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October 3-9, 1992 This week welcomes Boston comedian and fellow former punk rock teen Tiny to the show. Ken and Tiny discuss Tiny's disbelief at being part of the TVGC guest list, The Newtons, Bob Newhart, The Bob Newhart Show vs Newhart vs Bob, Image Comics, the 90s Chromium age of comics, Jack Kirby, moving around the country, going to Berklee School of music, being taught how to be happy by Bobby McFarren, Alf Claussen, being raised in Church, being a drummer, My So-Called Life, being The Prince of Nebraska, Tiny's old band The Thickness, headlining O'Briens, the horrors of pay to play, Going to Extremes, Baby Boomer Brawl: Home Improvement vs Seinfeld, TV Guide's investigative journalism, Ghost Writer, Joan Rivers, In Living Color, COPS, Cop Rock, how the time wasn't right for musicals, Swamp Thing the series, Elizabeth Berkley's adult work, Gillian Anderson, the short lived Angel Street, Sorority Babes in the Slime Bowl-o-Rama, The Dead Milkmen, mail order record companies, Guys dressed as "ugly women" being a joke, Who's Line Is It Anyway?, deep dives on YouTube, failed pilots, Made for TV Movies, Giulani's hatred of ferrets, A Different World, dressing like Dwayne Wayne as a white kid in Arkansans, silk shirts, Desperate Choices to Save My Child, Joanna Kerns in a TV movie with Reese Whitherspoon, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Tom Waits album covers, Murphy Brown, Ken on PornHub, Quantum Leap, Body Double, The Wonder Years, Doogie Howser M.D., Ron Canada, sitcoms dealing with gun violence, The Kids in the Hall, Comedy Punks, Brain Candy, Cheers, character replacements, Wings, how Roy Biggins is the greatest awful character in the history of television, Flying Blind, the comedic talents of Tea Leoni, people's hatred of Golden Palace, 20/20's scare tactics, being murdered in a hotel room, Crossfire, Larry Sander, Tiny's overuse of "Hey now", and the greatness of Alan Havey.
Comedian and host of the "TV Guidance Counselor" podcast Ken Reid stops by to talk about being the teenage lead singer of Boston area punk band "30 Seconds Over Tokyo", the stories behind some of TV's most well known theme songs, and the best musical guest stars in television history.
TV Guidance Counselor celebrates its 9th Birthday Today, and in celebration and to start year ten off right please enjoy this BONUS! episode with the one and only Marc Summers! (Double Dare, Unwrapped) Marc has a great new podcast of his own called Marc Summers Unwraps (https://www.marcsummersunwraps.com/episodes/anthonyramos) that you can listen to anywhere fine podcasts are found, and you should! It's great. Ken and Marc discuss Graham Jr College in Boston, going to college with Paul Fusco (ALF) and Andy Kauffman, Fridays, being a warm up comic, Alice, Star Search, What's Happening Now?, Hour Magazine, Webster, starting as a professional magician, auditioning for Double Dare at age 33, how Gallagher encouraged Marc to abandon magic and go for stand up, how magic puts you out of pocket, realizing you are more of an MC, being at The Comedy Store in the Golden Age of the 70s, just getting on stage and being seen, Norm Crosby's Comedy Shop, when the Tonight Show won't even look at you, going from small parts on SOAP to warm up, getting gigs through reputation, the sneaky world of comedians stealing jobs, how great Ed McMahon was, Amazing Randy, how magicians and musicians spend a lot of time alone in a bedroom, Marc's infamous incident with Burt Reynolds on the Tonight Show in 1994, working on the AFI dinner for James Cagney, meeting the Beatles, Groucho Marx, Don Rickles and more, being a page on Sonny & Cher, Mary Tyler Moore and The Bob Newhart Show, becoming the face of Nickelodeon, touring 20k seat arenas with Double Dare, the long lasting appeal of Double Dare, reliving childhood, What Would You Do?, getting recognized by James Gandolfini on a plane, raising Bruno Mars, Lynn Manuel Miranda being a fan, being the eye of the storm in the chaos of many children's childhoods, never talking down to kids, setting the tone for Nick, Executive Producing Dinner Impossible and Restaurant Impossible, treating people with respect, getting input from people at all levels, Gerry Laybourne, hiring people smarter than you and letting them do their jobs, Unwrapped, tumblers, Pat Sajak, extruders, Food Network, shooting multiple shows in a day, taking 30 Double Dare Shows a week six months a year, watching your friends on Food Network, Marc's son's shows, House Hunters International, The Dick Van Dyke show being the best TV show ever, Fraiser, loving sitcoms, The Fugitive, SVU, Blue Bloods, how there are network shows now you've never heard of, Lorenzo Music telling you you wrote one of the worst things he ever read in his entire life, failing at writing a Webster, being tired of being told you suck, "A Martian Wouldn't Say That", practicing Double Dare physical challenges before they get to air, Marc's podcast Unwraps, what makes people keep moving forward, Mike O'Malley, Guy Fieri, Anthony Ramos, Nick Takes Over Your School, surly Mr. Wizard, Hulk Hogan trying to blend in, and looking forward to 90sCon.
