TV Guidance Counselor

November 23-29, 1991 Today Ken welcomes Save Ferris front woman and occasionalactress Monique Powell to the show. Ken and Monique discuss the worst weather Los Angeles has everhad, MTV, Remote Control, Orange County, The Golden Girls, SaturdayNight Live, The Go-Go's, Save Ferris, The World is New video, KROQ,Oingo Boingo, punk rock stabbing, Hepcat on the Flash, Dance HallCrashers, 10 Things I Hate About You, going to the Pretty in Pinkprom, how growing up in LA can sometimes ruin movies, Maps to theStars Homes, Brady Bunch house stake out, the theory of whyeveryone in Hollywood is hot, how fashion has changed, New WaveTheater, Pee Wee's Playhouse, Mama's Family, the fascination ofJewish youth with Jerry Falwell, Tammy Faye Baker, Christian punkrock, The Day My Kid Went Punk, The Young Ones, college radio, TheQueers, Roseanne, American Bandstand, Perfect Strangers, how we'reall Cousin Larry Appleton, the power of theme songs, Alan Thicke:Master Songwriter, living in a post-Richard Marx world, how Moniqueis Ken's dreamcatcher, The Facts of Life, Dolly Parton, Alice vs.Flo, tv based on movies, Shakespeare inspired teens, Mork &Mindy, Laverne and Shirley, DEVO fan mail, Cindi Lauper's secrets,Police Academy, National Lampoon, and a disbelief in hunky SteveGutenberg.

On this very special birthday edition of the show Ken welcomes actor and Boston legend Ted Danson to the show. Ken and Ted discuss Ted's lack of childhood television access, the mythical TV Guide use at Ted's cousins' house, Creepshow, Basketball, getting into acting for the sake of a date, Cheers, Taxi, Best of the West, getting that Lone Ranger look, being bilked by comic book ads, Dick Van Dyke, Leslie Nielsen, MTM Productions, Your Show of Shows, Carnegie Mellon, Jimmy Burrows, NBC's The Good Place, the practical genius of Brandon Tartifkof, Cheers little watched first season, the train wreck that was The Cheers Live finale post show in Boston, Magnum P.I., acting with The Muppets, being on the cover of TV Guide, why Sam Malone is a perfect character, being a life long basketball fan, Ink, Jonathan Katz, Becker, three camera sitcoms vs. single camera sitcoms, Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm, how hard it is to watch yourself, Becker's 9/11 episode, why the best humor is sad and the best drama is funny, the horrors of watching the US Election, HGTV as calming viewing, The Voice, Game of Thrones, Bloodline, Damages, CSI, Fargo, having Dick Van Dyke play your father, and the difficult problems faced by the blessed in filling their time.

May 19-25, 2001 Today Ken welcomes comedian Casey Malone to the show. Ken and Casey discuss gangsters, forgetting 9/11, The West Wing,miserable jerk Doctors, 19th Birthdays, the wonders of being overage 18, buying pornography, comic book stores of ill repute, StarTrek, Marvel Cards, Comedy Central, a life without cable, SNL,gamers, Mortal Kombat, Dan Ackroyd, Neighbors, Cops, Columbo, classwarfare, Sheena, screen used/worn items, The Simpsons, Submarines,The Phantom Gourmet, the post-Simpsons Annimation boom, Malcom inthe Middle, Clerks: The Animated Series, Home Movies, Se7en vs.Anne Frank, X-Files, Jessica Biel, Biography, Cheers film careers,finding Roswell, Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Facts of Life, sexyteens, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Dark Angel, Jessica Alba, TheInvisible Man, Nowhere Man, Ed and the $10 bet, Drew Carey, Jesusshows, celebrating your birthday with the Gilmore Girls, newsbloopers, Charmed, Comedy Central Presents..., Little Monsters, andhating Sting.

