Tv Guidance Counselor Podcast

January 30-Feburary 5, 1993 This week Ken welcomes BACK to the show, former Boston and now TN comedian Shawn Carter. Ken and Shawn discuss his move to Tennessee, living in an RV, and opening a comedy club in Bristol. He shares insights into the differences between Tennessee and Virginia, including tax rates and downtown areas split by state borders. The conversation also touches on the late-night talk show wars between Letterman and Leno. The TV Guide issue from January 30th to February 5th, 1993, is reviewed, highlighting the move of Seinfeld to Thursday nights and the lineup of must-see TV shows. The conversation concludes with a discussion on watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and local TV shows in Boston. In this part of the conversation, Ken and Shawn discuss various topics including TV shows, skiing, the Super Bowl, alternative programming, a puppet show at the comedy club, a burlesque show, strip clubs, and riding motorcycles. They also mention push-up contests, push stand-up comedy, arm wrestling, whis

February 2-9, 2002 This week Ken welcomes the comedian behind the YouTube Special "Frontin" Rob Haze to the show. Ken and Rob discuss his experiences in the comedy scene, his love for the Bernie Mac Show, and the impact of the mockumentary format on sitcoms. He also highlights underrated shows from the 2001-2002 season and shares an interesting story about Disney's encounter with Dr. Dre. The conversation covers various topics, including the Boston comedy scene, the influence of African American actors, and the crossover between music and comedy on shows like All That. In this part of the conversation, Ken Reid and Rob Haze discuss the counter programming during the Super Bowl, including True Hollywood Stories and My Girl 2. They also talk about the influence of Fear Factor and the impact it had on Joe Rogan's career. The conversation then moves on to the programming on Monday night, including Malcolm in the Middle and the Heroes of Black Comedy series. They also discuss the controversy between the World Wil

September 17-23, 1994 FALL PREVIEW This week, kicking off Ken's Birthday month with an EXTRA special episode, Ken welcomes writer, actor and Whitest Kid U Know Sam Brown to the show. Ken and Sam discuss West Coast East Coast confusion, growing up in Sandwich, the cops, being an hour from everything, going to school in NYC, meeting Trevor Moore, UCB, improv, the origin of MUNG, lingo, avoiding new people on the train, leaving home, Something Wilder, ER, Chicago Hope, Fall Preview roads not traveled, the other Anthony Edwards, basketball, Dudley Moore, Cosby Mysteries, Clariton, Capri cigarettes, My So-Called Life, MTV, how much of a failure Friends will be, Let's Go Bang, JLH, Nate Blackist on Twitch, Mid-Hunting, Dabney Coleman, things that look good on paper, working with Ivan Reitman, rebooting Stripes, John Candy's German insistence, taking studio notes, rewrites, refusing to play ball, Exit 57, Summer Series with Nepo Babies, E! doing original programming, Q&E, Walter Mondale's daughter, Trailer Boys,

Feb 19, 2007   This week Ken welcomes comedian Ahmed Al-Kadri to the show.   Ken and Ahmed discuss TV viewing habits and the TV Guide from February 19th to 25th, 2007, favorite TV shows, watching TV as a family, and the impact of superhero TV shows, the post-9/11 TV landscape and the rise of ethnic diversity in stand-up comedy,shifting trends and cultural influences on television during this time, the structure of comedy, Tom Arnold and Orny Adams, the post-apocalyptic TV show Jericho, the fragility of technology, the impact of nuclear bombs, canceled and revived TV shows like Arrested Development and Futurama, as well as the success of Two and a Half Men, fame and infamy of stand-up comedians, the influence of political correctness on comedy, and the similarities between horror and comedy in terms of structure, fear and context in horror, the birth of stand-up in America, the longevity of Grey's Anatomy, the decline of sitcoms on Thursday nights, the rise of drama shows, the appeal of Los Angeles over New Yo

October 24-31, 1964 This week Ken welcomes BACK to the show, author of the new book "James Bond and the Sixties Spy Craze", Tom Shubilla. Ken and Tom discuss the cold war, spy culture, how we looked at spies different each decade after WWII, James Bond, Euro Spy, Japanese Spy flicks, surfing and spying, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Tupperware parties, Abe Lincoln, wrestling, Johnny Quest, The Saint, Lawrence Welk, Gilligan's Island, The Outer Limits, The Rolling Stones on Ed Sullivan, Halloween episodes, Bachelor Father, The Addams Family, Don Rickles, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Car 54, Where Are You?, Jack Benny, Children in Danger, Patty Duke, Shindig, computerized election coverage, Steve Allen, Rich Little, The Flintstones, Andy Williams, real world leaders in spy movies, The Finale Programme, Rob Hill, being a monster kid and a preview of Thom's next book. 

