TV Guidance Counselor

June 12-18, 1999 Today Ken welcomes author and comedian Erin Judge to the show. Ken and Erin discuss Ken's pop culture "leakage", Ken's esoteric monster hunting knowledge, New England obsessions with scented candles, Brooklyn to Texas, Wellesley College, Freshman Dorm TV viewing, how 1999 was the Year of the Woman on Television, Ally McBeal, Felicity, "Hollywood 60", Buffy The Vampire Slayer, being ignored by footballers, Friday Night Lights, Texas Rape Culture, Comics Come Home, Comedy Central, Pulp Comics, writing packets, Gen X, Waking Life, Slacker culture, Sable, Lisa Loeb, Political Science, how being a music journalist can ruin your love of music, Xena, Lesbians, Evil Dead Hercules, The Simpsons, depressed people who watch depressing things, Designing Women AIDS, The Fashion Awards, Fashion Programming, Sex in the City, when your friends are your true family, eating Brie, class warfare, MTV Video Music Awards, Ken's crush on Alicia Witt, confusing Suddenly Susan with Cybill, Antiques Roadshow, Laura Prepon's hypnotic out of place-ness, Thumb Wars, The Phantom Menace, settling the bathroom bill in 1999, college, Mad About You, Thanksgiving in June, Fraiser, Strangers with Candy, ugging up, Sports Night, Newsradio, Spin City, Teachers taking advantage of dumb teenage boys, Jenna Elfman, Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place, Drew Carey, Who's Line Is it Anyways?, Friends, The Secret of My Success, Jessie, and Ken accidentally dating a Will & Grace character.

Today Ken welcomes husband and wife Rachel (writer, editorBoston Magazine) and Sean Slade (engineer & producer, Hole'sLive Through This, The Pixies, Radiohead's Creep) to the show. Ken, Rachel and Sean discuss the love of musty attic smells,lack of smokers owning TV Guides, growing up in New York City andPhiladelphia respectively, going into the city, The Bijou in TimesSquare, silent films, Downtown Crossing, The Combat Zone, Woodstockthe Movie, secret tunnels, rejecting the suburbs, 60s TV, Wild WildWest, Land of the Lost, Jethro's acid trip, Sesame Street enticingyou to the city, living in a re-runs world. Bewitched, The BradyBunch, I Dream of Jeanie, The Monkees, never being able to go backafter Star Wars, The Million Dollar Movie, cute teenage boys asYouTube stars, Rache's 6-year-old complaint letters, Childhood TVTrauma, the fear of Snuffy, 70s horror novels, Sunday Night TVinduced depression, punk rock scare TV, Merv Griffin, Mike Dougles'street cred, kids today and their sampling culture, the lack ofhumor in pure re-creation, drowning in a sea of pop culture,re-visiting the Running Man, discovering The Room, The Return ofthe Midnight Movie phenomenon, TV Guide's technologicalpredictions, Eraserhead, Gas Station Television and why Boston onlyhas bests these days an no worsts.

On this special Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens edition of the show Ken welcomes musician and actor of face and voice Mr. Robbie Rist (The Brady Bunch, TMNT, Kidd Video) to the show. Ken and Robbie discuss The Cousin Oliver incident, Kidd Video, being a musical kid, twists of fate, growing up in Los Angeles, being a Mad Scientist, Monster Movies, B-Movie innovation, fantasies of murdering Cousin Oliver, The Brady Bunch, Big John Little John, the secrets of Vincent Price, latch key kids, punk rock lives, Lucas Tanner, renting lions, South Park Morality, The Monster Squad TV Series, identifying with the Wolfman, The Incredible Hulk, the dark times in a post Vietnam world, 90s Dark comedies, how 6 weeks of work can follow you forever, Renee Semard, Turn Me Up, Cutting off balls, Ami Dolenz, She's Out of Control, Mickey Rooney, playing Ted Baxter's son on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, how "Oh my nose!" may solve the world's problems, shared cultural experience, Post Apocalyptic Pop Culture, Sharknado, doing the music for Sharknado, getting killed in Sharknado, the theme from S.W.A.T., the Young Ones, Land of the Lost, Michael Bay's disdain for humanity, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Chosen Survivors and why we should remake bad movies.