October 31 - November 6, 1987 This week Ken welcomes new old friend, award-winning and critically acclaimed author of the young adult novels Here to Stay, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, and the Lambda Literary award winning If You Could Be Mine, which was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Best YA Books of All Time, Dead Flip and My Buddy Killer Croc Sara Farizan. Ken and Sara discuss matchmaker Meredith Goldstein, how Ken and Sara are essentially the same person, growing up in the Boston suburbs, Christine Else, Karen Duffy, Janeane Garofalo, Christine Lakin, Ken's weird skillset, breaking down barriers, mentioning something that taps into a deep emotional memory bank, 1987, 1992, the love of sci-fi/horror comedy, Gremlins, Monster Squad, Eerie Indiana, the fun of doing research to make historical fiction, writing and making art for your younger self, all the fears and issues young people today have that we didn't, how easy it is to watch listen to or read anything ever made, non heroic characters doing heroic things, a dislike of dark anti-heroes, representation, navigating adults as a kid, child stars sacrificing their childhood so we can have happy ones, Box Brown's book, Halloween, television and the 1992 elections, appreciating Courtney Cox, Misfits of Science, Cagney and Lacey, not being a cop show person, being bad at being a lesbian (media wise), liking character over procedure, Loving Care for Kittens and Cats, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Saturday Morning cartoons, advertising to kids, the wonders of Winterbeast, The Outer Limits in Waltham, The Midnight Hour, Dance Til Dawn, My Sister Sam, Women in Prison, Echoes in Darkness, Family Ties, having a crush on Stacey Keenan, Our House, Patrick Duffy's week, Mercedes McCambridge, family epics, Giant from 1956, Growing Pains, when Sandy died, very special episodes, generating dialog among families, After School Specials, ABC Tuesdays, Crime Story, The Iron Sheik, Perfect Strangers, Iranian immigrants loving WWF Wrestling, the early days of TGIF, Head of the Class, Donna Reed, working at Newbury Comics, Ken being fired from Newbury Comics because nobody liked him, being terrified of a Chucky Doll, Twilight, the wonder of being able to thank people face to face, Killer Croc, complicated fond memories of The Cosby Show, nice comedy and how difficult it is to do, Sledge Hammer, Hulk Hogan's Rock n Wrestling, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Lipstick and Dynamite, Carrie, Rags to Riches, I Married Dora, Jackie Gleason's lack of Emmys, and being fine with butts, even if you're not specifically looking for them.
March 17-23, 1990 This week Ken welcomes co-host, co-creator, editor, and producer of the podcasts Book Vs. Movie, Dorking Out, Not Fade Away, and What a Creep, the Brooklyn Fit Chick and author of the new book "Filmed in Brooklyn" Margo Donohue. Ken and Margo discuss doing it the best you can, how 1990 is Ken's favorite year, going to college in the Bay Area, banning Captain Underpants, two Margos, parents being very upset about Bart Simpson's sass, life in a Pre-Simpsons world, being conscripted into working at the Mall in Cali, NY vs CA pizza, Margo's book on Brooklyn, moving to Park Slope, shows shot in NYC, Brooklyn Bridge, heist movies, The Hot Rock, Criterion Channel, making sure you have your favorite movies on Physical media, the Providence/Boston/NY Maffia, buying Jesus Statues, thirtysomething, replacing cigarette ads with prescription rx ads, Midnight Caller, the greatness of Greg Proops, MTV's Remote Control, The Real World, how Kevin Powell was right all along, Mere Winningham, Martin Short Goes Hollywood, Miracle Mile, Anthony Edwards, Valerie Harper vs. The Hogan Family, Frankenhooker, Who's the Boss?, Murphy Brown, doing the homework, Unsolved Mysteries, Night Court, the greatness of China Beach, Ken's love of Grand, LA Law, Craig Bierko, Valerie Bertonelli, missing John Candy, after school specials with an REM soundtrack, developing actual film, John Waters on 21 Jump St., Julia Duffy, Seein' Double, being inappropriately angry at Robert Mitchum, The Wizard of Oz, and how much people hate starring in a movie with Judy Garland as the star.
This week Ken welcomes to incredible actor, singer, author and all around impressive human Traci Lords to the show. Ken and Traci discuss the long road to making this episode happen, Ken's Twitter banter, how Ken amuses Traci, if social media is bad or good, the toxic nature of society, love/hate relationships, how sometimes things are stupid and suck, insults, knowing how to take a selfie, how filters change the world, how life is a show, being a good person, being an introverted extrovert, how the access to celebrity has changed Hollywood, reality TV, how having a name can give you opportunities but also can hinder your growth as an artist, being a musician, having the freedom to fail, Radioactive Records, Perry Farrell, Moby, After Hours at Lollapalooza, the wisdom of age, self promotion, public pressure, stand up, Bob Saget, swimming as fast as you can, the importance of a hair toss, how Traci has been in TV Guide at least 21 times, The Tommyknockers, Crybaby, Married...with Children, the freedom of the 90s, inappropriate sitcoms, Roseanne, ensemble casts, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sandra Bernhardt, being shocked how high your voice was in your 20s, getting thrown in the deep end of being in front of a live audience, layers of panic, being so happy when you first book gigs, being more calm about it now, how acting is a blue collar profession, never Googling yourself, Hollywood poor, how amazing John Waters is, playing Tim Blake Nelson's wife, getting to play a Karen, finding that comedy works for you, trying to take the best roles offered to you, playing a fortune teller on MacGyver, Wiseguy, having your lines from gigs 30 years ago burned into your brain, the secret to learning lines, studying at The Actor's Studio, Joanna Cassidy, being on an airplane with Farrah Fawcett, Charlie's Angels, the paparazzi, all the contraptions you have to have when you have a newborn, why you should always say yes to working with John Waters, Patty Hearst, how John Waters' sets are like a family, First Wave, Francis Ford Coppola, working on Black Mask II in Thailand for Tsui Hark, being in a movie and having no idea what is going on, Excision, Nicole, Her Ex & the Killer, Providence, how weird working during and semi-post pandemic has been, loving actors who disappear in parts, figuring out what you want to do and what you want to spend your time doing, realizing life is short, Scooby Doo, doing voice over, cartoon characters, having a home studio, watching Game of Thrones twice while eating hot wings and pizza every night, how Scooby Doo goes so well with ice cream, Love Boat, being on a cruise with Charro and Tony Danza, and never wanting to go on a cruise again even though it's just eating and sex.
