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Artwork for TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

ed robertson

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television brings you lively conversations every week with the stars, writers, directors and other creative people behind the scenes of some of America's most popular shows. An engaging blend of talk and entertainment, TV Confidential often compares today's programs with those of the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s.

25 episodes
Avg 17 min
English

Episodes 25

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S19 · E748
Yesterday · 21 min
60 Years of Star Trek
TVC 748.1: From September 2016: An expanded edition of This Week in TV History in which Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the premiere of the original Star Trek on NBC in September 1966, and how the Star Trek franchise continues to influence our culture.
S19 · E748
Yesterday · 18 min
40 Years of Star Trek IV
TVC 748.2: From September 2016: An expanded edition of This Week in TV History that discusses the sixtieth anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek (NBC, 1966-1969). Topics this segment include Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which opened in theaters in 1986.
S19 · E748
Wednesday · 13 min
Favorite Star Trek Characters
TVC 748.3: From September 2016: An expanded edition of This Week in TV History that discusses the sixtieth anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek (NBC, 1966-1969) and the legacy of the Star Trek franchise. Topics this segment include a look at our favorite Star Trek movie and favorite Star Trek characters.
S19 · E748
Wednesday · 19 min
The legacy of Star Trek
TVC 748.4: From September 2016: Part 4 of an expanded edition of This Week in TV History in which Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the sixtieth anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek (NBC, 1966-1969) and the legacy of the Star Trek franchise.
S19 · E748
Tuesday · 22 min
Linda Kaplan Thaler, author of My Life in 30 Seconds
TVC 748.4: Ed welcomes Linda Kaplan Thaler, Advertising Hall of Fame executive and the creative genius behind the Aflac Duck, the Toys R Us Kids jingle, Clairol's "Yes! Yes! Yes!" campaign, and many other popular ads that have become permanently engrained in American culture. Linda's memoir, My Life in 30 Seconds, is a very funny, yet often very moving, book that not only looks at creativity, resilience, leadership, failure, reinvention, and the moments that change us forever, but includes many stories about some of the people behind those famous ads, including heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and Tony Hassini (the actor who played Magic Burger King), plus encounters with James Patterson, Cynthia Nixon, President Bill Clinton, and many others. My Life in 30 Seconds is available at Amazon.com. Topics this segment include how Linda first found her path in advertising; how Mariette Hartley's wry delivery in her famous Polaroid commercials with James Garner had a tremendous impact on Linda as she wrote copy for her own ad campaigns; and how Linda's career in advertising "was not about networking, but 'nice-working.'"
S19 · E748
Tuesday · 21 min
How goose bumps play an important role in the creative process
TVC 748.5: Advertising legend Linda Kaplan Thaler talks to Ed about the important role that goose bumps play in the creative genius; working with then-Governor Bill Clinton on his 1992 presidential campaign and with comedian Gilbert Gottfried on the "Aflac Duck" campaign; and why "What keeps you up at night" is an important question to ask. Linda's memoir, My Life in 30 Seconds, is available at Amazon.com.
S19 · E747
September 3 · 19 min
The Chicago roots of Tom Dreesen
TVC 747.1: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the life and career of Tom Dreesen, the pioneering comedian, actor, and motivational speaker who was also the opening act for Frank Sinatra for many years. Tom Dreesen passed away on June 17, 2026 at the age of eighty-six. Topics this segment include the night when Dreesen visited Story Salon in 2009 (shortly after the publication of his first book, Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White), and how he incorporated the stories of every performer who preceded him that night before taking the stage himself at the end of the show; how Dreesen's formative years in Harvey, Illinois left an imprint on him; his partnership with Tim Reid as the first interracial stand-up comedy duo; and how Frank Sinatra once affectionately referred to Dreesen as "a saloon comic."