Today Ken welcomes writer, sometimes actor, producer David Fury(Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Lost, Fringe, 24, Dream On) to theshow. Ken and David discuss high school guidance counselors, SoapOperas, General Hospital, One Life to Live, living on or in LongIsland, assisting Elizabeth Taylor, Luke and Laura, Stand Up,sketch comedy, learning comedy through repetition, Bob Newhart,WPIX, being a Monster Kid, teaching your kids the wonders of oldmovies, the intersection of Horror and Comedy, It! The Terror fromBeyond Space, Fiend Without a Face, Cronenberg's The Fly, TheTwilight Zone, allegory, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Memptile, TheBig Story vs. the little story, 24, Doctor Who, Mad About You, TheJackie Thomas Show, Joss Whedon, Angel, Re-Animator, Roseanne,Brain Trust, Gary Kroeger, Comic Strip Live! on Fox Late night, newSCTV, HA!, The Newhart finale, Dream On, Tippy Top, John Landis'casting approach, HBO's First original program, Keifer Sutherland,Ball & Chain, Bryan Cranston, Fringe mysteries, thedemoralizing state of learning about serial killers, Son of Saul,and kind of opening a TV Guide.

Today Ken welcomes actor and filmmaker James Lorinz to the show. Ken and James discuss the 1970s, growing up in Queens, Barney Miller, Gregory Ciera, killing hold up men, Valerie Harper's City, serious episodes, Good Times, Normal Lear, All in the Family, One Day at a Time, spending quality time with Talcum Powder, Mannix, being the Monster under the Castro Convertible, shooting on the lot, Tom Poston, Frankenhooker, Alan Young, Zsa Zsa Gabour, Unforgettable, testing pilots, Street Trash, parking spaces, your parents loving your dress, The Twilight Zone, pornographic aspirations, Louise Lasser, Woody Allen's sexual prowess, Mary Hartman, being perplexed by Dark Shadows, To Tell the Truth, SNL, Bill Boggs Midday Live, Price is Right, Room Service, the most awkward interview of James' life, Welcome Back Kotter, On the Rocks, Hogan's Heroes, Bing Crosby: Nazi Sympathizer, The San Pedro Beach Bums, Fish, collecting TV theme songs, film school, Richard Dawson, Bob Barker, Alice, One Day at a Time, Muhammad Ali, Modern Family, The Jerky Boys, Breaking Bad, The Honeymooners, The Odd Couple, Batman, The Munsters, Abbot and Costello, Superman, Jean Sheppard and a shared love of collecting old magazines.

Today Ken welcomes actress Lisa Wilcox (Nightmare on Elm St. 4 +5) to the show. Ken and Lisa discuss the emotion of walking down memory lane,missing the simplicity of the TV Guide, catching up with the times,Twin Peaks, thirtysomething, Gilligan's Island, having two "goodTVs", Fantasy Island/Love Boat, odd family viewing, appointmenttelevision, Little House on the Prairie, growing up in Missouri,forsaking the medical field, high school M.A.S.H., Buddy Ebsen,being discovered by a Bowery Boys alum, The Beverly Hillbillies,being a flight attendant's daughter, having top notch packingskills, Wendy's commercials, UCLA, You Again, Hardcastle &McCormick, sharing a mailbox with JoAnn Willette, John Stamos, JackClugman, Mark Hamill, Watchers Reborn, meeting your heroes, Mr.Belvedere, acting style, Soap Opera acting, meeting Ed McMahon'scat, going to a Tonight Show taping, James Garner's truck, StarTrek, George Clooney, loving Dracula, Bela Lougosi: Pin-up,Nightmare on El St. 4, Ken's awkward discussion of Dean Koontz,Valerie vs. The Hogan Family, General Hospital, going from watchingthe Brady Bunch to playing Florence Henderson, Dobie Gillis,recreating the Family Feud set, the Monkees, the pleasures of afinished basement, Boy Meets World, wanting to live in a geniebottle, the terrifying confusion of modern technology, coming backto acting, the private vs. public life conflict and navigatingsocial media.

Today Ken welcomes the authors of the new book Fade Up: 26 The Movers and Shakers of Variety Television Steve Binder and Dr. Mary Beth Leidman. First up Ken speaks with producer/director Steve Binder. Ken and Steve discuss proper pronunciations, Col. Tom Parker, KABC TV LA, going from the mail room to the control room, Soupy Sales, Vampira, the timelessness of television, preserving the past, loving Lucy, the talent, Variety Shows, The T.A.M.I. show, music on TV, "Elvis" the 1968 special, happy accidents, breaking the color barrier with Harry Belafonte and Petula Clark, Ernie Kovaks, Edie Adams, The Rolling Stone 10th Anniversary Special, Patti LaBelle and Cyndi Lauper, knowing how to step back, Steve Alan, Pee Wee's Christmas Special and capturing an undiscovered generation and their worth ethic. Next up Ken speaks with broadcaster and educator Dr. Marty Beth Leidman. Ken and Mary Beth discuss academia vs. Hollywood, audience engagement, shared experience, loving television from birth, new technology, narrow casting vs. broadcasting, late night TV, the definition of variety shows, Saturday Night Live and not understanding the Walking Dead.