Feb 15-21, 1997 This week Ken welcomes writer, comedian and man behind the new YouTube Comedy Special "Wallpaper", Adam Cayton-Holland. Ken and Adam discuss climate change, Colorado, David Letterman, Letterman's "I'm David F*&king Letterman" phase, serialized comedy, how Letterman invented Impractical Jokers, having nostalgia for 1997, the FINAL episode of The Monkees that was made in 1997, Tanya Harding, celebrity boxing, ice skating, Nancy Kerrigan, Hepcat, Sabado Gigante, Columbia House, buying things off TV, mail order, Those Who Can't, being replaced with Young Sheldon, Fast Times, the misnomer that is The Mandela Effect, Murphy Brown, Chicago Hope, how sometimes something isn't an "effect" you're just stupid, Singled Out, Tom Rhodes, Ren & Stimpy, Roseanne, Mad About You, Fraiser, Beverly Hills 90210, Party of Five, Friends, Martin Seinfeld, Living Single, A Different World, Comic Justice, Stormy Justice, Cheers, Ellen, too many hostage episodes, offending Roseanne, not understanding what "norma

September 19-26, 1998 This week Ken welcomes BACK to the show author of the new book "99 Episodes That Defined the '90s: Television Milestones from Arsenio to Homer to Yada Yada Yada, Chris Morgan" Ken and Chris discuss his book, Detroit, Tim Allen, Jack Kavorkian's lawyer, Cigarette ads, Heidi Klum, Spin City, French Stewart, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Sex with Cindy Crawford, reality TV, the classic SNICK line up, Celebrity Death Match, Mad TV, Baywatch, Night Man, the frequency of Evil, Rising Star Barbie Alan Jackson, commemorative plates, Will & Grace, That 70s Show, Monday Night Football, Holding the Baby, The Marriage Fool, King of Queens, Brian Benben Show, Say What MTV, Superman II, King of the Hill, the greatness of Clueless: The Series, Newhart, Working, Hyperion Bay, Hey Arnold!, The Drew Carey Show, the impact of Phil Hartman's Death, comedy  vs drama, Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place, Ryan Reynolds, the decline of Must-See TV, Newsradio, the odd pairing of crystal meth and Seinfeld, ER, the ham

This week Ken welcomes actor, producer and woman behind Be Brave Media Joanne Rubino. Ken and Joanne discuss the path from in front of the camera to behind it, moving a lot, being your own friends, getting guest spots on big series, ER, production management, indie films, volunteering to help run a tight ship, how long projects take, Hatfields & McCoys, ITV, never giving up, believing in the project, working with the best people, being nominated for an Emmy, making stuff happen, getting interviews with big Hollywood actors, Marlon Brando, telling real life stories, documentaries, docudrama, scripted TV, the difficulty of getting past gatekeepers, how you have to do everything, how the same people in a small group are A-listers, the difficulty of getting older in Hollywood, how critical acclaim doesn't always lead to making money, Barbie, things you HAVE to see on a big screen, telling smaller stories, character driven pieces, red carpet premieres, The Slinky, The Pez Outlaw,  IP, labors of love, trying un

This week Ken welcomes actor (Alias), writer, producer, and co-host of the "Did You Do It?" podcast, Kevin Weisman. Ken and Kevin discuss L.A. weather, growing up in the Valley, how filthy with Boston people old L.A. was, the insanity of the man named Griffith, shooting apples off of heads and why it is never a good idea, Equity Waiver plays, the "no more on stage than in the audience" rule, stand up, performing for people who don't want to see a performance, Edinburgh Festival, Kyle Gass, The New Beverly Theater, Jacob's Ladder, comedians in serious roles, Tim Robbins, The Actors Gang, Buffalo Knights, Dead Man Walking, Mr. Madonna, the wonders of High Hair, rarely going into L.A. proper, Zuma Beach, Valley Girl, playing drums, John Candy, the wonder of John Ritter, meeting your heroes, being surprised by people's process, how when you're good at something it looks easy, how acting is hard, doing tech rehearsals on LSD, The Dead, We Are the World, loving music documentaries, variations on a theme, being in a

In this episode previously a Patreon Exclusive (patreon.com/tvguidancecounselor) Ken chats with actor Kevin Chapman live at last month's North East Comic Con. 