Just 23-29, 2008 This week Ken welcomes television producer, author and speaker whose credits include stints on popular shows like The Surreal Life, Dancing With the Stars, Basketball Wives, and Hollywood Game Night and author of the books Reality TV: An Insider's Guide to TV's Hottest Market (MWP) and And Another Thing: A Beginner's Guide to the TV Notes Process, Troy DeVolld. Ken and Troy discuss 2008, modern TV, Ken's Birthday, Troy's regretful choice, having your own show get savaged in Cheers and Jeers, spending 20+ years in reality TV, growing up in Florida, having an accidental career, loving sitcoms, MTV's Fear, being afraid of orangutan, why you should always read the credits on reality TV, how stories come together in editing, Mr. Smith, being in the Lancelot Link black hole, Tampa, Flipper, Miami Vice, Seventh Heaven, why it's not hard to be sexier than Tampa, Hollywood East, Donna Reed, Get Smart, home sick TV, fighting for respect, the mean spirited reality TV boom, The Surreal Life, Top Gear, Larry Tate, The Dana Carvey Show, Wizards of Waverly Place, awards shows, The Grammys, Saturday Morning Shoot Out with Peter Gruber, Larry King, Charlie Rose, hotel chain moguls, the story of Vamp, Dancing with the Stars, creating packages, the greatness of Tom Bergeron, getting to see your work with an audience, So You Think You Can Dance?, Lizard Lick Towing, when Bobby Dies, Starsky and Hutch, Roots, The State, Thomas Lennon, How to Make Movies for Profit, Weeds, Eddie Peppitone, Emerson, Kevin Bright, American Dad, Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs, The Bachelor, owning Marlon Brando's vest, collecting remote controls, The Philco Mystery Box, Richard Pryor's Moving, recognizing Jimmy Kimmel, Denise Richards Kaju, Larry Storch, asking your mom to stop sending you clippings, begrudgingly being the go to interview to discuss reality TV horror stories, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Sledge Hammer, the magic of Chuck McCann, paying it forward, running into the cast of Barney Miller throughout your life and identifying the Zenith Space Commander Six Hundred as being the remote control on Cheers.
We're making some new videos, which takes some time, so enjoy this old episode where we talk with Ken Reid from TV Guidance Counselor podcast, and then get into the fun history of Max Headroom and the worst sitcom pilot of all time, "Heil Honey, I'm Home!"Follow us on TikTok @ADTPod to check out some of new clips and videos. We hate it there, too.
April 29 - May 5, 1967 This week Ken welcomes director, producer and writer (Evil, Farscape, The New Twilight Zone, V, Seaquest DSV) Rockne S. O'Bannon to the show. Ken and Rockne discuss Ken's long time love of Rockne's work and how often it comes up on the show, 1967, the amazing nature of not aging since 1967, the boom of sci-fi TV in 1966, Film reboots of classic TV shows, quantum entanglement, growing up in LA, Rockne's mother being a Busby Barkley dancer, Rockne's father being a gaffer at Warner Brothers, writing your first pilot script at age 10 for The Boy from U.N.C.L.E., realizing people make television at an early age, Isaac Asimov's essay on how sexy Mr. Spock is, Lawrence Welk swimsuit issue, innovation in animal training, Raven with a Gun, writing for streaming shows and dealing with not needing the convention ad break structure, Sci-Fi Channel movie templates, Laugh-In, Hollywood Teletype, commissioned art, the rise of hippy culture in the mainstream, TV Guide's incredibly detailed listings for everything including reruns and sports, Frankenstein Jr, Space Angel, Clutch Cargo, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke shows status as the greatest TV sitcom ever, Pistols & Petticoats, Gunsmoke, Tom Skerrit's week, The Avengers, Johnny Carson reruns, Saturday Night Live, TV shows about television, It's About Time, Ed Sullivan, the pre-muppet Muppets, Roger Miller's variety show, FBI, Rockne's Dad taking home TV scripts for him to study, the horror of pay tv, white guys as Native Americans, westerns, Steve Allen's invention of everything, Mr. Terrific, Captain Nice, Buck Henry, Get Smart!, The New Twilight Zone, "Wordplay", "The Shadow Man", Darkroom with James Coburn, Joey Bishop, Don Herbert is Mr. Wizard, TV Close Ups, The National Science Test, The Saint, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Red Skelton, The Invaders, pinkies, playing it cool around celebrities, Albert Brooks, Night of the Meek, The Afterhours, Fame is the Name of the Game, Lost in Space, Batman '66, Fringe, Evil, time travel, Time Tunnel, being the new Irwin Allen by mistake, gadgets, I Spy, Wild Wild West, Honey West, Green Hornet, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, F Troop, Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker's chemistry, not wanting to talk to Milton Berle, short lived shows that had an outsized impact on pop culture, the power of villains, vigilantes, Bob & Ray, Tim Conway, "you're very pleased to meet me", Patrick McNee's secrets to life, nudists, Mod Tampons, TV Teletype, and Chuck Connors, as a Cowboy in Africa.