September 12-18, 1987 Today Ken welcomes comedian Guy Branum to the show. Ken and guy discuss the tease of the Fall Preview issue, Rags toRiches, TV Musicals, Cop Rock, mid-season replacements, ChickenSoup, Ted Harbert dating Chelsea Handler, Jamie Tarses, G4, MTV's IWant to be a VJ contest, childhood love of crossing over into theTV world, MTV's invention of modern reality TV, the fame drug, theHollywood Poor, being frozen in a successful year, the move from TVreflecting real life to being totally aspirational, Life Styles ofthe Rich and Famous, PM/Evening Magazine, Operah's trashy past,SNL's Silver Age Cast, the wonders of Ed Grimley, Prime TimeCartoon Preview Specials, Once a Hero, The Days and Nights of MollyDodd, Northern Exposure, prime time animated series, Frank's Place,Moonlighting, Clueless, My Two Dads, Living Dolls, Just the Ten ofUs, Growing Pains, Thicke of the Night, Family Ties very specialepisodes, Justine Bateman, burning off pilots, Dolly, pranksreplacing variety, live TV bloopers, Everything's Relative, Jakeand the Fatman, Twin Peaks, Baby Boomer revulsion, Sacramento's bignames, Julia Duffy, the illogical Emmys, Elvis on TV, Hooperman,Dabney Coleman, Benson, loving Grand, Maude, 100 Questions, beingstuck in the 90s, Facts of Life, Ken's love of Pippa, failed showsbased on comedians, Werewolf, Clip Shows, Writer's Strike, OurHouse, Spenser for Hire, My So-Called Life, the sadness of PunkyBrewster, Duet, Tracey Ulman Show, The Young Ones, Girls on Top,hugged by Dawn French, Ruby Wax, The Gena Davis Show, ALF, Kate& Allie, The Golden Girls, Valerie, It's Your Move, SquarePegs, Will and Grace, The Boogens, Designing Women, Who's the Boss,Mark Harmon, Highway to Heaven, Wiseguy, A Year in the Life,Sledgehammer, Bob Hope, Night of the Creeps, loving Max Headroomand Baby Jessica ruining everything.

Today Ken welcomes actress, singer, songwriter, Olivia d'Abo to the show. Ken and Olivia discuss the origins of the show's title, Bolero, French as a first language, TV Guide, The Wonder Years, being in Mad Magazine, Electric Boogaloo, New Mexico, being the eternal outsider, having an ear for accents, dirty little gypsies, Bo Derek, the disappointment of cornrows, biblical floods, Conan: The Destroyer, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, The Coreys, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, experiencing old Hollywood, Simon & Simon, Sarah Douglas. Tracey Walter, Land of the Lost, Greedy, Wendy Richard, Essex. Growing Pains, working at the World of Burgers, SCTV, Really Weird Tales, Martin Short, Karen on the Wonder Years, studying the 60s, method acting, Hollywood Premieres, The Boston vs. Australian accent, bittersweet sitcoms, The Wonder Years' final episode, Robotic Playboy Bunnies, Joe Flaherty, Spin City, Michael J. Fox, Bob Balaban, "The Last Good Time", The Single Guy, Kirk Douglas, Spirit of '76, David Cassidy, Olivia's Music, The Jeffersons, Justice League, the wonders of technical voice acting, The Big Green, Tarzan and Jane, Vincent D'Onofrio's secret acting mash ups, how Gumby connects to Vampire's Kiss, and walking down memory lane.

Today Ken welcomes writer/director/producer and former actressCheryl Pollak (Pump Up the Volume, The Heights, Hull High, My BestFriend's a Vampire)to the show. Ken and Cheryl discuss Cheryl's surprise at Ken's fandom, HullHigh, being ahead of the times, The Heights, Cop Rock, My BestFriend's a Vampire, What's Alan Watching?, Live Shot, Alien Nation,wanting to be fired, Roomies, Jordache Jeans, Mama's Family,growing up in Texas, being the youngest, lawless households, TVsign offs, Davey and Goliath, modeling, the difficulty of comedy,Head of the Class, losing your accent, Night Life, working withJohn Astin, not watching yourself, CHiPs, Cross and theSwitchblade, pickle danger, The Hardy Boys, crushing ParkerStevenson, Sanford and Son, The Rockford Files, replacing castmembers, death on TV, Gilligan's Island as Cheryl's all timefavorite TV show, being creeped out by Alf, Back to the Beach, theSkipper's real name, RuPaul's Drag Race, Hogan's Heroes, RichardDawson, James Kirk and James West's odd similarities, Green Acres,Melrose Place, The Dallas Genie connection, educational shorts,weenie roasts, Larry Hagman, made-for-TV Movies, Swimsuit TheMovie, Perfect People, Dialing for Dollars, Three's Company, afterschool specials, Real People, relying on brain power, a characterabout to lose their virginity at any moment, saying "condom" onthirtysomething, Alicia Witt on Real People, and Ken's Pump Up theVolume tradition.