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 hammock spot, the rise of Keith Oberman, Beetlejuice, the underappreciated gem that is Buddy Faro, the decline of CBS, Nash Bridges, and Chris' future book topics. 

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 until you succeed, early days of reality TV, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, telling important stories, curing cancer some day, never stopping working, being able to do everything, matchmaking, The Partridge Family, The Sopranos, loving The Diplomat, Stand up comedy specials, geniuses, and the importance of treating everyone with respect.

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 touring band, Hello Ladies, working with Paulie Shore, playing a wheelchair user, giving people opportunities, Woody, TV stars becoming movie stars, Die Hard, King's Dance Macabre, how to play a bad person, how to deal with bombing, committing to storytelling, working consistently, Goliath, Billy Bob Thornton, multi-cam sitcoms, getting cut out of Gone in 60 Seconds, winning over J.J. Abrams, Felicity, playing against type, the time Jennifer Garner came to see Ken do stand up, Better Call Saul, Fringe, being promised your character will be brought back, Scorpion, being nice to everyone on set, all the acting Quinten Tarantino does, David Cronenberg on Alias, being hired by Spielberg for The Terminal, Christian Slater, The Forgotten, the loveliness of Victor Garber, when Ricky Gervais cannot keep it together, Clerks II, being spotted by Kevin Smith fans, Awake, Runaways, Weisman deep cuts, relying on fan sites for your own knowledge of your own work, being IN TV Guide and dealing with your mom's tech issues. 

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 at The American FIlm Market, The Hazing, director proof scripts, 11 day shoots, the strange structure of Life Time movies, The Blackroom, Bus Party to Hell, getting credit or not, shooting in Bulgaria, pitching, liking thrillers, Satan's Cheerleaders, Mephisto Waltz, Race with the Devil, Night Gallery, earning your R rating, following the formula, family films, making a musica, socks vs patches, rehearsing sex scenes, intimacy contracts, streaming sites, There's Nothing Out There, Goonies, One and the Gun, Art of the Dead, Nightmare Demon, and working with big name actors. 

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 for the OTHER Alan Katz who did Big Man on Campus, rekindling a friendship, how podcasts save lives, having a third act, being excited for the future, Superman Returns, overworking yourself, keeping a false eye from Valkyrie, mementos, raising money for vets, trying to make the world a better place, how timing sometimes works out, and finishing unfinished business. 

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, the Marvelization of DC, going to comic cons in the 1970s, dark and gritty, Comic Book Fascists, Beasts of Burden, Dario Argento, Giallo, wanting subtitles over dubbing, how anyone can make a movie, loving horror films, Trick R Treat, character design, Bouncing Boy, minutia, the internet, fan fiction, Alex Toth, wearing your influences on your sleeve, lost dark episodes of Superman The Animated Series, audiences and love of Halloween, screenplays, storytelling, Metal Men, being freaked out by failure and being neurotic, self sabotage, failed pilots, letting people down, Patreon, dealing with health issues, and the struggle of being a creative person trying to make a living. 

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 Poles, traveling to Boston, Silence of the Lambs, The Mothman Prophecies, George Romero, understanding a minute, Wes Craven's Made for TV Movies, Babes, TGIF, The Naked Gun, Alexander Graham Bell, Babygirl Scott, the horrors of Testament, the cancelation of Hunter, and complaining about Manhunter. 

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 Hitchcock, being a 70s film snob, art house cinema, French New Wave, cults to flops, studio interference, made for TV movies, Ingmar Berman, the studio system, how in person viewing returns, when tech companies want to be the movie business, shared experiences, midnight movies, Netflix, the gimmick of going live, the origins of TV Guide, Ken's collection, ten years of the podcast, the lost age of shows and hunting down Michael's father's work.