FALL PREVIEW ALERT! September 10-16, 1966 This week Ken welcomes author of the new book, Primetime 1966-1967: The Full Spectrum of Television's First All-Color Season, Thom Shubilla. Ken and Thom discuss Ken's slaughter of Thom's last name, Batman '66, knowing the Fall Preview well, the year TV was born, shaking off radio, Westerns, the first TV season everything was in color, classy Miller High Life ads making Ken and Thom want to drink, commissioned art, murals, Joe E. Ross, It's About Time, how The Moon Landing both ruined and improved sci-fi, Sherwood Schwartz, The Monkees, The Jackie Gleason Show, "The Lost" Honeymooners, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Get Smart!, Mission Impossible, Secret Agent Man, Patrick McGoohan, Hollywood Palace, Ed Sullivan, Ken's love of Robert Loggia, T.H.E. Cat, a show of all wacky neighbors, Lost in Space, being a Ginger or a Maryann, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, the long terrifying decline of Lucy, that one episode of Route 66, Big Eye paintings, The Green Hornet, Occasional Wife, That Girl, poorly translated JFK triangles, Green Acres, the truth about nerve deafness, F Troop, loving Larry Storch, heists, Irwin Alan, Time Tunnel, hating Milton Berle, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Burt Reynolds as Hawk and not as Marlon Brando, Larry Cohen's Coronet Blue, needing satisfaction on a show, The Fugitive, and how absolutely awful the Tammy Grimes show was.
This week Ken welcomes writer, director John D. Hancock to the show. Ken and John discuss the end of the world, extreme weather, John's Dad being in the NBC Radio Orchestra in Chicago, the transition from radio to TV and how it effected musicians, going to Harvard in the 1950s, Dr. Timothy Leary, Gus Van Zandt, pretending to know what actors are talking about, The Berliner Ensemble, running the Actor's Theater in San Francisco in the 1960s, directing Off Broadway plays, being in East Berlin, Bertolt Brecht, getting a grant from the AFI to do a short, businessmen who play touch football in central park, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Bang the Drum Slowly, Robert DeNiro, William Wyler, Michael Moriarty, how only names sell tickets these days, platforming movies, optioning Regiment of Women, Warren Beatty, California Dreaming, having an awful experience on Jaws 2, Jan Michael Vincent, never having directed multi cam television, learning new skillsets directing on television, Hillstreet Blues, Cover Up, theater vs film, being sold a bill of goods by AIP, editing, running previews, why it's not always best to go with your gut, Weeds, trying to get Weeds re-released, Dino DeLaurentis losing the negative, Wolfen, Prancer, what films you show students, teaching at Second City, Wild Tales, and how young people will not do love scenes these days.
July 14-20, 1990 This week Ken welcomes comedian and writer Lew Schneider to the show. Ken and Lew discuss growing up in Brookline, MA, Boston accents, Michael Dukakis, picking up garbage, the Pope of Brookline, Lew's concerns for Ken, Ken's misspent youth and wasted potential, being in a Summer replacement series, Sinbad, giving Grape Nuts a try, hosting Nickelodeon's Make the Grade, TV starts with unpronounceable names, doing improv in Chicago with Bob Odenkirk, the blue collar job that is being an actor, realizing being a writer is a smarter move, how Winter takes years off your life, the benefit of Vitamin D, how TV is a writer's medium, Ray Ramano's dramatic acting career, Men of a Certain Age, The Goldbergs, Phil Rosenthal, 1-900-925-KELLY, Bob Denver: Phone creep, The Geo Metro, who the hottest women on TV are circa 1990, Kadeem Hardison is a Doctor, how Ken is a jew who isn't a jew, Hester St, Ken's crush on Alyssa Milano, Comic Strip Live!, doing a show just for a cool jacket, Emma Thompson, Star Trek The Next Generation, befriending Brent Spiner, original TV Guide art, Wish You Were Here, auditioning for Northern Exposure, how weird Loren Michaels is, The Wonder Years, what ifs related to The Gambler, having a deal at Disney, The George Wendt Show, the golf hazards at the US Open, Richard Lewis, Anything But Love, Later with Bob Costas, getting a Hungarian work visa, Down the Shore, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Ben Stiller Show, The Edge, getting paid badly to be on a CBS TV show, being too early for Netflix, loving Succession, Love on the Spectrum, Evil, The Good Fight, The Good Wife, and 101 Fun Things to do in Melbourne with Children.
Let's Face The Facts - A Facts Of Life Podcast by David Almeida
Orlando Actors David Almeida & Matthew Arter re-watch another episode of “The Facts Of Life” — so you don't have to! Once again we are honored to be joined by the TV Guidance Counselor himself, Ken Reid!
What has become an annual tradition, at least for the last four years, it's our 2022 Year In Review. In which Ken goes solo to go through 2022 almost day by day to talk about the show, his life, what he's been doing, what he's been watching, your questions, and whatever else comes to mind. As mentioned, here are all Ken's social media links: https://linktr.ee/kenreid And a link to the TV Guidance Counselor YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/kenreidcomedy and our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/tvguidancecounselor Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and let's all have a better 2023.
This week Ken welcomes comedian, actor, and writer Marc Sheffler to the show. Ken and Marc discuss Columbia, Daylight Savings Time, going to New York first so you can learn things before going to California, doing stand up in the late '60s, London Lee, going from driver to opener, Last House on the Left, the Borscht Belt, just wanting to do it once, being the start of the aluminum siding world, Pittsburgh, hiring the Three Stooges for your 10th Birthday party, being anointed into show biz by Moe, Curly Joe Diritta, Roger Ebert's review of Last House on the Left, David Hess, picking up girls, lying about being a script writer, being in ads, snakes on a bus, moving to LA with money in the bank, and apartment and a car, Being There, Tim Thomerson, getting up at the Comedy Store, Mitzy Shore, David Letterman, Robin Williams, Marc Summers, Jimmy Walker, How Bugs Bunny Won the West, why Warner Bros stopped having live action wrap arounds on recycled Looney Tunes specials, Co-Ed Fever, how amazing Heather Thomas is, Du-beat-e-o, Joan Jett, Marsha Warfield, smoking pot, Richard Pryor, Johnny Dark, Steve Ladesberg, opening for Tower of Power in 1977, Charles in Charge, Harry and the Hendersons, producing Everything Is Relative, the 1988 Writer's Strike, doing an impression of Brett Goldstein, living in England, Ted Lasso, Lee Lacey, the wonder of improv, and the weird weird world of stand up comedy.