This week Ken welcomes writer, director, producer Rolfe Kanefsky (There's Nothing Out There, Nightmare Man, Pool Boy Nightmare) to the show. Ken and Rolfe discuss Fangoria, Gorezone, the Catch 22 of trying to get a distributer without press and press without distribution, Brett Piper, going to film school, Hampshire College, watching horror on TV, Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, making a Russian movie into an American movie, My Family Treasure, Dee Wallace, moving to LA and staring over, directing soft core films, parodies, Playboy's Inside Out, USA Network, The Hitchhiker, Playboy TV, Tomorrow by Midnight, the lost film, Clerks, Mad TV, Seizure, starting in B movies, making movies for Life Time, the shower scene joke, Friday the 13th Part 8 Jason Takes Manhattan, Rolfe's father's editing career, Times Square, 42nd St, Troma, Troma's War, Full Moon, Roger Corman, trying to beat Spielberg, student films, Emmanuelle, The Killer Eye, Dave DeCouteau, meeting Tiffany Sheepis a

This week Ken welcomes the incredible co-hosts of the amazing How NOT to Make a Movie podcast, writer-producers A.L. Katz and Gil Adler. Ken, Alan and Gil discuss good rooms, Bordello of Blood, when Alan and Gil first met, moving from New York to LA, 1985, Rhonda Shear, The Groundlings, Basic Training, how a good producer sacrifices to get nudity on screen, Freddy's Nightmares, Rubik's Cubes of writing problems, anthology horror TV, non-Union shows, Ken's love of Steven King's Dance Macabre, the connection of comedy and horror, it's not TV it's HBO, Tales from the Crypt, why season 3 was supposed to be the end of Tales from the Crypt, Tobe Hooper, problem solving, worms, working with Brian DePalma, Dylan Dog, cutting on 35mm film, EC Comics, making the Cryptkeeper an actual character, the nightmare of Bordello of Blood, being forced to cast people you didn't want, shooting in Canada, Demon Knight, Dennis Miller, improv, Rafe Guttman, shooting TFTC in London, Perversions of Science, tax rates, being confused f

This week Ken welcomes artist, writer and comic book legend Evan Dorkin to the show. Ken and Evan discuss living the dream, low bars, being disgusted by your own personal failings, Spring Break, hating Florida, how nobody actually grows up in Staten Island, being an artist, 80s punk, never leaving your home, being Jewish in an Italian neighborhood, Ska, Bim Skala Bim, accents, being too hung over to see your name in the  credits of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, kids getting their shoes stolen at punk gigs, Kevin Shields ordering food, The Cars, Suicide, Milk and Cheese, Space Ghost, music on TV, pre-MTV days, Rockworld, the legend of Steranko, meeting girls, the introduction of surrealism to America, big egos, John Romita, Jack Kirby, Superman the Animated Series, how great Paul Dini is, Batman The Animated Series, Dwayne McDuffie, Freakazoid, Supergirl, why nobody but Kal-El can be from Krypton, how TV writing is all puzzle solving, continuity, Tik Tok's second life of Eltingville, Bibo, collecting comics, t

Last month (March 9, 2024) Ken moderated a chat with Growing Pains cast members Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller and Julie McCullough at the spring North East Comic Con in Boxboro Mass.   Enjoy! 

May 25-31, 1991 This week Ken welcomes author Jason Brant and his wife and co-host of the EXCELLENT YouTube show, "So Bad It's Good", Erin Brant to the show. Ken, Jason and Erin discuss the risk of Erin and Jason wrecking the show forever, loving bad movies, how horrible a person Steven Segal is, vanity project, Neil Breen, how 1991 was the hangover of the 1980s, being barred from watching South Park, growing up in rural Western PA, Hershey, Pittsburgh, cigarettes, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Kevin Costner, Waterworld, T2, Transformers, childhood movie trauma, Space Camp, National Geographic, Boston mobsters, vomit bags, how amazing Steven Webber is, Wings, the wonder of Roy Biggins, America's Funniest People, Kidney Magazine, Prog Rock, Goblin, surgery on TV, Blossom, Joey Lawrence's music career, MacGyver, Murphy Brown, how great Hunter is, Collector's Plates, renting movies, Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, Skullets, Hooker's Girls, The Hulkster, field trips, Cheers, bad investments, American Ninja, Totem

This week Ken welcomes director Michael Pressman (The Great Texas Dynamite Chase, Some Kind of Hero, Doctor Detroit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II The Secret of the Ooze) to the show.  Ken and Michael discus COVID binging, The Bear, Slow Horses, The Crown, Call My Agent, having a comedy background but gravitating towards drama, having difficulty knowing when TV Comedy is working, Bad News Bears, working for Roger Corman, Picket Fences, how executives don't understand funny, indie cinema, directing Vanilla Ice, special FX, non-Union shoots, Golden Harvest, Michael's father being blacklisted, David Pressman's directing career, The Actor's Studio, visiting Hollywood sets after the blacklist was lifted in the 60s, the early days of live TV, Cosmopolitan Theater, New York vs L.A., westerns, Car 54, Where Are You?, Phil Silvers, Bonanza, directing theater, how much ratings have changed, the strange nature of streaming, soap operas, Law and Order SVU, Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Hope, Dick Wolf, Richard Boone, loving