S19 · E747
September 2 · 13 min
Catherine O'Hara: She Could Do Anything
TVC 746.2: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the career of actress and comedienne Catherine O'Hara, from her early work at Second City Toronto to SCTV, Home Alone, Schitt's Creek, The Studio, her appearances in the mockumentaries of Christopher Guest, and more. Catherine O'Hara passed away on Jan. 30, 2026 at age seventy-one.
S19 · E747
September 1 · 21 min
Charlotte Stewart and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
TVC 747.3: Ed welcomes back Charlotte Stewart, the actress known around the world as Miss Beadle on Little House on the Prairie and as Betty Briggs on Twin Peaks. Charlotte will join Alison Arngrim, Dean Butler, and many other members of the Little House cast at the huge Little House on the Prairie 50th anniversary cast reunion that will take place Sept. 11-12-13 at the historic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. The weekend will include a special Friday night cast appearance plus, if you sign up for a VIP package, you'll have access to a special backstage tour of Studio A at the Grand Ole Opry (where Hee Haw and other TV series were filmed), plus other exclusive perks. For tickets and more information, go to LittleHouseonthePrairieCastReunions.com. Topics this segment include Charlotte learned her craft as an actress while studying at the Pasadena Playhouse; how her memoir, Little House in the Hollywood Hills, was the first book written by an adult cast member of Little House; why she retired from acting a few years ago; plus a few memories of hanging out with musicians Neil Young and David Crosby, both in the 1960s and beyond.
S19 · E747
September 1 · 6 min
Charlotte Stewart on why composition was important to David Lynch
TVC 747.4: Actress and author Charlotte Stewart (Little House on the Prairie, Twin Peaks, Little House in the Hollywood Hills) talks to Ed about why the composition of a film was always important to director David Lynch, and how her long association with Lynch began when he was a student filmmaker and continued with Eraserhead and Twin Peaks. You can meet Charlotte Stewart, along with many other cast members of Little House on the Prairie, at the Little House on the Prairie 50th anniversary cast reunion that will take place Sept. 11-12-13 at the historic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. For tickets and more information, go to LittleHouseonthePrairieCastReunions.com.
S19 · E746
August 26 · 21 min
Richard Lefkowitz, author of Welcome to Fabulous Angeles
TVC 746.1: Ed welcomes Richard Lefkowitz, author of Welcome to Fabulous Angeles: The Rock 'n' Roll Adventures of a Wayward Westside Teen, a coming of age memoir about Richard's years growing up as a teenager in 1970s Los Angeles along with his best friend—a character known in the book as "Moxie"—while also searching for validation and fulfillment. Throughout the pages of Fabulous Angeles, Richard and Moxie bluster and bluff their way into exclusive parties, once-in-a-lifetime concerts, and many tapings at CBS Television City, while also crossing paths with such celebrities as The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, The Doobie Brothers, and Stevie Wonder. Welcome to Fabulous Angeles is available wherever books are sold online, as well as at FabulousAngeles.com. Topics this segment include why L.A. is a lot more like a small town than most people would realize; how Richard's adolescence coincided with a number of seismic cultural changes that occurred in L.A.; and why FM radio was an integral part of the soundtrack of his life.
S19 · E746
August 26 · 8 min
Richard Lefkowitz on the music of Van Halen and Jackson Browne
TVC 746.2: Richard Lefkowitz, author of Welcome to Fabulous Angeles, talks to Ed about why Van Halen, the 1978 debut album by Van Halen, is the quintessential L.A. album; why "The Fuse" and many other songs by Jackson Browne capture the vibe and imagery of L.A.; and why the murder of actor Sal Mineo in 1976 hit close to home for Richard in many ways. Welcome to Fabulous Angeles is available wherever books are sold online, as well as at FabulousAngeles.com.
S19 · E746
August 25 · 14 min
Remembering Demond Wilson
TVC 746.2a: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the career of actor Demond Wilson before, during, and after Sanford and Son, including why he was an underrated straight man to Redd Foxx; co-starring with Ron Glass on The New Odd Couple, and with Denise Nicholas and Helen Wilson on Baby, I'm Back; Wilson's career as a television preacher in the 1980s, and his attempt to use his platform to bring prayer back into schools. Demond Wilson died on Jan. 30, 2026 at age seventy-nine.