Summer Scare-A-Con Special! Today Ken speaks with legendary Exploitation movie scholar Joe Bob Briggs and the Mads of MST3k Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff. First up Ken talks to Joe Bob Briggs (TNT's Monstervision, Joe Bob's Drive In Theater). Ken and Joe Bob talk about the horrors of Springfield, classic sleazy neighborhoods, Help Reviews, being introduced to The Howling 7, anonymous oddities, Samurai Cop, Robert Z'Dar, Joe Bob's Media Blssters commentary tracks, the missteps of modern social media movie promotion, growing up in Texas/Tex-Arcana, Little Rock, going to a Drive-in as a family, Saturday Night at the Movies, The Three Stooges, terrifying children's TV show Slam Bang Theater, Ghoulardi's pyromania, Ernie Anderson, Zacherly, becoming a scholar of the un-scholarly, Roger Corman, the secret origin of the Drive In Totals, how The Intruder actually truly never lost money, mining talent, Angie Dickinson, putting TV actors in movies, little Ronny Howard, The Movie Channel, Robert Osborne, sitting on the Honeymooners set at the DuMont Network, Bette Davis, TNT's Monstervision, guesting on The Tonight Show, how WCW almost had the first gay wedding, post-pub TV, being popular in prisons, infomercials, the exciting emerging world of streaming networks, big money in TV sports, Variety Shows, the TV mini-series, and the impressive skill set of today's TV writers. Next up Ken chats with MST3k's Mads Trace Beaulieu (Crow, Dr. Clayton Forester) and Frank Conniff (TV's Frank). Ken, Trace and Frank talk the female McHale's Navy, watching things because they are on, network sign offs, the Patriotic nature of shutting down, terrifying PSA's, smoking in bed, memorizing TV shows, being a repository of information in the pre-internet age, Frank's guilty feelings of sneaking Garrison's Gorillas behind a curtain, the wonders of Color TV, Batman '66, the retirement of Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp, Sgt. Bilko, the genius of Nat Hiken, Latin lessons, ass learnin', shared experience leading to life long friends, SCTV, the continuity of MST3k, having to love the worst movies, The Mads tour, Rifftrax reunion, made for TV movies, Jack Davis, the wonders of Mad Magazine, and loving UK TV.

Today Ken welcomes former actor, current lawyer Troy Slaten tothe show.Ken and Troy discuss Troy's work clothes, legal issues,stenographer tidbits, being a talking head on 24 news channels,Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Melanie Chartoff, Cagney & Lacey, the"lost" Cagney, learning on the set, growing up in Calabasas, Beta,The Revell Funster Funbird, Reese's Pieces, commercials, Grandma'scard came leading to Hollywood success, Diff'rent Strokes, Who'sthe Boss, Greatest American Hero, My Sister Sam, Simon & Simon,Roseanne, The Wonder Years, Step by Step, Superhuman SamuraiCyber-Squad, Saturday Morning TV, Sid & Marty Kroft, ElectraWoman and Dyna-Girl, no Sleestack fear, The A-Team, Netflixnepotism, Billy Jayne/Jacoby, Brian Spicer, Rob Bowman, being thenerd, method acting Swatch Synchronization, Jerry's Jacket, 90210,hearing yourself in German, the Ferris Bueller issue, Three O'ClockHigh, Tim Stack's Night Stand, Harry Anderson, the 90s Talk showboom, the late great John Pinette, on set teachers, The Crucible,connecting to Winona Ryder, L.A. Law, Stacey Keenan, being in lovewith Alissa Milano, Jack The Bear, disastrous dates with ReeseWitherspoon, Troy as alternate Leonardo DiCaprio, date vomit, stuntJerrys, Walking Dead, the comfort of Emergency, being starstruck byAnthony Perkins, Goonies, not wanting to be an entertainmentlawyer, and the magic of criminal defense.

