Ken's Favorite TV | Kenneth Paul Warren II

Just like movies, everybody loves TV, and Ken had a wide range of taste on what concerns TV shows, from Horror to sitcoms and even some reality TV. I will start by mentioning Elvira, Cassandra Peterson’s character that was for him the perfect junction of campy horror and comedy; he loved her wit and humor. One of our favorite shows together was American Horror Story, but After the Freak Show season he increasingly stopped caring about it, as he thought the stories were no longer interesting and poorly written. His favorite seasons were Murder House, Asylum, Convent and Freak Show. Asylum was the one he preferred the most, it featured Jessica Lange singing one of his favorite songs The Name Game and every now and then he would play the clip of her performing the song in the show. Convent he mostly liked the plot and the cast that featured both Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates and one of his new favorite actresses, Emma Roberts. Ken loved everything that was different, and the Freak Show season had unusual characters and a killer clown, that became one of his new horror icons. Being a big fan of the film Psycho, Ken loved Bates Motel, we watched all the seasons together, brings me memories of us lying in bed under the covers watching it together. Other horror themed shows he enjoyed were Salem, with one of his favorite theme songs, “Cupid Carries a Gun” by Marilyn Manson. He was always fascinated with the Salem Witch trials; we planned of one day doing a complete tour of Salem, Massachusetts. I also remember us being sad when they cancelled the show. Scream Queens, featuring the classic crossing between horror and comedy that was always a winner for him, when smartly done. It featured, again, Emma Roberts and Billie Lourd, two of his favorite young actors and veteran Jamie Lee Curtis that he thought was phenomenal, he was so sad when was cancelled, and just like Bates Motel, it brings up memories of cuddling under the covers in bed watching it together. The last horror genre show I can remember him loving was Penny Dreadful, the first show Ken and I watched entirely together from episode 1. The Victorian Goth horror tale featured perfect ingredients to grab his attention in a show: shady characters, fiercely women, witchcraft and iconic references to Frankenstein, Dracula etc. He did loved the series finale, though I remember finding it a bit weak, but he explained to me that it was the only way really the series could end, and I did got more satisfied with his insight of it. Two drama shows were particularly dear to him, Feud and The Handmaid’s Tale. The story of the feud between Joan Crawford and Bette Davies, a smart period show, about Hollywood’s Golden Age, an era that always fascinated him. Of course, as we watched the show progressing, Ken, that already knew all the real events that the series depicts, commented with his insight what he thought it could additionally been put on the show. I learned a lot from him about Bette Davies and Joan Crawford. The Handmaid’s Tale, when he first told me about it, I had no idea of what it was or to expect, I remember thinking it was an 1800’s period drama. After watching the first episode together, we go into it and binge watched season one in only a few days. Today, every time I read or watch something about this show, I always remember us two watching it in the sofa commenting on what was wrong with it or how some of the characters were so evil. By the second season, we just wanted June to get her payback and to move out of Gilead. He loved laughing, and was very picky at what made him laugh, there were several sitcoms he liked, at the top of his watching list were the ones such as Two Broke Girls, this one sometimes we’d binge watching it for hours, “one more” we’d always say. Grace and Frankie, one of the last shows Ken started to watch, he only watched a few episodes but talked enthusiastically about it; how Jane Fonda was doing great on it, and The Good Place, we only were able to watch a few episodes of it but enjoyed it, due to time limitations we could not go further on it. Something I regret. Then there were timeless classics, like Golden Girls, that brought him back childhood memories and starred one of his favorite actors, Betty White. He built a Golden Girls fan quiz for Pop Expresso and wrote an article on White. Despite not agreeing with Roseanne Barr’s political views, Ken liked the show. He wrote an article on Barr, and was excited when it was announced that the show would be revived for a new season. A reference to both our childhoods was ALF, sometimes we’d sit at dinner time in the sofa and catch on some random re-runs of it. Brings up memories of us eating his delicious cooked dinners and commenting the episodes and the 1980’s as we watched it. Two shows that he was too particularly fond of were childhood favorites, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and Schoolhouse Rock. Ken grew up watching Pee Wee on TV, and as an adult, he still shared the same fondness for the character and the actor Paul Reubens as well as for Mister Rogers. Three more classics Night Court, The Outer Limits and Murder She Wrote were on his favorites list too. Ken liked some reality TV, but not all reality TV; he enjoyed it sometimes for the pure blunt entertainment observe people’s behavior. If it was too dumb and very shallow, he didn’t cared for it, an had to have some “content” for him to sit and spend his time watching. There were two reality TV shows that we enjoyed watching together often, Hoarders (and Hoarders Buried Alive), and 90 Day Fiancé. It fascinated us both, how people could live in places such as the ones showed in Hoarders; we loved the show’s therapist Dr. Zazio and frequently quote her on funny discussions or topics. The 90 Day Fiancé, was something we enjoyed because of the reality of what is obvious not hitting some of the people in the show, at least apparently, always generated funny and witty comments from Ken. I miss that, to listen to him commenting on shows as we watch them. RuPaul’s Drag Race, because she was his favorite drag queen and though we never really sat and watched a full episode together, I remember being in the sofa while Ken was laughing or amused going through the episodes or YouTube videos of it. The last reality TV one I remember he truly appreciated was Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown. A very talented cook himself, this show had two things that pleased him, being able to discover new dishes, and new cultures. Unlike Bizarre Foods, that he watched occasionally just as a novelty and thought of it as “dumb”, he seriously liked Bourdain’s. Politically speaking, The Young Turks was Ken’s favorite program. He spent sometimes hours watching it on YouTube. Even if he was doing something else, listening to it at the same time. His political stands were very much in in harmony with it and he never lost a chance to learn something new or some food for thoughts. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was his favorite political satire one. Ken never lost an episode. Every week he catch up with a new one. Sometimes after he finished he would tell me new things that were politically happening; of course, by the time Jon Stewart was done with the show he already had made some investigation on the facts himself.