February 12-18, 1977 This week Ken welcomes comedian, co-host of the Woo Woo Podcast, and woman behind the new stand up comedy special, "Sweetie", Irene Bremis. Ken and Irene discuss growing up in Boston, racism, being Greek, living in New York, having a braided perm, getting picked on at school, trying to pass a Puerto Rican, Kojak, strong family ties, not smoking, good parking spaces, lollipops, how handsome Ken is, when everyone smoked, Kraft Singles, kissing grits, ventriloquism, meeting Carol Burnett, Ken big upping Irene, being a Trekkie, Leather Tuscadero, Happy Days, strong women leads in television shows in the 1970s, Valerie Harper, being fired from your own show, cruel producers, loving horror movies, Don't Go to Sleep, Carrie, The Exorcist, growing up religious (culturally or otherwise), Wonder Woman, Golden Girls, loving Bea Arthur, pros and cons of boob jobs, Bruce Campbell, Burt Offerings, One Day at a Time, Van Halen, Wrestling, girl crushes, celebrity murderers, Bionic People, Barney Miller,

July 16-22, 1994 He was one of the very last in person guests pre-COVID, and this time he's back via satellite, please welcome writer of his second graphic novel, Youth Group (out 7/16/24 from First Second Books! Available for pre-order NOW!) , comic, and podcaster Jordan Morris back to the show. Ken and Jordan discuss NASA, Dave Thomas (Wendy's), Popeyes, KFC, In and Out Burger, when all cartoons became babies, Yo Yogi!, Jellystone, the most obscure Hanna Barbara characters, Ken's love of Frankenstein Jr., the impossible Impossibles, Sex with Cindy Crawford, the moon landing, Summer Shows, Sex in the 90s, House of Style, Steven Banks Show, paddy whacks, what Alec Baldwin watches, PBS Sitcoms, Yank Yucks, the "YouTube Thumbnail face", Pat Riley, TV Nation, the glory of the early teen years Summers, learning pop culture references, Hot Shots, The Mad Magazine phenom, Ren & Stimpy, the sweet Nicktoons, Rocko's Modern Life, Dream On, boobs on cable, Weekend at Bernie's II, MTV, Dead at 21, Good Morning Mr. H

February 1-7, 1997 This week Ken welcomes author of the excellent new novel Mother Doll (signed copies can be purchased here: https://www.skylightbooks.com/pre-order-signed-copies-mother-doll-katya-apekina), Katya Apekina. Ken and Katya discuss living in LA, raining in LA, snow in New England, the nature of our stories, how technology can make us more isolated, displacement, Russia, speaking your native tongue, raising your kids bi-lingual, translating literature, having a strong Moscow accent, only knowing 70s slang,  Cheburashka, accordion playing crocodiles, not being allowed to watch TV, Party of Five, reading War and Peace as a kid, WBCN, cool music, being cool by middle school, only watching one show a week, dating shows, Elimidate, Viy, going to Russian video stores in Allston, not wanting things up your nose, Singled Out, Jenny McCarthy, the death of the Maytag Repairman, Star Trek Voyager, Basketball Wizard Dennis Rodman, The Magic Castle, The Amazing Randi, Groundhog Day, North by Northwest, photogr

December 7-13, 1985   This week Ken welcomes writer, producer, professor, director and all around good guy Allan Arkush to the show.   Ken and Allan discuss Allan's cool office, Allan's record collection, Roger Corman, Emmy Nominations, directing or directing and producing over 400 episodes of TV, the path from 70s exploitation to 80s mainstream TV, having a high batting average of sold TV pilots. Fame, Summer pilot, Rock N Roll High School, telling stories through music, how popular Fame was in Israel, residuals, 80s NYC, directing videos for Elvis Costello, Bette Midler and Fleetwood Mac, the ones you turn down, why 1985 was a huge TV year for Allan, St. Elsewhere, Moonlighting, being able to be a style chameleon, being a cinema fan, having Scorsese teach you film, growing up in NJ, making whatever movie you want as long as it's the movie Roger wants, how hard it is to make good TV, coverage and lighting, how execs are not funny or creative, how bad studio notes are, King Kong, Micky Mouse Club, serialized