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.
I’m Ken Reid, a stand up comedian from Boston, MA and a life long television fan. I’ve been twice nominated as the Best Stand up in Boston and I have been featured on Comedy Central, NPR, Nerdist, and MSN. I own every issue of TV Guide. Each week a guest chooses an issue at random, picks their viewing choices from that week and the show is our discussion of the tough viewing choices of our past. We get into stories about growing up, people’s relationship with television, some cultural/media studies dissection and I spit out a lot of trivia.
Note: The Ken Reid TV Guidance Counselor Podcast is rated PG-13 and may contain mild language.