October 19-25, 1968 This week Ken welcomes author of The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia and host of the Podcast "Steven Jay Rubin's Saturday Night at the Movies", Steven Jay Rubin. Ken and Steve discuss being in space, seeing the Twilight Zone for the first time, how 1968 is the sweet spot, not talking for a year, Night Gallery, the lack of product placement in the Twilight Zone, Combat, color TV, The Wild Wild West, writing for Cinefantastique, being a feature film publicist, working on Weekend at Bernie's II, working for Showtime, not knowing director's credits, Clark Gable films, being a contestant on The Joker's Wild, later writing for the Joker's Wild, being on Sale of the Century, taping old movies audio only on reel to reel, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, growing up in LA, being a baseball fan, Get Smart!, the darkness of today's film, having never seen The Prisoner, Assault on a Queen, Fall Previews, Peyton Place, Laugh-In, Lancer, porpoise vs dolphin, actors in WWII, Russ Meyer being a still photographer on the Twilight Zone, Green Acres, The Olympics, competition shows, reality TV, Star Trek the original series, visiting film sets, Logan's Run, The Wonderful World of Disney, being on the Sony lot when Spielberg was directing Hook, The Entity, ghost hunting, Twilight Zone: The Movie, how The Twilight Zone doesn't work in color, Anne Frank's cat, and the amazing Sam Fuller.
March 16-22, 1991 This week Ken welcomes writer, YouTuber and fellow Baywatch Nights fan Allison Pregler to the show. Ken and Allison discuss how she's a requested guest, Baywatch, It's a Wrap, growing up in Central Time, memorabilia, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Barbara Walters, Fish Police, Family Dog, Capital Critters, Amazing Stories, cartoons for adults, The Simpsons, feeling old, Mann and Machine, America's Funniest People, Golden Girls, America's Funniest Home Videos, Tarzan in Manhattan, drunken Lon Chaney Jr, Ricky Schroeder: Human Garbage, Wilfred Brimley's firing squad, MacGuyver, when shows get weird, The Wizard, Quantum Leap, Frog Girl, dissecting animals, What A Dummy!, Wizard of Oz, Ken meeting Meinhart Raabe the Munchkin Coroner, Unsolved Mysteries, Beyond Belief, turning into a doll, Doogie Howser, bad early 90s stand up, Michael Floorwax, LA Law, falling down an elevator shaft, Dr. Giggles, talking baby movies, replacing George Clooney with Scott Baio, The Doghouse, Poochinski, talking dogs, Return of the Jedi, signing development deals about your trauma, Amy Fischer TV Movies, John Wayne Bobbitt, Uncle Buck, loving John Candy, Weird Science, remaking Peter Gunn, and Little Richard on the greatest episode ever of Baywatch.
December 22-28, 1984 In this VERY SPECIAL XMAS EDITION of TV Guidance Counselor Ken welcomes the Kevin of Kevin Geeks Out and author of the new book Santa Doesn't Need Your Help, Kevin Maher. Ken and Kevin discuss living on a cul de sac, moving to the suburbs, decorating for Holidays, Ministers being turned on by Vampira, how TV is a force of good, being wrong about guns, Webster, Alex Karras, an oddly placed National Lampoon style piece in TV Guide, how athletes used to be, the origin of Yuppies, have a December Birthday, Projection televisions, how being able to watch things at any time seems not as fun, Double Trouble, Ken's love of the Segal Twins, The Funny Boys, The Smurfs, Spenser vs Spencer, PIGS, Willard, the strangeness of Ben, Murder She Wrote, the great model search, how Star Wars became associated with Christmas due to toys, Superman, The Wizard of Oz, Assaulted Nuts, Not Necessarily The News, Stuart Pankin, Conan O'Brien, Ha! vs. The Comedy Channel, TV Version, It Happened One Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, Here Comes the Tigers, Darkside of the Moon and Wizard of Oz is the same as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a mystery album, Mr. Kruger's Christmas, Willy Whistle, Major Mudd, Captain Bob, how every single Rich Little impression is Nixon, when you open your presents, Tor Johnson as Santa Claus, Jaberwocky, Park St Under vs. Cheers, Feep, Holiday Depression, Charles in Charge, the connection between Charles and Mr. MaGoo, The Beastmaster, Kojack, Ken's hatred of modern film criticism, the best Santa Clauses, OC and Stiggs, Popeye, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Santa Claus, Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, The Adventures of Candy Claus, Santa's Village, Dolly's Down Home Christmas from 1990, and how terrifying Burl Ives could be.
