September 12-18, 2004 This week Ken welcomes writer Sarah Rodman to the show. Ken and Sarah discuss staying in an attitude of gratitude, the first year Sarah worked as a TV critic, recommending shows to people in lockdown, Cheers, Ted Danson, the importance of the Fall Preview, not knowing what shows will go on forever, The Television Critics' Association Press Tour, getting an angry letter from Trump about your hair, the golden boom of Reality TV, The Surreal Life, billionaires making TV, local television productions, Knotts Landing, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Fringe, Rick Springfield, Mission Magic, LAX, Mark Valley, sports dramas, House, Hugh Laurie, batting at Dodgers Stadium thanks to a short lived Dean Cain show, Two and a Half Men, Veronica Mars, how Joey was the least popular DVD set in the Big Lots! cut out bin, Episodes, Matt LeBlanc: Hometown Boy, fixing George Clooney's eyebrows, Sisters, being really into Extreme, Boston Public vs Boston Legal, Keen Eddie, 24, how 9/11 killed a bunch of comedy shows, Keen Eddie, North Shore, Gilmore Girls, NYPD Blue, seeing The Killers at the Roxy, Scrubs, Early Edition, CS Lewis vs. Freud, Life as We Know It, how Kelly Osbourne is NOT a fat girl, Chris Lowell vs. Christopher Lowell, The O.C., the Hills, Everwood, Mechanical Bulls, Boston Rob, Mark McGrath, Klover, Miss America, Saturday Night as the Death Slot, Tommy Lee Jones' rug and how Ken needs to watch Friday Night Lights RIGHT NOW

March 17-23, 1984 This week Ken welcomes writer, former MTV VJ, editor, performer and all around good dude Dave Holmes to the show. Ken and Dave discuss Dave's COVID-19 negative test result, Duff, cutting the line, Tickling Priscilla Presley, ruined childhoods, Gilbert and Sullivan, The Tennis Pro career of Kent Golden, Tom Villard, more tickling, confusing Jeff Goldblum for Eddie Deezen, the "lost" Hollywood Squares, Gallagher's ID, Night of the Dribbler, Fred Travalena, We Got it Maid, Price is Right, the satisfying colors of Tattletales, being over Diff'rent Strokes, Joel Higgin's love life, Martin Mull, Maggie Briggs, Mid-season replacements, Rich Little: Female Impersonator, Hot Hits, V66, Friday Night Videos, Linda Lavin in a challenging duel role, drawing Jack Nicholson, why The Sure Thing is the best movie ever, being not the Gary Cooper who is dead, athletes having plates of drugs for breakfast, TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Foul Up, Bleeps and Blunders, how Kate & Allie is truly great, Cagney and Lacey, trying to impress boys by pretending you like AKA Pablo, Sting's acting career, Hart to Hart, Real People, The Facts of Life, Dynasty, America's Australian fever, Thicke of the Night, SCTV, Gimme a Break, Dolph Sweet, missing the Cosby Show, Simon and Simon, Webster and Benson, The Funny Boys, the sophistication of Season 2 of Double Trouble, The New Show, Game Shows that never happened, and believing Jack Palance OR ELSE.

October 24-30, 1998 This week Ken welcomes writer, film critic, cool gal, and kindred spirit Stephanie Crawford to the show. Ken and Stephanie discuss Las Vegas, Reno, The Luxor, Crime Story, Horror scopes, Mom and Pop Casinos, Premiere Magazine, Sassy, a love of movies, the internet in the 90s, being inspired by Almost Famous, Rolling Stone, The Good Wife, The Nest, over selling things, how Holden Caufield IS Opie Taylor, X-Rated Dick Van Dyke, Carrie II: The Rage, the awful graphic design of the late 90s, Mr. Show Bowling shirts, suburban terror, being too old to trick or treat, best Halloween costumes, The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror, Tim Thomserson, Crimewave, the humor of Xena, Tales from the Crypt Demon Knight, The Frighteners, convincing your mom to take you to movies, From Dusk Til Dawn, only children, The Surreal Life, sketch shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Baywatch, vigilante life guards, The Monster Club pop ups, boxtops for SNICK, erotic thrillers, Silk Stalkings, Libras vs Cancers, The Seventh Seal, The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, Gary Busey, Witches, call backs, Turkey Horror, Celebrity Death Match, The Secret World of Alex Mac, The Good Wife, ER, TGIF, and examining Evil Twins.