July 6-12 , 1974 Today Ken welcomes author Elizabeth Crane to the show. Ken and Elizabeth discuss when Cambridge was cool, New York editions of TV Guide, having life time subscriptions to TV Guide, Lucy, keeping scrapbooks, All In the Family vs. The Partridge Family, loving Danny, bus station TV, having a TV in your room, the secret origins of Ken's TV knowledge, the importance of context, The Glass Teat, The Cowsils, Union Jobs, people being out to get you at work, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Pyschomania, The 4:30 Movie, inappropriate relationships with Lou Grant, being distracted by Mary Tyler Moore's dog, Alan Alda: Guest Speaker, Barney Miller, Hal Linden as Captain America, Wonderama, Bob McAllister, bootleg Romper Room, Zoom!, meeting Henry Winkler, Twosomething, working at a talent agency, 11 days as an Angelino, LA vs. NYC, Apple's Way, Leif Garrett, 42nd St, Colors in Times Square, animal slaughter, television sense memory, the comfort of television, 1977: The Coolest Year in Hell, Son of Sam, Plato's Retreat, Basket Case, Lawrence Welk, Polka Culture, Department S, Columbo, The Rookies, Johnny Seven, Kate Jackson's clothing, Book Beat, Boboquivari, Maude, Mary Hartman, Laugh-In, looking to pursue a career in impressionism, disliking the TV schedule anarchy of weekends, Jonathan Winters, Tony Orlando & Dawn, being Charo, the lost age of Variety, Wait 'til Your Father Gets Home, Kojak, Telly Savalis as the Devil, Waltons Wallpaper, Little House on the Prairie, adaptations missing the point, Herbie Day at Disneyland, Merv, Streets of San Franciso, Kung Fu's tarnished past, Dirty Sally, Sanford and Son, US remakes of UK shows, Brady Bunch, Cabrini Green, the heartbreak of burned off pilots, Marlo Thomas' personal Love American Style, the horrification of the anthology, The Odd Couple, Tony Randall, referencing Toma, Yoga on TV, and loving The Walking Dead.

September 12-18, 1992 FALL PREVIEW ALERT!Today Ken welcomes musician, and all around quality human beingBrett Anderson (The Donnas, The Stripminers) to the show.Ken and Brett discuss The Heights, The Ben Stiller Show, TwinPeaks inside Beverly Hills 90210 outside, moving from Indiana toCalifornia, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, appearing on Charmed,Jawbreaker, Ken's first meeting with Brett in New Hampshire at theElvis Room circa 1998, not having your music advertise feminineproducts, Yaz, birth control, "We're Not Gonna Take It", exactlyhow you talk to an Angel, the Jamie Walters phenomenon, AaronSpelling blue balls, Herman's Head, studying psychology, Lita Ford,Samantha Fox, Ken's love of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, thereturn of Zubas and the Hi-Top Fade, Bill Cosby's worst trait, how"The Edge" predated Mr. Show, hate watching, loving a B-, TobeyMcGuire's sitcom roots, Whoops, Billy Bob Thorton's sitcom roots,Hangin' with Mr. Cooper's link to Growing Pains, set recycling,"Just You and I", wanting to be Donna, which New Kid on the Blockcan sing for Judas Priest, what happens when you go to sleep, classof '96. The Hat Squad, New Jack Swing, Holiday hostingconscription, obtaining a couch, Super Bowl rights, Paul Reiser, MyTwo Dads, prank phone calls, Delta Burke, the debut of Martin,"Snap Battles", Miton Bearle's Ratt, Gene Simmons' cold Cokeseduction, MTV, cable, The Last Unicorn vs. The Neverending Story,Fraggle Rock, being wrong about Daylight savings, Headbanger'sBall, SNL, Kids in the Hall, Idiocracy, sugaring up for all nightTV marathons, birth control candy, Fifteen, Depression &Anxiety, Scholastic books, Book bus and purple sweatsuits, BJ'sWholesale Club, haunted by Dunkaroos, Top of the Pops, miming onTV, TRL, Madonna as sketch comedian, the music of Double Dare, micface based payments, exercising with Bruce Dickinson, Andrew WK,David Coverdale's sexerly voice, what to do when it's "Too Hot toSleep", Rick Springfield's magical cartoon work, You Can't Do Thaton Television, writing lyrics to instrumentals, and writing a TVtheme song.