February 6-12, 1999 This week Ken welcomes comedian and old friend Dave Ross to the show. Ken and Dave talk about changing NYC's nickname, apples, Jersey City, how amazingly great George Clooney is, Middletown and Newburgh NY, bands in North and Central NJ, 90s and 00s punk, hating masculinity, rage, angry dudes, watching bands, tour dates, Toad's Place, punching people, awful hardcore bands, 1999, realizing you remember way more TV than you thought, the amazing movies of the 90s, George Carlin, Mulan, Cops in Palm Beach, stand up on Comedy Central, Premium Blend with the US Bombs, Jeff Foxworthy, Brett Butler, Backstreet Boys on pay per view, Mad TV over SNL, The Simpsons, LA Confidential, Newsradio, loving 90s sitcoms, being obsessive, regional stores, fast food, Tom Green, Big Brother, Survivor, The Real World, Road Rules, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Spin City, Hannity and Combs, Michael Chiklis, Wired, theater nerds, tough guys, Mad About You, Kids in the Hall, Stephen Root, King of the Hill, The Drew Carey Show, Beverly Hills 90210, Party of Five, William Ragsdale, Veronica's Closet, Just Shoot Me, The Powers that Be, dark humor, suicide jokes, making jokes about tough things, loving John Leguizamo, Boy Meets World, WGN, Wayne's Brothers, Jaime Foxx, how great Steve Harvey is, Richard Karn, Larry Sanders, Nash Bridges, vampires, Talk Soup, wondering where John Henson went, Behind the Music, shows starting at weird times, Bruce Willis, Ally McBeal, Tracy Ulman, Providence, being mad about too many dogs, and the beauty of catching up.
This week Ken welcomes actor, comedian, writer and professional "That Guy", Larry Hankin. Ken and Larry discuss COVID, flying, quitting the world, growing up in Long Island, Breaking Bad, Barry, going out on top, stand up, Lenny Bruce, opening for Woody Allen, opening for Miles Davis, forgetting what you've done, having a career by accident, Janet Jackson's What Have you Done for me Lately video, making short films, Escape from Alcatraz, Clint Eastwood protection, endearing yourself to others, taking the boat to Alcatraz, getting royalties from streaming after you turn 65, how cool checks from Disney were, opening for The Loving Spoonful, Second City, George Carlin, getting attacked by the audience, getting arrested for doing stand up, Richard Pryor, The Kingston Trio, being homeless in San Francisco, when being homeless is a full time job, being in The Committee, Patrick McGoohan's issues, functional alcoholics, Highway Patrol, Broderick Crawford, having cue cards, Brando, ear pieces, being dyslexic, how hard it is to memorize lines, Doctor Dracula, Al Adamson, being in dirty movies as comic relief, how one movie can be edited into five different movies, Ratboy, and Larry's writing and thereallarryhankin.com.
October 25 - November 11, 2010 This week Ken welcomes old friend, amazing writer and comedian Eliza Skinner back to the show. Ken and Eliza discuss the end times, still having to go to work, dystopian literature, the free time of socialism, Ken's hatred of Las Vegas, The Atomic Testing Museum, being pro-A Bomb, hand crank TVs, Station 11, wondering of the British are fascinated by American culture, retitling, Jem, Britta Phillips, freestyle rapping over Jem instrumentals, the gap in understanding and awareness, Children of the Dust, Z for Zachariah, sci-fi, surviving, capitalize burnout, Romero's Zombie movies, The Architects of Fear, The Shadowmen on the New Twilight Zone, Wordplay, romance, True Blood, hot funny Twilight, sexy vampires, horny vampires, messy vampires, Millennials and magic, the passion of toxicity, begging you to be awesome, true crime, murder, sexy blood showers, fantasies of being eaten by a shark, how seeing a band live can make you love them, Jamiroquai, how boring and blah Puff Daddy is, seeing the Pixies and skipping U2, complaining for free stuff, punk rock kids, Watchamles, being cools, watching TV at work, marathoning Intervention, moving to LA, having no money for cable, doing Edinburgh, Vampire Diaries, Ernest, Kevin Williamson, creeping people out by fanning out, Daddying people, Skeet, asking about furniture, being a bad interviewer, when conventions go wrong, Sean Gunn hating you, the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, and how comedians are all different kinds of monsters.
Look-In January 16-23, 1988 This week Ken welcomes comedian and co-host of the Cheap Show Podcast, Paul Gannon. Ken and Paul discuss how they first met, the Geek Night Out live show, having strange interests, the history of television in the UK, how Paul loved board games, Party Til You Puke, Radio Times, TV Times, The Jr. TV Times, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV, regional UK programming, Thames TV, LWT, Angelica TV, the phenomenon of UK Annuals, US Comic Book annuals, Alan Moore, NOW Comics, Ralph Snart, The Ghostbusters, Star Comics, Charlton Comics, Marvel UK, Cannon and Ball, Worzel Gummidge, Michael Crawford, Some Mothers Do Ave Em, Man About the House, exporting comedy, UK Movies based on UK Sitcoms, Stella Street, On the Buses, Sapphire and Steel, Street Hawk, Wuzzles, Disney TV animation, No. 72, Tiswas, SMTV, loving Cat Deeley, aHa, Bros, Five Star, skinheads, breaking sausage news, Whetabix, stealing the Gillete logo, The Trap Door, Jonathan Ross, hating Mick Hucknall, Masters of the Universe, Airwolf, quizzes, The A-Team, Argos, Service Merchandise, the strangeness of UK TV schedules, Ghost Busters Jeans, Roger Ramjet, bookleg Garfield, writing letters to complain about Scooby Doo, and strange drawings of Miriam d'abo.
discussing when TV is the Monster with Stephen R. Bissette, Dana Gould, Sam Furst and Heather Buckley.