S19 · E746
August 25 · 14 min
The Variety Shows of Sid & Marty Krofft
TVC 746.3: Tony, Donna, and Ed commemorate the recent passing of iconic children's television producer Sid Krofft by discussing some of the many Sid & Marty Krofft shows that catered to adult viewers, including D.C. Follies, Barbara Mandrell and The Mandrell Sisters, Donny & Marie, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, and Pink Lady and Jeff. Sid Krofft passed away on Apr. 10, 2026 at age ninety-six.
S19 · E745
August 13 · 22 min
Michael Tove, writer and producer of Yale Saleing
TVC 745.1: Ed welcomes Michael Tove, writer and producer of Yale Saleing, a thirty-minute short with elements of Alfred Hitchcock and The Twilight Zone about a young couple that find themselves embroiled in a twenty-year-old mystery after purchasing a strange box at a yard sale. Directed by Tom Logan, and starring Eric Roberts, Yale Saleing was making the film festival circuit at the time this interview was recorded; you can watch the film online at EmeraldOakProductions.com. Topics this segment include filming Yale Saleing on location in San Diego, California; the inclusive environment behind the scenes on the set; and the surreal experience Michael had hearing actors performing the words he had written.
S19 · E745
August 13 · 18 min
Michael Tove, The Handmaid's Tale, and Yale Saleing
TVC 745.2: Actor, writer, and producer Michael Tove shares a few stories about his early experiences working as an extra on The Handmaid's Tale (1990), including his encounters with Aidan Quinn, Natasha Richardson, Elizabeth McGovern, Amy Aquino, and Gregory Peck. Yale Saleing, the new short film written and produced by Michael Tove, can be viewed online at EmeraldOakProductions.com.
S19 · E745
August 12 · 13 min
Ted Turner's imprint on television
TVC 743.3: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the life and career of Ted Turner, the legendary businessman, producer, media mogul, sports team owner, and philanthropist who founded CNN, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, superstation WTBS, and many other platforms. Ted Turner passed away on May 6, 2026 at age eighty-seven.
S19 · E745
August 11 · 20 min
Martha Reeves on her new album, Searching, and why purple is her favorite color
TVC 745.4: Ed welcomes Martha Reeves, the legendary Motown powerhouse who is also one of the most influential voices in American music. Searching, Martha's first new album in twenty-two years, is a blend of jazz, gospel, blues, R & B, and lived experience that was recorded in New Orleans, alongside acclaimed trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, and co-produced by Marsalis and Martha's longtime manager, Chris Roe. Chris also appears with Martha during our call. Searching becomes available wherever you find music beginning Friday, Aug. 14. Topics this segment include how the making of Searching was very much a collaborative experience; how Martha's mother taught her never to sing a song unless she understood it and could feel it; meeting Stevie Wonder for the first time when he was eight years old, in Berry Gordy's office at Motown; why the release of Searching is an answered prayer; and why purple is Martha's go-to color.
S19 · E744
August 5 · 22 min
James Burrows: "He Knew How to Do Funny"
TVC 744.1: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the life and career of Emmy Award-winning director and producer James Burrows (Cheers, Frasier, Taxi, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Will and Grace) in the first in a series of segments that commemorate notable TV actors and behind-the-scenes personnel who passed away earlier in 2026. James Burrows died Friday, June 19 at age eighty-five. Topics this segment include how Burrows approached directing TV sitcoms as if they were thirty-minute stage plays; his early career directing shows for MTM Studios; and his track record for directing pilots that eventually went to series.
S19 · E744
August 5 · 13 min
Why the legacy of James Burrows is laughter
TVC 744.2: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss James Burrows' impact on Taxi and Cheers (including the famous "What does a yellow light mean?" scene in the Taxi episode in which Reverend Jim takes his driving test), and why laughter is his legacy as a producer and director. James Burrows died Friday, June 19 at age eighty-five.

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