Today Ken welcomes actress Josie Davis (Charles in Charge, Lifetime, Beverly Hills 90210) to the show. Ken and Josie discuss the wonders of Nespresso, if anyone actually knows who Josie is, Charles in Charge, Out of This World, the hard work that goes into not aging, coming from an acting family, Hollywood cosmetic surgery, how the stoic look best, acting in commercials at 3, being replaced by Sugar Bear, the power of Fruit Roll-Ups, selling Japanese Whiskey in Japan with Ernest Borgnine, imprinting on Scott Baio, Bugsy Malone, mafia aspirations, navigating the politics of the business, the power of extras, being a guest star, why there are no cats in Canada, Lifetime movies, working on a hidden David Fincher project, "First Family" the lost Caveman pilot, Beverly Hills 90210, The Young and the Restless, learning how to stand up for yourself, The Soaps, Titans, Victoria Principal, John Barrowman, Dead at 21, Two and a Half Men, Submissions for Emmys, studying acting, breaking the Sarah Powell reputation, Silk Stalkings, doing your character work, playing psychos, Dirty Teacher, how glamming it up can sometimes work against you, Bones, Burn Notice, not being a business person, needing a mentor, and how it's your duty to help people.

March 8-12, 1980 Today Ken welcomes writer, Tick-creator and all around personal hero Ben Edlund to the show. Ken and Ben discuss going through the looking glass from Massachusetts, desire to play by the rules, a multi-TV household, piloting the house from the kitchen, The Muppets, Henson's subversive PBS model, WGBH, Zoom, trying to live the California lifestyle in New England, CHiPs, Beefcake Baywatch, Baywatch Nights, punk rock scare episodes, C.B. Radio culture, men and ape, Fantasy Island, Hawaii 5-0, Love Boat, Herve Velechez, Mason Reese, Hunks, Mr. Magoo, the noble idiot, Harvey Comics meeting Heavy Metal, Epic Magazine, Alice, One Day at a Time, The Unshakable Mollie B, Freebie and the Bean, M*A*S*H milk, The Tick is the ticket, That's Incredible vs. Real People, The Gary Marshall universe, FoxKids, Pirates of Dark Water, Bobby's World, Sheriff Lobo, first run syndication, The Day After Tomorrow, Three's Company, SOAP, sad songs in Taxi, Hart to Hart, old movies, writing to Jacques Cousteau, Captain Bob, drawing, running a trading card supply syndicate, Buck Rogers, Quark, Benson, Ron Glass, Firefly, Barney Miller, Supernatural Hal Linden, Captain America the Musical, Quincy, the dark underbelly of NYC, the Incredible Hulk, The Benji problem, Pink Lady and Jeff, Creature Features, Lon Chaney Jr boozing it up, faking your own death, Breaking Bad, myth arch vs. monster of the week and the coming of the cyborg age.

For his monumental 150th (!) episode Ken is honored to welcome the fantastic, fabulous, one and only Cassandra Peterson, also known as Elvira Mistress of the Dark. Ken and Cassandra discuss who the hell she is, drag disguises, the trappings of celebrity, the great flood, Colorado, the 70s conservative Christian invaders, being a show girl in Las Vegas, living on a farm without a TV, "The Silver Ace", forced singing, Gunsmoke & Wrestling, coming from a costume Dynasty, Tina Louise, Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Genie, Destiny as the queen of Halloween, loving comedy, The Three Stooges, the golden age of Las Vegas, Addams Family vs. The Munsters, Bewitched vs. I Dream of Genie, Twilight Zone, The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, the creation of "the teenager", Beatniks, Hulabaloo Go Go girl contests, Shin Dig, Dragnet, Nick at Nite, being blind to The Brady Bunch, moving to Europe, Elvis, acting, The Groundlings, taking classes with Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl, SNL, Phil Hartman, Paul Reubens, Laraine Newman, Fantasy Island, dancing on Tony Orlando and Dawn, the birth of Elvira, The Paragon of Comedy, 3-D movies, Vincent Price, Holly Knight, Fred Schneider, Kabuki, David Bowie, Joey Arias, Klaus Nomi, the 1st TV Generation, Oingo Boingo, The Whisky, KROQ, Punk Rock, forgetting the 70s, managing the Go-Gos (almost), Rodney on the ROQ, syndication, CHiPs, The Fall Guy, Bloopers and Practical Jokes, The Tonight Show, The Monster Club, Elvira Mistress of the Dark on Blu Ray, Coors Beer, the death and resurrection of the horror host, Tim Burton, NBC Productions, The Nick, Brandon Tartikoff, being the beacon of hope for outsiders, gay kids, and goths, conventions, the Elvira pilot, and befriending Vincent Price in search of his cookbook.