February 5-11, 2000 This week Ken welcomes writer, TV host and all around personality Frank DeCaro to the show. Ken and Frank discuss The Daily Show, Frank's SIriusXM radio show, writing a NYTimes column, The Mary and Rhoda reunion movie, being late for a meeting with Mary and Rhoda, how actors shouldn't always be the writers of what they act in, being good at being single, nostalgia trips, meeting Valerie, Ken and the WBZ Time Capsule, TV Guide with grandma, Dark Shadows, the 4:30 Movie, Saturday Morning Preview Shows, pilots, the golden age of TV, how we're not in the golden age of TV maybe, Ziggy Flargowitz, how nothing prevented is new, E! True Hollywood Stories, A&E Biography, how living in LA can ruin things, why we no longer need talk shows, disliking Johnny Carson, The Lawrence Welk Show, growing up and with The Sopranos, Ted Danson's quality control, Julie Louie Dreyfus being our Lucy, George C. Scott Patton dolls, World's Most Anti-Social Acts, how all commercials are sexualized now, World's Sexiest Commercials, stirring things with yourself, the changing face of BO, from soup to subs, George Reeves, The Truth Behind Sitcom Scandals, Love Boat, Barry Bostwick, Cougartown, Spin City, Friends, Jesse, whatever the hell Stark Raving Mad is, hating competition shows, aside from RuPaul's Drag Race, variety shows, how being gross should at least be funny, why people on the radio don't also need to be gorgeous, the lack of raconteurs in today's Entertainment world, how having so many fewer outlets made careers, Charles Nelson Riley, George Schlatter, the lack of blooper reels, Laugh-In, and the Disco Devil in Frank's new book about Disco.
Let's Face The Facts - A Facts Of Life Podcast by David Almeida
Orlando Actors David Almeida & Matthew Arter re-watch another episode of “The Facts Of Life” — so you don't have to! This week we welcome back Ken Reid, host of the awesome podcast “TV Guidance Counselor,” and a TFOL super fan.
December 4-10, 1982 This week Ken welcomes writer and creator/host of The Bastard Tapes Podcast, Tim Harrod. Ken and Tim discuss the unique spite of people from New England, video games, Atari, walking to the arcade, Charlottesville, pinball companies trying to take on video games, how Nintendo temporarily killed arcades, Dragon's Lair, Saturday Supercade, Q*Bert, Steve Allen, stand up on TV, the influence of MTV, Solid Gold, Tim Thomerson, the weird MTV influenced syndicated sketch comedy show, Laugh Tracks, Gallagher, Gallagher II, Cinemax Comedy Experiment, Martin Mull, Rich Hall, Joe Piscapo and his mysterious Halloween Special, Dead Heat, Disney's Christmas Gift, Life's Most Embarrassing Moments, Foul Ups, Bleeps and Blunders, the influence of Letterman, Dennis Wolfberg, how you rarely saw Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck together, Fridays, being conscripted into Circus of the Stars, Charlie Brown Christmas, Doctor Who, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Joanie Loves Chachi, the missing Cunningham, RapCity Kids Christmas, M*A*S*H, Three's Company, Dolly Parton's Sister, Jane Curtain's Cousin, Newhart, Real People, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, Follow that Bird, Family Ties, Cheers, Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, always going for comedy, fake bands on real TV shows, The Urkel, The Guys Next Door, Chip and Pepper's Comedy Madness, Meatballs and Spaghetti, the fame of Nelson, Taxi, Too Close for Comfort, Sneak Previews, Siskel and Ebert's dog vs skunk, The Toy, Richard Pryor, a good story about Jackie Gleason, Chris Elliot, Action Family, The Powers of Matthew Star, Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Special, Sledge Hammer, losing the car horn, Wonder Bug and Schlep car, and the changes of the Incredible Hulk.
Let's Face The Facts - A Facts Of Life Podcast by David Almeida
Orlando Actors David Almeida & Matthew Arter re-watch another episode of “The Facts Of Life” — so you don't have to! This week we welcome back Ken Reid, host of “TV Guidance Counselor,” and TFOL super fan.
April 30 - May 6, 1988 This week Ken welcomes the other half of the Boss Bitches podcast, writer, actor, comedian Kirsten O'Brien. Ken and Kirsten discuss Ken mispronouncing her name, growing up in Scituate, FSU, being a dancer, moving to Florida because your Dad needs to flee the sigma of organized crime, bookies, living in NYC, having your family be funnier than you, Bill Burr, 1988, The Golden Girls, Dr. Ruth, Ethical Sluts, Betty White and Rue swapping roles, HIV, AIDS on TV, Very Special Episodes, TWA Hostages, the TWA Hotel, being hired to do atmosphere acting, vintage clothes, smoking, Benson and Hedges, weird swingers, eating off brand Slim Jims, being sex positive, awful dude comedians, Dolly Parton's Variety Show, Sonny and Cher, showgirls, how amazing Cassandra Peterson is, Mae West, Jennifer Love Hewitt, "Let's Go Bang", loving stand up, The Star Wars Holiday Special, Wookie Porn, living in the same neighborhood as Dr. Ruth, the Golden Girls cafe, Washington Heights, Emma: Queen of the South Seas, Skinimax, satellite dishes, Just the Ten of Us, Loni Anderson, hating the Kardashians, Pamela Anderson, sex tapes, Pee Wee Herman, Mr. Rogers, In Living Color's The Head Detective, renting video tapes, and loving Drew Barrymore.
January 28 - February 3, 1989 This week, after a few false starts, Ken welcomes comedian Amy Miller (watch her special Ham Mouth and buy her album California King) to the show. Ken and Amy discuss false starts, kids cartoons, missile launch codes, growing up White Trash, Roseanne, Joe Camel, sexy Joe Camel, buying scratch tickets, being sent to the corner store for adults, bootleg carnival airbrush art, Camel Cash, Marlboro Miles, stranger danger, realistically defending Roseanne, exploiting crazy people, vetting celebrities, how you can't say "White People Suck" on Instagram, Dan Conner: Great Dad, Russians bootlegging American TV, Vanna White, Golden Girls, Empty Nest, full page ads, 21 Jump St, Perfect Strangers, mail order music clubs, Throw Mama From the Train, not watching America's Most Wanted, LifeTime style movies of the week, Farrah Fawcett made for TV movies, the strangeness of Craisins, Children of a Lesser God, Dreambreakers, pretending you watched Billy Graham so you can talk about it at Church, The Wonder Years, Family Ties, Head of the Class, Growing Pains, Boner in the Army, the lack of female people of color on the mainstream stand up scene in the 1980s, Night Court, Marsha Warfield, loving David Letterman, Just the Ten of Us, TV stars trying to have musical careers, Dallas, Beauty and the Beast, Falcon Crest, CBS being super horny, being thankful for gel caps, complaining about boxing padding, and Murphy Brown.
February 7-13, 1987 This week Ken welcomes listener and author of the new, must buy, book "Flick Attack", Rod Lott. Ken and Rod discuss Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, completing your life long dreams, John Brennan from the Real World, cowboys, hating most people, Near Dark, Lance Hendrickson, the importance of video stores, loving Ann-Margaret, mid season replacement season, grandparents putting back issues of TV Guide aside for you, the movie listings, feeling like you're in the future, Blade Runner, growing up in Central Time, the final season of The Facts of Life, Fall Preview, The Playboy Channel, Saturday Morning Cartoons, "Larry" Fishburne, Bruce Willis' The Return of Bruno, Easy Street, Partners in Crime, Loni Anderson, Lynda Carter, Nothing is Easy the show formerly known as Together We Stand, Elliot Gould, reboots, Commander USA, Kate & Allie, My Sister Sam, the first live episode of SNL Ken ever saw, Pee Wee Herman, Drew Barrymore hosting SNL, Frontier Gynecologists, Vampire's Kiss, After Hours, how Motorama is basically The Wizard, TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Len Sella's Silly Cinemas, Stillwatch, CBS Made For-TV movies, loving Charles Rocket, Not Necessarily The News, Carol Burnett, Perfect Strangers, Head of the Class, Gimme a Break, Family Ties, Michael J Fox, Cheers, Friday Night Videos, The Paper Chase, CBN, The 700 Club, following up on 60 Minutes subjects, watching TV while eating dinner, and the mystery of George Cooker's The Corn is Green.
January 21 -27, 1956
This week Ken welcomes LEGENDARY director Joel Zwick to the show. Ken and Joel discuss Second Sight, exploding buildings, Boston, John Larroquette, Bronson Pinchot, faithless Cantors, off Broadway experimental theater in the 1960s, Kim Basinger, shooting the rehearsal, LBJ's part in the JFK assassination, having your phone tapped by the FBI, directing sitcoms, coverage, editing, directing over 100 episodes of Full House, growing up in Sheephead's Bay in Brooklyn NY, growing up singing with Carol King, being a natural born entertainer, Jimmy Durante impressions, playing Coco in the Mercado, going to high school with Neil Sedaka, singing in the Cosigns, taking a deal in college, treating people right, having no goals, directing Bustin' Loose, sneaking spec Odd Couple scripts to Jack Klugman via his limo driver, getting your Union Card via Summer Stock, Corvette Summer, how great Annie Potts is, meeting Gary Marshall, Buffalo Bill, unlikable characters, Perfect Strangers, Louie Anderson, Family Matters, how everything changed with episode 8 when Urkel was introduced, the reboot of the Odd Couple, playing a Bunny farmer, directing presentations, unsold pilots, Adventures in Babysitting, Angie, It's a Living, Makin It, Bosom Buddies, the greatness of Penny Marshall, Harvey Corman sitting in the sitcoms audience, The Olson Twins, ugly triplets, John Stamos, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, jumping from movies to TV, how comedic actors can do ANYTHING, how if you don't do comedy you really don't do comedy, Michael Keaton, Working Stiffs, Fat Albert, the amazing talent of Zendaya, Peter Scolari, Adrian Zmed, Boston comics not understanding what stories don't make them look good, Ann Jillian, and the greatness of Lauri Metcaff.
This week Ken welcomes actor Jeremy Licht (Valerie, Twilight Zone: The Movie) to the show. Ken and Jeremy discuss sweltering heat, art imitating life, riding a giant lobster in the snow in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, being a life long LA kid, disturbing your children by showing them TV movies where your character dies, being the kind of made for TV movies, Twilight Zone: The Movie, doing commercials, growing up in a solid Nuclear family, how being on a sitcom is as close to a 9 to 5 job as it gets as an actor, Valerie, The Hogan Family, 110 episodes over five and a half seasons, shooting at Lorimar, Family Matters, Miller Boyett, Our House, Full House, Chad Allan, getting pranked by Jason Bateman on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, having a surrogate family on set, going from being the oldest to the younger brother at work, Danny Ponce, staying in touch with the cast, the rhythm of jokes, set up and punch line, learning how to sitcom, Josh Taylor, getting a speeding ticket as a teen, dealing with the National Inquirer, fan magazines, fan contests, evil publicists, working with Joe Dante, auditioning for Spielberg, E.T., Billy Mumy, not watching the original "It's a Good Life", Kevin McCarthy, loving Third Rock from the Sun, knowing the technical aspects of shooting, having James Woods and Sally Struthers playing your parents, Hal Linden, John Ritter, Sally Field, William Hurt, the intimacy of acting, holding for laughs, having a day job, auditioning now vs in the 80s, All the Way Home, live TV, working on the short film "Seat 23B", working with your wife, directing "Here to There", making TV via Zoom, and being able to say no to things.